Blake Lively was spotted out in New York City on Tuesday, just hours after Candace Owens took a cheeky jab at her by posting a selfie with Justin Baldoni. 

The Gossip Girl star, 39, cut a chic figure while delivering a cup of coffee to her husband Ryan Reynolds, 49, who waited inside his car. 

The actress looked ready for fall, wearing a cozy grey knit cardigan and a matching skirt as she stepped out days after the details of her surprisingly low payout from Baldoni were revealed. 

She completed the ensemble with trendy $950 mesh Marcy ballet flats by Khaite, and a burgundy suede Chanel bucket bag from the Fall/Winter 2026 pre-collection, which retails for $6,700. 

Lively wore her blonde hair straight with a side part, and shielded her eyes with a pair of Chanel sunglasses. 

She added a touch of sparkle to the look with a heart-shaped necklace and a sapphire ring. 

Meanwhile, Reynolds was later seen attending the premiere of his new comedy movie Mayday at AMC Lincoln Square without his wife. 

He cut a dashing figure in a grey suit paired with white sneakers. The actor way joined by Maria Bakalova and Sir Kenneth Branagh. 

Lively’s outing comes a day after Owens shared about her random run-in with Baldoni, 42, last week, and took a jab at Lively.

‘There was an approximate 1 in 100 million chance that I ran into Justin Baldoni at an airport in Iceland on a Friday afternoon,’ the political commentator, 37, captioned a selfie that showed her cuddling up to the actor. ‘Just incredible.’

She added the hashtag #Cousins in a nod to her support of Baldoni amid his public feud with his It Ends with Us co-star Lively.

‘NOBODY messes with my cousin,’ Owens added.

In another subtle jab at Lively, Owens posted the photo to her Instagram Stories, accompanying the image with the Taylor Swift track My Tears Ricochet.

The song was used in It Ends With Us and Lively and Swift were previously close friends before their high-profile falling out.

One user was tickled by Owens’ trolling, writing: ‘Now Candace that’s just messy … got Taylor playing in the background.’ 

It comes just days after the Daily Mail revealed the star was to be awarded only a small fraction of legal fees she tried to claim from Baldoni after their bitter court battle.

The Gossip Girl star looked ready for fall, wearing a cozy grey knit cardigan and a matching skirt along with a $6,700 Chanel bucket bag and $950 mesh ballet flats by Khaite

Meanwhile, her husband Ryan Reynolds, 49, was later seen attending the premiere of his new comedy movie Mayday at AMC Lincoln Square without her

Advertisement

He cut a dashing figure in a grey suit paired with white sneakers

The actor way joined by Maria Bakalova and Sir Kenneth Branagh 

Lively’s outing comes a day after Owens shared about her random run-in with Baldoni last week, and accompanied her post with Taylor Swift’s track My Tears Ricochet

The song was used in It Ends With Us and Lively and Swift were previously close friends before their high-profile falling out; The two pictured in 2024  

Advertisement

On Wednesday, a judge ruled that Lively will be awarded just five percent of the amount she sought to recoup for defending herself against Baldoni’s $400 million defamation lawsuit

On Wednesday, a judge in New York ruled she will be awarded just five percent ($400,000) of the amount she sought to recoup ($8 million) for defending herself against Baldoni’s $400 million defamation lawsuit.

The judge said hours Lively had billed for her lawyers were ‘unreasonable’ and criticized the ‘discrepancies’ in the expenses she was trying to claim.

The court ruling came months after the same judge threw out most of the claims in Lively’s sexual harassment case against her It Ends With Us co-star and they agreed to settle the case with no money changing hands.

Judge Lewis Liman had previously dismissed Baldoni’s defamation countersuit against Lively, but he did allow her to seek legal fees solely related to defending that action.

In an order obtained by the Daily Mail, Judge Liman ruled: ‘The clerk of court is respectfully directed to enter judgment for Lively in the amount of $363,245.40 in attorneys’ fees and $44,206.35 in costs’.

Lively sued Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios production company in December 2024 for alleged sexual harassment on the set of the movie, and defamation.

Baldoni responded the following month with the $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, and the New York Times, which was first to publish her claims.

In October last year, a judge dismissed Baldoni’s case and in May this year, after a judge dismissed most of Lively’s claims, she agreed to settle her claim. But the legal battle didn’t end there.

Weeks later, Lively filed court documents seeking to recoup her legal expenses from the drawn-out lawsuit.

Last month, Lively revealed in court filings just how much she was demanding: $4,544,094 from Wilkie, Farr & Gallagher and $2,951,432 from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, two high-profile law firms.

Lively and Baldoni finally agreed to a settlement in the two-year legal battle in May – just two weeks before the case was set to go to trial. Above, on the set of It Ends With Us in 2024

Advertisement

It Ends with Us earned $148 million in domestic box office and $350 million globally, but whatever goodwill the film garnered was overshadowed by the allegations made by its stars 

However, the final bill will be $300,000 higher because of costs related to a recent hearing on June 1, bringing it to $8.3 million.

The news she’d receive a measly $400,000 after demanding an eye-watering $8 million following their bombshell settlement, coincided with her birthday, when her husband shared a gushing post calling her a ‘courageous and deeply kind genius.’

Lively and Reynolds first met in 2010 on the set of Green Lantern. They started dating the following year, in October 2011.

They tied the knot on September 9, 2012 in South Carolina and share daughters James, 11, Inez, nine, Betty, six, and son Olin, three.

The Wednesday letters page is appalled by Sony’s attempts to justify not owning digital games, as one reader voices doubts about DLSS 5.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Ace attorneys
I still can’t quite believe what was said by Sony in that story about their legal defence of digital games. I had to read it twice to understand what they were even trying to say and then I realised they were trying to bamboozle the judge with made-up nonsense – the sort of thing you could’ve told your gran 30 years ago, before computers were really a known thing at home.

There’s only one copy so how could any one person own it? Sony, what are you talking about? Rather than mock them though I think it’s depressing just how far they are willing to go, to not do the right thing.

Even though their argument is just a word salad I’m sure they’ll win anyway. I don’t know why we bother having trials. Just see who has the most expensive lawyers and skip to the end where they win.

Anyway, to skip to the end myself I’ll just say this, I’m not buying a PlayStation 6 and I don’t care what it does. Sony is losing the trust and respect of gamers all over the world and I am definitely one of them. I don’t want to buy a gaming PC but that’s what I’m being pushed towards because of their arrogant attitude.
Carter

Group purchase
Hi to all at GC and the readers who make this community fantastic. I am in a pickle of a jam at the moment of only being realistically able to afford one new game in the next few months. Out of the games I would buy – Star Wars Zero Company, Onimusha: Way Of The Sword, and Star Wars: Galactic Racer – I have plumped for Galactic Racer, as it has been on my radar for longer than the others.

As both of these games are semi-niche, I was wondering if someone who is on the fence about getting one, would take a punt on them as they have both reviewed well and I would like to see these sorts of games supported over GTA 6 or EA Sports FC 27 by the masses. I know it’s a long shot but someone taking a chance would be great (physical too).

Many thanks and keep up the good work!!
Will

Definitely probably
With regards to Rob Lilley’s letter about which format to choose when buying Grand Theft Auto 6. I’ll be genuinely interested to see how the game runs on the Xbox Series S. When it was first announced that the game was coming out for the machine, I seriously thought about buying Microsoft’s cheaper console, because at home I’ve got way too much physical media piled up as it is.

Briefly scanning the internet, I get the impression that Xbox Series S owners are more than happy with their machines. Microsoft had a good idea there, releasing a more affordable console for gamers that weren’t overly bothered about ultra high definition graphics and frame rates.

Looking at the huge liquorice allsort that I have stuck under my telly, I regret not buying a sleek and unobtrusive Xbox Series S instead, when they were attractively priced. But will Microsoft’s budget console run GTA 6? That’s the question.

My guess is, probably.
Michael Veal

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Beast of a game
I am really enjoying my time with Beast Of Reincarnation. Nice vertical and horizontal exploration of sorts, to find hidden items and fun battles to boot.

Thank goodness for those updates along the way. That writing was way too small even on my 65″ TV! Plus, other handy updates. But was it me or didn’t they have the English voice overs when first released? Could swear they didn’t.
ShaunOMacY2J (gamertag)

Don’t miss Gaming news! Add us as a Preferred Source

As a loyal GameCentral reader, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for gaming stories. We have all the latest video games news, reviews, previews, and interviews, with a vibrant community of highly engaged readers.

Click the button below and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.

Add us as a Preferred Source

Advertisement

Unlimited power
Love XCOM. I love legacy Star Wars (and Andor), so Zero Company looked brilliant on paper. But in reality, it is even better!

If you are looking for deep strategy, good storytelling, and solid turn-based gameplay I can 200% recommend Zero Company and would highly recommend it to anyone on the fence.

However, my issue is that it’s left me wanting more!

More characters. More missions. More enemies. More gear. More of everything!

I am going to cash in c. 30 years of Metro/ Digi readership points (going all the way back to Digi characters and ‘reveal’ quizzes!) to implore EA to give Bit Reactor the wonga to make more content and greenlight a sequel ASAP!

Would love to know how others have been getting on with this game too.
Tom

GC: We would love a DLC pack of aliens, at the very least, but the future of Bit Reactor seems very much up in the air at the moment.

A change is as good as a rest
Also loving Star Wars Zero Company – felt I needed to support it but not regretting it at all. I would say that, to me, it does feel like an iteration of XCOM but between the change in theme and the small amendments to the way it plays, it’s just about different enough. That said, it’s not a problem. XCOM is great.

Thinking about it, the theme change may actually be a huge positive for some old school XCOM players (I know at least one). It’s not that its Star Wars, but crucially it’s not XCOM, meaning that hopefully those players aren’t constantly looking at what the game isn’t (the squad sizes are too small, etc.) but can enjoy it on its own terms.
Matt (he_who_runs_away – PSN ID)

Pure kino
Just caught up on the whole Grand Theft Auto on YouTube and one thing it has reaffirmed to me is that the cinematic verve in a Rockstar production is unmatched in the industry, and that the release of a new GTA is always an event. Something that feels increasingly like a rarity these days.

Other than the frankly unreal graphics (eat your heart out Epic Games), which in my eyes virtually look next gen, I was quite pleased to learn that the game is following in Red Dead Redemption 2’s footsteps with the more rigid adherence to realism and higher stakes in the story.

I’m pretty confident the gunplay, driving, and general controls will feel more fluid and responsive than anything they’ve done to date, and I was amazed by the sheer density of detail and things to see and do in the game’s world – the scuba diving and base jumping activities looked incredible.

But I also hope the game doesn’t take itself too seriously and lose sight of its more gamified, zanier side, like the UFO signs, drug-induced hallucinogenic alien fights, and Ballad Of Gay Tony-like craziness, etc. to counterbalance the magnified mundanities of a life simulator elsewhere.

I also have to once again acknowledge how impeccable Rockstar’s editing and choice of music in their promotional videos and montages are.

I’ve always felt that the GTAs are more than the sum of their parts, and whilst I still have some small reservations about the substance and evolution of the main mission design, how sharp and resonant the satire and writing will be, and the relationship mechanics, I think as a whole the experience is most likely going to be impressive.

Now for an anecdote:

I took my dear grandmother out to brunch the other day, afterwards she wanted to go into a flower shop to purchase some lilies, but I desperately had to use the loo, so momentarily left her side.

When I had returned she was nowhere to be seen, but fortunately I was quickly able to breathe a sigh of relief after I located her in the grocery store next door looking for some borlotti beans.

For a moment there, I thought some nefarious soul had committed gran theft auto.
GG

Halloween port
Nice to see the well-received The Séance Of Blake Manor has been given a console release date of October 27th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

It’ll be a very reasonable £16.75 on the eShop, the other stores don’t have prices yet.
Simundo

GC: It’s a great game; we highly recommend it.

Consistently inconsistent
RE: Nick the Greek and when did Sonic games get good again. As a long time Sonic fan I think it’s best to acknowledge that the games have always been a mixed bag. Back when the original trilogy was coming out you had the Game Gear games, which can be considered serviceable at best, but few people are talking about them today.

Then in the late 90s and 2000s, for every Sonic Adventure there’s a Secret Rings. Sonic Unleashed manages to be a great game with Sonic and a poor one with the Werehog, all in one go. Many would say Sonic was consistently good on portables, given the Advance and Rush games, but that ignores the very samey Rivals games on PSP In the 2010s.

We did end up with less games than the 2000s, but sadly that didn’t spark an increase in quality. Games like Lost World and Forces are best described as fine, they function but they’re not going to be all that much fun. Even the racing games embody this mixed bag problem; the Riders series becoming less engaging with each entry and the kart racers being great except for Team Sonic Racing, which had a great idea but poor execution, in my opinion.

And now in the 2020s we’ve got Frontiers and Shadow Generations, which are both fantastic, but then there’s Superstars, which feels like a bad attempt at developing the ideas from Sonic Mania. And of course all of this is ignoring the two underbaked disasters that were 2006 and Boom, which somehow didn’t kill the franchise.

I guess there’s just something about the blue blur that’s allowed him to endure through all the hardship for 35 years, so here’s to 35 more.
Sunny

Inbox also-rans
Why is it I don’t believe a word Nvidia is saying about DLSS 5? It’s very obvious they only started with NBA 2K27 because it’s got real people in it, that the AI can copy more easily. It’s still going to be a nightmare machine when it tries the same trick with characters there’s less reference for.
Focus

I see Double Fine are talking about making a Brütal Legend but, err… aren’t most of the people from the first game dead now? Lemmy, Ozzy Osbourne, Tim Curry… the only one still going, that I can remember, is Rob Halford. And Jack Black, obviously.
K

GC: Lita Ford is still around too.

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE: Games Inbox: Are retro video games becoming more popular?

MORE: Games Inbox: Does GTA 6 have the best video game graphics ever?

MORE: Games Inbox: Was the GTA 6 Netflix show a disappointment?

New Quay in Ceredigion has been dubbed Britain’s prettiest coastal town, but it has also been named the most isolated town in England and Wales, with the nearest supermarket a 20-mile journey away

A small Welsh seaside town of New Quay in Ceredigion has earned a glowing reputation as one of Britain’s prettiest.

Regularly praised for its unspoilt coastline and charming harbour, New Quay is a place full of surprises. It has dolphins, harbour porpoises, a hillside of colourful, chocolate-box style homes, and a connection to Wales’ most famous poet.

It is all of these qualities that make it a fantastic place to visit, and why Hazel Rickett, a travel expert at small-group tour operator Rabbie’s, has selected New Quay as one of seven destinations that are perfect for a late summer long weekend.

“Tucked away on the Ceredigion coast, New Quay is one of Wales’ best-kept seaside secrets. Colourful cottages, a picturesque harbour and sweeping views across Cardigan Bay make it an ideal destination for a peaceful coastal escape,” Hazel said.

“Visitors can stroll along the waterfront, enjoy fresh seafood and, if they’re lucky, spot the resident bottlenose dolphins. Its relaxed atmosphere and beautiful coastline make it the perfect destination for a laid-back short break.”

New Quay sits on Cardigan Bay, which holds one of Europe’s largest resident populations of bottlenose dolphins. They’re regularly spotted right from the harbour wall or headland in summer, no boat required. If you want a closer look, boat trip operators like SeaMor Dolphin Watching run out of the harbour.

Grey seals, harbour porpoises, seabirds, and rare chough are all found along the coast, and the free Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre on the seafront covers all of it.

The town’s most famous son is Dylan Thomas, who lived in New Quay with his wife Caitlin for about six months in 1944/45. It was one of the most productive periods of his career, and the town is widely accepted as the model for the fictional village of Llareggub in Under Milk Wood. There’s a Dylan Thomas Trail you can follow, a plaque at The Black Bull pub marking where he got the idea for an early piece that became Under Milk Wood, and the site of Majoda, the “wood and asbestos pagoda” bungalow where he wrote.

It’s easy to see why the place proved such an inspiration to Thomas, given its clear beauty. Brightly painted houses tumble down a steep hill to the working harbour and Harbour Beach, which won a Seaside Award in 2026 for cleanliness. It marks the halfway point of the Wales Coast Path, so it’s a natural stopping point for walkers.

Intriguingly, New Quay has also been named as one of the most isolated in the UK. While New Quay’s 1,045 residents are well served by tourist-facing independent shops and cafes, the town has no major supermarket. Despite a Costcutter and a Morrisons nearby, the nearest large superstore — a Tesco or Aldi in Cardigan — requires a 20-mile round trip. The nearest railway station, in Aberystwyth, is a 40-minute drive away.

New Quay was once a thriving fishing village built on the herring trade, though the industry has long since declined. Today, the handful of remaining fishermen make their living from lobster and prawn catches.

The 18th York World Naked Bike Ride will take place in York next Saturday (September 12) – starting at Millennium Bridge at 4pm and returning to the same spot.

The global protest highlights the dangers faced by cyclists on roads dominated by motor vehicles and aims to raise awareness about the environmental impact of fossil-fuel-dependent transport.

RECOMMENDED READING:

The global protest highlights the dangers faced by cyclists on roads dominated by motor vehicles and aims to raise awareness about the environmental impact of fossil-fuel-dependent transport.

Organisers describe the ride as a celebration of cycling as a “healthy, fun and affordable alternative,” with some participants choosing to ride naked to symbolise vulnerability and promote body positivity.

World Naked Bike Ride sets off from Millennium Bridge , York Picture Frank Dwyer.

This year’s theme is ‘Bare as you Dare’ with organisers encouraging both clothed and unclothed cyclists to take part – encouraging them to be ‘comfortable in this space of acceptance’. 

Sadie Tann, a participant and first-time organiser, said: “We have all witnessed the devastating impacts of climate change this summer.

2015 The York Naked Bike Ride sets off from Millennium Bridge on Sunday Picture Frank Dwyer.

“Carbon dioxide levels are rising at an unprecedented rate with current figures at 427ppm. This is the highest it has been in human history and the primary driver is fossil fuel emissions

“One way of tackling this first-hand is to switch our cars for carbon-free bikes, and the more of us that do so, the greater the call to local councils for better infrastructure will be.”

World Naked Bike Ride sets off from Millennium Bridge , York Picture Frank Dwyer.

The 7-mile route is expected to take around two hours and will pass through the University of York, with views of the city’s historic walls and the River Ouse.

Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 group shared their frustrations over the postponed case.

US officials have expressed confidence that the trial of a Libyan man accused of making the bomb that blew up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988 will “successfully” go ahead in the new year after a recent postponement caused concern among campaigners.

The federal prosecution of Abu Agila Masud over the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history is now due to get under way on January 11 in Washington DC after the judge ordered a delay last week, citing the disclosure of new evidence that defence lawyers wanted to examine.

The last-minute hold-up, just as jury selection was set to begin, sparked consternation within the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 group, given the elderly age of many bereaved relatives.

A spokesman for the US Department of Justice said: “It is not unusual for trials to be continued, and the government is confident that this case will go forward at the new trial date successfully.”

However, a hearing due to be held into the status of the postponed case on Tuesday was itself delayed until September 15.

Court documents said this was due to “the complex nature of the case, the amount of time required to adequately prepare for pretrial proceedings and for trial… the voluminous discovery, including newly discovered evidence, as well as evidence located in other countries… and the need for the defence to determine how best to defend this case”.

As such it was concluded the “ends of justice… outweigh the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial”.

The nature of the newly discovered evidence has not been revealed. Masud’s legal team say the disclosure was made at short notice and that their “constitutional and ethical obligations require the defence to investigate this development”.

The defendant, now in his mid-70s, is charged with two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors claim he once confessed to his role, although this has been challenged by his lawyers. Masud, who was extradited from Libya to the US in 2022, has denied the charges.

All 259 passengers and crew and 11 people on the ground were killed when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded 31,000ft above Lockerbie and 38 minutes into its flight from London to New York.

Former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is the only person convicted in connection with the bombing, after being found guilty of 270 counts of murder by a panel of three Scottish judges sitting at a special court in the Hague in 2001.

He was sent to serve his prison sentence in Scotland but was controversially granted compassionate release in 2009 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, returning home to Libya where he died in 2012.

His fellow Libyan co-accused Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, who was cleared at the time of involvement in the atrocity, was recently reported to have died.

Scottish prosecutors have always maintained that Megrahi acted with others in carrying out the attack.

Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources. Click HERE.

The pair remain in hospital

Two men were hospitalised with “serious” injuries after a crash between two motorbikes in Peterborough. A blue Yamaha MT-03 motorcycle was being ridden in Stanham Way, near Cardea, at about 5.20pm on Monday, August 31.

The rider was then involved in a head-on crash with a black BMW S1000 motorbike. The rider of the Yahama motorbike, a 19-year-old man from Peterborough, suffered serious, life-threatening injuries.

The rider of the BMW motorbike, a 32-year-old man from London, suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries. Both men were taken to Peterborough City Hospital, where they remain on Tuesday morning (September 1).

An investigation has been launched and anyone with any information, including dash cam footage, is urged to report it online or by calling 101. They should quote Op Michigan or incident 321 of August 31.

It comes as free bus travel over the summer holiday for children comes to an end.

The move to offer the free travel is designed to ensure children placed in temporary accommodation can stay at their school, maintaining their routine and minimising disruption to their education.

The Mayor Bev Craig announced when she was elected that the free bus travel offer for children in temporary accommodation would be in place for the new school year.

She has now confirmed that the policy will come into effect from today (1 September).

Families living in temporary accommodation who are eligible – which includes those living more than two miles from their school or where their route is considered unsafe to walk – will be assessed for eligibility by their local council who will then issue the pass.

Bev Craig, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “I believe everyone deserves a safe home they can afford. Across our region, too many people face the risk of homelessness.

“As Mayor, I’m committed to reducing the number of families stuck in temporary housing, including by building 50,000 council and genuinely affordable homes.

“We know that some children end up a long way from their school when placed into temporary accommodation. That’s why I’ve also promised to reduce the prevalence of out-of-borough placements to keep families in their communities.

“But we need to help families facing homelessness now, when they need it most. That’s why I backed the campaign to give children living in temporary accommodation free travel to and from school on Bee Network buses and I’m pleased that, as Mayor, we are making it a reality – to make life that little bit easier in difficult times.”

The Greater Manchester Strategy – the plan for the city region’s next decade – commits to reducing the number of families and children in temporary accommodation.

Measures are also being taken to make sure residents have the support they need to access, improve and retain a decent, affordable home.

As part of that free Bee Network bus travel to and from school will be provided to children placed in temporary housing by a local authority in Greater Manchester from today (1 September).

Sam Pratt, Policy and Communications Lead at Shared Health Foundation, a charity which supports homeless families in Greater Manchester, said: “We are really pleased to finally see bus passes will be provided for homeless children living in temporary accommodation. Even more significant is that their parent or carer will be offered support while accompanying them to school too.

“For children already facing the uncertainty and disruption that comes with living in temporary accommodation, ensuring they have the cost covered to travel to school will ease the burden of being homeless.”

The free school pass will be available to primary and secondary school aged children living in temporary accommodation that is located more than two miles from their school or if they live within two miles, but the route is not considered safe to walk.

Parents or carers of eligible children under 12 will also be provided with a linked pass, allowing them to take their children to school and collect them at the end of the day.

The programme, codenamed C430L, reportedly involves the ‘transfer of a highly strategically sensitive military technology from Russia that the Iranians have wanted to acquire for decades’

Russia has been covertly helping Iran develop advanced supersonic cruise missiles, according to reports.

According to an investigation by the Financial Times, the assistance by Russia started in 2023 and has continued into the US war on Iran.

The US and Iran have been at war since February 28 when joint US-Israeli forces carried out strikes on several key Iranian sites. Iran retaliated by striking sites across the Middle East and closing the Strait of Hormuz waterway.

The programme, codenamed C430L, has used some of Russia’s most experienced missile specialists to help the Middle Eastern nation develop a new class of weapon. It is being carried out via Russian correspondence, travel records and analysis of military patents.

Fabian Hinz, an expert on Iranian missiles and senior analyst with Conflict Armament Research, a UK-based weapons-tracing organisation, said: “This is the transfer of a highly strategically sensitive military technology from Russia that the Iranians have wanted to acquire for decades.

“A programme like this would require political clearance from the very top in Russia.”

Weapons such as these would pose a threat to US warships in the region and could add a new element to the months-long conflict.

The main purpose of the programme is to assist Iran to develop a ramjet propulsion system, an engine that allows a cruise missile to sustain flight at several times the speed of sound.

Supersonic cruise missiles shorten the time available for air and missile defences to detect and engage them and would help Iran in the Gulf where the US operates advanced defensive systems.

“For the Iranians, this would give them a qualitatively new strategic weapon system that could threaten US Navy vessels,” said Jim Lamson, a former Iran-focused military analyst with the CIA now at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

Iran has built and flight-tested the ramjet propulsion system. There is no evidence that a Russian-assisted supersonic cruise missile have been deployed yet.

By ADAM S. LEVY, US SENIOR SHOWBUSINESS REPORTER

Published: 00:38 BST, 2 September 2026 | Updated: 03:14 BST, 2 September 2026

Jared Leto made more than $7 million as he sold a Los Angeles mansion he owned for $12 million earlier this year.

The 54-year-old actor in May finalized the real estate deal on the property, which had once been a base for the U.S. Air Force, TMZ reported on Tuesday.

The 14,649 sq. foot home has six bedrooms and five bathrooms, as it’s situated on a lot of land spanning 1.4 acres.

The Academy Award-winning star had initially purchased the Laurel Canyon property in 2015 for $5 million, the outlet reported.

Advertisement

Among the unique amenities of the home include a trio of 35-millimeter screening rooms, film vaults with temperature-control and a sound stage.

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Leto for further comment on the story. 

Jared Leto, 54, made more than $7 million as he sold a Los Angeles mansion he owned for $12 million this past May. Pictured October in LA 

Advertisement

The property had been the location for training films for the Army, and newsreels for the Air Force that featured late Hollywood icons such as Bob Hope, Jimmy Stewart and Gregory Peck, according to the outlet.

Other notable features of the unique property include concrete blast walls that are four feet thick, a shelter and a tower intended for air-traffic, according to a 2017 WSJ Magazine profile.

The Suicide Squad actor spoke about the unusual history associated with the property in the piece, saying, ‘There are so many crazy rumors about this place: Everything from “Part of the moon landing was filmed here” to “They used to keep prisoners downstairs.”

‘They had laboratories. They were doing all kinds of God-knows-what.’

Advertisement

Leto noted he had converted the soundstage on the premises to a studio for his band, Thirty Seconds to Mars, according to the report.

Leto was in the headlines earlier this summer following the July release of a BBC documentary titled Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Darkest Secret.

The documentary included allegations from four women who accused the entertainer of sexual misconduct, stating the incidents had occurred when they were aged 16-19.

The claims, which Leto denied, were situated between the years 2002 and 2016, a timeframe in which Leto had primarily been in his 30s and 40s.

Advertisement

The 14,649 sq. foot home has six bedrooms and five bathrooms, as it’s situated on a lot of land spanning 1.4 acres

The Academy Award-winning star had initially purchased the Laurel Canyon property in 2015 for $5 million

The actor in May finalized the real estate deal on the property, which had once been a base for the U.S. Air Force

One woman said in the BBC doc that Leto had assaulted her when she had been 17-years-old while in the bathroom of a motel.

Advertisement

Another woman said that Leto had threatened her with sex assault when she was 19, in a hotel room.

A woman in the doc said she had been 17 during a sexual encounter with Leto in California, where the age of consent is 18.

Another accused claimed Leto had made sexually graphic statements to her while on the phone when she was 16.

Leto, through a statement, denied all of the allegations, saying, ‘I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life.’

Advertisement

He added, ‘These claims are absolutely and categorically false.’

Germany has said Russia was responsible for last month’s drone attack at Leipzig’s airport.

A drone carrying an explosive device was discovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany, close to Ukrainian cargo planes, on 4 August.

It failed to explode as the detonator was apparently faulty, and investigators suspect a second drone collided with a cargo aircraft nearby. A third drone was reportedly found near the airport 10 days later.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the Leipzig airport attack followed the “well-established pattern of Russian hybrid operations in Europe” and the assumption was that Germany would be targeted again.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday accused Germany of planting evidence to blame Moscow for the attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport.

Putin did not provide evidence for the accusation.

Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in Berlin said the allegation that Russia was responsible was “absurd”.

Dobrindt said examination of the equipment used along with intelligence findings proved Russian involvement in the attack.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who was standing beside Dobrindt at a press conference in Berlin, said he would order the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn, and the contract for the Russian House in Berlin will also be terminated – which many observers have said has been used for espionage and to spread Russian propaganda.

He also announced tighter entry controls for Russian nationals and vowed to increase pressure on Moscow’s shadow fleet – old tankers used by Russia to circumvent Western sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Wadephul said he had summoned Russia’s ambassador to Germany, Sergei Nechayev. He was seen arriving at the foreign ministry shortly after the announcement.

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry, said Moscow would respond in a “mirror-image” fashion to Germany’s measures while the Russian embassy described the measures as an “unprecedented escalation in Russian-German relations”.

“Berlin is sponsoring terrorism”, Zakharova told the German Press Agency in reference to its military and economic support provided to Ukraine.

There have been previous suggestions that the Goethe-Institut in Moscow would have to cease operations if the Germans went through with closing Russian House.

Security experts had speculated that Russia may have been responsible, however Russia has always rejected claims of involvement.

Leipzig/Halle Airport in the east of the country is used by Germany’s military and Nato allies for the transport of military goods and also serves as a base for Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines – which carries most of the country’s aerial cargo.

The head of Nato, Mark Rutte, said the organisation “stands in full solidarity with Germany”.

“The evidence is clear. And I welcome the measures announced by Germany in response,” he wrote on X.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X: “We are united in our resolve to stand against Russian aggression. We will deter anyone who seeks to undermine our freedom and security.”

She added that the EU was preparing additional sanctions against Russia.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Russia was “escalating tension across the whole region”. Polish prosecutors are investigating whether foreign intelligence services were involved in a fire at a factory making drone components on Monday.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “Russian attempts to undermine our united resolve and our willingness to support Ukraine are futile and doomed to fail.”

Germany is one of several Nato member states to have reported drone sightings at airports, military and industrial sites over the last year.

Berlin has until now been tight-lipped about who may have been behind the Leipzig attack, except to say “foreign powers” may have been involved.

US media had already reported that American officials had linked the incident to Russia.

Berlin has warned that the country is the “daily target” of hybrid warfare, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned last week that those who carried out hostile acts against Germany would “pay a price”.

The government is looking to boost the powers of its intelligence services, which have long been criticised as relatively toothless, to counter such threats.

Germany is a key backer of Ukraine with Merz forthright in his support for Kyiv.

However an MP in Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU) party said the measures so far taken against Russia “fall far short of what is required” and Moscow “just laughs” when its ambassador is summoned.

“From a self-proclaimed leading nation, I expect courage and resolve, not self-deterrence and appeasement,” said Roderich Kiesewetter.

It is not hard to imagine why Ukrainian cargo planes at a key German logistics hub might be in Moscow’s sights.

But this announcement comes at a delicate moment for Merz’s government.

A key state election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt could propel the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) into power at a state-level for the first time.

The AfD, which is Germany’s biggest opposition party, wants to stop sending support to Ukraine and reopen ties with Russia.

In a separate development, German police said they were investigating the discovery of improvised explosive and incendiary devices at a power substation in the eastern state of Brandenburg on Tuesday.

A power line was damaged, which caused a temporary outage. It is not known who planted the devices.