The Houthi rebels of Yemen have launched one of their biggest attacks on Saudi-aligned forces in that country in years. The strikes are a flare-up in what up until recently has been a largely dormant conflict. They took place in eastern Yemeni provinces of Marib and Hadhramaut, which are areas controlled by local forces opposed to the Houthis. This unfolded as the Iranian-backed rebel group is also expanding its campaign against Saudi shipping in the Red Sea region and its oil production infrastructure.

The Houthis claim they killed and injured hundreds of the Saudi-aligned troops. Yemeni government officials said that at least 30 troops were killed while there has been no official comment from Riyadh. However, the U.S. Embassy in Yemen, the Yemeni Defense Ministry and the Saudi-led forces confirmed the attacks.

“Our armed forces carried out a broad and precise military operation targeting the Saudi enemy’s mobilizations in the areas of Al-Ruwaik, Al-Abr, and Al-Thaniyah, and other camps belonging to what is called the First and Third Emergency Divisions, using a large number of ballistic missiles and drones,” Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree stated on X. In addition to “the deaths and injuries of hundreds of Saudi enemy mercenaries,” Saree claimed the “destruction and burning of a large number of Saudi enemy camps, mobilizations, storage depots, and weapons in the Al-Wadiah area in the east of the country” as well as the “destruction of a large number of vehicles.”

Saree added that the actions were preemptive to prevent an assault on Houthi forces.

In a statement on X, the Yemeni Defense Ministry said the Houthis “carried out a treacherous attack using ballistic missiles and drones, targeting several camps and units of the Armed Forces deployed in the provinces of Marib and Hadramaut… The Ministry of Defense affirmed that the Yemeni Armed Forces will respond to this aggression at the appropriate time and place, and that this treacherous attack will not undermine the resolve of the Armed Forces’ heroes or affect their ability to perform their national duties; rather, it will increase their steadfastness, cohesion, and determination to defend the Republic, restore the state, and end the coup.”

The target of these strikes, the Yemen Emergency Forces (YEF), acknowledged they had been hit. 

“In a new military escalation, the Houthi terrorist militias targeted several military bases and military units, including emergency forces, resulting in material and human losses,” YEF claimed on Facebook. “This targeting comes after the military forces’ success in carrying out their duties under the directives of the Minister of Defense, aiming to secure areas, protect international roads, pursue gangs of kidnappers and smugglers, and apprehend those involved in robbery, kidnapping, and organized crimes.”

The Yemen Emergency Forces “are made up mostly of Salafi-aligned fighters from Yemen’s northern governorates and fall entirely under the Yemeni Forces Authority, itself commanded by the Saudi-led Joint Forces Command,” according to Defenseliney, an independent Yemeni media platform focusing on security issues. “Their roots trace to an earlier nucleus called the ‘Happy Yemen Forces,’ formed with Saudi funding, training, and support since 2019 and deployed along the Saada border strip extending north into Al-Jawf; most of its brigades had earlier operated under separate presidential decrees before being absorbed into the Emergency Forces.”

The U.S. Embassy in Yemen derided the Houthi attack as an act of terrorism.

“The U.S. Embassy to Yemen expresses our deepest condolences to the families of the brave Yemeni soldiers killed today in Hadhramawt and Marib,” the embassy announced on X. “The Iran-backed Houthis’ cowardly attacks represent yet another example of their terrorism against the Yemeni people. We wish the wounded a speedy recovery.”

Several videos emerged online purporting to show the Houthi attacks. They depict plumes of smoke wafting from what appear to be strikes and the sounds of small arms fire and what appears to be a drone strike can be heard, but they offer little real sense of the scope of the incidents or the damage inflicted.

Yemen’s Houthis frame the strikes as a pre-emptive response to a large Saudi military build-up they say was in its final stages, aimed at escalating against them to force them to abandon their push to end the blockade.

Houthi statement warns Saudi Arabia against any “folly,”… https://t.co/WkpUIyGxTQ

— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 6, 2026

Reports are emerging of a significant Houthi assault on the Saudi backed Yemen Emergency Forces encampment near Marib, Yemen with several casualties reported. This video purports to show the aftermath of one of the attacks, though it has not been verified.

Marib is the… pic.twitter.com/6LmQyHkhW2

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) August 6, 2026

🔴 Update 3 |

Exclusive sources: The 13 ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi group were fired from three Yemeni governorates: Sana’a, Ma’rib, and Al-Jawf, while the drones were launched from Al-Bayda governorate.

💢 Missile launch sites identified:

▪️ The mountainous… https://t.co/fICrwP6KBV pic.twitter.com/7FDHTMQeXz

— عاصم المجاهد | Asem Al_Mujahed (@Asem22mo) August 6, 2026

There was also video purporting to show Houthi missile launches against the Saudi-backed forces; however TWZ cannot confirm any of claims about these videos.

Today’s engagement marks a major escalation both in Houthi-Saudi hostilities and in the battle for Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries, but strategically located along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The civil war in Yemen erupted in 2014 and expanded a year later when a Saudi-led coalition joined forces with the government ousted by the Houthis. For a while, the U.S. was supporting that coalition’s bombing campaign by providing aerial refueling and intelligence. However, then-Defense Secretary James Mattis ended that in 2018 during the first Trump presidency after growing concerns over the large number of civilian casualties being inflicted. The Saudi coalition’s fight against the Houthis also complicated the U.S. counterterrorism campaign against Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

The fighting between Saudi-led forces and the Houthis largely abated after a tenuous ceasefire was signed in 2022. Tensions, however, reignited in recent weeks after the Houthis joined the U.S.-Iran conflict on the side of their major supporter. The Houthis imposed a blockade on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and began striking Saudi ships in the southern part of the Red Sea as well as refineries along the northern portion. As we noted yesterday, the Yemeni rebel group said it was expanding its campaign against Saudi Arabia to strike vessels in the northern part of the Red Sea.

All this is adding to the pressure on oil supplies flowing out of the region, which has created global economic stress.

In response to attacks on its shipping, Saudi Arabia hit Houthi missile-launch platforms, a rocket-launch site, and weapons depots. However, the Saudi reaction was limited in nature. It remains to be seen how the kingdom will respond now given that many of the fighters it supports have been killed.

The uptick in Saudi-Houthi fighting comes as the region is already roiled in conflict, though efforts are underway to achieve a diplomatic solution to the U.S.-Iran war, now paused in an uneasy ceasefire.

As we have reported in the past, the two countries and Oman are working toward a deal that would essentially give Iran control over the Strait of Hormuz. 

Tehran is “insisting the framework represents a new security model for the strategic waterway rather than a full reopening of the strait,” CBS News reported on Thursday, citing Iran’s state news agency IRNA.

The proposed mechanism would regulate the movement of commercial vessels, with ships entering through Iranian waters and exiting through Omani waters.

IRNA said the talks are aimed at defining “a new model that is different from the 60-year-old practice of the past” in which ships passed through the strait at will.

Iran state media Fars: according to the negotiations between Iran and Oman, after an initial period, “passage of vessels through both the northern and southern corridors [of the Strait of Hormuz] will cease, and all traffic will occur through the central corridor. However, the… pic.twitter.com/ezIj2Bf5We

— Steve Lookner (@lookner) August 6, 2026

The flow of traffic through the strategic chokepoint has become the main sticking point between Washington and Tehran as the two sides work toward ending hostilities. U.S. President Donald Trump has insisted that Iran must fully open the vital chokepoint or face new and more intense attacks that would include power plants, other civilian infrastructure and even leadership.

How much increased fighting between the Saudis and Houthis complicates these matters is an open question. As we have frequently noted, the closing of the BAM to Saudi oil traffic and now threats to the transit route north to the canal have already raised the specter of the U.S. having to get as involved as it did during the previous Houthi campaign against shipping that ended last September, which could pull resources away from Iranian-focused operations. It’s possible Egypt would have a major problem with such actions too, as it would impact the canal’s revenue and freedom of movement. 

A major intensification of Saudi-Houthi hostilities represents yet another complication in a region already in turmoil. 

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

Ruby Franke is at the heart of tonight’s BBC true crime doc The Devil in the Family.

A BBC true crime doc investigates the truth behind the case of Ruby Franke.

The Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke aired this evening, Thursday, August 6, on BBC Two, with the three-part special investigating the life and crimes of Franke.

Speaking to those who knew the 44-year-old best, this third episode delves into the truth which “proves far worse than anyone imagined”.

Who is Ruby Franke?

Ruby Franke is an American former family vlogger who ran the controversial YouTube channel 8 Passengers.

She started the channel in 2015 and ran it with her then-husband Kevin, documenting their lives with their six children with 8 Passengers attracting almost three million subscribers.

While it was popular, 8 Passengers received plenty of online criticism as it promoted strict parenting rules and harsh disciplinary tactics. When the channel started to decline, and was eventually suspended, Franke teamed up with mental health counsellor Jodi Hildebrandt.

Together, they launched their joint Instagram profile and podcast Moms of Truth which similarly talked about extreme parenting but also the idea that children who didn’t follow their rules were possessed or acting under dark influences.

Franke and Hildebrandt were also business partners who ran an online life-coaching service named ConneXions.

In August 2023, Franke was arrested after her 12-year-old son escaped a home in Utah, now known to be Hildebrandt’s, and asked a neighbour for help.

Police discovered that her two youngest children were extremely malnourished with physical injuries and bondage wounds.

Franke pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse and was sentenced to four prison terms of one to 15 years each to run consecutively.

This means she will serve a total prison sentence of four to 30 years which was the maximum penalty under Utah law. Hildebrandt also received this sentence for her involvement in the abuse.

The Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

President Trump targeted birthright citizenship again Thursday by signing a pair of executive orders purporting to narrow it — including by cracking down on “birth tourism” and limiting which children born to immigrants in the U.S. qualify.

The new orders follow a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that rejected an attempt by Trump to end birthright citizenship outright.

During a signing ceremony in the Oval Office, Trump called that decision by the high court “very unfair” and said the new orders were an attempt to end birthright citizenship by other means.

“Our country suffers because of it, and we’re ending it a different way,” he said.

Trump promised “big crackdowns” on birth tourism, or the practice of pregnant foreign mothers coming to the United States, or foreign fathers using surrogates already in the U.S., specifically to ensure their children receive U.S. citizenship.

Trump said an entire industry has been built up around the practice, turning birthright citizenship into “a joke.”

“Wealthy people are building businesses around birthright citizenship. That’s not the way it’s supposed to work. It’s a disgrace,” he said. “They’re buying their way in, and we’re not going to let it happen.”

The orders were immediately criticized by proponents of birthright citizenship as an indefensible attempt by the president and his administration to make an end run around the Supreme Court’s clear finding that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution cannot be undone by the president.

The amendment reads in part, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

In an apparent response to the president’s new orders, California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted that exact language to the social media platform X. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) also responded on the platform, writing, “Trump doesn’t understand the Constitution — but the 14th Amendment’s promise of birthright citizenship and equality speaks for itself.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement that Trump’s “continued crusade to end birthright citizenship is blatantly illegal,” that Democrats would challenge the orders, and that the president had “set himself up for yet another loss in the courts.”

“If you are born in America, you are American — period. The Constitution says it and the Supreme Court has affirmed it,” Schumer said.

A spokesperson for California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta’s office, which successfully sued alongside other Democrat-led states to block Trump’s first order purporting to end birthright citizenship, said attorneys there were reviewing the latest orders late Thursday.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which also sued to block the first order, denounced the new orders — and predicted they, too, would fall.

“The Supreme Court already decided this issue: Birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution. No additional executive order can change the meaning of the Constitution,” Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a statement. “Any executive order that tries to rewrite birthright citizenship will meet the same fate as the last one.”

Trump’s order on birth tourism defines the practice as “the entry of any foreign national into the United States via a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth on American soil,” or “any effort by any foreign national to facilitate” such entry.

It orders the Homeland Security and State departments to ramp up controls to block such entries, including through the denial or revocation of visas and other travel authorizations for individuals suspecting of participating in such efforts.

“Foreign nationals seeking temporary admission into the United States must adhere to the purposes for which the Congress has authorized their temporary admission, and cannot be permitted to circumvent the immigration laws in an attempt to vest themselves and their children with lasting benefits that are irreconcilable with their nonimmigrant status,” the order reads.

The order purporting to limit which children born in the U.S. are eligible for birthright citizenship describes “certain categories of children” who it says “do not fall within the rule of birthright citizenship as announced by the Supreme Court.”

It orders U.S. agencies not to provide citizenship documents to any child whose parents are not citizens if either of their parents is a foreign government employee, ambassador or a member of a foreign terrorist organization; was “engaged in a commercial transaction to purchase or access birthright citizenship” for them or to ensure their mother was in the U.S. when she gave birth to them; or had paid for a surrogate in the U.S. to give birth to them.

Echoing arguments made before the Supreme Court in defense of Trump’s first order purporting to end birthright citizenship, Trump and other White House officials claimed on Thursday that birthright citizenship was only ever intended for the children of slaves.

“This was done right after the Civil War. This was for the babies of slaves,” Trump said.

Others have said that argument “disregards the historical record” — which clearly shows lawmakers understood that the amendment’s language was much broader than that.

White House officials said the orders would prevent a large number of children from receiving birthright citizenship, hailing it as momentous.

“It ends what has been one of the gravest and most egregious abuses of the American system, and it keeps American citizenship safe,” said Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s top advisors on immigration.

Asked if the new orders would withstand judicial scrutiny, Trump predicted they would, before directing the question to White House staff secretary Will Scharf.

“What we’re doing is taking legally validated means that are clearly within our disposal and targeting them square on to this birth tourism industry,” Scharf said. “There’s absolutely nothing in here that runs afoul of any of the Supreme Court’s opinions on the subject.”

Vice President JD Vance also hailed the move.

“Our immigration system has been exploited by those who treat citizenship as a commercial transaction, not a sacred bond. President Trump is taking bold steps to combat birth tourism and restore our sovereignty. A serious nation owes its citizens nothing less,” he wrote on X.

In its 6-3 decision in June, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s first order purporting to end birthright citizenship outright, finding that the 14th Amendment — with very few exceptions — provided a right to children born in the U.S. that could not be undone by the president.

“Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts wrote for the court. “The Framers of the 14th Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.’ We keep that promise today.”

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson joined Roberts in full, with Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh concurring with the outcome based on separate federal law. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito and Neil M. Gorsuch dissented.

The ruling was a major defeat for Trump, and was cheered by immigrant rights advocates, including many in California, as the final say on the matter — though Trump signaled almost immediately that the fight wasn’t over.

You compete.

Or you complain.

UCLA head coach Bob Chesney coined it at the beginning of preseason camp last year in Harrisonburg, Va., before leading James Madison to a 12-2 record, a Sun Belt championship and its first College Football Playoff appearance.

“You either compete or complain, you can’t do both,” Chesney said on Aug. 5, 2025. “You are either full of pride and won’t allow yourself to have mental, physical and emotional lack of discipline and toughness, or you fill yourselves with pity and you have a lack of all three of those things.”

Chesney carried that same tune on his first day of fall camp in Westwood, leading his new team.

The Bruin faithful got its first taste of their newly minted head honcho at his introductory news conference on Dec. 9, where he made promises of turning around the football program, elevating it to its height of the past, and reengaging the Bruin community.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava looks to throw a pass during the first day of preseason camp at Spalding Field on Thursday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

And Chesney has not wavered since.

From his halftime speech at a UCLA men’s basketball game versus Indiana — where he proclaimed that the Bruins would be Big Ten champions — to throughout spring practice and all through Big Ten media day last week, Chesney has stayed consistent.

And that consistency includes the way he is training his players leading up to UCLA’s opener against California, where the former Pac-12 rivals will meet for a night game between two first-year head coaches.

Chesney has emphasized, throughout his short tenure in Westwood, that while physical development is imperative in the offseason, the mental side of the game carries the same weight. Central to that, is putting players in adverse situations in the offseason to get them battle-tested come game day.

“Those are the moments that test you. Pay no attention to a virtue that’s not been tested in fire, and that’s ultimately something that we got to be able to do is put them in situations where we’ve tested them in fire,” Chesney said. “We know how they’re going to react and how they’re going to respond. We know when the moment’s on the line. That’s the most important thing that we can do out here. That’s what this whole entire camp is ultimately about.”

In order to test his players’ resiliency, Chesney has implemented “compete periods” throughout his time in Westwood to emulate the speed and intensity of live reps.

Alongside competition has been grading everything a player does, so there is no ambiguity as to where a player stands on the depth chart or in the program.

Outside of the actual drills and exercises Chesney implements, the coach has also purposefully scheduled some of his practices in the afternoon to expose his players to the intense Los Angeles heat — his version of throwing his players into the fire to help get them acclimated and test their mental toughness.

Chesney’s mental training ultimately serves as a litmus test in discovering who is cut from a different cloth.

“Procedural discipline was a big part of what we want to make sure that we’re constantly talking about,” Chesney said. “And then, how quickly can I get to the next play? How much do I love being coached, and how hard am I going to be coached and accept that coaching and make myself get better?”

With passion and excitement emanating from players on the first day of fall camp, and less than a month away from the first game of the season, Chesney highlighted that it is about striking a balance: testing his players’ resolve but also not being reactionary.

The new head coach underscored that it can be easy for impulse and emotion to take over, but uplifting one another and letting mistakes refine you rather than define you is integral to success.

UCLA defensive linemen Jacob Busic (97) and Anthony Jones (15) run drills during the first day of preseason camp at Spalding Field on Thursday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

Central to that is teammates, particularly within the same position group, celebrating the success of one another rather than letting the depth chart dictate morale.

“If someone’s above you and perceived to be above you, what are you doing? Are you trying to elevate your game and compete with them, or are you trying to knock them down and pull them back towards you?” Chesney asked.

“The best teams in the world love that that guy above him is a little better, and they are chasing him every single day. We have a good amount of that on our team, and it’s got to continue because we are going to need everybody, whether they know it or not,” he said.

UCLA will not play its first game until Sept. 5.

However, battles will be won and lost within the team along the way.

But to Chesney, it is how you respond to those successes and failures that prevail.

Aug. 6 (UPI) — A D.C. judge has dismissed the Lincoln Reflecting Pool vandalism case against U.S. Olympian David Hearn, according to court documents filed Thursday afternoon.

A grand jury charged Hearn with one felony count of destruction of property early last month, alleging that the 67-year-old willfully ripped up a piece of recently installed blue pool sealant from the Lincoln Reflecting Pool, which President Donald Trump had recently ordered renovated.

The alleged incident involving Hearn occurred June 19 as videos were posted online showing its surface green with algae and blue paint seemingly peeling from the bottom of the pool. Trump claimed vandalism and vowed those responsible would be held to account.

In his order filed Thursday afternoon, Associate Judge Todd Edelman dismissed the case but allowed litigation to continue over whether the dismissal should be with or without prejudice.

On July 31, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the District of Columbia filed a motion to dismiss the case without prejudice, stating that the Department of Interior had provided “less than fulsome information at the outset of this case” that led prosecutors to charge Hearn. After he was charged, the DOI provided documents that “strongly suggest that a rushed and botched installation by AIC, the primary contractor, led to the damage to the lining of the reflecting pool.”

On Aug. 5, Hearn’s lawyers agreed the case should be dismissed but argued that the dismissal should be with prejudice.

“David Hearn is innocent and today’s dismissal reflects that simple fact,” Hearn’s counsel Norm Eisen of Democracy Defenders Fund, Mary Dohrmann of Washington Litigation Group and Steve Levin of Steptoe LLP said in a joint statement Thursday.

“The Department of Justice’s decision to seek an indictment was a miscarriage of justice.”

They said they intend to “vigorously advocate” for the case to be dismissed with prejudice to prevent the government from bringing the case again.

“All other legal options also remain on the table,” they said.

Trump maintains that vandalism was the cause of damage to the reflecting pool, despite the admission by his own Department of Interior. After Pirro filed for dismissal, Trump criticized her online, leading to speculation that the former Fox News host may be the next woman he fires.

“I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro,” he said online.

“I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM,” he said, before referring to alleged vandalism to grass near the reflecting pool. “There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!”

Trump had ordered the Reflecting Pool be painted “American flag blue” ahead of celebrations marking the United States’ 250th birthday. But within days of the $15 million work being completed on June 6, the pool began experiencing issues, from algae blooms to blue coating peeling off the bottom.

Hearn is a three-time Olympia, having competed in the Barcelona games of 1992, the Atlanta games of 1996 and the Sydney games of 2000. He is a former canoe slalom athlete.

This article highlights the unique cultural significance of boat racing in Anguilla, identifying it as the territory’s primary national sport. Unlike neighboring islands that prioritize cricket, Anguilla’s passion for nautical competition grew from a historical tradition of workers racing home from abroad. These events serve as the centerpiece for the Anguilla Summer Festival, which features major contests like the Meads Bay Boat Race and the prestigious Champion of Champions finale. The publication also touches on broader global topics, including international finance, maritime shipping concerns, and various entertainment updates. Ultimately, the source provides a snapshot of Anguillian heritage and sporting pride during its pea … 

Justice Department Watchdogs Face Sharp Decline

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is facing growing scrutiny after internal watchdog offices responsible for investigating attorney misconduct and departmental wrongdoing experienced significant staffing losses during President Donald Trump’s second term, even as complaints against the department reached record levels.

According to a Reuters review of government records and interviews with former Justice Department officials, the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) have seen substantial reductions in personnel, raising concerns about their ability to independently oversee the country’s top law enforcement agency.

Federal judges have increasingly criticized DOJ attorneys for alleged misconduct, including accusations of making false statements, ignoring court orders and using legal processes against political opponents.

Misconduct Complaints Rise as Investigations Fall

The Office of Professional Responsibility, which investigates misconduct by Justice Department lawyers, has seen its workforce fall from 29 employees to just 16 since Trump returned to office.

At the same time, misconduct complaints have climbed to their highest level in two decades.

Despite receiving 1,666 complaints during the 2025 fiscal year, the office opened only seven formal investigations, the lowest number recorded in the past twenty years. Over the previous decade, the office averaged more than 18 new investigations annually.

Former Justice Department officials told Reuters that staff departures, combined with concerns about political retaliation, have significantly slowed oversight activities.

Justice Department spokesperson Kiersten Pels rejected those concerns, saying OPR remains committed to investigating attorney misconduct and ensuring accountability.

Inspector General Office Also Loses Staff

The Department’s Office of Inspector General, responsible for investigating fraud, waste and abuse across the DOJ, has also experienced notable staff reductions.

Government employment records show the office lost 99 employees since the end of former President Joe Biden’s administration, reducing its workforce to 477.

Former officials interviewed by Reuters said the office has become increasingly reluctant to pursue politically sensitive investigations, although Inspector General spokesperson John Lavinsky denied that claim, insisting the office continues to conduct independent oversight regardless of political sensitivity.

Jack Smith Investigation Remains Unresolved

Among the most prominent internal cases is the ethics investigation involving former Special Counsel Jack Smith, who led federal prosecutions related to Trump’s handling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The investigation examined allegations by Republican lawmakers that Smith’s team improperly influenced the 2024 election and pressured witnesses.

Reuters reported that Smith had already been interviewed by investigators and the inquiry was expected to conclude last year. However, the investigation remains unresolved after reportedly being paused by political appointees.

Separately, the Justice Department has since launched a criminal investigation into Smith, who has denied wrongdoing.

Federal Judges Increase Criticism of DOJ Conduct

The weakening of internal oversight coincides with an increasing number of judicial rebukes directed at the Justice Department.

Federal judges have criticized government attorneys in several high profile cases involving evidence handling, courtroom conduct and legal strategy.

Among the most notable rulings was a decision by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, who accused senior Justice Department officials, including Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, of failing to properly defend the government in litigation involving former President Trump and instead negotiating what she described as an inappropriate settlement.

DOJ officials have disputed those judicial findings, arguing that several courts have demonstrated political hostility toward the administration.

Concerns Over External Oversight

The Trump administration has also moved to limit outside scrutiny of Justice Department attorneys by challenging state level ethics investigations and seeking expanded authority to restrict oversight by legal licensing bodies.

Administration officials argue that many state investigations are politically motivated and designed to discourage government lawyers from implementing the president’s policies.

Legal ethics experts, however, warn that diminishing both internal and external oversight risks undermining public confidence in the department’s accountability mechanisms.

Analysis

The reported weakening of the Justice Department’s internal watchdog offices comes at a time when judicial scrutiny of government conduct has intensified, placing institutional accountability under renewed focus. While the administration argues that oversight mechanisms remain fully operational and that many judicial criticisms are politically motivated, the decline in staffing and investigations raises broader questions about the effectiveness and perceived independence of internal accountability structures. As politically sensitive cases continue to move through U.S. courts, the credibility of the DOJ’s oversight institutions is likely to remain central to debates over the balance between executive authority, legal ethics and public trust in federal law enforcement.

With information from Reuters.

JUNGLE are bringing Sunshine to summer – and entering their most confident era yet.

Following the unexpected global success of their 2023 album Volcano, the Brit-winning band return with a warmer, more organic fifth album, blending Brazilian rhythms, effortless grooves and nostalgia.

And the trio — Tom McFarland, Josh “J” Lloyd and regular contributor turned full-time member Lydia Kitto — might have called their fifth album Sunshine, but its warmth comes with a distinctly melancholic edge.

“It’s not about the weather or a season,” Lloyd explains. “It’s about relationships and distance and regret, and hope and longing for a better time.”

McFarland adds: “Everyone feels nostalgic about that summer when they were 16. Those emotional memories linger with us.

“Even the idea of memory is quite melancholic, because these great things happened, but they’ll never happen again.

READ MORE ARTIST INTERVIEWS

THE BIG INTERVIEW

‘If you have a big voice, people want to hear it’ says Nathaniel Rateliff

TURNING POINT

Writer’s block is a lonely feeling but Marcus Mumford helped, says Noah Kahan

“You can recall them and remember how you felt, but that moment has gone.”

It’s day one of live rehearsals for Jungle when I join them at their studio in South West London.

Lloyd and Kitto have not long flown in from LA while dad-of-three McFarland is telling stories about his kids.

Despite the jet lag and the busy day ahead, the trio are as warm and easy-going as the title of their new album suggests.

Their new confidence follows the unexpected success of Volcano and its breakout song, Back On 74, in particular.

“That song was a big surprise,” says McFarland with a smile. “It went far bigger than we expected.

“We thought there was a certain level we could reach, but what happened with Back On 74 opened up a whole new dimension for the band.

“It brought so many more people to the music, and that has been a really cool thing to see.

“When we were in the middle of it, we didn’t pay too much attention. We don’t chase our own tails wondering whether we’re popular.

“You give the song away and hand it over to the public.

“The more you listen to the noise, the more you start to be directed by it.

“We were very keen not to think, ‘People like Back On 74, so let’s make a whole album like that’, because that’s where bands lose their way.”

Dance and striking visuals have always been central to Jungle’s story, with their cinematic, intricately choreographed videos becoming as distinctive as the music itself.

Their dazzling performance of Back On 74, which brought the celebrated video to life with a full dance troupe, was one of the highlights of the 2024 Brit Awards.

Their Group Of The Year win that night came as a genuine surprise, and Kitto says: “We didn’t have a clue.

“Loads of people were acting a bit fishy, so we were thinking, ‘Have we won? Haven’t we?’

“We thought we should probably write a speech just in case, but then decided there was no way we were going to win.

“So we sat down, had a bit of a drink and suddenly we’d won.”

McFarland adds: “We had a great night — we met Green Day, we got quite drunk and had a party.

“When you’re touring, you miss out on so many things, so being able to get family and friends in the same room and just have a dance was special.”

Lloyd adds: “Winning was a surprise as we don’t really pay that much attention to it.”

Jungle’s visual influence has proved equally powerful.

“What’s been really nice is seeing people make the choreography their own and connect with the visual side of the band,” says Lloyd.

“We’re obviously not a TikTok-generation band, but watching it blow up online was really cool.

“Seeing young kids dancing to our music in their living rooms was such a lovely thing.”

Lloyd co-directs the band’s distinctive, intricately choreographed videos with long-term visual collaborator Charlie Di Placido.

He adds: “You can see people, especially in advertising, starting to copy the band’s aesthetic.

“We’ve seen plenty of imitations of our videos and visual style, but I suppose we take it as a form of flattery. It shows that people have been inspired by what we do.”

Carry On was chosen by the band’s manager as the first single from Sunshine.

Lloyd says: “Once you’ve finished an album, you lose all perspective. You have so many different favourites, so you need an outside opinion to guide you through that final stage.

“Carry On has an old-school Motown, almost Sixties sound.

“It’s almost Jungle’s folk song, but it has a sadder emotional heart.

“Back On 74 is nostalgic, while Carry On is about overcoming heartbreak, rebuilding trust and finding the self-belief to push through difficult times.”

McFarland says affectionately: “My daughter loves this song — she walks around the kitchen singing it.”

Central to Jungle’s recent evolution has been Kitto, whose gorgeous, soulful vocals have become increasingly prominent across their music.

Having contributed to the band since their 2021 album Loving In Stereo and taken a leading role on Volcano, she is now an official member of the trio and steps further into the spotlight on Sunshine.

“Joining the band fully made sense,” she says. “I already felt so involved that I was sort of in Jungle anyway, so it was a natural progression.

“It’s like getting into a relationship with somebody — you hang out for a while and then think, ‘Oh yeah, this works’.” Lloyd — Kitto’s partner and her bandmate in music side project Loaded Honey — adds: “I don’t think people realise how long Lydia has been working with us.

“We’d been doing sessions and writing with her since before the third album, and then she joined the live band.

“Jungle had been built around group vocals for so long, but we were yearning for an emotional lead vocalist who could take these verses and connect with people.

“Lydia has that ability. She’s got a generational voice — an amazing soul vocal that takes our music to the next level.”

McFarland says: “We’ve always tried to create a universal message through the stories we tell.

“We were never going to be a band that told extremely personal stories.

“For us, it’s about giving people something they can hold on to and make their own. We want the music to have a global sound

that anybody can connect with. From day one, when we were making the first Jungle music, it was all about visiting imagined places we’d never been to.

“We’ve been lucky enough to visit many of them since, but at the start we’d ask, ‘What would it sound like if a band were playing on Cola Beach in South Goa?’

“We’ve always had that vision of putting ourselves — and therefore the listener — into a physical space.

“The Wave is a perfect example of that. You’re instantly on a beach.”

Lloyd adds: “We tend to see certain songs as brothers and sisters.

“The Wave harks back to Loving In Stereo and has something of Beat 54 from the second album in it.

“It has that sampled feel, although we created the sample ourselves. Originally it was much faster, before we slowed it down.

“It was actually the last song made for the album and was almost squeezed in at the end. There was something spiritual about it.

“The Wave represents the idea that you only get one life, so you have to be careful what you do with it.”

Romeo II is another one of those sibling songs, following Romeo from Loving In Stereo and again featuring Dreamville rapper Bas.

Lloyd says: “Romeo II was Bas’s idea. The track originally had a much longer title, but we wanted something more interesting.

“He suggested Romeo II, which felt great because it creates a sense of nostalgia for people who know the original.

“I think he was also referencing the tradition in hip-hop of songs having sequels.

“It gives the track an instant familiarity — people think, ‘I remember that Bas song from the third album, so I want to hear this one’.

“In some ways, Romeo II is actually even more Romeo in its subject matter than the original.”

And he jokes: “Bas has been on the last three albums — he’s going to join the band at some point.”

Lloyd continues: “We have always been inspired by Gorillaz and the way their collaborators became part of the family.

“You look at Del the Funky Homosapien on that first Gorillaz record and he appears across a couple of tracks. We’ve never viewed features as a way of gaming the system or chasing streams.

“For us, it’s always been about asking who’s good, who’s our friend and who feels like they genuinely belong within the collective.”

Talk turns to bands who put out greatest-hits albums.

Kitto says: “We could just do the same thing again and again and call it a greatest hits, like The 1975 do. They put out all their old songs and call it The 1975 At Their Very Best. There are no new songs at all.”

Jungle’s recent single Someday, Somewhere might just be the best song they have released, with its sun-soaked vocals, irresistible disco-funk groove and bittersweet blend of optimism and longing.

“I love that song,” says Kitto. “I can put it on at any point, and it changes your mood.”

For McFarland, Reflection is a favourite. “I love that song,” he says. “What I connect with is the way a song can transport you. When I’m driving in the sunshine, I’ll listen to Crosby, Stills and Nash radio and classic Laurel Canyon songs.

“Reflection does that for me. It takes me very vividly into a particular physical and emotional space.”

Lloyd says: “It depends on the day. We become very emotionally attached to the songs while we’re making and delivering them, but once they’re out, I tend to detach myself.

“Where Are You Now? was one of my favourites. I like the bouncier side of Jungle, but I also tend to choose the song that other people aren’t picking.

“If everyone likes one track, I’ll go for the other one.”

Soon it’s back to rehearsals for the trio’s world tour, beginning in the States next month, then heading to Europe and South America next year.

What matters most in a Jungle live show?

“The arc of the show is really important to us,” answers McFarland. “We want to build the audience up, pull things back again and create intimate moments alongside the more euphoric ones.

“I don’t think I’d ever get bored of playing Busy Earnin’ because it’s so much fun watching people have a great time.

“You see grandparents, their children and then their grandchildren, sometimes as young as six, all there together. It’s fun watching loads of people having a great time.”

Lloyd adds: “We want to be in control and make things according to our own vision.

“We’ve done well within the industry by not having to play by other people’s rules.

“Other artists have looked at what we’ve done and built careers from it.

“But we’ve only ever written our own narrative, and I think that’s really important as an artist to have the ability to fully be in control of your own story.”

• The album Sunshine is out on August 14. The band’s UK tour begins in Leeds in November.

JUNGLE

Sunshine

★★★★☆

Birmingham City have signed France youth international Chancelle Effa Effa from Le Havre.

It is understood the Blues, who won the WSL 2 title last season, paid just over £100,000 for the 19-year-old striker.

She progressed from Le Havre’s academy and made her debut for the senior team at the age of 15.

Effa Effa helped the club secure promotion back to the French top flight in her breakthrough season and signed a professional contract in December 2022.

The striker, who has represented France at every age group from the U16s through to the U23s, had a year remaining on her contract at Le Havre.

“I am very happy to be joining Birmingham City – such a historic club – and experience the Women’s Super League,” said Effa Effa.

“From my very first conversations with the club, I was won over by the project. I sensed a genuine desire to build something strong, with great ambition.

“I can’t wait to start this new adventure.”

Effa Effa helped France lift the Women’s U17s European title in 2023 before reaching the Women’s U19s European final two years later.

In total, she has scored 17 goals in 28 appearances for France’s age groups.

“Chancelle is a player we’ve been tracking for some time and we’re delighted to bring her to Birmingham City,” said manager Amy Merricks.

“She’s an exciting young forward with huge potential, who has already gained valuable experience in the French top flight and has consistently performed for France at youth international level.

“We’re looking forward to helping her continue her development and seeing the impact she can make in a Blues shirt.”

Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo reports from Buenos Aires, where police fired tear gas as thousands protested against a private property bill. Opponents fear it will lead to foreigners owning too much land, while the Milei government says the law would attract investment.

Boeing has been cleared to start producing Joint Direct Attack Munition-Long Range (JDAM-LR) precision-guided weapons for the U.S. Navy. The JDAM-LR is essentially a small cruise missile derived from the JDAM family of precision-guided bombs. The weapon will give the Navy, and potentially other services, a new way to bolster stocks of air-launched stand-off munitions. This all follows the Navy’s announcement of successful test launches of JDAM-LRs from F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters back in April.

In a press release yesterday, Boeing announced that it had received an Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA) from the U.S. Air Force valued at $75 million related to JDAM-LR production for the Navy. The Air Force serves as the central manager for the joint-service JDAM program. By definition, a UCA means the parties still have to work out the final details of the deal, which could include the price point. UCAs are often used to kick-start work in response to urgent requirements.

“This first production contract is a major milestone for the JDAM LR program, demonstrating our ability to deliver long-range precision-strike capability at a significantly lower cost,” Bob Ciesla, Vice President of Boeing Precision Engagement Systems, said in a statement, underscoring confidence in the new UCA. “Scaling production of the GBU-75 will provide the fleet with an affordable, sustainable solution designed to eliminate long-range land and sea-based threats to U.S. and international forces and enable them to safely and effectively operate in a contested battlespace.”

GBU-75/B is the designation that has been applied, so far, to complete JDAM-LR munitions. Boeing’s release yesterday also revealed that the core component of the weapon, the so-called Payload Delivery Unit (PDU), has now also been designated BSU-111/B.

Like unpowered JDAMs, the JDAM-LR is more of a kit than a munition by itself. The PDU contains the guidance section, systems to interface with the launching aircraft, a pop-out wing kit, and a compact turbojet engine (understood to be the TDI-J85). PDU is then combined with a standardized low-drag 500-pound-class bomb as its ‘warhead’ to create a complete weapon.

As with JDAM variants – which also come in 1,000-pound-class and 2,000-pound-class variations – the modular kit-type design creates immense flexibility for how JDAM-LRs can be configured. In the past, Boeing has shown depictions of what it originally called the Powered JDAM (PJDAM) paired with general-purpose high-explosive bombs and air-dropped shallow-water anti-ship mines. There are many other 500-pound-class bombs with this same form factor already available, including specialized designs intended to reduce the risk of collateral damage.

In terms of guidance, JDAM-LR leverages the GPS-assisted inertial navigation system from the unpowered JDAM family. This guidance method can only be used to target static coordinates. Boeing has previously shown concepts for multi-mode guidance packages that could also include active seekers, such as a radar or imaging infrared system, which would enable strikes on moving targets at sea and on land. Boeing already produces a version of the 500-pound-class JDAM that adds a laser seeker to allow for the engagement of moving targets.

The biggest capability boost offered by the JDAM-LR over existing JDAM types is, of course, the stand-off range. Boeing says the powered version can hit targets more than 345 miles (300 nautical miles) away. A typical underpowered JDAM can still glide after release, but only out to around 15 miles, according to the Air Force. With the addition of a pop-out wing kit, JDAM-Extended Range (JDAM-ER) types have greater reach, extending out to roughly 45 miles. This all depends on various factors, especially release altitude and the speed of the launch platform.

There are also benefits to this design, and to leveraging existing technology from the JDAM family, when it comes to cost and scalability of production. Boeing says it has also invested nearly $100 million of its own money in this program, which traces its roots back to the late 2010s, at least.

What the exact unit cost of a typical JDAM-LR will be is unclear. However, historically, standard JDAM kits have cost between $20,000 and $30,000. The current price point for a TDI-J85 engine is unknown, but TWZ has used the Williams F107, a larger turbojet used in various cruise missiles, as a point of comparison in the past. Past reports have put the F107’s price tag at some $190,000. A typical 500-pound-class low-drag bomb would add another few thousand dollars to that total.

Regardless, for the Navy especially, JDAM-LR offers a lower-cost and lower-risk pathway to bolstering the standoff munition capabilities of its carrier air wings, and stockpiles of those weapons for future fights. The sevice notably cancelled previous plans to acquire a turbojet-powered version of the AGM-154 Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW) glide bomb back in 2021 in favor of a new version of the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRAM) with secondary land attack capability. In 2024, the Navy also disclosed that it was axing plans to incorporate land attack functionality on the AGM-158C-3 variant. It should also be noted here that LRASM is a very capable, but also very expensive weapon, with unit costs generally pegged in the $3 million range, regardless of version.

Navy carrier air wings do also have access to the AGM-84K Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) missile, which can be employed by F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. An air-launched land-attack outgrowth of the Harpoon anti-ship cruise missile, the SLAM-ER’s maximum range is reportedly around 170 miles. These missiles also have unit costs in the $3 million range.

LOVE Island winners Julia Majchrzak and Lorenzo Alessi have kissed and made up on a night out with their fellow villa friends.

The ITV2 dating show winners came to blows after he was clocked fawning over other female’s sexy pics on social media.

The champions were joined on a night out at London’s 100 Shoreditch.

Former Casa bombshell Julia looked stunning in an all-black dress made up of mesh and lace panelling.

With her hair slicked back, she looked every inch a TV star as she smooched her man.

Lorenzo looked slick in an open shirt with a blazer and slacks.

swiped off

Love Island’s Lorenzo FINALLY deletes dating app & Julia says she’s ‘humiliated’

INSTA SHAM

Love Island’s Julia accuses Lorenzo of ’embarrassing her’ by liking girls’ pics

Joining them for the reunion night were ex islanders Ellie Chadwick and Finley Maddock.

Ellie looked summer ready in a short yellow outfit with a feather bottom as she held hands with her fella.

It comes after the couple were grilled about the online drama on Capital XTRA.

Julia, 26, admitted she found his online wandering eye ‘not funny’ and was ’embarrassed’ by his behaviour.

She told the hosts: “Guys, this is not funny. He’s already embarrassed me online.

“He had no time to arrange a date in five days, but was sat in bed liking other girls’ Instagram pictures.”

It comes after a clip of the couple’s appearance on This Morning went viral last week, with fans left unconvinced by their relationship.

Joining Josie Gibson and Paddy McGuinness in the studio, Lorenzo and Julia were quizzed about their future plans.

But an unimpressed Julia grilled Lorenzo over why he had failed to organise a date and had barely seen her since they won Love Island together.

Viewers also claimed Lorenzo appeared distracted by former flame Jasmine, who was sitting just inches away with Kavan.

The 2026 matchmaking show champ, who scooped his share of a £50K cash prize during the final, has finally removed his profile from Hinge.

Also at the event were Priya and Aidan – who were dumped from the villa days before the final.

The reunion saw familiar faces return including pretty-in-pink Lola Deal and Seán Fitzgerald, Mica Harris and Samraj Toor, and hand-holding singletons Charleen Murphy and Martha Rothwell.

Julia and Lorenzo beat runners-up Jasmine Muller and Kavan Murphy, and third place stars Angelista Gunda and Simba Kudyiwa.

Mayor Karen Bass said Thursday that the LAPD should stop working with Flock Safety, warning that the company, which operates AI-enabled license plate readers that allow authorities to monitor vehicles around the city, had lost public trust.

In her most forceful comments to date on the topic, Bass said while she supports license plate reading technology generally as a tool for law enforcement, Flock had “lost the trust of Angelenos and residents across the country, especially in immigrant communities targeted by the federal administration.”

“There are many companies that provide this technology to cities nationwide,” Bass said in a statement. “The LAPD needs to identify another company that doesn’t share data.”

LAPD officials have said Flock’s technology enables investigators to solve crimes, helping to find vehicles that have been reported stolen or linked to suspects. Last month, the department announced it was pausing its relationship with Flock, but police officials later said they were in the process of negotiating a new deal with the company that would include more data sharing and collection safeguards.

Dozens of mostly smaller cities have deactivated their Flock cameras or ended their contracts with the company over concerns that it provides data to the Trump administration that can be used to track down immigrants for deportation.

Bass joined the chorus of activists and local officials calling for the LAPD to end its relationship with the company outright.

Her opponent in the November mayoral election, Nithya Raman, said last week on the social media platform X that the city should “cut ties with Flock Safety.”

“Cities across the country are canceling their Flock contracts over the risks its license plate readers pose to privacy, civil liberties, and immigrant communities,” Raman’s post read.

Last month, Bass signed an ordinance that prohibits city personnel from providing anyone outside local government access to data that can be used to determine someone’s immigration status.

A recent Washington Post report uncovered at least 50 instances nationwide in which law enforcement officials were accused of misusing their access to the cameras, largely to stalk former romantic partners or citizens.

A report issued last month by the LAPD inspector general’s office found numerous “limitations” in the department’s existing agreements with its three plate reader vendors — Flock, Axon and Motorola — including a lack of clear language about how long the data are retained and how they are shared with third parties or other law enforcement agencies.

The inspector general recommended that the department update its current license plate reader contracts to address data security and privacy concerns, conduct regular audits and develop standardized rules for traffic stops based on plate reader hits.

Flock has said its customers decide who can access data from their cameras. The company said it doesn’t have contracts with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, adding that has taken other steps to assuage public concern, such as barring federal agencies from its lookup tools and restricting immigration-related searches to ensure compliance with laws in California, Washington and other states.

In an interview with ABC7 last month, Flock CEO Garrett Langley said the company had to “tighten up the police and make sure everyone’s aligned and then turn it back on. He said the company retains the data from its plate readers for only 30 days and denied that its cameras employ facial recognition software as some of its critics have suggested.

During a virtual listening session hosted last week by the inspector general’s office, dozens of people sounded off on the department’s use of Flock cameras.

Some speakers, mostly from the fire-ravaged community of Pacific Palisades, supported the use of cameras to deter burglars who have repeatedly hit homes and construction sites in the area.

Jennifer Wolfe, who identified herself as a teacher in Altadena, another community devastated by the 2025 wildfires, urged Flock’s supporters to consider how “surveillance systems can grow far beyond their intended purpose.”

Locating stolen cars is important, she said, but people should be more concerned by this newfound and unchecked ability for the government to collect “vastly more information, with far less effort.”

St Helens interim head coach Eamon O’Carroll told BBC Radio Merseyside:

“There were far too many times when we were shooting ourselves in the foot and putting some pressure on ourselves. We’re clearly not at that level at the moment where we seem to handle that the way we’d like to or how we have in the past.

“We’ve got some young boys in there who may have got exposed at times. They will be better for this experience – I’m really proud of the young lads – but at the minute we seem to be swapping one of our younger lads for another younger lad.

“We’re then automatically asking a lot of some of our senior boys.

“I think you can see where we are at with that at the minute.”

[On play-off qualification] “It’s going to be a difficult one for us to achieve, but it’s not unachievable.”

Hull FC interim head coach Andy Last told Sky Sports:

‘It feels absolutely fantastic. I just want to dedicate that to the supporters who have stuck by us and turned up in big numbers. It was great to get a win for them.

“There were some parts of the performance I was really pleased with and some parts of the game we still need to improve [such as] individuals’ decision-making, but I’m not going to take anything away from tonight.

“To get a win at St Helens, I’m really, really pleased.’

St Helens: Welsby; Douglas, Sailor, Davies, Murphy; Robertson, Hastings; Suluka-Fifita, Humphreys, Walmsley, Keeley, Wright, Shorrocks.

Interchanges: Host, Whitby, Evans, Matagi.

Hull FC: Moy; Barron, Hardaker, Briscoe, Martin; Arthur, Sezer; Ese’ese, Bourouh, Hill, Batchelor, O’Neill, Bell.

Interchanges: Cust, Aydin, Romano, Wood.

Referee: Liam Rush.

US President Donald Trump expects the conflict with Iran to end “pretty soon”, while Tehran reports that an agreement with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is “on the verge of being finalised” following a route agreement between both nations.

Detroit, Michigan – The sighs in the audience were audible as United States Congresswoman Haley Stevens closed in on Abdul El-Sayed’s lead in the Michigan Democratic primary for the US Senate.

El-Sayed, a public health advocate, took the stage after midnight as uncertainty had dampened the once-celebratory mood among supporters in Detroit early on Wednesday.

“I wish I could tell you that I was declaring victory right about now. It turns out it takes a long time to count some votes in Michigan. It’s a big state,” he joked.

The progressive candidate went on to remind the crowd of what his campaign was up against: tens of millions of dollars in campaign spending by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other special-interest groups.

“I want you to remind them that if we come through this, when we come through this, inshallah [God willing]”, he said, “that we’ll have taken $70m on the chin and kept fighting back.”

Stevens, a four-term congresswoman, continued to shrink El-Sayed’s lead as the votes came in, bringing the margin between them down to less than 1 percent.

The final results arrived later on Wednesday morning, long after the sun had risen on a new day. El-Sayed had won by a razor-thin margin.

He had fended off not just Stevens but also the pro-Israel groups and Democratic power brokers in Michigan, including top officials from the party, like Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who had endorsed his opponent.

The result appeared to stun the US political system, dealing yet another setback to the pro-Israel Democrats and sparking a response from President Donald Trump, who was quick to label El-Sayed as a “Communist loser who hates Jews and Israel”.

But the message from the vote results was clear: Campaign spending and big-name endorsements may no longer be enough to secure victory within the Democratic Party.

‘It’s not just the status quo anymore’

El-Sayed’s supporters say the delayed celebrations and the smaller-than-expected margin of victory should not diminish the significance of the elections.

Democratic state legislator Alabas Farhat said El-Sayed’s victory sends a message that, if candidates run on an anti-war platform and are willing to take on special interest groups like AIPAC, people will vote for them.

“It’s not just the status quo anymore and these establishment politicians who are used to coasting through these elections,” Farhat told Al Jazeera.

“It’s now folks who want to come in and disrupt and deliver big, bold agendas and relief for the working families of Michigan and anywhere else.”

Stevens had overwhelming support from the Democratic Party establishment. She was backed by Whitmer, former Senator Debbie Stabenow, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and retiring Senator Gary Peters, whose seat she was running for.

Defeating Stevens allows El-Sayed to compete in November’s general elections against former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers, who is backed by Trump and will likely receive support from pro-Israel groups.

AIPAC has already indicated it will continue its spending in Michigan to beat El-Sayed in the general election. “Our members remain determined to ensure that voters reject Dr El-Sayed and his radical anti-Israel agenda in November,” the group said in a statement on Wednesday.

The pro-Israel lobby group also downplayed El-Sayed’s victory, highlighting wins by other pro-Israel candidates, including in Missouri, where Congressman Wesley Bell comfortably won against his progressive challenger, former Congresswoman Cori Bush.

“While disappointed that some of our AIPAC-backed candidates did not prevail, our community is proud to support pro-Israel Democrats and Republicans who stand for our values, and we are encouraged that voters in races across this primary season continue to broadly choose leaders who support a strong US-Israel partnership,” AIPAC said.

Even with polls showing that the general election is up for grabs, analysts are emphasising the historic nature of El-Sayed’s primary victory.

Progressive Senator Bernie Sanders called El-Sayed’s win the “most extraordinary victory” in modern US politics.

“Have you ever heard of a candidate in a major race getting outspent nine to one, taking on the entire establishment and winning?” Sanders said on the Pod Save America podcast.

“I cannot recall somebody having done that.”

Left-wing victories

El-Sayed was not alone in security victories in the state’s primary races. The overall result in Michigan is seen as another major achievement for the progressive left in this election cycle.

In Tuesday’s election, progressive state legislator Donavan McKinney defeated pro-Israel incumbent Shri Thanedar in a US House Democratic primary. In a district north of Detroit, left-wing climate organiser William Lawrence also won a Democratic primary for Congress by 15 points.

Across the US, from California to Colorado to Pennsylvania to New Jersey to New York, progressives have won similar races, ousting several incumbents and claiming open seats in safe Democratic districts.

What makes El-Sayed’s win significant is not only the spending and endorsements he faced, but also that he won a state-wide race in a swing state that voted for Trump less than two years ago. Michigan is home to more than 10 million people.

Progressive Pennsylvania State Representative Chris Rabb, who is on his way to Congress after winning a competitive primary for a heavily Democratic seat in May, said left-wing candidates are prevailing because they are able to engage voters with a compassionate and substantive approach.

He said El-Sayed’s victory sends a message to the Democratic establishment: “They’ve got to take a look at the electoral calculus going forward.”

“The things that used to work are old and are arcane and do not reach the types of people that will come out who won’t vote for normal traditional Democrats,” Rabb said. “But he’s bringing out folks who haven’t come out in a long time or ever.”

He added that El-Sayed’s ability to broaden the Democratic base will help him defeat Rogers in November.

El-Sayed’s campaign slogan is, “Money out of politics. Money in your pockets. Medicare for all.”

His platform is focused on affordability and expanding access to healthcare. But AIPAC’s involvement in the race and the polarisation over Israel made the conflict in the Middle East a key issue in the election.

Russell Ellis, the social media commentator known as Jolly Good Ginger, said voters across the US are showing that they are “fed up” with Israel and AIPAC.

“The amount of voters that are drawing a red line at sending bombs to continue a genocide is much larger than people are accepting that it is. It’s massive,” he told Al Jazeera.

“I think most Americans can agree that we can’t support genocide, and that using American taxpayer dollars and American bombs to commit genocide in Gaza, in Sudan, in Congo, anywhere is unacceptable.”

‘We want to fund healthcare, not warfare’

Despite his criticism of Israel, El-Sayed always brought the political conversation back to Michigan.

The US has spent billions of dollars on military support for Israel, its Middle East ally, and even more on the war with Iran – a conflict that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been seeking for decades.

El-Sayed has argued that the money spent on war should go to help communities across the US and Michigan.

His supporters say the progressive wins in Michigan show that this approach is resonating with voters.

“Today’s historic victories in Michigan prove that Palestine will win at the polls again and again,” Iman Abid, the political director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action, said in a statement.

“AIPAC can try dumping millions of dollars into propaganda, but at the end of the day, American voters don’t want our tax dollars to go toward bombing families abroad. We want to fund healthcare, not warfare.”

Sally Howell, a history professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn who pioneered academic research about the Arab community, said El-Sayed’s win represents “genuine change” for Michigan.

“It tells us that voters are very frustrated with the establishment – the establishment in Washington and the establishment in the Democratic Party,” Howell told Al Jazeera.

“They want leaders who are going to bring change, not more of the same.”

A federal judge blasted KTLA-TV Channel 5’s owner, the Texas-based Nexstar Media Group, on Thursday for violating a court order and for failing to disclose key information.

U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley found that Nexstar’s actions violated terms of an April preliminary injunction that was designed to prevent the media company from moving forward with its $6.2-billion takeover of rival TV station group Tegna Inc. and meddling with its management.

The judge called Nexstar’s actions “brazen.” He demanded the company begin submitting monthly reports and said a special master would be appointed to help manage the antitrust case and monitor Nexstar for compliance.

And Tegna’s recently constituted board — filled with high-level Nexstar officials — must be dissolved.

A Nexstar spokesman wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Nexstar unveiled its Tegna takeover a year ago. At the time, TV stations were lobbying the Federal Communications Commission to relax station ownership rules, a move that occurred Thursday in a split decision.

Last spring, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and seven other state attorneys general challenged Nexstar’s proposed acquisition, alleging the roll-up of more than 250 local TV stations would violate a U.S. antitrust law intended to protect consumers and competitive markets.

Bonta and other plaintiff states argued the consolidation would lead to local newsrooms shuttering, particularly in smaller markets, such as Sacramento and Indianapolis, where Nexstar would own multiple network affiliates.

Despite Bonta’s lawsuit, Nexstar hurried the next day to finalize its purchase of Virginia-based Tegna and swallow the operation. Tegna disbanded, its shareholders were paid and top Tegna executives exited.

Nunley, who is based in Sacramento, is overseeing the case. He initially issued a restraining order, followed by a more lengthy preliminary injunction that ordered Nexstar to halt its integration while the court case was pending.

Tegna should continue to operate as a separate business unit — free from the influence of Nexstar, the judge ruled.

But on the day that Nunley issued the restraining order, Nexstar formed a new Tegna board filled with Nexstar officers, including Chief Executive Perry Sook, Chief Financial Officer Lee Ann Gliha, and later Mike Biard, a former Fox executive who joined Nexstar in 2023 as chief operating officer.

Nexstar countered that while Nunley’s order said Nexstar employees were restricted from serving as “officers,” it didn’t expressly say they couldn’t serve on Tegna‘s board as “directors.”

“Defendants cannot convincingly argue that having Nexstar executives serve on TEGNA’s Board complies with the preliminary injunction,” Nunley wrote in Thursday’s order, adding that Nexstar’s position was “entirely disingenuous.”

Nexstar now must dissolve the board.

“It is shocking that Defendants think installing a Board of Directors comprised primarily of Nexstar executives would not create influence over Tegna management,” Nunley wrote.

He also admonished Nexstar for not providing that information in any of the hearings or in its filings with the court. “Defendants have a duty of candor to the Court under California Rule of Professional Conduct,” Nunley wrote.

His order was designed “to preserve Tegna as a separate and distinct, independently managed business unit from Nexstar,” Nunley wrote. “Nexstar’s control of the Tegna Board will undoubtedly allow it to influence Tegna’s management and obtain access to Tegna’s confidential information.”

Bonta, in a statement, said: “We thank the court for its attention to this matter and look forward to arguing our case and blocking this merger.”

WASHINGTON — President Trump is trying again to limit the number of people born in the country who can become American citizens, in a sign that even after his first attempt at limiting birthright citizenship was rejected by the Supreme Court, he’s ready to renew his efforts.

The president said he was signing two executive actions on immigration, including one limiting the number of people eligible for citizenship after being born in the United States. The written executive order released Thursday was narrower in scope than the previous one shot down by the Supreme Court and appeared to focus on restricting automatic citizenship to specific categories of people, including children born to adults with connections to foreign embassies or organizations as well as anyone considered an “alien enemy” of the United States.

It also aimed to restrict birthright citizenship to anyone whose parents “engaged in fraudulent activity to obtain citizenship.”

A second order seeks to curb what Trump called “birth tourism” by increasing restrictions on visitors to the U.S. who want to obtain visas to give birth while in the country.

Trump said he thought his latest actions would be constitutional.

“I thought we were going to win it at the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, we had a bad decision, very unfair decision. Our country suffers because of it and we’re ending it a different way,” Trump said.

In June, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s previous efforts to declare that children born to people in the U.S. illegally or temporarily aren’t American citizens, and upheld a broad conception of birthright citizenship.

On the first day of Trump’s second term, he signed an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship, which allows anyone born in the United States to automatically become an American citizen.

Trump’s administration immediately was sued by opponents who said the executive order went against the 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, which makes anyone born in the country a citizen, with very limited exceptions.

The executive order was blocked by several lower courts and never took effect.

In June, the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s order by a 6-3 vote. But the vote was too close for many immigration advocates and legal observers who felt the legal question of birthright citizenship was a long-settled issue.

Weissert and Santana write for the Associated Press.

Neither Russell Martin nor Danny Rohl were able to restore past glories in their short stints in Govan while McInnes was taking Hearts to the verge of immortality.

Much of the condemnation surrounding the Ibrox club’s failures last season came back to the same theme – they may be fluid and clinical going forward at times, but a soft underbelly put paid to hopes of success.

“I thought we gave up too many chances and gave teams too much encouragement,” the 55-year-old added post match in Poland.

“We’ve got to be honest and say we are guilty of beating ourselves tonight. And that’s no disrespect to our opponent because on transitions and counter-attack, it fuels them.”

Rangers were flailing in the opening 45 minutes as Jagiellonia cut them open with ease, capitalising on numerous lapses in concentration.

Twelve minutes into the game, Thelo Aasgaard tried an audacious spin on the edge of the hosts’ box, attempting to squeeze the ball through a small gap in the defence.

One minute later it was in the back of Rangers’ net following an impressive counter.

“There’s no bigger drain on confidence for any player, team, support than losing cheap goals,” McInnes said.

“There were mistakes for the goals, and I understand that can happen, but we have got to be far more stingy with our work, defend the goal with our lives, don’t give our opponent opportunities.

“At no cost is that ball going in our box, at no cost are they going to get a chance, and we’ve got to have a bit more of that approach to our work.”

The central defensive partnership of Dujon Sterling and Emmanuel Fernandez looked particularly shaky.

“If you spoke to McInnes right now without a microphone in front of him, and you asked him, ‘Do you trust Fernandez?’, there’s no way he says yes, no way,” former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday said on BBC Sportsound.

“But he doesn’t have an option at this moment in time to play someone else.

“I’m being very critical here, but I think Fernandez has every attribute to be a top, top central defender, yet it looks as if he hasn’t had the education growing up of the basics of being a central defender.”