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  • What to Stream: John Krasinski, ‘Ladies First,’ Rod Stewart, Brooke Shields and a ‘Lego Batman’ game

    What to Stream: John Krasinski, ‘Ladies First,’ Rod Stewart, Brooke Shields and a ‘Lego Batman’ game

    As streaming platforms continue to flood audiences with new content every week, Associated Press entertainment writers have curated a handpicked selection of the most notable new films, series, music releases, and video games hitting digital platforms between May 18 and 24. From long-awaited franchise returns to genre-bending original stories, this week’s lineup offers something for every type of viewer and gamer.

    ## New Films Premiering This Week
    Four years after wrapping up his hit Amazon Prime Video series adaptation of Tom Clancy’s iconic spy franchise, John Krasinski is pulling the CIA analyst’s suit back on for the new standalone feature *Jack Ryan: Ghost War*, premiering Wednesday on Prime Video. Marking the sixth theatrical/streaming entry and third overall reboot of the decades-long Jack Ryan franchise, the new film also brings back fan-favorite series regulars Wendell Pierce, Michael Kelly, and Betty Gabriel to round out the core cast.

    Over on Netflix, the sharp gender satire *Ladies First* debuts Friday, May 22, headlined by Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike. Cohen steps into the role of an unapologetic chauvinist who wakes up one morning to find himself trapped in a parallel reality where women hold all the social and political power. The supporting cast is packed with acclaimed talent, including Charles Dance, Emily Mortimer, and Richard E. Grant.

    Hulu is adding Oscar-nominated animated fantasy *Arco* to its lineup this Friday, May 22. A vivid, rainbow-hued French time-travel adventure, the film follows 12-year-old Arco, who lives in the distant year 2932, only to accidentally warp back to 2072. There, he befriends a young girl growing up in a world reshaped by extreme climate disaster, where robots handle most child-rearing duties. In an earlier assessment, AP film critics praised the feature as a whimsical, dreamlike parable that “directly confronts ecological apocalypse and yet still finds a thrillingly optimistic note to end on.”

    Quentin Tarantino’s unified cut of his two-part revenge epic, *Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair*, makes its streaming debut Friday, May 22 on Peacock. The reworked film merges *Kill Bill Vol. 1* and *Kill Bill Vol. 2* into a single continuous narrative, adding a previously cut 7.5-minute animated sequence that was omitted from the original standalone releases after the project was split in two back in the early 2000s.

    ## New Music Releases to Stream
    With the Grammy Awards set to move their annual broadcast to ABC starting next year, CBS and the Recording Academy are celebrating one last collaboration this week with *Forever Young: A Grammy Salute to Rod Stewart*, a two-hour television special airing Tuesday on CBS. Blending live concert performances, intimate new interviews, and never-before-seen archival and behind-the-scenes footage, the special is a must-watch for any fan of the iconic British rock star. Paramount+ Premium subscribers can stream the special live or on-demand the same day, while those on the Essential tier will be able to watch it starting Wednesday.

    Acclaimed British singer-songwriter Maisie Peters expands her discography this week with the release of her new folk-pop album *Florescence*, out Friday. Peters, known for her sharp, intimate storytelling, leans into themes of new love across the album’s tracklist, creating a warm, relatable soundtrack that will appeal both to long-time fans and new listeners drawn to melodic, heartfelt pop.

    Indie rock duo Lowertown — made up of Atlanta-born, New York-based collaborators Olivia Osby and Avsha Weinberg — release their most polished and compelling work to date this Friday with *Ugly Duckling Union*, out via their own Summer Shade Records. Early in their career, the pair built a following as a lo-fi bedroom pop act heavily influenced by indie cult hero Alex G, signed to Dirty Hit Records, the label behind The 1975. The new record finds the duo refining their sound: hook-driven tracks like the standout love song “I Like You A Lot” trade scrappy lo-fi edges for catchy, accessible melodies, while experimental cuts like “Big Thumb” lean into stream-of-consciousness folk-jazz arrangements featuring harmonica and 12-string guitar. Narrative tracks like “Worst Friend” play to the pair’s chemistry, with Osby and Weinberg trading verses to amp up emotional impact. The release is already being tipped as one of the best indie rock records of 2024.

    ## New Streaming Series to Watch
    Acorn TV’s new six-episode murder mystery *You’re Killing Me* premieres Monday, starring Brooke Shields as a beloved novelist who teams up with a true crime podcaster to unravel a small-town killing.

    Emmy winner Tatiana Maslany leads the new Apple TV+ original *Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed*, which drops its first two episodes Wednesday. Maslany plays a recently divorced woman down on her luck who witnesses a violent crime unfold in real time over a webcam feed, with Jake Johnson of *New Girl* fame co-starring as her ex-husband.

    *Stranger Things* creators the Duffer Brothers are stepping into a new genre as executive producers for Netflix’s *The Boroughs*, debuting Thursday. Leaving behind the teen-focused supernatural drama of their hit Netflix series, the Duffer Brothers’ new project centers on a very different group of heroes: residents of a quiet, picturesque retirement community who band together when monstrous threats emerge in their small town. The star-studded cast includes Geena Davis, Bill Pullman, Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, and Denis O’Hare.

    Lena Waithe’s beloved Chicago-set drama *The Chi* returns for its eighth and final season this Friday, May 22 on Paramount+. The long-running coming-of-age series has followed a group of residents on Chicago’s South Side for nearly a decade, exploring how they navigate systemic racism, community violence, and the fight to build better lives for themselves and their families.

    ## New Video Games to Play This Week
    The most ambitious Lego Batman title ever made, *Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight*, launches Friday, May 22 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Developed by TT Games, a studio long known for balancing playful humor with heartfelt love for the DC franchise, the new release acts as a full career retrospective for the Caped Crusader, pulling inspiration from 80 years of Batman comics, films, and television shows. Players will face off against classic Batman villains including the Joker, Penguin, Two-Face, and Bane, and can even team up with a friend in co-op mode to play as Robin, Batgirl, or Catwoman. The open-world version of Gotham City built for the game is the studio’s largest and most detailed to date.

    Nintendo’s iconic dinosaur hero Yoshi headlines a new family-friendly adventure for the Switch 2, *Yoshi and the Mysterious Book*, launching Thursday. The game kicks off when Yoshi stumbles upon a talking encyclopedia named Mr. E, where every two-page spread opens into a brand new explorable world for Yoshi to bounce through. Staying true to classic Yoshi gameplay, the hero can swallow enemies with his long tongue and carry friendly creatures on his back to borrow their unique abilities. While the game is designed specifically for younger players, the vibrant, lush animation style is sure to appeal to adult players as well.

    Microsoft’s open-world racing franchise *Forza Horizon 6* hits Xbox Series X/S and PC this Tuesday, bringing the beloved series to Japan, one of the world’s most iconic destinations for car culture. The new entry features a diverse range of terrain, from winding mountain roads and coastal coastal trails to the neon-lit city streets of Tokyo. Beyond hundreds of on-road and off-road races, players can complete side activities including stunt challenges, food delivery missions, and collectible hunts for fast-food mascots — even a surprise giant robot encounter is hidden across the map. With 550 real-world licensed cars available to collect and upgrade, completionists will have dozens of hours of content to enjoy filling out their garages.

  • Inside the ‘kill-zone’ on Ukraine’s front line, where new weapons have transformed war

    Inside the ‘kill-zone’ on Ukraine’s front line, where new weapons have transformed war

    Deep in the desolate frontline landscape outside Kostyantynivka, one of eastern Ukraine’s most hotly contested hotspots, a Ukrainian infantryman known only as Kenya sat trapped in a cramped forward foxhole for 225 straight days. Cut off from rotation by the constant, deadly threat of Russian surveillance and attack drones, five attempted relief efforts by his unit failed to reach him. By the time he finally escaped, months of immobility had left his muscles so atrophied he could barely stand, requiring a grueling two-day, 11-kilometer trek through minefields and under constant drone watch to reach the safety of his 93rd Brigade headquarters.

    Kostyantynivka has emerged as a critical linchpin in Russia’s long-stated campaign to seize full control of the Donbas region, a priority goal Moscow has targeted for completion this year, according to Ukrainian intelligence. If the strategic city falls to Russian forces, it will open up three-pronged access from the north, east, and south to the last remaining major Ukrainian strongholds in Donbas: Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that the Kremlin is preparing a large-scale new offensive this summer to push for these gains. Still, Russia’s advance has slowed considerably in recent months: Ukrainian conflict monitoring outlet DeepStatedata reports that Russian territorial gains in Donbas fell by half between March and April 2026, to just one-sixth of the territory Moscow captured in December 2025. The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War further notes that Russia lost more territory than it gained in Ukraine last month, in part due to renewed Ukrainian strikes on Russian supply lines and logistics networks.

    For the soldiers of the 93rd Brigade tasked with holding Kostyantynivka’s outskirts, the current conflict represents a striking paradox of 21st-century warfare. While drones have replaced mass tank assaults and large infantry charges as the primary source of firepower and surveillance, the fundamental rule of warfare remains unchanged: no territory can be permanently held without boots on the ground. Drones cannot seize and hold fortified positions, control high ground or strategic river crossings, so small teams of infantry are still required to garrison forward outposts in the so-called “kill zone” — a wide, unpopulated grey area along the front where every moving object is hunted by remote-controlled drones from both sides.

    In this new landscape of combat, speed matters far more than heavy armor for survival. Assaults are no longer carried out by massive columns; instead, small teams of two or three soldiers cross open terrain on foot, motorbikes, bicycles, or even horseback to avoid detection. For the troops stuck in forward dugouts, daily life is a relentless battle against deprivation and fear. All overland supply routes to the kill zone are cut off, so food and ammunition must be ferried in by small delivery drones — a precarious system that often fails when drones are shot down or jammed, leaving garrisons with intermittent supplies. Kenya told reporters that mice infested his foxhole, gnawing through all non-canned food stores, and the most critical shortage his unit faced was clean drinking water. For him, a rare rainstorm was a moment to remember: it let him strip down and wash after months without clean water. During the winter, when temperatures plummeted to -25°C, worn-out sleeping bags offered little protection against frozen ground and concrete basement floors. Khani, another 93rd Brigade soldier who spent 122 days in a forward outpost, lost a comrade to hypothermia during the cold snap.

    Khani’s own story of survival illustrates the constant, close-quarters danger these troops face. His position in the basement of a ruined two-story home was detected by Russian drones, which directed heavy artillery fire to collapse the building. When Russian troops approached, Khani and his partner opened fire, triggering a coordinated assault: drone strikes, followed by a fiber-optic guided drone that infiltrated the basement before becoming tangled in its own wiring. Khani disabled the drone by shooting its cable reel, cutting its connection to the Russian pilot. Two Russian soldiers then stormed the remains of the basement, detonating anti-tank mines to collapse the entrance and leaving the pair for dead. The two men escaped via a hidden emergency exit they had dug months earlier. Another soldier, Granata, who recently exited the front after 110 days of garrison duty, recalled an incident where Russian forces used a gas-filled explosive to force his team out, leaving his partner severely wounded.

    Even as Ukraine targets Russian logistics to slow the impending summer offensive, frontline infantry like Kenya, Khani and Granata remain the backbone of Ukrainian defense in Donbas. Every time troops leave their dugouts for rotation or resupply, they risk their lives, and even basic movement requires hiding from thermal cameras with short-lived anti-drone cloaks that last barely 20 minutes. “Every time when we had to come out of our positions, we prayed we would come back alive,” Kenya said. Without these small, exposed garrisons holding every kilometer of the front line, Khani says, the entire defensive line would crumble. The experience of these soldiers confirms that even in an era of AI-guided drones and remote warfare, the human cost of holding territory remains as high as ever.

  • England thumps France to seal an eighth straight Women’s Six Nations title and Grand Slam

    England thumps France to seal an eighth straight Women’s Six Nations title and Grand Slam

    BORDEAUX, France — In a highly anticipated showdown that packed the largest home crowd in French women’s rugby history, England delivered another masterclass of championship dominance to secure a record-extending eighth consecutive Women’s Six Nations title on Sunday. The red roses also claimed their fifth straight Grand Slam, capping off an undefeated tournament run with a convincing 43-28 win over a formidable host French side.

    Heading into the clash, all signs pointed to a tight, competitive match. France entered the final round of the tournament also unbeaten, riding a wave of home support and momentum that many experts predicted would end England’s multi-year stranglehold on the competition. What is more, England took the field with just six players who were part of their 2024 Rugby World Cup winning squad from last September, leading many to wonder if the relatively reshuffled lineup would be able to hold off the French challenge.

    But the young, refreshed English side quashed all doubts early, crossing the try line six times en route to the final score line. Fly-half Zoe Harrison was the standout performer of the match, her accurate right boot proving decisive in stretching England’s lead across the 80 minutes. Harrison slotted six out of seven attempted goalkicks on the day, closing out an extraordinary tournament with a total conversion rate of 29 successful kicks from just 31 attempts.

    The victory extends England’s unprecedented world record winning streak to 38 consecutive international matches. Since the start of 2019, the side has lost just one match across 69 total outings, a mark of consistency that is unmatched in elite women’s rugby. The side will not face another test of their winning run until September, when they are set to host second-ranked New Zealand and third-ranked Canada in the annual WXV tournament. Until then, England will hold their position as the undisputed dominant force in European women’s six nations rugby.

  • In Cannes standout ‘Fatherland,’ Sandra Hüller stuns again

    In Cannes standout ‘Fatherland,’ Sandra Hüller stuns again

    CANNES, France — For acclaimed German actress Sandra Hüller, unbridled emotional outbursts are not her default performance style, nor her preferred mode of being. Soft-spoken and drawn to quiet reserve, Hüller often builds her most riveting on-screen intensity through stillness, through the quiet power of simply watching a scene unfold. But when her character does finally break into rage, grief, or even unexpected joy — like her viral karaoke scene in this year’s box office hit — the result is nothing short of spectacular.

    “It’s not something I particularly enjoy doing,” Hüller shared in a candid interview in a sun-dappled Cannes garden, pausing to take a drag from a cigarette before reflecting further. “I’m actually more drawn to characters who don’t erupt constantly. To be honest, people who lash out all the time can be pretty draining, right? I much prefer observing others to being the center of attention myself. When you deliver a big, explosive performance, all eyes are on you — I think that’s probably the root of my preference. Don’t worry, I won’t drag you into playing therapist today to unpack all that,” she said with a warm laugh.

    This year, audiences and critics alike are getting the full, breathtaking scope of Hüller’s talent, with four wildly diverse new releases showcasing every corner of her range. The most anticipated of these projects is *Fatherland*, the latest feature from award-winning Polish filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski, the visionary behind Oscar-winning works *Ida* and *Cold War*, which premiered in competition for the Palme d’Or at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.

    Within days of its first screening, *Fatherland* — set for a global release later this year via Mubi — has emerged as one of the festival’s most widely praised standout entries and an early frontrunner for the festival’s top prize. Staying true to Pawlikowski’s signature aesthetic, the film is shot in elegant, stark black-and-white, clocks in at a tight 82 minutes, and hums with the unprocessed grief and fractured identity of post-World War II Europe.

    Hüller stars as Erika Mann, daughter of iconic German author Thomas Mann, played by Hanns Zischler. In 1949, the pair return to their divided homeland for a cross-country road trip, moving seamlessly between the U.S.-administered West Germany and Soviet-controlled East Germany. Their old country has ceased to exist, leaving them caught between two opposing new worlds — what Thomas Mann dubs the choice between “Mickey Mouse or Stalin.”

    For Hüller, who was born in former East Germany, *Fatherland* comes on the heels of her chilling, Oscar-nominated turn in Jonathan Glazer’s *The Zone of Interest*, which was set on the grounds of the Auschwitz concentration camp. While her *Zone of Interest* character was complicit in Nazi atrocities, Erika in *Fatherland* is a vehement anti-Nazi, forced to live among former collaborators who refuse to reckon with their actions.

    “Portraying emptiness is an enormous challenge, and I think tackling that is a really big deal,” Hüller explained. “We talk about this period constantly in German history classes, but I never got a real sense of what it actually felt like to live it. We have thousands of photos of women clearing rubble from the streets, because most men were dead or imprisoned after the war. But that feeling of waking up and no longer recognizing the country you were born into — that’s something we rarely connect with.”

    *Fatherland* is far from Hüller’s first iconic turn at Cannes. The festival has already hosted two of her most celebrated career performances: the 2016 critically adored comedy *Toni Erdmann*, and 2023’s Palme d’Or-winning *Anatomy of a Fall*. What makes 2026 unique is the sheer volume of high-profile, diverse work coming from the actress, a career streak most performers only dream of.

    Earlier this year, Hüller took home the Berlin Film Festival’s Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance for *Rose*, a meditative exploration of gender set in the aftermath of the Thirty Years’ War. In the spring’s blockbuster hit *Project Hail Mary*, she co-starred opposite Ryan Gosling, who encouraged her to lean into the spontaneous energy of what became the film’s most beloved scene: a raw karaoke performance of Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times.” She will also appear in Oscar-winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s highly anticipated upcoming feature *Digger*, set for release later in 2026.

    “I’m almost 50 now, and I feel incredibly lucky to be having this run of experiences right now,” Hüller said. “For a lot of my peers at this age, work slows down, or it feels like the end of the road. That’s not the case for me, and I don’t take that for granted.”

    Just as Erika is torn between two competing worlds in *Fatherland*, Hüller currently moves seamlessly between European art house cinema and major Hollywood blockbusters, thriving in both spaces. “I’ve just been looking at every project that comes my way and asking myself if I can say yes, if I’m ready to take it on,” she explained. “So many new experiences are coming my way that I’ve never had before — I’d be so stupid to turn them down. It’s not about chasing success, really. It’s about growing as a person and an artist, getting to know new spaces so you can move more freely through the world. That brings me so much joy. It’s dangerous, it’s way outside of my comfort zone, but it’s worth it.”

    Despite this unprecedented career high, success has come with a trade-off for Hüller, who identifies first and foremost as a theater actor. She is eager to return to the grassroots theater collective where she honed her craft early in her career; she still directs productions with the group, but her widespread fame makes it impossible for her to step back into an ensemble role without drawing unwanted attention.

    “I miss theater like a heartbroken person misses someone they love,” she said, her eyes filling with tears as she spoke. “Even talking about it right now, I can’t hold back the tears.”

    Pawlikowski, known for his stripped-back, minimalist filmmaking style, occasionally adds spontaneous moments to his meticulously crafted shots. During filming, he came up with a last-minute scene where Erika, who has grown quietly skeptical of her father’s cautious optimism for a new, united Germany, finally confronts him in a shouting match.

    “I told her, ‘Listen, if the scene doesn’t work, I won’t put it in the final cut — just give it your best shot,’ and she was brilliant,” Pawlikowski recalled in an interview at Cannes. “That’s the luxury of working with an actress who can do anything. I just watched her and thought, how did she pull that off? It was even better than what I’d imagined.”

    Hüller didn’t expect Pawlikowski’s unique directorial approach to reshape her acting process, but it did. Pawlikowski’s framing leaves an enormous amount of empty space for performances to breathe, and Hüller had to learn how to occupy that space without falling into stillness that reads as lifeless on camera.

    “It all comes down to presence, awareness, and focus, and having a rich inner life that isn’t necessarily visible on the outside,” she said. “But audiences can feel it, somehow. The more precise that inner movement is, the better it works within Pawlikowski’s very precise, carefully constructed frames. That’s a lesson I had to learn through making this film, and it’s one I’ll carry with me for the rest of my career.”

  • Bulgaria gives its Eurovision winner Dara a grand welcome upon her return home

    Bulgaria gives its Eurovision winner Dara a grand welcome upon her return home

    Hundreds of enthusiastic supporters flooded Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport on Sunday, waving Bulgarian national flags and cheering loudly to welcome home Dara, the newly crowned winner of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest. Looking exhausted but beaming with joy, the 27-year-old artist stepped off the plane holding aloft her Eurovision trophy, marking a historic milestone for the small Southeast European nation. All major Bulgarian broadcast networks interrupted their scheduled programming to carry live, uninterrupted coverage of the homecoming celebration for viewers across the country.

    Dara, whose full legal name is Darina Yotova, secured Bulgaria’s first ever Eurovision win on Saturday at the competition held in Vienna, topping the leaderboard with her high-energy, crowd-pleasing hit “Bangaranga”. Outperforming 24 other competing artists from across Europe and beyond, the track’s catchy, infectious beats and polished synchronized choreography resonated strongly with both professional jury panels from participating nations and global public voters, whose combined scores determine the annual contest’s champion.

    In brief remarks to reporters upon her arrival, Dara framed her victory as more than just a personal achievement. “This award marks the beginning of my future international career,” she said, adding that the win should draw attention to the depth of creative talent emerging from her home country. “We have done something great for Bulgarian music, and I hope this sends a message that Bulgaria’s performers and artists deserve stronger support. Bulgaria is an exceptionally talented nation that will continue to receive more and more attention,” she added.

    The win has sparked a wave of national pride across Bulgaria, with top political leaders joining public celebrations of Dara’s achievement. Parliamentary Speaker Mihaela Dotsova described the victory as “an inspiration for the nation,” while President Iliana Yotova called it a “triumph for Bulgaria.” Prime Minister Rumen Radev echoed that praise, noting the win is “a victory with global resonance” for the country.

    Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev was also on hand at the airport to greet the new champion, and confirmed that the Bulgarian capital is already prepared to host the 2027 edition of the iconic song contest. The 2027 event would align with the 20th anniversary of Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union, creating a fitting milestone for the country’s first time hosting the long-running competition.

  • Defending champs US rebounds from a loss to Switzerland by beating Britain 5-1 at ice hockey worlds

    Defending champs US rebounds from a loss to Switzerland by beating Britain 5-1 at ice hockey worlds

    ZURICH, Switzerland – After a disappointing opening defeat to host Switzerland, the reigning IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship champions the United States got their tournament back on track Sunday, securing a dominant 5-1 victory over first-time top-tier qualifier Great Britain in a Group A preliminary round matchup held in Zurich.

    Forward Isaac Howard led the scoring charge for the U.S. with two goals, while linemates Paul Cotter and Mathieu Olivier notched three points apiece, and defenseman Declan Carlile contributed a one-goal, one-assist performance to round out the American offensive effort. Goaltender Devin Cooley anchored the win between the pipes, turning away 18 of the 19 shots he faced to keep Great Britain’s offense bottled up for most of the contest.

    Cotter opened the scoring for the U.S. at the 13:55 mark of the first period, slipping the puck into the net from point-blank range to break the early deadlock. Great Britain, competing in its first ever top-division world championship, held firm and evened the score mid-way through the second period. Defenseman Nathanael Halbert converted on the power play, firing a shot through a crowd of American skaters that found the back of the net to make the score 1-1.

    With less than three minutes remaining in the middle frame, Howard capitalized on a Great Britain defensive mistake to slot home an unassisted goal, restoring the U.S. lead at 2-1 heading into the final period. Howard, who was part of the 2023 U.S. championship roster alongside teammate Mason Lohrei, proved to be a consistent offensive threat all game.

    Early in the third period, the Americans extended their lead in quick succession, with Olivier and Carlile finding the net just 15 seconds apart to push the score to 4-1. Olivier put away a rebound off a saved American shot, while Carlile’s shot from the blue line deflected off a British defender and past the goaltender. Howard closed out the scoring with his second goal of the game on a U.S. power play with 3:49 left on the clock, sealing the three-goal victory for the defending champions.

    Looking ahead, the U.S. is set to take on Finland in their next preliminary round matchup on Monday. The team will also receive a significant boost ahead of their Tuesday game, with the scheduled arrival of Florida Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk – a gold medal winner with Team USA at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics. As for Great Britain, the tournament newcomer dropped to its second consecutive defeat after earning promotion to the top division this cycle.

    In other world championship action Sunday, in Group B play held in Fribourg, Slovakia earned its second win of the tournament with a 4-1 victory over another debutant side, Italy. The remainder of Sunday’s schedule sees 2023 bronze medalist Sweden face Denmark, and Norway take on Slovenia in Fribourg, while Zurich will host matchups between Austria and Hungary, and Germany and Latvia.

  • Pedestrian dies after being hit by car

    Pedestrian dies after being hit by car

    A tragic fatal road collision in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, has claimed the life of a woman in her early to mid-20s, after she was struck by a car late Saturday night.

    Irish national police, known locally as Gardaí, confirmed that emergency responders were dispatched to the scene at approximately 23:50 local time. The crash took place on the N11 Bray Road in the Loughlinstown district of the city, where the pedestrian was hit by the moving vehicle.

    First responders pronounced the young woman dead at the site of the incident, moments after the collision occurred.

    In line with standard protocol for fatal road incidents, the office of the coroner has been formally notified of the death. The entire crash site has been cordoned off and preserved to allow forensic experts from Gardaí’s Collision Investigation unit to conduct a full technical examination to determine the exact cause and circumstances of the crash.

    To accommodate the ongoing investigation, local traffic management teams have put in place temporary diversions to redirect vehicles away from the affected stretch of road.

    Gardaí have now issued a public appeal for any members of the public who may have witnessed the collision, or who have dashcam footage from the area around the time of the incident, to come forward with information that could assist the investigation.

  • It’s official: Wes Streeting of the Labour Party wants to be Britain’s next prime minister

    It’s official: Wes Streeting of the Labour Party wants to be Britain’s next prime minister

    LONDON – For months, Wes Streeting’s ambition to seize the top role of British prime minister has been one of the worst-hidden open secrets in United Kingdom politics. On Saturday, that unconfirmed speculation moved into the official realm: the former Labour health secretary formally declared his plan to oust sitting Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, becoming the first sitting member of Parliament to throw their hat into the ring for a bruising internal leadership contest.

    The upcoming challenge comes at a deeply fraught moment for Labour. Just two years ago, the party secured a historic landslide victory that ended 14 years of Conservative Party rule, but its political standing has plummeted sharply in recent months. Streeting is not expected to be the only challenger: Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, another high-profile figure seen as a potential alternative to Starmer, is widely expected to join the race if he wins a upcoming special election to secure a seat in the House of Commons.

    For his part, Starmer has pledged to defend his leadership despite plummeting public approval. His tenure has been marked by a string of high-profile setbacks, sudden policy U-turns, and sustained criticism over his poor judgment in appointing a close associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to the role of U.K. ambassador to the U.S. The prime minister’s refusal to step down following Labour’s catastrophic performance in the May 7 local and regional elections – where Nigel Farage’s hardline anti-immigration party Reform UK secured massive gains – has thrown the national government into weeks of ongoing political chaos.

    In his formal announcement Saturday, Streeting framed his challenge as an urgent course correction to save both the party and the country. “The voters did more than send Labour a message last week,” Streeting said. “They issued a warning: that unless we change course, we risk being the handmaidens of Nigel Farage and the breakup of the United Kingdom.”

    At 43, the boyish-looking Streeting has long been regarded as one of the Labour Party’s most effective public communicators, and has emerged as an outspoken voice on high-profile issues including the ongoing war in Gaza. His political trajectory traces back to working-class roots in London’s East End, where he grew up in public housing. His rise from that background to attendance at the prestigious University of Cambridge is detailed in his memoir, *One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up: A Memoir of Growing Up and Getting On*, which takes its name from his two grandfathers, both named Bill: one, a maternal grandfather with ties to organized crime who served prison time for armed robbery, and the other, his paternal grandfather, who Streeting credits with guiding him to the opportunity to attend Cambridge.

    Streeting entered political organizing early, leading the Cambridge University Students’ Union before rising to become president of the National Union of Students. Before his 2015 election to Parliament, he worked for LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Stonewall, and has spoken publicly about his own journey coming out as gay and reconciling his sexuality with his lifelong Anglican faith. He cut his political teeth in local government, serving as a councilor and later deputy leader of Redbridge London Borough Council before winning his parliamentary seat.

    As a backbench lawmaker during Jeremy Corbyn’s tenure as Labour leader, Streeting was a consistent and vocal critic of the veteran socialist leader, whose two general election defeats and repeated antisemitism scandals rocked the party. When Starmer took over the party leadership in 2020, Streeting was quickly promoted through the ranks, eventually rising to the role of Health Secretary in Starmer’s cabinet.

    For Streeting, the role of Health Secretary was far more than a political posting: it was a personal mission. Having survived a battle with kidney cancer earlier in his life, he framed the role as a chance to repay the National Health Service (NHS) that saved his life. “The NHS saved my life,” he said upon taking the role. “Today, I can begin to repay that debt by saving our NHS.”

    Even as rumors of his leadership ambitions circulated for months, Streeting repeatedly reaffirmed his support for Starmer and denied any plans to mount a challenge. But as Starmer’s position became increasingly untenable in the wake of the May local elections, that public position became unsustainable.

    On Wednesday, as King Charles III delivered the government’s ceremonial legislative blueprint for the coming parliamentary term during the State Opening of Parliament, speculation about an internal leadership challenge dominated front-page headlines across British tabloids. The Daily Mail ran the all-caps headline “Streeting to ignite Labour day of anarchy,” while the Daily Express asked: “Finally, a move to bring down ‘Zombie’ Keir?”

    The day after the State Opening, Streeting became the first cabinet minister to resign, stating publicly that he had lost confidence in Starmer’s leadership and criticizing the prime minister for a lack of clear vision and direction. He stopped short of immediately announcing his leadership challenge, and his resignation came on the same day he publicly announced that NHS waiting times for routine appointments – his signature policy priority as health secretary – had fallen for the fifth consecutive month.

    A member of Labour’s moderate left wing, Streeting has previously faced questions over his ties to disgraced former Labour heavyweight Peter Mandelson, who was appointed and then swiftly fired as U.S. ambassador by Starmer over his long-standing friendship with Epstein. As controversy over Mandelson’s appointment reignited earlier this year, Streeting proactively published a series of email exchanges between the two to prove the pair were not close allies. “Contrary to what has been widely reported, I was not a close friend of Peter Mandelson, but I am not going to wash my hands of my actual association with him either,” he wrote in a Guardian opinion piece. In one of the released emails, he echoed widespread criticism of Starmer, writing that “there isn’t a clear answer to the question: why Labour?” In the coming weeks, Streeting has confirmed he will lay out his own vision to answer that question for the party and the country.

  • Young Kyiv couple killed in a fierce Russian airstrike hoped to start a family, mourners say

    Young Kyiv couple killed in a fierce Russian airstrike hoped to start a family, mourners say

    KYIV, Ukraine — In the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago, Maryna Homeniuk joined the millions of Ukrainians forced to flee the violence to seek safety abroad. Like many displaced Ukrainians, she prioritized continuing her education, completing her university degree in the Czech Republic and adding Vietnamese to her already extensive roster of spoken languages before making the choice to return to her home country in 2023. It was after her return that she met Yurii Orlov, the man who would become her beloved partner.

    That shared future the couple planned was cut devastatingly short last Thursday, when they became two of the 24 civilian lives lost in a massive wave of Russian airstrikes across Ukraine — a barrage Ukrainian military officials have called the largest single air attack of the entire war. A Russian cruise missile directly struck the apartment building where Homeniuk and Orlov lived, reducing their home to rubble.

    On Saturday, friends and family gathered at Homeniuk’s funeral to lay the 24-year-old English teacher to rest. They had hoped to honor Orlov alongside her, but recovery work meant his remains were not prepared for burial in time for the joint service.

    Friends remembered Homeniuk as a deeply compassionate young woman with a life full of unfulfilled dreams. “She was a very caring person. I feel very sorry, because she had so many dreams. She worked with children and wanted to have children herself someday, when times were safer,” her close friend Olesia Yukhnovych told the Associated Press in an interview.

    By all accounts, Homeniuk was a gifted linguist: friends confirm she spoke approximately 10 languages, including fluent Mandarin Chinese and Korean. A sensitive, warm-hearted person, she often took in stray and abandoned animals, and nurtured a deep love of travel, saving for months to fund adventures to new countries around the world.

    “This is a young person. This is a girl who had absolutely the whole future ahead of her,” said Anastasiia Petrushyna, who worked alongside Homeniuk and counted her as a close friend. “This future will no longer exist — our youth basically can’t have it. You never know what trouble awaits you.”

    Orlov, 30 at the time of his death, was a committed athlete: he played hockey for multiple teams across Kyiv before going on to captain the Kyiv Floorball Club. Though the pair came from different interests — he centered his life around sports, while Homeniuk’s passion was art — everyone close to them could see the deep love they shared.

    A beloved weekly tradition bonded the couple: Homeniuk never missed a Sunday game that Orlov played. He taught her the rules and skills of floorball, a variant of hockey played on indoor surfaces, and in return, she helped him improve his English language skills.

    For Yukhnovych, the contrast between what was supposed to be and the grim reality of the day cuts unbearably deep. “It’s a shame. I should have been helping prepare for the wedding and I ended up helping prepare for the funeral,” she said. “It’s horrible.”

    The couple’s deaths come amid a brutal, unrelenting series of Russian attacks on Kyiv that have stretched through the winter. They had often talked with friends about their desire to move out of their Darnytsia neighborhood, located on Kyiv’s left bank, where power outages from Russian strikes persisted far longer than in other parts of the capital. But like many Ukrainians, they could not afford the cost of relocating to a safer area.

    In the chaotic hours after Thursday’s airstrike, Yukhnovych sent a text message to Homeniuk to check in, a precaution many Ukrainians take after attacks to confirm loved ones are safe. “You never think something could happen to someone close to you, and you just message them as a precaution,” she said. “I never thought this would be one of those times when the message would remain unread.”

  • Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia kill 4 and wound 12 others, while debris lands on a Moscow airport

    Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia kill 4 and wound 12 others, while debris lands on a Moscow airport

    On Sunday, regional Russian authorities confirmed that one of the largest drone offensives Ukraine has launched against Russian territory since the start of the full-scale invasion left at least four people dead and 12 others injured, marking a significant escalation in cross-border long-range attacks.

    Casualty reports from local officials confirm three of the fatalities occurred in areas just outside Moscow: a woman died when a drone crashed directly into her residential home in Khimki, a commuter city located just northwest of the Russian capital, while two men were killed in Pogorelki, a small village roughly six miles north of Moscow’s city center. A fourth fatality was recorded in the Belgorod region, which shares a border with eastern Ukraine, after a drone struck a civilian transport truck. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin added that 12 people were wounded in overnight strikes near the city’s main oil refinery, though the facility’s core operational infrastructure was left unharmed. Debris from downed drones also landed on the grounds of Sheremetyevo International Airport, Russia’s busiest air transit hub, but officials confirmed no damage to airport infrastructure and no disruptions to ongoing flight operations. Regional governor Andrei Vorobyev additionally reported that unspecified civilian infrastructure and multiple apartment buildings suffered damage across the Moscow region in the attacks.

    Russian defense officials released preliminary figures showing that air defense systems intercepted or jammed more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones across Russian territory over the 24-hour period preceding Sunday midday. Of those, 81 drones were intercepted while headed toward Moscow alone – a scale of attack that ranks among the largest targeting the capital since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

    In a public statement confirming the operation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy framed the strikes as a fully justified response to constant Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian areas. He noted that the drones used in the attack traveled more than 310 miles from Ukrainian launch points, successfully penetrating the layered Russian air defense systems concentrated around Moscow. “Our responses to Russia’s prolongation of the war and attacks on our cities and communities are entirely justified,” Zelenskyy said. “This time, Ukrainian long-distance sanctions have reached the Moscow region, and we are clearly telling the Russians: their state must end its war.”

    Nigel Gould Davies, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the large-scale attack aligns with retaliatory threats Zelenskyy issued after a recent wave of intense Russian strikes on Kyiv that followed the May 9 Russian Victory Day parade. The attack, he explained, demonstrates Ukraine’s growing ability to carry out large-scale strikes deep within Russian territory, bringing the reality of the war directly to the Russian capital in a move that is deeply destabilizing for the Kremlin.

    “It brings home the fact Ukraine has the capacity to strike at very significant scale at or around the Russian capital,” Gould Davies told the Associated Press. He added that the attack will compound growing public anxiety across Russia that has built steadily over the past three to four months, fueled by battlefield setbacks, worsening domestic economic conditions, and the Kremlin’s increasing crackdown on online dissent. While these mounting pressures will erode public comfort with the ongoing conflict, Gould Davies noted he does not expect them to force Russia to pursue the compromises required for meaningful peace negotiations in the near term.

    In addition to targeting political and population centers, Ukraine has increasingly used long-range drone strikes to hit Russian oil infrastructure deep inside the country. These strikes, which have generated smoke plumes visible from orbit and even left toxic fallout in Black Sea tourist destinations, are intended to cut into Moscow’s oil export revenue – the single largest source of funding for its invasion of Ukraine. While the overall economic impact of these attacks remains uncertain, as higher global oil prices driven by tensions around Iran and the easing of some U.S. sanctions have boosted Russian government revenues, the strikes have succeeded in bringing the consequences of the war to ordinary Russians living hundreds of miles from the front lines.

    The Ukrainian drone attack came on the heels of a massive overnight Russian drone offensive targeting Ukrainian territory, which also left casualties. Ukrainian air force officials reported that Russia launched 287 drones at Ukraine overnight, 279 of which were successfully intercepted or jammed. Eight people were wounded in Russian strikes across the central Dnipropetrovsk region, including three in the regional capital Dnipro, four in Kryvyi Rih – Zelenskyy’s hometown – and one in Synelkove. Multiple residential buildings were damaged in the strikes, Ukraine’s state emergency service confirmed.