A pod of killer whales launched a terrifying eight-minute attack on a sailboat off Spain, tearing away half its rudder and forcing the crew to check for leaks.

Dramatic new video shows the orcas circling the vessel before repeatedly slamming into its steering system beneath the water.

Between three and four whales targeted the boat as it returned from a sailing competition near San Vicente.

The crew initially feared the animals may have damaged the hull and allowed water to pour inside.

Crew member Gage Butler, originally from California, said his adrenaline surged as they inspected the vessel in the aftermath.

‘It was so cool to see how smart these animals are and how they play and hunt as a pod,’ he shared in an Instagram post.

‘But at the same time my adrenaline was pumping while we were investigating the boat to see if we had any leaks in the hull.’

Butler said everyone escaped unharmed and the boat suffered no major damage beyond losing approximately half its rudder.

Gage Butler, from California, captured the attack, with footage showing the whales swimming under the boat

Butler and the Seika Racing sailing crew had just completed a regatta and were moving the boat from San Vicente to another marina when the orcas appeared.

Video shared on Instagram shows the animals surfacing beside the vessel while crew members watch from above.

The whales repeatedly swam beneath the stern, where the rudder controls the boat’s direction.

Butler estimated the encounter lasted approximately eight minutes and involved three or four orcas.

Although the animals were powerful enough to break the rudder, Butler believed they may have been young whales treating the vessel like a toy.

‘These Orcas looked smaller than ones I’ve seen at SeaWorld, so I’m pretty sure they were juveniles just playing with the boat, which ended up breaking the rudder,’ he wrote in the Instagram post.

The sailor described the experience as both frightening and extraordinary.

‘Luckily everyone was safe, and there was no major damage to the boat. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.’

Butler said everyone escaped unharmed and the boat suffered no major damage beyond losing approximately half its rudder

Advertisement

Orcas have repeatedly rammed sailboats passing through waters around the Iberian Peninsula since the unusual behavior was first recorded in 2020.

Most encounters have occurred near the Strait of Gibraltar, the narrow stretch of water separating southern Spain from northern Africa.

The animals commonly approach the stern before biting or striking the rudder, sometimes leaving vessels unable to steer.

Several boats have sunk after being badly damaged during encounters with the whales.

In 2024, a pod rammed and sank a 49-foot yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar, marking at least the fifth reported sinking connected to the behavior at that time.

Despite their name, killer whales rarely pose a direct threat to people in the wild.

No fatal attack by a wild orca on a human has ever been documented, and the whales involved in the Iberian incidents appear focused on boats rather than their occupants.

Scientists remain divided over why the behavior began and why it continues to spread between animals.

One widely reported theory centers on a female orca nicknamed White Gladis, which may previously have been injured in a collision or encounter with a boat.

Under that theory, the whale began targeting vessels following the traumatic experience before other members of the pod copied her actions.

However, researchers have not confirmed that the attacks are motivated by revenge.

Another explanation suggests the interactions are a form of play that developed into a temporary social trend among the highly intelligent animals.

Young orcas may have learned that rudders move, resist pressure and eventually break, encouraging them to return to other vessels.

A 2024 report suggested the behavior could eventually disappear in the same way that other short-lived habits have faded among whale populations.

However, its authors warned that the animals remain difficult to predict.

‘Ultimately, this behavior may disappear, as fads have in other populations, but it may also reappear at some point in the future,’ they wrote.

‘These are intelligent, socially complex, innovative wild animals and science cannot predict their behavior with certainty.’

Olivia Bromley, who played Dawn Fletcher for eight years, was killed off in a shocking car crash episode that aired in Tuesday night’s episode.

Her character, the stepdaughter of Kim Tate, played by Claire King, died following a series of traumatic events on her wedding day to Joe Tate.

Claire King says Emmerdale star’s exit was “heartbreaking”

King said: “It was heartbreaking.

“But we did have a good laugh that week because we were all outside this massive marquee where we were doing all the the wedding stuff and car crash, and it’s all supposed to be tragic but we were all actually having a good life.

“We had some really nice people on on set that day.

“Great crew, and it was just a bit of camaraderie.

“But I could see as the days went on to the final day she was getting more and more sort of angst and things.”

The episode saw Jimmy King’s vehicle crash into the wedding marquee, trapping the newlyweds.

Dawn was rushed to hospital where she went into premature labour and gave birth to a baby boy.

Despite the efforts of hospital staff, she did not survive.

King said the loss was particularly difficult because Bromley was part of her “inner circle” on set.

Olivia Bromley speaks out about Emmerdale exit

In an interview with Digital Spy, Olivia opened up about how emotional it was to film her final scenes as Dawn.

She added how it was the producers’ choice to do the storyline and said how she would have been “too scared” too close the door entirely on the character herself. 

However, Olivia was very happy with her character’s ending and said “it was absolutely perfect” to allow her to go onto other projects. 

Olivia had been in Emmerdale for eight years but now wants to try out a range of new roles including a period drama. 

Emmerdale continues to air weekdays on ITV1 at 8pm with the episodes also being uploaded to the Emmerdale YouTube channel.

Were you upset by Dawn’s death in Emmerdale? Let us know in the comments. 

Vogue Williams gives birth to fourth child with Spencer Matthews – first pics

Vogue Williams has welcomed her fourth child with husband Spencer Matthews, sharing the first photo of their baby boy.

The 40-year-old revealed her fourth pregnancy earlier this year, and also shares Theodore, Gigi and Otto with the Made In Chelsea star, 38.

Taking to Instagram earlier today, she confirmed their new arrival with fans, posting a beautiful string of photos from her hospital bed, including one of her brood meeting their little brother for the first time.

Alongside the upload, she wrote: “Our beautiful baby boy has arrived safely… The house is bursting with excitement, love and happiness and we couldn’t be more delighted.”

Right on cue, fans and famous faces rushed to congratulate the couple on their newborn, with Zoe Ball penning: “Congrats to you gorgeous folks.”

Emmerdale’s Lisa Riley said: “So much love to you and all the family from Me & Al. CONGRATULATIONS.”

Spencer’s Made in Chelsea castmate Rosie Fortescue wrote simply wrote: “Congratulations”, as a fan added: “Congratulations all. Fantastic to welcome a new beautiful soul into the world. Well done Vogue.”

Sunderland have completed the signing of Austria defender Kevin Danso from Tottenham on a loan deal until the end of the season.

The deal will cost the Black Cats £2.5m and will be made permanent next summer – for a fee of £22.5m – if Regis Le Bris’ side stay in the Premier League.

“I’m really happy to be here and I can’t wait to get started,” said Danso.

“Sunderland is a big club with huge ambition, and I’m excited to be part of what we’re building this season.”

The 27-year-old – who made 52 appearances for Spurs after signing from RC Lens in January 2025 – will bolster Sunderland‘s squad ahead of their first European campaign since 1973.

Danso’s exit from Spurs comes as Roberto de Zerbi’s side close in on a move for Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo.

The 2025 Europa League winners had a bid accepted for the former Fulham and Manchester City defender on Monday night.

Adarabioyo, 28, came through the ranks at the Etihad before joining the Cottagers on a permanent deal in 2020.

In 2024, the defender joined Chelsea following the expiry of his contract with Fulham.

Since moving to Stamford Bridge, Adarabioyo has made more than 70 appearances for the Blues across all competitions, winning the Conference League and Club World Cup.

Tottenham are also close to sealing a deal for Chelsea attacker Mykhailo Mudryk before Tuesday night’s deadline.

On Tuesday night’s episode of Emmerdale, viewers learned that Detective Thea Ramsden, played by Chelsea Edge, is the long-lost daughter of Kim Tate.

The revelation came during a flashback scene showing a younger Kim, portrayed by Claire King, in a hospital’s baby unit.

Shocking revelation on Emmerdale

A nurse asked Kim if she was sure about giving up her baby for adoption and whether she had chosen a name.

Kim replied that she had always liked the name “Anthea.”

The camera then cut to the present day, focusing on Ramsden’s police name badge, confirming her true identity.

Ms Edge said: “I have loved joining Emmerdale and keeping this secret.

“I hope that now it’s out in the open the viewers will follow the story and see how Thea’s determination and bitterness develops.

“It’s clear she’s very keen to understand why Kim, who seemingly has everything, status, wealth and power to give her away all those years ago.

“As to how far the apple falls from the tree… I guess we’ll have to wait and see, but there’s certainly a lot more drama to come.”

Kim Tate remains in the dark

Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw said that while viewers now know the truth, Kim remains in the dark.

Ms Shaw said: “While the viewers have been granted access to the mystery surrounding DS Ramsden’s true identity, it will be some time before Kim suspects that the child she surrendered is operating within her immediate circle.

“She is completely unaware that the daughter she left behind is actually right under her nose.”

The storyline adds a new layer to Kim’s character, who is currently trying to stop Joe Tate from giving up Baby Tate for adoption.

Ms Shaw said this plotline brings back painful memories for Kim.

Emmerdale airs at 8 pm weeknights on ITV1 and STV or from 7AM on ITVX and STV Player with the episodes also being uploaded to the official Emmerdale YouTube channel.

Are you shocked by this revelation or did you see it coming? Let us know in the comments. 

The policeman brother of the siblings caught on camera battling officers at Manchester Airport faces the sack for comparing a black female colleague’s braided hair to a mop.

PC Mohammed Abid is one of eight current or former officers based at Bury police station accused of mocking the policewoman’s appearance or how she spoke.

Today a disciplinary panel was told the 29-year-old should be sacked after it ruled that describing her hair as ‘looking like a mop’ had been a ‘racist comment’.

Fellow PCs could also face the sack for regularly ‘mimicking’ the colleague’s African accent, leaving her feeling ‘uncomfortable’.

In July 2024, there was widespread outrage when Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, then 19, was seen being kicked in the face by a police officer in mobile phone footage which went viral.

However, CCTV footage later revealed that he and another brother, Muhammad Amaad, had violently resisted efforts to arrest Amaaz for headbutting of a tourist at Manchester Airport.

After a case which sparked accusations of police racism and claims of two-tier justice, Amaaz was jailed for assaulting two female officers.

But two juries failed to reach verdicts on whether he or Amaad had assaulted a male colleague.

Muhammad Amaad, 26, (left) and his brother Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, (right) arriving for their trial at Liverpool Crown Court either side of their solicitor, Aamer Anwar

Lawyers for the men repeatedly highlighted how neither brother – both from Rochdale – had been in trouble with the police before, and six members of the family are current or former officers with Greater Manchester Police.

Both trials heard a glowing character reference from PC Abid, who praised Amaaz’s ‘respectful, gentle and soft-spoken nature’ and ‘dedication to academic roles’.

But jurors were not told that he faced disciplinary proceedings over the racism allegation.

A misconduct hearing heard last month how constables based at Bury police station imitated a female colleague’s accent.

The policewoman, originally from Africa, has been granted anonymity and is referred to as PC Y.

PC Abid was said to have spoken to PC Y – who at the time wore her hair in braids – and describing it as ‘looking like a mop’ before ‘smiling and walking away’.

Under cross-examination, PC Y told the hearing: ‘He did ask about the hair, the braids, how long it took.

‘He then said “It looks like a mop”, laughed and walked off.’

He denied making the comment but the panel today praised her ‘consistent’ account.

Chairman Jonathan Roy said the braided style was ‘culturally significant’ to PC Y as a black woman, finding that PC Abid had made the ‘racist comment’.

This was a breach of professional standards in relation to equality and diversity which amounted to gross misconduct, it ruled.

PC Abid was also found to have breached standards of professional behaviour in relation to authority, respect and courtesy, and discreditable conduct.

Separately, constables on PC Y’s team were accused of ‘mimicking’ her African accent for months until she made a formal complaint in November 2023.

They allegedly copied how she said words like ‘hello’ and impersonated her ‘deep laugh’, causing her to feel ‘uncomfortable’, ‘nervous’ and ‘anxious’.

Giving evidence, the constables insisted they had only copied how she said ‘ok’ and that this was part of a ‘shared joke’ in which they all made fun of one another’s accents.

But the panel rejected their denials, pointing out that officers who weren’t part of the same team had mentioned hearing them putting on African accents.

‘The panel did not accept the mimicking of PC Y’s accent was part of friendly office banter,’ Mr Roy said.

‘It was much more serious than that.’

Five serving officers, PCs Heena Rani, Lucy Granby, Demi Green, Matthew Barlow and Matthew Hill, as well as former PC Jake Holt and a former officer referred to only as A, were all found to have breached standards of professional behaviour in relation to authority, respect and courtesy, discreditable conduct, equality and diversity and failure to report or challenge.

In each case their behaviour amounted to gross misconduct.

A further officer, Sergeant Adrian Bick, who supervised the team, was cleared of breaching standards on equality and diversity

Out of PC Y’s earshot, he had pointed out a photograph of a black fraud suspect and said she could be her mother.

PC Green then repeated the comment to PC Y, the hearing was told.

The panel said the comment was ‘thoughtless and insensitive’ but accepted that Sergeant Bick hadn’t intended to make a racist comment.

It found that he had breached professional standards of authority, respect and courtesy and discreditable conduct and ruled his case amounted to misconduct.

Neither Sergeant Bick nor PC Abid was accused of mocking PC Y’s accent.

Turning to the action the nine will now face, Mr Reed argued that all the serving officers should be sacked, apart from Sergeant Bick, who should receive a written warning. 

He said PC Abid’s behaviour was ‘aggravated’ by his understanding of the ‘cultural significance’ of PC Y’s hairstyle.

While the comment was a ‘single incident’, there was ‘no acceptable level of racism’ in the police, ‘especially when it arises from such calculated behaviour,’ he added.

However PC Abid’s barrister, Peter Byrne, argued that while he had shown ‘poor judgement’ he hadn’t ‘targeted’ PC Y on the grounds of ethnicity.

Along with lawyers representing the serving officers found to have mimicked PC Y’s accent, he submitted that PC Abid should instead receive a final written warning.

The panel is due to reconvene to announce what action the officers and former officers will face on Wednesday. 

The EFL, in their infinite wisdom, have bizarrely decided it might be a good idea to play a load of games tonight.

Swansea face Watford tonight at the Swansea.com Stadium, and Vitor Matos will be hoping to continue wha’s been a really strong start to the seaon.

“The next game is always the most important game so it’s important we recover and prepare properly to show the same mentality and intensity,” he said.

“It will be a very competitive game, we know how the nature of the Championship is, especially at the beginning of the season.

“They have a new manager who has brought some new ideas, they are a team with a very clear style.

“But we are at home, we love being at home, so let’s use it as an advantage.

“We have started well, but it is early and nothing is decided, so what we have to continue to do is go game by game, and so all focus is now on Watford.”

Infertility was a source of stress and sadness for some medieval couples, as it is for modern ones. It was a personal matter, but also a public one. Both families and the church assumed that the purpose of marriage was to have children. Couples who did not conceive often faced questions and scrutiny.

My research on infertility in the middle ages uncovers the ways in which medieval people explained reproductive problems and tried to enhance their fertility.

A merchant couple from 14th-century Italy – Francesco and Margherita Datini – were childless after several years of marriage. A family friend wrote to Francesco to praise the couple’s financial success and added “but I would rather see [Margherita] become fatter by making children than in gathering money”.

In this situation, medieval people drew on the knowledge and tools available to them. They did so within a very different social, medical and religious context from modern families – but like modern couples they had to make sense of different kinds of information and advice.

We know from their letters that the Datinis consulted a physician, but their friends and family also recommended other solutions. Margherita’s sister offered to buy her a poultice (a mixture of herbs and fats placed on the skin) to wear on her stomach. It was being sold by a female healer and was said to have worked for other women. She also recommended a belt to wear which was inscribed with prayers.

In the same letter Margherita’s brother-in-law added that it would be better to seek God’s favour through charitable giving. Despite this advice, the couple never went on to have a child – although we know from their letters that Francesco had illegitimate children with other women.

The Datinis’ letters are mainly practical and don’t tell us how they felt about their struggles to conceive, but it’s easy to imagine that some of this well-meaning advice might have caused them stress.

Other medieval accounts do talk about both women and men who were saddened by reproductive problems. For example, in late 12th-century England, the biographer of a hermit, Godric of Finchale, told of a husband and wife who came to the holy man after a series of miscarriages or stillbirths. He said “they were both deeply distressed and felt that God’s judgment was standing over them in a dreadful way”.

How infertility was explained

There were two main explanations for infertility in the medieval period.

One was the medical explanation. Medieval European physicians drew their knowledge of reproduction from the Hippocratic medicine of ancient Greece, which was expanded in the Arabic-speaking world and then translated back into Latin in the 11th to 13th centuries. This explained infertility – and other medical conditions – mainly in terms of the theory of the humours.

This theory held that everyone’s body contained a balance of four qualities: heat, cold, moisture and dryness. If these qualities became too unbalanced, then this could damage your fertility. Infertility and sexual dysfunction were especially linked to too much cold, and so the solution was to consume medicines and foods deemed to be “hot”, including spices such as cinnamon and ginger. Humoral explanations have long been superseded by modern biomedicine, but for medieval people they offered a neat, intellectually coherent system that offered a pathway to treatment.

The other explanation was religious. The Bible told of women such as Sarah, Rachel, Hannah and Elizabeth who were infertile at first, but then went on to conceive a special child miraculously – even sometimes in old age.

Mindful of these biblical examples, medieval theologians and preachers taught that God could grant or withhold fertility directly, if he chose to. This belief could potentially be used to criticise couples who did not conceive, by implying they had done something to incur God’s anger. It lay behind the advice to Margherita and Francesco to seek God’s favour through charity. But more often churchmen argued that God caused infertility for his own purposes, not as a punishment.

The Golden Legend – a collection of biographies of the saints hugely popular in medieval Europe – stressed that “God punishes not nature, but sin, and therefore when he closes a woman’s womb, he does this in order to open it miraculously later on”.

These explanations were complementary rather than competing: God might work through natural causes. For medieval couples, they offered reasons for infertility, and actions to take, and so they offered hope and reassurance. But it’s much harder to know how couples felt when they didn’t go on to conceive. That’s because most of the surviving sources focus on the success stories where the longed-for baby arrived after medical treatment or a prayer to the right saint. Doctors and the collectors of miracle stories didn’t often mention their failures.

These historical stories of infertility show how medieval couples approached their fertility differently, but their experiences of negotiating medicine, faith and family still resonate.

The series sees actors take the parts of the legal teams and judges

A ‘divisive’ Channel 4 true crime series has returned with a restaging of a teenager’s real-life murder trial.

The station has been putting out more true crime content than usual in recent weeks. Last week marked the premiere of The Murder Detective.

The observational documentary tells the inside story of the seven-year-long mission to find out who murdered journalist Lyra McKee in Derry in 2019 and secure justice for her family. Lyra, 29, was shot and killed when a dissident republican gunman opened fire during rioting in Londonderry on April 18, 2019.

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

The hour-long episode followed detectives trying to uncover the truth of what happened for themselves, with the murder weapon missing and not one of the 150 people on the street when Lyra was killed willing to come forward.

Additionally, last week also saw Channel air the first two episodes of The Never Ending Murder. Initially airing on Amazon Prime Video in 2023, four-part true-crime documentary series explores Nicola Payne’s disappearance, who was 18 when she vanished in 1991 in Coventry.

On top of this, Sunday night (August 30), marked the return of 24 Hours in Police Custody. The Ambush, a special two-part edition of the programme, tells the case of a 17-year-old boy who was left critically injured on the roadside after suffering catastrophic head injuries.

On Monday evening (September 1), The Jury: Murder Trial returns for its third series. Premiering in 2024, each series is a verbatim re-enactment from court records of a real murder trial.

Advertisement

The series sees actors take the parts of the legal teams and judges while the jurors are people drawn from every-day life. The series questions whether or not juries randomly drawn from citizens from all backgrounds without legal qualifications are suitable for making a just decision in cases .

Season one saw the re-enactment of a real case in which a man admitted to killing his wife with a hammer after two months of marriage, hoping for a verdict of the lesser crime of manslaughter. The second series followed a woman accused of having stabbed her partner to death during an alleged attempt by him to strangle her during a domestic altercation.

Series three is once again taking a forensic look at the inner workings of justice. Filmed over ten days, it examined the real-life case of two brothers, one aged just 14, who are charged with the murder of their stepdad.

The jury, made up of twelve members of the public, will have to decide whether it was a calculated act of revenge or an act of desperation. Adding to the complexity is that the siblings admit to stabbing their stepdad whilst he was sleeping

Viewers will see if the jury comes to the same conclusion from the exact same evidence presented in the same way. Often, other factors play a part in their decision that didn’t originally.

Over on the true crime Reddit page, viewers have been left unsure in the past whether they’re fans of the series which won ‘Best Reality’ at the 2025 British Academy Television Awards.

@bandlj said: “I like the idea of this but I don’t think you can really recreate a true trial because obviously all the witnesses are lying/acting and you could easily have someone that’s supposed to be honest that’s just a bad actor etc. I guess it’s still interesting to see how the jurors react to the process though.”

@FluidSupport4772 wrote: “Being a keen true crime follower I was excited about this judicial experiment, but found it truly disappointing. In real life a jury will only deliberate after all the evidence has been heard and with everyone fully present. These 2 jury’s were deliberating at lunch and coffee break.”

@Gaz-a-tronic commented: “It’s been eye opening to see how different people can deeply personally identify with various aspects of the case, and how they can give others perspective and insight that they wouldn’t have on their own. I think a rich and diverse set of life experiences are very useful.”

The Jury airs on Channel 4 at 9pm on Tuesday, September 1

Officers taped off part of the bus station during rush hour after emergency services were called to reports of concern for a man.

A man has died after emergency services were called to Glasgow’s Buchanan Bus Station during the evening rush hour.

Police taped off part of the station on Killermont Street after officers were called to a report of concern for a man at around 4.40pm on Tuesday, September 1.

Multiple police vehicles were seen at the scene as emergency services responded. Witnesses reported seeing an elderly man being treated by paramedics.

Police Scotland has confirmed the man was pronounced dead at the scene. The age and name of the man is not yet known.

A force spokesperson said: “Around 4.40pm on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, we were called to a report of concern for a man at Buchanan Bus Station, Killermont Street, Glasgow.

“Emergency services attended however he was pronounced dead at the scene.

“There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances and enquiries are ongoing.”

The circumstances surrounding the death have not yet been disclosed.

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