Rams players are increasingly aware of the risks of playing their sport, especially as it relates to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a neurodegenerative brain disease.

But they try not to think about it.

This week, a Boston University study was published that analyzed the medical records of more than 2,000 deceased former NFL players. The study estimated that 74.5% of them likely had CTE.

Defensive tackle Aaron Donald, 35, played 10 seasons before retiring after the 2023 season. He rejoined the Rams this season. When asked about the study and CTE, Donald said, “That’s a real thing.”

But he said, “You don’t think about it. You just play. When you sign up to play football, you know what you’re signing up for.

“You obviously don’t want nothing like that to occur.”

Receiver Puka Nacua, 25, said that as a young player he was grateful for information about the possible long-term effects.

“I think it’s something that’s obviously very prevalent in our sport and the more information, the better I think we’re able to take care of ourselves,” he said.

Offensive lineman Kevin Dotson, 30, wears a guardian cap on his helmet during practices and games but said that, “it’s almost like a placebo effect” and was “more of a dampener than a savior.”

Playing a game that rewards financially but could have long-term effects is a “double-edged sword,” Dotson said.

“It’s one of those things, you’ve just got to keep that in the back of your mind that this is a possibility,” he said. “So every time you think about retirement or stuff like that, you think the longer I play the better chance of me getting CTE.”

Iran claims to have brought down what looks to be a U.S.-made MQM-170C Outlaw G2 drone largely intact. A video shows it has a notable feature on top of its nose. In U.S. military use today, Outlaw-series drones are best known as an aerial target for use in training and testing.

The footage in question, and the accompanying claims, should be treated with caution given that the regime in Tehran and the country’s media outlets do routinely make exaggerated and unverified claims. That being said, so far, the footage looks to be credible. Furthermore, the U.S. military has pushed back on Iran’s version of events, but has not explicitly denied having lost one of these drones in the region recently.

For its part, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it captured the MQM-170-series drone following what it described as an “offensive electronic warfare operation” somewhere to the “west of the Strait of Hormuz.” The IRGC also claims that the uncrewed aircraft was conducting reconnaissance on Iranian air defenses positioned along the country’s Persian Gulf coast. At the time of writing, no firm evidence has been provided to support either of these assertions. The IRGC has released the aforementioned video, seen below, which it says shows the drone being tracked via an infrared camera, as well as after its recovery.

“In the past weeks and months, the IRGC has repeatedly lied out of desperation, and today is no different,” U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, told TWZ when asked about the specific Iranian claims.

“We’re not going to waste our time. U.S. forces remain vigilant and laser-focused on our assigned missions,” Hawkins said in response to a follow-up question about whether CENTCOM could confirm or deny the loss of an MQM-170-series drone for any reason.

As an aside, Iran recovered an Anduril Dive-LD uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) largely intact last month in what the IRGC claimed had been a “complex intelligence and operational action.” U.S. authorities ultimately confirmed the loss of the advanced UUV, but said it was the result of a malfunction.

As mentioned, the drone seen in the IRGC video does look to be an MQM-170C, or at least a closely-related variant thereof. It has an interesting feature on top of its nose: a single forward-looking aperture. This is something that is commonly associated with staring-type optics, which drones often use to aid with navigation. There is a possibility that it could be a seeker, if the drone were to be configured as a one-way-attack munition, but this seems unlikely.

MQM-170C’s manufacturer, Griffon Aerospace, which refers to this design internally as the Outlaw Gen 2 (G2), does say on its website that it can be configured as “an inexpensive payload development platform offering great endurance, payload size, weight, and power.” The company’s website also says that the target configuration of the G2 has a gross weight of 150 pounds, but that this can grow to 225 pounds when used as a more general-purpose drone.

The drone, which is nearly 11 feet long and has a wingspan of 16 feet, otherwise has a stated maximum endurance of eight hours, top speed of 126 knots, and the ability to reach altitudes of more than 16,000 feet. The design is propelled by a 2-cylinder, 2-stroke combustion engine driving a single pusher propeller. The G2 gets into the air via a catapult-type launcher and can be recovered, either after a glide-in landing on suitable terrain or via parachute.

Griffon Aerospace also offers an ‘expanded’ G2E version with fixed tricycle landing gear as an “open and customizable platform for ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] missions, subsystem testing, and R&D [research and development].” This version has a lower maximum takeoff weight and total endurance compared to the baseline G2, according to the company’s website. The IRGC video does not show any evidence of landing gear, but it could have broken away when the drone came down.

The larger Outlaw family, which traces back to the early 2000s, also includes the Gen 1 MQM-170A, which has a completely different design from the subsequent G2 drone. Griffon also developed a derivative of the Gen 1 design with a twin-boom tail, called the Outlaw Boomer, which the U.S. military designated the MQM-170B. There is also a twin-engine, twin-boom derivative of the Outlaw G2 that the U.S. military has at least tested in the past.

This brings us to the additional matter of a contract the U.S. Army awarded to Griffon Aerospace, valued at nearly $68 million, for the procurement of a Gen 3 version of the Outlaw on June 3. When the Pentagon first announced this deal, it was explicitly said to be “in support of Operation Epic Fury” against Iran. That portion of the announcement was quietly deleted sometime thereafter.

“A company official declined to provide details about the Gen 3 design,” Breaking Defense reported in a story published on June 5.

On August 25, Griffon received an additional contract from the Army, valued at just under $133 million, “to procure Griffon Outlaw systems, support equipment and field service representatives for system use and employment.” That announcement made no mention of operations against Iran.

At the time of writing, Griffon Aerospace’s website does not appear to make any mention of the Gen 3 Outlaw. TWZ has reached out for more information about this drone.

Given the known breadth of Outlaw designs to date, it is possible that the Gen 3 drone is substantially, if not entirely, different from any of the existing types. At the same time, the June contract announcement does establish a link between the Outlaw family and U.S. military use outside of training and testing, and specifically as part of real-world operations aimed at Iran.

There remains the potential that Iran simply captured an Outlaw target drone that U.S. forces lost control of during training or testing in the region. The drone seen in the IRGC video lacks the high-visibility orange markings typically seen on aerial targets, though these could easily have been painted over. Iranian authorities could have still fabricated the recovery, in part or in whole, though there is no firm evidence of that at present, either.

Another non-U.S. operator region could also be employing versions of the Outlaw, including in non-target drone roles, such as for surveillance and reconnaissance, or as decoys.

All of this does now come amid growing signs that the United States, as well as Israel, are preparing to launch a new major campaign against Iran. As TWZ reported recently, stimulating Iranian air defenses to glean key intelligence about their current capabilities and positions would be critical in the lead-up to any such operation.

“Stimulating Iran’s air defenses is critical,” our own Tyler Rogoway wrote on X earlier this month following unconfirmed reports of unusual Israeli air activity. “By Iran operating as if a full scale attack could be coming, their air defenses can be detected, categorized and geolocated. This is absolutely critical prior to a major air operation. Surveilling them during times of lower alert does not provide the same fidelity of actionable intelligence. Knowing where those threats are and how they are operating can mean the difference of life and death and/or will help standoff munitions make their way to their targets as those defenses can be suppressed, destroyed, or avoided entirely via careful mission planning.”

In September, claims had emerged that Iran had shot down a U.S.-made ADM-160 Miniature Air-Launched Decoy (MALD), but that remains unconfirmed. There were also reports of unusual, UAP-like objects flying over Iran, which have similarly not been confirmed.

“WE’RE able to save the foot.”

That is what Kings Of Leon frontman Caleb Followill heard a doctor tell his wife after a freak accident at home.

“My kids wanted to play tag because they didn’t want to go to bed,” he recalls.

“I went to hurdle the couch, and when I did, my back foot caught it. So, I threw my legs underneath me to try to stick the landing, and it was just heels first.

“I was losing blood and there was a moment where they thought they might have to take my foot.

“They [the medics] said they’d only ever seen an injury like this when a man had fallen off a five-storey building.”

READ MORE ON KINGS OF LEON

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Corrie’s Andy Whyment jumps on stage with band to perform Kings Of Leon track

FUN TIMES

This is the most fired up we’ve been for an album in years, say Kings Of Leon

In a video call with Caleb and his cousin, guitarist Matthew Followill, from their Nashville homes, the singer reveals: “The heel of my foot was in the middle of my foot, so it was like there was a massive lump in the middle.”

With the band then just weeks away from their 2025 UK and European tour, Matt initially thought Caleb was exaggerating the extent of his injury.

“He sent this text and I thought it was a joke,” says Matt.

“He was, like, ‘Guys, I hurt my foot really bad. We might not be able to go on tour’. And I was, like, ‘Yeah, right. How could you hurt your foot so badly?’ But the X-rays are pretty gnarly.”

What began as a nightmare would, however, become the inspiration for the band’s most personal, stripped-back album yet.

O My Beloved is the Nashville group’s tenth studio album and it sees them reflecting on family, love and loss.

Caleb admits: “I was going through a lot and had to mentally be strong.

“I couldn’t sleep at night. I would have panic attack after panic attack. I was so depressed, so helpless . . . 

“When you’re the man of the house and everyone’s taking care of you, it’s a bad feeling.”

But as he recovered at home with his wife, model Lily Aldridge, and their kids Dixie, 14, and seven-year-old Winston, Caleb picked up his guitar and found himself writing songs unlike anything the band had released before.

“I feel like my relationship with my children took a whole new step,” he says.

“The first song that came was My Whole World. As soon as the rhythm started, I began singing, and the words just very naturally came out.

“It was very therapeutic. And the songs that followed had a similar feel.” After that, the band scrapped the four or five guitar-driven songs they had been working on to embrace a quieter, more acoustic sound.

“I remember a couple of times during the demo process, I pulled my truck over to the side of the road and had tears in my eyes,” Caleb recalls. “I was, like, ‘Man, it feels so different’.

“It was kind of a miracle, in a way. It was something that needed to happen to stop the cycle of tour, then make an album and repeat.”

Matt adds: “This album is a way to turn something terrible into something positive.

“Now we’ve made this album, when you think about that time at home, it has a different meaning. And with it being our tenth album, we wanted to do something different.”

The enforced break also gave Caleb time to reflect on more than 25 years of Kings Of Leon.

“It was the first time since we started that I’ve ever really looked at what we’ve accomplished,” he admits.

“Instead of looking at the workload ahead, it was kind of looking back and going, ‘Whoa, 25 years, we’ve done more than we ever dreamed we would do’.

“It was a really beautiful time of reflection.”

For years, Matt, Caleb and his brothers — drummer Nathan and bassist Jared — wanted to be recognised for their music rather than family connections.

“For so long, we were tired of talking about being family,” Matt says. “We were, like, ‘No, we’re a band, just see us as a band’. But with this music, it’s all about family, and I guess it was time to quit avoiding talking about it.”

Caleb and his brothers spent much of their childhood travelling through Tennessee, Oklahoma and the South with their father, a Pentecostal preacher, often sleeping in cars or staying with relatives.

“It was the little moments that inspired the songs,” says Caleb. “Like small conversations with my uncle Larry or moments at our family reunions.

“We didn’t have, excuse my language, a pot to piss in, but we had love and each other and we created beautiful memories.

“We grew up poor, and that was always our thing. You know, ‘One day our ship’s going to come in’.

“One day, my older brother Nathan said, ‘I think our ship is the Titanic’, because it felt like our ship was never coming in.”

The family saying inspired a lyric in My Whole World when the siblings were excited about a forthcoming family cruise.

Caleb explains: “A picture of the ship said ‘29 days ’til . . . ’ so I wrote ‘29 days ’til our ship comes in. We’ll be together again’.” Matt adds: “I also love that that’s something your mum used to say.”

And memories of Caleb’s mum Betty Ann, who died in 2021, are woven into the new album.

“When I had messed up and everyone was mad at me, I could always call her,” Caleb explains.

“When you lose that person, it forces you to kind of really take ownership of who you are. For the first time, it’s ‘Oh, man, I’m the grown-up’.

“I didn’t really deal with the grief or loss, and this was the first time I was able to do it in a way that didn’t feel like I was whining about it,” Caleb admits.

“Sometimes I think, ‘Oh, man, she would love this’, or, ‘She would be proud of this’, and then I’m like, ‘No, she does love this and she is proud of it’.”

The freedom of childhood also runs through KOYSAR (Kick Off Your Shoes And Run) — a song Caleb wrote for his daughter about growing up in the age of social media.

Pretty Thing is a poignant story inspired by the old country songs Caleb grew up listening to.

He says: “It’s not autobiographical as we didn’t have that traditional high-school experience. It was the forbidden fruit.

“And I always admired songs about first love in high school — that glamorous football player with the cheerleader.

“As I got deeper into writing it, it felt like more than a break-up, like, ‘Maybe this man died, and so he’s watching her move on with her life. Every time I play that song for my wife, she cries.”

Other standouts include The Hand and Rose — which Matt cites as his favourites — while Caleb singles out Get You Down for its emotional depth.

O My Beloved is a stunning album, with its delicate, quieter sound allowing the band’s musicianship to shine.

Matt says: “We wanted everything to have a purpose, and not to have extra stuff muddying up the mixes. We tried to have clear sounds and a clear vision.”

“Us producing the album ourselves was a real opportunity for us to really home in on sounds,” Caleb adds. “We wanted to let the songs shine.”

As we chat about his lyrics, I’m surprised to hear Caleb admit he still struggles with insecurity over his songwriting.

He says: “I’m self-conscious about lyrics. For the most part, I’m so scared for anyone to hear anything.

“I never used to enjoy playing shows. But over the last five years, I love walking out on stage and am no longer scared.”

Matt continues: “Being in Kings Of Leon is hands-down better than it’s ever been for us, for touring and just being together.

“For some of the time, it wasn’t fun but now we look forward to getting together.”

The band return to the UK next month for a one-off show at the new British Airways ARC before headlining next summer’s Isle of Wight and Lytham festivals and playing a string of shows across the country.

Caleb admits they are still working out how to fit the new songs into their live performances.

“It’d be hard to put those songs in between Spiral Staircase and Sex On Fire,” he says. “You have to let them breathe and have their own little moment.”

And after a recent performance in Texas, he is keen to include strings in future shows.

“We had a big, beautiful string section with us, and it was pretty magical and maybe we want to grow that,” he says.

Britain has always held a special place in the band’s hearts, with fans here embracing them long before they found success back home in America.

“They were there first, and they have never left,” says Caleb. “Loyalty matters to us.”

Matt adds: “My wife is English, and she says that if you make a fan in Britain, you pretty much make a fan for life.”

London also brings back memories of the band’s wild early days. “When we’d be in London, we’d go crazy,” says Caleb. “We’d do interviews and get drunk before. Like, ‘No one’s going to see this. Who cares?!’”

A lot of the more memorable moments involved fights, too. “One time, me and Nathan ended up in a Koi pond,” Caleb laughs. I had hit him over the head with a frying pan. It’s a true story.”

Both he and Matt are relieved social media wasn’t around then to capture their antics.

“We probably just would never have gone to those clubs because we’d be on Instagram or TikTok the next day,” laughs Matt.

“It was, like, ‘Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’,” adds Caleb. “We were just small-town guys let loose. And, thank God, we survived.

“There were a lot of crazy memories — a lot of moments that just didn’t feel real at the time.

“I’ll never forget when we walked on stage at Glastonbury [in 2008], when we got to headline it.

“Years ago, a man grabbed me by the hand, and said, ‘You will be in front of multitudes’. It scared me because I didn’t know what he meant by that.

“When we walked out on stage at Glastonbury, it was the first time it hit me that that was what he was talking about.”

Almost two decades after that unforgettable show, Caleb and Matt are enjoying being in Kings Of Leon more than ever.

“It really feels like we made our first album again,” Caleb says. “Producing it ourselves to the way that we wrote the songs, the instrumentation . . . it really felt like we were doing something for the first time.

“Most bands don’t ever get to make a first album. They certainly don’t get to make it twice.

“It feels like the beginning of something. I don’t know what that is, but I’m enjoying it.”

• O My Beloved is out next Friday.

KINGS OF LEON

O My Beloved

Hearts were one of the major stories of European football last season when they came within minutes of being the first non-Old Firm side to win the league since 1985.

Wouter Vrancken’s new-look team have made a strong start as they sit third, eight points behind Celtic and four behind Rangers despite a big summer rebuild and the Belgian implementing a new style of play which he has described as “organised chaos”.

They have certainly delivered on that – as only Celtic have scored more goals, and Hearts are a formidable opponent at Tynecastle where they are unbeaten in the league since April 2025, a run of 26 games.

Beatings have been handed out to Dundee United and St Mirren already in Gorgie.

Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at home to Rangers should have been a victory for Hearts which brought them closer to the top two – but ultimately their injury-ravaged squad was exposed late on and they remain closer to Dundee in fourth.

Those key injuries, while juggling European football, plus an unconvincing away record which included a 7-1 clobbering at Celtic Park, means Hearts might struggle to hang on to the pace set by the Old Firm.

Despite Celtic supporters being wholly unconvinced by their team, they are on course to reach over 90 points this season, having won the title with 82 last season, the lowest tally since 2017-18.

Likewise Rangers have doubters among their own, but they and their rivals are in the top two positions of a lot of key performance metrics.

Whether it’s expected goals for and against, shots on target per game, chances created, Celtic and Rangers are comfortably in the top two positions and are the only sides conceding fewer than one goal per game on average.

As they should be, given their financial advantages, and with Rangers not playing in European football this season they should be extra rested and focused on domestic duty.

The updated lawsuit cites a new report that Democratic operatives recruited a competitor to confuse voters and unseat a Republican incumbent.

The United States Department of Justice has filed a revised lawsuit seeking to decertify the results of a Senate race in the state of Alaska if Republican incumbent Dan S Sullivan loses narrowly.

The updated lawsuit on Thursday comes just days before the November 3 midterm election, which will determine control of Congress.

The complaint accuses Democrats of trying to confuse voters by placing a candidate with the same name as Sullivan on the ballot.

Alaska’s Senate race is one of seven key toss-ups that will likely decide whether Republicans keep their majority in Congress’s upper chamber.

Democratic challenger Mary Peltola is seeking to unseat Sullivan, a Republican ally of US President Donald Trump.

But a New York Times report on Wednesday alleged that members of Peltola’s campaign helped recruit a retired teacher, Dan J Sullivan Jr, to run for the Senate seat as a spoiler candidate, designed to draw votes away from the incumbent.

The Times report prompted a renewed legal push under the Trump administration to bar Alaska from certifying its election results, should Senator Sullivan lose.

The Department of Justice issued 40 subpoenas and document preservation requests as part of the revised complaint, the Reuters news agency reported.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy also ordered a criminal investigation into the allegations. Peltola’s campaign has denied involvement in Dan J Sullivan Jr’s bid for the Senate.

Prosecutors, however, have accused the Democrat and her allies of playing partisan tricks – and undermining voters as a result.

“They orchestrated his sham campaign for the purpose of misleading Alaskan voters and getting Peltola elected,” Justice Department lawyers wrote in their amended complaint.

But the Justice Department’s lawsuit has raised concerns about election integrity and federal meddling.

Under the US Constitution, election administration falls to the states, not the presidency.

In June, Alaska’s Supreme Court ruled that Dan J Sullivan Jr could compete in the midterms, and the state’s election office has already taken steps to reduce confusion between the two Sullivans.

Recruiting candidates to split an opponent’s vote – a practice known as ballot stacking – is also generally considered to be legal and has been used by both parties in Alaska.

Critics have been sceptical of the Justice Department’s bid to pause the certification of Alaska’s Senate results if Senator Sullivan does not win re-election, noting it would be impossible to divine voter intent based on the final tally alone.

Justin Levitt, a former Department of Justice official under President Joe Biden, also questioned what legal authority the federal government had to get involved in the case.

“I don’t know what they’re putting out subpoenas to investigate because I don’t know what federal violations are implicated that DOJ would have jurisdiction over,” Levitt told the Associated Press news agency.

“Sure makes it seem like the point of the investigation is to become the story.”

Democrats and Republicans are locked in tight races nationwide that will determine which party holds a majority in the US Senate for the remainder of Trump’s second term in office.

Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the legislature’s upper chamber, with 53 out of 100 seats.

Democratic candidates are hoping to win seats by capitalising on Trump’s deep unpopularity and frustration over the cost-of-living crisis.

Trump has suggested he may not accept the midterm results if his party loses its majorities in Congress, and he has pushed false claims of widespread voter fraud.

The Justice Department has also attempted to challenge the voting process in several states, including California.

British actor Patrick Stewart died Wednesday at 86. His spokesperson said Thursday that he died from Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.

The two conditions often occur together, said UCLA neurology professor Dr. Keith Vossel, and when that happens, the individual’s decline may be faster.

Lewy body dementia is the second-most-common form of degenerative dementia, behind Alzheimer’s disease, Vossel said. It occurs when a protein called alpha-synuclein aggregates in clumps inside the brain. The condition is under-recognized and under-diagnosed in part because its symptoms can overlap with those of Alzheimer’s.

Other celebrities who suffered from the condition include Robin Williams, who took his own life at 63, and Casey Kasem.

The condition is named after Friedrich H. Lewy, the neurologist who discovered the brain abnormalities in the early 1900s, according to the Alzheimer’s Assn. website.

“Essentially the only way to really diagnose these conditions together is after an autopsy and to see the hallmark features of the diseases under the microscope,” Vossel said.

Lewy body dementia symptoms tend to start with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, such as screaming or kicking during sleep. A sufferer may have rigidity or tremors in one of their arms or legs. And they may experience slowness of movement.

A patient may be diagnosed with Lewy body dementia after also experiencing cognitive symptoms within one year of motor symptoms. Cognitive symptoms could include illusions or hallucinations — some patients report sensing a shadowy figure nearby — and difficulties with problem solving and navigation. The condition is also marked by dramatic fluctuations in alertness that occur within hours of the same day.

Another early feature of Lewy body dementia is anxiety, Vossel said.

By contrast, Alzheimer’s disease typically is associated with memory and language loss, and is more associated with apathy and depression than with anxiety. The course of Alzheimer’s disease is slightly slower than that of Lewy body dementia, according to Vossel.

Lewy body dementia is more common in men than in women. Anyone over the age of 60 is at higher risk of having a degenerative condition. Lewy body dementia is most common in people in their 70s to 80s, he said.

There is currently no cure for Lewy body dementia, which is terminal and progressive. After a diagnosis, people can typically expect to live six to eight years before they need 24-hour care, Vossel said.

But medication can help manage symptoms. Clinical studies have found that cardiovascular fitness can slow the rate of decline, Vossel said.

Those who suspect they have Lewy body dementia symptoms should contact a neurologist or a clinician trained in either geriatric medicine or geriatric psychiatry for an evaluation, Vossel said.

Ireland’s Tadhg Furlong has been cleared by a disciplinary committee of grabbing Gavin Coombes in the groin during Leinster’s United Rugby Championship win over Munster.

Munster back row Coombes raised the allegation with match referee Andrew Brace in the first half of Leinster’s 24-18 win at Aviva Stadium, but television match official (TMO) Colin Stanley could not find conclusive video evidence.

However, three-time British and Irish Lions tourist Furlong was subsequently cited over an act of foul play under Law 9.27, which says “a player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship including but not limited to grabbing, twisting or squeezing the genitals”.

The disciplinary panel, comprised of Simon Thomas (Wales), Attie Heyns (South Africa) and Pamela Woodman (Scotland) met on Thursday and “unanimously concluded the citing complaint against the player should be dismissed, on the basis that he did not commit an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.27”.

While they dismissed the complaint, the disciplinary committee concluded Coombes had given “an honest account of his recollection of events surrounding the incident”.

Having avoided a sanction, Furlong, 33, will be available for selection for Ireland’s Nations Championship home matches against Argentina, Fiji and South Africa and the finals weekend fixture at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.

EUFOR confirms Chinook CH-47 helicopter crash in Bosnia, with four Italian nationals confirmed dead.

Four people belonging to the European Union Force in Bosnia (EUFOR) have been killed after an Italian military helicopter conducting a training operation crashed.

EUFOR said a CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed during “routine training” in the Brcko region on Thursday, about 180km (110 miles) north of Bosnia’s capital, Sarajevo.

A total of 11 people were injured in the crash, EUFOR said, adding that all the injured are receiving treatment and are in stable condition.

The Italian government said in a statement that all those on board the military helicopter were its nationals.

The victims were two soldiers and two Red Cross volunteers, according to the Italian defence ministry.

“At this moment of immense grief, my thoughts go first and foremost to the families of our fallen, to whom I extend my personal condolences and those of the entire defence establishment,” Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said.

Wreckage

Bosnian media outlets published photos of the wreckage showing the helicopter overturned on the ground in a flat field.

A spokesman for Brcko hospital told the AFP news agency that there were 15 people on board at the time of the crash, which initially killed three people.

“Twelve people were transported to our hospital. Unfortunately, a fourth person succumbed to injuries in the hospital,” the spokesman said.

“EUFOR is conducting a full and thorough investigation of the incident and will release more information as it is verified, and when appropriate,” the force said in a statement.

EUFOR, which has between 1,000 and 1,500 personnel, has been deployed in Bosnia since 2004, when it replaced a NATO peacekeeping force that had been in the country since the Bosnian War ended in 1995. The mission oversees the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the three-year war.

With only days left until the 2026 midterm elections, United States President Donald Trump has announced he will scale back his packed rally schedule, cancelling scheduled appearances in Iowa and Kansas.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) confirmed the cancellations in a statement on Thursday, unveiling a slate of “tele-rallies” to replace the cancelled events.

RNC Chairman Joe Gruters argued that the virtual appearances will be more efficient, reaching more voters than Trump otherwise could with on-the-ground stops.

“Voters across the country want to hear from President Trump before Election Day, and this 72-hour sprint will be a huge boost in the closing days,” Gruters said.

The tele-rallies will be broadcast to nearly 20 states, including battlegrounds like Michigan, Alaska, Texas and Iowa, where competitive races are unfolding for the US Senate.

The RNC statement added that further events may be announced in the coming days.

Trump’s rally on Friday in Daytona Beach, Florida – some 320 kilometres (200 miles) up the coast from his Mar-a-Lago resort – will proceed as planned.

Less than five days remain until the midterm elections on November 3, which will decide the composition of Congress, as well as key state and local offices.

Whichever party controls Congress will shape Trump’s legislative agenda during the final two years of his second term.

Trump has also expressed concern that the Democratic Party might push to impeach him for a third time if it wins majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Currently, the Republican Party holds narrow majorities in both chambers. In the Senate, the party holds 53 seats out of 100. In the House, it has 218 seats, with all 435 offices up for grabs this election cycle.

The Senate, meanwhile, will see only about a third of its offices on the midterm ballot. Unlike in the House, where terms only last two years, senators are elected to six-year time spans, and their elections are staggered across different election years, to allow for greater stability.

Political forecasters have predicted Democrats have an advantage this midterm election cycle, citing Trump’s slumping poll numbers and voter blowback over cost-of-living issues, foreign policy and other concerns.

Harvard University’s ElectIt election forecasting model, for instance, has estimated that Democrats have a 94 percent chance of taking control of the House.

The race for the Senate, however, will be more difficult, with fewer seats available to win.

Trump has placed himself at the centre of the Republican strategy to defend the party’s congressional majorities. To motivate his base of support, he has repeatedly encouraged voters with the phrase, “Pretend I’m on the ballot.”

Midterm elections occur halfway through a president’s term, and they are often considered a reflection of a president’s popularity.

At 80 years old, however, Trump will be the oldest president by the time his term concludes, and his health has been a concern.

Since starting his second term, the Republican leader has been photographed with bruising on his hands, sparking speculation about any undisclosed medical conditions he may have.

After concluding a rally in South Carolina on Thursday, reporters inquired about his health.

“Mr President, you’ve been doing a lot of travel. We’ve been doing a lot of travel with you. How are you feeling? How’s your health?” a reporter from the news agency Reuters asked on the tarmac.

Trump, at first, dodged the question, focusing instead on his optimism about the Republican Party’s prospects in the election.

“We’re going to have a strong Tuesday night,” Trump said.

But the reporter continued with his line of questioning: “So you’re not going to Kansas has nothing to do with you being sick of travelling?” That prompted an irate reply from Trump, who lashed out.

“Oh, you’re sick to ask that question. You are sick,” Trump said, as he proceeded to insult the reporter’s weight.

“You’ve been following me for two weeks. I feel perfect. You are disgusting. Put yourself in shape. You look like hell.”

During his remarks to the reporter, Trump also questioned the need to visit Salina, Kansas, as he had planned to do on Saturday. “I don’t feel I have to go to Kansas,” the president said.

Kansas, normally a Republican stronghold, has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932.

But this election cycle, Republican Senator Roger Marshall is facing a tight race with Democrat Adam Hamilton, the pastor of a megachurch.

On Thursday, the news outlet CNN released a poll showing Hamilton up by four percentage points, leading with 49 percent support to Marshall’s 45 percent.

Patrick Stewart was an imposing figure, on screens big and small, and on stage in the many theatrical productions he starred in over his long career. Depending on the role, his baritone voice could command a legion of Starfleet officers, superhero mutants or a royal court. The actor, who died Wednesday, will be best remembered for the iconic characters he portrayed, particularly in the “Star Trek” and “X-Men” franchises, but over the course of his career, he proved his versatility, playing comedic roles as brilliantly as his dramatic ones. Here, our writers detail some of his most memorable onscreen work.

‘Dune’ (1984)

Even in the wake of Denis Villeneuve’s mega-productions, David Lynch’s dreamy version has found its fandom of acolytes. To watch Stewart commit to the director’s vision is to wish he had more film opportunities outside the shadow of Capt. Picard. He’s playing Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin does the role in the new movies), a war advisor to young Paul Atreides, and Stewart brings gruff family-friend vibes to his few scenes, which have become legendary in the Lynch pantheon. When Kyle MacLachlan’s Paul says he’s “not in the mood” for combat training, Gurney explodes at him: “Mood’s a thing for cattle and loveplay, not fighting!” Later, you can watch Gurney charging into planetary battle holding — what’s this? — a sweet-looking pug. They must be symbolic to House Atreides. The dogs don’t appear in Frank Herbert’s novel. Lynch just added them. It’s how I choose to remember Stewart. — Joshua Rothkopf

Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

(Elliott Marks/Paramount)

‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ (1987-1994)

Whichever captain in the “Star Trek” franchise you fancy — Janeway, Kirk, Sisko, Pike, etc. — Jean-Luc Picard was always in the conversation. He was serious, stern, smart, curious, with the hint of whimsy that it takes to soar among the stars with theoretical science and a diplomatic flair with alien races. Undoubtedly, Stewart’s Shakespearean training helped him look past the costumes, sets and CGI into the humanity of what the writers and Gene Roddenberry intended. Though “Star Trek” was set hundreds of years into the future, Stewart gave the character a sense of now, with some of the same problems we face today. Indeed, one of his most famous quotes from the show, from the fifth-season episode “The Inner Light,” embodied how he kept Picard in the present: “Seize the time … live now. Make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again.” — Jevon Phillips

‘Robin Hood: Men in Tights’ (1993)

My nascent cinephilia was nurtured by movies on VHS. One tape (and eventually DVD, then Blu-ray) we often found ourselves watching was Mel Brooks’ “Robin Hood: Men in Tights.” The spoof of early Hollywood’s swashbuckling action-adventure movies is one of the comedy titan’s most quotable films, thanks in large part to the timing of the cast. Stewart, in a cameo at the end of the film, plays a regal King Richard who returns from the Crusades to chastise his younger brother Prince John (played by a scene-stealing Richard Lewis). Stewart gets one of the film’s best jokes, delivering one final indignity to Prince John with the panache that only a formally trained actor of his caliber could. — David Viramontes

James Marsden, left, and Patrick Stewart in “X-Men.”

(Attila Dory / 20th Century Fox)

‘X-Men’ (2000)

Casting Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier in Bryan Singer’s “X-Men” must have seemed almost too easy. He looked remarkably like the bald, wheelchair-using Marvel comic-book character and had already spent seven seasons playing a similarly cerebral, principled leader as Capt. Picard on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” But Stewart brought more to the role than a physical resemblance and a voice that could make a grocery list sound like a royal decree. As the powerful telepath who ran a school for young mutants and believed they could coexist peacefully with humans, his Xavier barely needed to raise an eyebrow to command attention, even when surrounded by characters who could sprout claws, control the weather and shoot beams from their eyes. Playing opposite Ian McKellen as Xavier’s old friend turned rival Magneto, Stewart brought a touch of Shakespearean gravitas to the fledgling franchise, returning to the role for seven more films over the next 22 years. He’ll reprise the role a final time in “Avengers: Doomsday” in December. — Josh Rottenberg

Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman in the film “Logan.”

(James Mangold / Marvel / Twentieth Century Fox)

‘Logan’ (2017)

Previous installments of the “X-Men” films are more typical of the superhero genre, with grand CGI battle sequences and a foe or foes that must be defeated. But “Logan,” which centers on the titular character, a.k.a. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), is different, with a grounded, gritty story set in 2029 in the desert of Northern Mexico near El Paso. Logan is now a limousine driver addicted to prescription painkillers and he’s a caretaker, along with fellow mutant Caliban, for an elderly Charles Xavier. Ten minutes into the film, we see the professor not in his usual dignified manner, dressed in a sharp suit; instead, we see him thin and frail, in a dirty T-shirt, zooming around in circles in his motorized wheelchair repeating the lines of a Taco Bell commercial. Logan attempts to medicate him so that he and Caliban can rest, but Xavier fights him off, falls out of his wheelchair and has a telepathic seizure that begins to affect everyone around him. “What are you doing to me?” he whispers in a scared voice as Logan tries to inject him. It’s a scene that Stewart imbues with terror and sadness as we see the formerly stoic Xavier shrivel in his hospital bed, reminded of his ailments and his mortality. — Maira Garcia

Management highlighted FDA decision dates of November 27, 2026, for BBP-418, February 4, 2027, for infigratinib, and May 8, 2027, for encaleret. It expects traditional full approval for infigratinib and does not anticipate that a citizen petition will affect its review timeline or label.

An Indiana man was arrested this summer for allegedly stalking Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham and sending her threatening and explicit messages on social media.

That’s some pretty dark stuff, but it’s the kind of thing Cunningham says she has had to deal with quite often over the last few years.

During a recent appearance on the podcast “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von,” the soon-to-be WNBA free agent made the startling revelation that she thinks that there are “20, I think, people kind of that the FBI are watching for me.”

“Me alone,” she said.

The FBI declined to comment for this article.

The topic came up as Cunningham, who just finished her sixth WNBA season, was discussing the league’s massive increase in popularity in recent years with the influx of such young stars as Fever teammate Caitlin Clark, the Atlanta Dream’s Angel Reese and the Dallas Wings’ Paige Bueckers.

Cunningham has seen her own popularity soar over the last two years as Clark’s on-court protector. She also has become a central figure in a national debate over trans athletes in women’s sports, after telling ESPN she wanted to “protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”

“The more you’re visible on TV, you’re going to get more fans,” Cunningham told Von. “People are going to know who you are, and that’s a really great thing. But there’s also a lot of like kind of crazy people, too. Like, we do have a lot of stalkers. I know I do. And that’s a negative side of things that people don’t think about. And so you do want to feel secure.”

One of Cunningham’s alleged stalkers is Kevin Singh, 49, who is facing felony charges for stalking and intimidation, as well as a misdemeanor harassment charge. He was arrested June 24 and held in Marion County Jail in Indiana with bail set at $40,000. Last week, a judge denied Singh’s request for alteration or revocation of bail. A jury trial is scheduled for January.

According to the arrest affidavit, Singh sent Cunningham numerous messages on X and in September 2025 personally delivered a package marked with her name to the Fever’s arena (it contained a letter and a Guns N’ Roses T-shirt sprayed with men’s cologne).

Cunningham told investigators she had been having nightmares and was staying at home more because of Singh’s behavior, the affidavit said.

At least now, she is able to joke (kind of) about it.

“His name’s Kevin. And the worst part about that is I have a miniature donkey named Kevin,” she told Von. “And now I’m like, well, s—, do I need to rename Kevin?”

Last year, a 55-year-old Texas man was sentenced to 2½ years in prison after pleading guilty to stalking and harassing Clark.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Authorities vow firm action against violence as yellow vest and student movements announce widespread demonstrations.

France’s interior minister has announced the deployment of 70,000 police officers across the country in preparation for planned protests on Saturday, coinciding with Halloween.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Thursday that security measures, including the use of armoured vehicles and water cannon introduced last week, will be strengthened.

Nationwide protests over the rising cost of living have rocked France, with some degenerating into large-scale looting and riots.

“The day of October 31 presents a very high risk of public disorder,” Nunez said at a news conference.

About 70,000 police officers and gendarmes will be mobilised, matching the number deployed at last week’s protests, he said, calling the move an “exceptional measure”.

Demonstrations last Saturday drew about 410,000 protesters nationwide, according to the interior ministry, though unions put the figure at roughly double that. The ministry said more than 2,700 people were arrested a week earlier.

Warning on Halloween masking

The “yellow vest” movement and student unions have called for a new day of protests on Saturday.

Nunez warned demonstrators against using Halloween as “a legitimate reason to hide one’s face” to cause disturbances in public areas.

He told reporters demonstrations would be allowed, but “not in city centres, where there is a risk of public disorder”.

The interior minister issued a warning to far-right groups that clashed with left-wing protesters at rallies in about 15 French cities.

“We will tolerate no excesses,” he said, and pledged an “extremely firm” response.

Nunez accused the “ultra-left” movement and some yellow vest activists of circulating messages on social media promoting demonstrations on Halloween evening that called for a “revolution”.

“These gatherings will be banned,” he said.

The yellow vest movement has already announced a “third act” of its protests on Halloween and called for demonstrations outside the National Assembly and all town halls in the country.

OLIVIA Attwood has had one of her tattoos reworked – having previously admitted that her mother hated it.

Back in the summer of 2024, the reality star got a matching tattoo with her stylist, while the pair visited Ibiza.

The pair, however, have since had a very public falling out, and it seems Olivia has gone to great lengths to erase all traces of him from her life.

At the time, stylist Ryan Kay proudly showed off the matching red cherries that had been inked on his arm and on the side of Olivia’s torso.

He posted a snap of the former friends together and captioned the shot: “Matching for life now!”

It would seem, however, that’s not the case.

MRS WICKS

Olivia Attwood takes a swipe at ex & drops huge hint she’s engaged to Pete Wicks

NO ACCESS

Olivia Attwood denied entry into designer store by staff – despite £6M net worth

Olivia also shared snaps at the time and wrote in the caption under the photos: “I got a tattoo yesterday and my mums not a fan!”

She shared screengrabs of a message from her mum, who asked her to “just stop now”, saying “its gone way too far… give me a break!”

Mrs Attwood also said she wished Olivia had asked for the inking to be somewhere her parents wouldn’t have to look at.

Olivia’s mum will no doubt be delighted to know that the cherries have now been covered up.

In a post to Instagram by a tattooist named Jesus, Olivia is seen showing the side of her body, with a red cross in the place of the cherries.

The design features a rose, entwined around the cross.

Last September Olivia broke her silence about the feud between her and her former best friend – and explained what really happened.

The former Love Island star revealed the reason on social media during a Q&A with fans.

One asked “What happened with your mate?” referring to Ryan, who was also Olivia’s assistant.

She responded: “I am just very hurt if I’m honest. Prior to what you might have read.

“I had to respect myself and enjoy a line. It was something that played out over a few months.

“And I guess I hadn’t seen things that I should of… I think? “

She continued: “I give everything (in every sense of the word) to friendships and don’t let very many people in so it suckkkkks.

“It’s not something I can really explain on a story but I will at some point?”

Shortly after this, she took a huge swipe at an “attention-seeking” friend, not specifying who she was talking about but referring to them as a “tick”.

“We all know this person who can’t keep a job, they can’t keep a friend, they have no long-term friends that they can keep for more than a year,” she said on TikTok. “But it’s never their fault – they’re always the victim.

“You watch the cycle play out and you can now see the people who were before you and see your part in the cycle.”

The star went on: “I always think that with these kinds of people, they don’t move on to new friends, but instead they move on to new hosts.

“They’re like a tick – a tick has to be attached to you and drink your blood – and it has to have a host body.

“So, once it leaves your body it’s going to go and host on another body.”

Olivia has also had a very public divorce from ex-husband Bradley Dack.

The two split at the start of 2026, having been together since 2015 and getting married in June 2023.

With less than a week until Nov. 3, it seems like the Los Angeles mayor’s race is Karen Bass’ to lose.

After a bad debate against challenger Nithya Raman over the summer and the fiasco that was City Hall’s response to the Lineage fire, the incumbent had no other way forward but attack, attack, attack.

Now, a poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times has the two in a statistical dead heat, with 19% of voters undecided and time running out for both campaigns to grab them. It’s a stunning reversal from just a month ago, when the same poll had Raman substantially ahead.

Councilmember Nithya Raman, right, speaks during an Oct. 13 debate with Mayor Karen Bass, left, moderated by Conan Nolan, Colleen Williams and Alejandra Ortiz.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Bass barely improved on her abysmal favorability ratings. But some Angelenos seem willing to shrug and cast a ballot for her, because they just don’t trust the more liberal alternative. Raman, a democratic socialist who has served on the City Council since 2020, saw her unfavorability rating jump to 50%, as more people got to know her and didn’t like what they saw.

This isn’t the first time voters have swung like this in a mayoral race involving an unpopular incumbent and an upstart representing a new L.A.

In 1969, the candidate with six years on the City Council was Tom Bradley. The mayor, who, like Bass, had served in the California state Assembly and Congress was Sam Yorty, four years removed from a disastrous response to the Watts riots.

Bradley placed first in the primary and seemed a shoo-in to become L.A.’s first Black mayor in an era when cities across the country were also electing Black mayors.

Councilman Tom Bradley, right, and Mayor Sam Yorty debate in Tarzana in May 1973.

(Los Angeles Times)

So Yorty — a former New Dealer turned conservative Democrat — chose the only path to victory. He claimed that “left-wing radicals” who supported the arriviste were salivating to “take over your city.” The nattering negativity worked: He easily beat Bradley.

History doesn’t repeat itself, the adage goes, but it always rhymes.

One factor boosting Bass’ fortunes: Backers of conservative reality TV star Spencer Pratt, who finished third in the June primary, are trending toward the mayor they loathe, apparently because they hate Raman even more.

Part of Raman’s fall is self-inflicted. She lost her momentum with an October of unforced errors, from awkward television interviews to inadvertently praising the late LAPD Chief Daryl Gates, whose name is still synonymous with Lucifer across swaths of the city.

You know you’re having a bad month when you think it’s wise to yell, “Only you can stop fascist liars!” in unison with a progressive influencer, only to walk it back after realizing the influencer had superimposed an image of your opponent on his video.

Councilmember Nithya Raman celebrates advancing to the general election with mayoral campaign volunteers and supporters at Lawless Brewing Co. on June 13.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

But don’t discount how Bass’ camp decided to frame the race. Facing voters who just don’t like their candidate, they long ago stopped focusing on how she would govern the city better in a second term and doubled down on attacking Raman anywhere and everywhere. That strategy owes as much to Yorty’s win as the Beats did to Walt Whitman.

Raman’s colleagues on the City Council have trashed her like bullies out of a boarding school novel.Videos and fliers of homeless encampments blooming across L.A. under a Raman regime are reminiscent of Yorty campaign ads featuring Bradley and the caption, “Will Your City Be Safe With This Man?”

Bass — whose usual sunny disposition I’ve always found a tonic in the toxic world of politics — lashed into Raman during their final debate, offering no real platform and little defense of her record, preferring instead to paint an L.A. collapsing without her in charge.

“Now is not the time,” she said at one point, “to turn the city over to Nithya Raman.”

Then when, Karen?

L.A. Mayor Sam Yorty in 1971.

(Los Angeles Times)

The comparison to 1969 isn’t apples to apples, of course. The city’s demographics are vastly different, its politics nowhere near as conservative. L.A.’s first female Black mayor would never throw racist slurs at Raman, although Bass and her team continue to point out that the India-born council member has lived in L.A. for only 13 years and thus doesn’t understand the place — a page from Yorty’s troll-tastic playbook.

I don’t like Bass’ tactics, but I get it. When you have nothing to run on but your failures, you have to go nasty against a rival who offers a different vision for the city — because fearmongering works when Angelenos know change is on the way but are skittish about what’s next. It happened in 1969, it happened in 2001 when James Hahn beat Antonio Villaraigosa, and it seems to be happening this time around.

We’ll see what election day brings, but Raman can take solace in history if she loses.

Bradley lost his first mayoral campaign but easily won his rematch against Yorty in 1973, after voters realized the status quo was going to remain the status quo. Villaraigosa, too, eventually became mayor.

“Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come,” goes another cliché of history.

Bass might very well cling to her position, but Angelenos still yearn for a visionary to pick them back up from four years of despair under her. They know she’s not it.

Let’s hope she doesn’t become like Yorty in his last term, complaining about haters being unfair and fending off the rebels she can only keep away for so long.