TEHRAN – Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, Commander of the Iranian Navy, announced at a Tehran press briefing on Saturday that the force will soon be receiving a number of new domestically designed and manufactured submarines. "We will be taking delivery of several new submarines in the near future," he stated, framing this development within a broader context of the Iranian Navy's ongoing modernization and expansion of its global presence. Admiral Irani emphasized the Navy's success in overcoming various threats and sanctions, asserting that it has made significant progress toward national strategic goals. He highlighted the Navy's persistent efforts to maintain a strong presence in international waters, explaining plans to upgrade existing vessels and bolster its offshore bases. "We are diligently working to maintain our presence and update our capabilities in all fields," he said, detailing plans to meet operational demands across a wide range of capabilities. The Admiral specifically addressed the Navy's ongoing submarine construction program, confirming that several new submarines are nearing completion and will soon be commissioned. He also lauded the force's considerable missile capabilities, stating that the Iranian Navy produces a diverse range of missiles. "We possess weapons systems with a range exceeding 1,000 kilometers," he declared, further noting significant advancements in the Navy's electronic warfare capabilities. Admiral Irani revealed the construction of vessels larger than the Mowj-class, confirming that two such larger warships are currently under construction. Looking ahead to the upcoming national Navy Day celebration on November 29th, he detailed plans for a ceremony with anticipated attendance from foreign delegates. "This year's Navy Day will feature a ceremony with foreign delegates," he confirmed. Further plans outlined by the Admiral include an international maritime emergency response drill, as well as a large-scale combined naval exercise to be conducted before the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20th). He also emphasized the Navy's commitment to regional cooperation, mentioning plans for joint patrols with neighboring countries and the establishment of several new oceanic hubs. "We are currently exchanging cadets and professors with neighboring states, staging combined drills and holding bilateral meetings," Irani asserted, highlighting existing collaborative efforts. Admiral Irani concluded his statement by asserting Iran’s active role in the evolving multipolar world order, emphasizing a commitment to peaceful relations while maintaining a strong stance against adversaries. He stressed Iran's determination to remain an independent and influential actor on the global stage, declaring, "The enemies must bear in mind that Iran will never be isolated."
LOS ANGELES — The UCLA women’s basketball team rode a dominant first half to knock off No. 1 and defending national champion South Carolina, 75-60, on Sunday, ending the Gamecocks’ overall 43-game winning streak and their run of 33 consecutive road victories. The Gamecocks (5-1) lost for the first time since April 2023, when Caitlin Clark and Iowa beat them in the NCAA Tournament national semifinals. The No. 5 Bruins welcomed South Carolina to a sold-out Pauley Pavilion in the best way they knew possible: Gamecocks star Chloe Kitts went up for a jumper just in time for 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts to get a hand on the ball for a forceful block that sent Kitts to the floor as the opening quarter came to a close. The Bruins had double the amount of points as the Gamecocks in that moment. And yet, UCLA head coach Cori Close wanted more of her team: “Whatever the score is,” she told the crowd at halftime, “I know we can play better.” Betts continues to average a double-double and recorded 11 points and 14 rebounds in the game. Londynn Jones scored 15 points and was a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range. Elina Aarnisalo and Gabriela Jaquez also finished in double-digit scoring with 13 and 11 points, respectively. South Carolina was scoring an average of 45.6 points in the paint heading into the game, but UCLA had limited them to 18. Kitts, who averages a team-leading 14 points for South Carolina, finished with 2 points on 1 of 7 shooting. The Bruins shook off a choppy start in which the shots weren’t falling and took off on an 11-0 run in the first quarter. It was unclear who would start at point guard between freshman Elina Aarnisalo and Kiki Rice, who was day-to-day with an injury. UCLA had both of them in the starting rotation and reaped benefits from Rice’s scoring abilities and Aarnisalo’s IQ. The Finnish hooper had a steal that led to a layup for UCLA’s first points of the game and she continuously came up with athletic plays throughout the game. She hit a midrange jumper and a 3-pointer from the top of the key in a matter of three minutes in the second quarter as the Bruins entered the break with a 43-22 advantage. The Gamecocks found rhythm in transition as they trudged on but were unable to put together a run of more than five points at a time. They switched their offensive attack to the perimeter but saw little success. Related Articles Meanwhile, UCLA’s success from range grew. Jones made a shot from beyond the arc to keep the Bruins ahead by 20 points and Janiah Barker made a three of her own shortly after to extend the lead to 57-36. The Bruins added 16 points in the fourth quarter to keep the celebratory mood alive. A corner three by Jones sent three fingers from each player flying into the air after a steal by Dugalić and assist by Rice. The game was part of a big weekend in Los Angeles women’s basketball. No. 3 USC hosted No. 6 Notre Dame the night before and lost 74-61.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Front Row Motorsports, one of two teams suing NASCAR in federal court, accused the stock car series Thursday of rejecting the planned purchase of a valuable charter unless the lawsuit was dropped. Front Row made the claim in a court filing and said it involved its proposed purchase of the charter from Stewart-Haas Racing. Front Row said the series would only approve it if Front Row and 23XI Racing dropped their court case. “Specifically, NASCAR informed us that it would not approve the (charter) transfer unless we agreed to drop our current antitrust lawsuit against them,” Jerry Freeze, general manager of Front Row, said in an affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court of Western North Carolina. The two teams in September refused to sign NASCAR's “take-it-or-leave-it” final offer on a new revenue sharing agreement. All other 13 teams signed the deal. Front Row and 23XI balked and are now in court. 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan has said he took the fight to court on behalf of all teams competing in the top motorsports series in the United States. NASCAR has argued that the two teams simply do not like the terms of the final charter agreement and asked for the lawsuit be dismissed. Earlier this week, the suit was transferred to a different judge than the one who heard the first round of arguments and ruled against the two teams in their request for a temporary injunction to be recognized in 2025 as chartered teams as the case proceeds. The latest filing is heavily redacted as it lays out alleged retaliatory actions by NASCAR the teams say have caused irreparable harm. Both Front Row and 23XI want to expand from two full-time cars to three, and have agreements with SHR to purchase one charter each as SHR goes from four cars to one for 2025. The teams can still compete next season but would have to do so as “open” teams that don't have the same protections or financial gains that come from holding a charter. Freeze claimed in the affidavit that Front Row signed a purchase agreement with SHR in April and NASCAR President Steve Phelps told Freeze in September the deal had been approved. But when Front Row submitted the paperwork last month, NASCAR began asking for additional information. A Dec. 4 request from NASCAR was “primarily related to our ongoing lawsuit with NASCAR,” Freeze said. “NASCAR informed us on December 5, 2024, that it objected to the transfer and would not approve it, in contrast to the previous oral approval for the transfer confirmed by Phelps before we filed the lawsuit,” Freeze said. “NASCAR made it clear that the reason it was now changing course and objecting to the transfer is because NASCAR is insisting that we drop the lawsuit and antitrust claims against it as a condition of being approved.” A second affidavit from Steve Lauletta, the president of 23XI Racing, claims NASCAR accused 23XI and Front Row of manufacturing “new circumstances” in a renewed motion for an injunction and of a “coordinated effort behind the scenes.” “This is completely false,” Lauletta said. Front Row is owned by businessman Bob Jenkins, while 23XI is owned by retired NBA Hall of Famer Jordan, three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin and longtime Jordan adviser Curtis Polk. NASCAR had been operating with 36 chartered teams and four open spots since the charter agreement began in 2016. NASCAR now says it will move forward in 2025 with 32 chartered teams and eight open spots, with offers on charters for Front Row and 23XI rescinded and the SHR charters in limbo. The teams contend they must be chartered under some of their contractual agreements with current sponsors and drivers, and competing next year as open teams will cause significant losses. “23XI exists to compete at the highest level of stock car racing, striving to become the best team it can be. But that ambition can only be pursued within NASCAR, which has monopolized the market as the sole top-tier circuit for stock car racing,” Lauletta said. "Our efforts to expand – purchasing more cars and increasing our presence on the track – are integral to achieving this goal. “It is not hypocritical to operate within the only system available while striving for excellence and contending for championships,” he continued. “It is a necessity because NASCAR’s monopoly leaves 23XI no alternative circuit, no different terms, and no other viable avenue to compete at this level.” AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racingNoneNetApp: Fiscal Q2 Earnings Snapshot
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The Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns have released their second injury reports ahead of Sunday's Week 15 game. Both teams face injury challenges heading into the upcoming game. Kansas City's major concern is the offensive tackle position, while two key starters for Cleveland remain at the center of their concerns. While Joel Bitonio will likely gut out his back injury in Week 15, the Browns are likely to be without TE David Njoku (hamstring) for Sunday, according to Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot . That'd be a major loss for Cleveland and a huge boon for Kansas City, as their defense has struggled to defend the tight end position all season. Njoku has over 50 receptions for nearly 500 yards and five touchdowns this season. Here's a look at the second injury reports for both teams for Week 15's game on Sunday. Second Chiefs Injury Report LT D.J. Humphries Hamstring DNP DNP K Harrison Butker Left knee LP LP RT Jawaan Taylor Knee LP FP DE Charles Omenihu Knee FP FP CB Joshua Williams Chest FP FP KEY: DNP = Did not participate | LP = Limited participation | FP = Full participation | NIR = Not injury related Observations: No big changes for the Chiefs outside of Jawaan Taylor being upgraded to a full participant in practice. Second Browns Injury Report LG Joel Bitonio Back DNP DNP DB Mohamoud Diabate Glute FP FP DB Martin Emerson Shin LP LP DB Mike Ford Concussion LP LP DE Myles Garrett Personal DNP FP DT Mike Hall Knee LP LP CB Myles Harden Tibia FP FP LB Jordan Hicks Calf FP FP DT Sam Kamara Concussion LP LP WR Jerry Jeudy Knee FP FP TE David Njoku Hamstring DNP DNP WR Cedric Tillman Concussion LP LP RG Wyatt Teller Glute LP LP WR Jamari Thrash Shoulder LP LP KEY: DNP = Did not participate | LP = Limited participation | FP = Full participation | NIR = Not injury related Observations: Myles Garrett was upgraded to a full participant in practice after missing Wednesday. Look for WR Cedric Tillman to make his return this week after missing time due to a concussion. Mike Hall told reporters that he expects to play for the first time since Week 4 on Sunday. This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — A U.S. senator has called for mysterious drones spotted flying at night over sensitive areas in New Jersey and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic region to be “shot down, if necessary,” even as it remains unclear who owns the unmanned aircraft. “We should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they’re flying over airports or military bases,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Thursday, as concerns about the drones spread across Capitol Hill. People in the New York region are also concerned that the drones may be sharing airspace with commercial airlines, he said, demanding more transparency from the Biden administration. The White House said Thursday that a review of the reported sightings shows that many of them are actually manned aircraft being flown lawfully. White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said there were no reported sightings in any restricted airspace. He said the U.S. Coast Guard has not uncovered any foreign involvement from coastal vessels. “We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus,” Kirby said, echoing statements from the Pentagon and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh has said they are not U.S. military drones. In a joint statement issued Thursday afternoon, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security said they and their federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, “continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings.” The agencies said they have not corroborated any of the reported sightings with electronic detection, and that reviews of available images appear to show many of the reported drones are actually manned aircraft. “There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space,” according to the statement. The drones appear to avoid detection by traditional methods such as helicopter and radio, according to a state lawmaker briefed Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security. The number of sightings has increased in recent days, though officials say many of the objects seen may have been planes rather than drones. It’s also possible that a single drone has been reported more than once. The worry stems partly from the flying objects initially being spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a U.S. military research and manufacturing facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster. In a post on the social media platform X, Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia described the drones as up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) in diameter and sometimes traveling with their lights switched off. Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use but are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be FAA certified. Most, but not all, of the drones spotted in New Jersey appeared to be larger than those typically used by hobbyists. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said he was frustrated by the lack of transparency, saying it could help spread fear and misinformation. “We should know what’s going on over our skies,” he said Thursday. John Duesler, president of the Pennsylvania Drone Association, said witnesses may be confused about what they are seeing, especially in the dark, and noted it’s hard to know the size of the drones or how close they might be. “There are certainly big drones, such as agricultural drones, but typically they are not the type you see flying around in urban or suburban spaces,” Duesler said Thursday. Duesler said the drones — and those flying them — likely cannot evade detection. “They will leave a radio frequency footprint, they all leave a signature," he said. "We will find out what kind of drones they were, who was flying them and where they were flying them.” Fantasia, a Morris County Republican, was among several lawmakers who met with state police and Homeland Security officials to discuss the sightings from the New York City area across New Jersey and westward into parts of Pennsylvania, including over Philadelphia. It is unknown at this time whether the sightings are related. Duesler said the public wants to know what's going on. “I hope (the government agencies) will come out with more information about this to ease our fears. But this could just be the acts of rogue drone operators, it’s not an ‘invasion’ as some reports have called it,” Duesler said. “I am concerned about this it but not alarmed by it.” Associated Press reporters Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and reporter Darlene Superville and videojournalists Serkan Gurbuz and Nathan Ellgren in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — Brandon Nunez threw just two passes, each for a score, and New Mexico State beat Middle Tennessee 36-21 on Saturday to end a three-game losing streak. Nunez tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Seth McGowan to give the Aggies a 20-7 lead midway through the third quarter. After Middle Tennessee pulled to 26-21 early in the fourth, Nunez tossed a 4-yard TD pass to Cooper Sheehan that made it 33-21 with 7:43 left. Parker Awad completed 12 of 16 passes for 221 yards for New Mexico State (3-8, 2-5 Conference USA). McGowan finished with 83 yards rushing. Mike Washington also had a touchdown run and Dylan Early a 30-yard pick-6 for the Aggies. Nicholas Vattiato was 30-of-45 passing for 277 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for Middle Tennessee (3-8, 2-5), which has lost three of its last four. __ Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here ___ AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballEarly returns positive as Timberwolves make a push to run in transition
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