Israel’s military has announced new media engagement rules for its members after a Brazilian court ordered an investigation into war crime allegations against a soldier visiting the country.

The guidelines, announced Wednesday, require the names and faces of most of its soldiers – both active duty and reserve – to be obscured.

The decision comes after a former Israeli soldier fled Brazil last week after a court in the South American country ordered an investigation into allegations by a pro-Palestinian NGO that the soldier was involved in war crimes in Gaza.

Israeli military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani referenced the case in a briefing on the measures, which he said were to make sure Israeli personnel were “safe from these types of incidents” involving “anti-Israel activists around the world.”

Those at the rank of colonel and below can be filmed only from behind, with their face obscured, and only the first initial of their name can be used, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Military personnel with foreign citizenships – in combat and non-combat roles – need to have their faces obscured and cannot disclose their full names in interviews.

The new protocols apply to all combat zones, and soldiers being interviewed cannot be linked to a specific combat operation, the IDF said.

He said activists were now going after ordinary soldiers, not just high-ranking officers and politicians.

‘Something unusual’

“I got up in the morning, opened the phone and suddenly saw eight calls – the ministry of foreign affairs, my brothers, my mother, consuls,” he said in the interview, adding that it was during the call with the ministry that “we began to understand that there was a situation and something unusual.”

“They wrote that I murdered thousands of children and turned it into a 500-page document,” the soldier said of the case against him. “All that was there was a picture of me in uniform in Gaza.”

He also said that following the attention his case had gained he now hoped to “get off the radar and continue my life.”

The case against him followed a complaint brought by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) – a group that has tracked the activities of Israeli soldiers serving in Gaza and has brought a series of other lawsuits.

A Brazilian judge then ordered police to investigate the soldier based on HRF’s complaint, which accused him of taking part in “demolitions of civilian homes in Gaza during a systematic campaign of destruction.”

The group, named after a five-year-old girl killed by Israeli tank fire in Gaza last year, is a pro-Palestinian NGO that says it is dedicated “to breaking the cycle of Israeli impunity and honoring the memory of Hind Rajab and all those who have perished in the Gaza genocide.”

The case prompted a public outcry, from opposition leaders like Yair Lapid – who called it a result of “monumental political failure” of the government – to Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar – who called the case part of a “systematic and anti-Semitic campaign aimed at denying Israel’s right to self-defense.”

A group of Israeli soldiers’ mothers wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli’s military leadership saying they would hold them to account for any legal risks their children faced from “malicious actors worldwide.”

HRF has also sought the apprehension of Israeli soldiers visiting Thailand, Sri Lanka, Chile and other countries, according to its website.

Dana Karni and Tim Lister contributed to this report.

Israel’s military has announced new media engagement rules for its members after a Brazilian court ordered an investigation into war crime allegations against a soldier visiting the country.

The guidelines, announced Wednesday, require the names and faces of most of its soldiers – both active duty and reserve – to be obscured.

The decision comes after a former Israeli soldier fled Brazil last week after a court in the South American country ordered an investigation into allegations by a pro-Palestinian NGO that the soldier was involved in war crimes in Gaza.

Israeli military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani referenced the case in a briefing on the measures, which he said were to make sure Israeli personnel were “safe from these types of incidents” involving “anti-Israel activists around the world.”

Those at the rank of colonel and below can be filmed only from behind, with their face obscured, and only the first initial of their name can be used, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Military personnel with foreign citizenships – in combat and non-combat roles – need to have their faces obscured and cannot disclose their full names in interviews.

The new protocols apply to all combat zones, and soldiers being interviewed cannot be linked to a specific combat operation, the IDF said.

He said activists were now going after ordinary soldiers, not just high-ranking officers and politicians.

‘Something unusual’

“I got up in the morning, opened the phone and suddenly saw eight calls – the ministry of foreign affairs, my brothers, my mother, consuls,” he said in the interview, adding that it was during the call with the ministry that “we began to understand that there was a situation and something unusual.”

“They wrote that I murdered thousands of children and turned it into a 500-page document,” the soldier said of the case against him. “All that was there was a picture of me in uniform in Gaza.”

He also said that following the attention his case had gained he now hoped to “get off the radar and continue my life.”

The case against him followed a complaint brought by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) – a group that has tracked the activities of Israeli soldiers serving in Gaza and has brought a series of other lawsuits.

A Brazilian judge then ordered police to investigate the soldier based on HRF’s complaint, which accused him of taking part in “demolitions of civilian homes in Gaza during a systematic campaign of destruction.”

The group, named after a five-year-old girl killed by Israeli tank fire in Gaza last year, is a pro-Palestinian NGO that says it is dedicated “to breaking the cycle of Israeli impunity and honoring the memory of Hind Rajab and all those who have perished in the Gaza genocide.”

The case prompted a public outcry, from opposition leaders like Yair Lapid – who called it a result of “monumental political failure” of the government – to Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar – who called the case part of a “systematic and anti-Semitic campaign aimed at denying Israel’s right to self-defense.”

A group of Israeli soldiers’ mothers wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli’s military leadership saying they would hold them to account for any legal risks their children faced from “malicious actors worldwide.”

HRF has also sought the apprehension of Israeli soldiers visiting Thailand, Sri Lanka, Chile and other countries, according to its website.

Dana Karni and Tim Lister contributed to this report.

The disgraced former FBI informant who falsely accused President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden of taking a $10 million bribe from Ukraine was sentenced Wednesday to six years in federal prison, according to court records.

The ex-informant, Alexander Smirnov, who is a dual US-Israeli citizen, has been in jail since his arrest last February.

The sentencing in Los Angeles wraps up one of the final remnants of special counsel David Weiss’ investigation into Hunter Biden and related matters. The only order of business that appears to be unsettled is Weiss’ final report, which, per federal regulations, will be submitted to the attorney general, who can then release it to the public.

Smirnov’s bombshell indictment – and the subsequent public repudiation of his fake bribery claims – helped derail the Republican impeachment push against Biden. Prosecutors hit Smirnov with additional tax charges in November, and with a trial looming, he pleaded guilty last month to causing the creation of a false FBI record, as well as three counts of tax evasion.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to ask the judge for no more than six years in prison, and Smirnov’s team agreed to ask for no less than four years. Smirnov has also pledged to pay about $675,000 in restitution to the IRS, to make up for his tax evasion.

In court filings, prosecutors argued in favor of a six-year prison sentence, calling Smirnov a “liar and a tax cheat” who “betrayed the United States.” Prosecutors said his baseless corruption allegations against the Bidens were “among the most serious kinds of election interference one can imagine,” because they roiled both the 2020 and 2024 election cycles.

Smirnov’s lawyers requested a four-year prison term. In court filings, they said he has no criminal record, is ailing from severe glaucoma in both eyes, and “his remorse is sincere.” They submitted letters from loved ones, who lauded Smirnov as a “deeply patriotic and proud American” who “did everything for friends and family” and “always stood for justice.”

Born in the Soviet Union, Smirnov and his family immigrated to Israel as a child, and he later moved to the United States. He became a naturalized citizen and a prized informant for the FBI. But according to prosecutors, he later started expressing bias toward Biden, and invented the Ukraine bribery narrative to hurt Biden’s 2020 campaign against Trump.

The Justice Department secretly probed Smirnov’s allegations in 2020, but nothing came of it. Three years later, during the run-up to the 2024 campaign, congressional Republicans brought national attention to Smirnov’s unproven allegations, and touted his record as an FBI informant. Their claims quickly went viral in the right-wing media ecosystem.

Amid that GOP scrutiny, Weiss’ team re-interviewed Smirnov in 2023 to vet his allegations as they also investigated Hunter Biden. But Weiss concluded Smirnov “was lying” and “should be prosecuted himself” for repeatedly deceiving the FBI, prosecutors said in filings.

Weiss indicted Hunter Biden on tax and gun charges. He was convicted by a jury last year of three gun felonies, and later pleaded guilty to nine federal tax offenses. President Biden granted his son an unconditional pardon in December, before the sentencing in either case.

Scientists have unearthed nearly 200 dinosaur footprints, dating back 166 million years to the Middle Jurassic Period, at Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire, England.

The remarkable find, first spied in 2023 when quarry worker Gary Johnson sensed “unusual bumps” on the ground while extracting limestone for road construction, has been nicknamed the “dinosaur highway” as a nod to the extensive pathways left by these prehistoric creatures.

While other Jurassic pathways have been documented globally, the recent “highway” discovery in Oxfordshire is the largest known dinosaur track site in the United Kingdom.

Around 100 volunteers from the University of Birmingham and the University of Oxford collaborated this past June for one week, excavating the tracks and recording as much information as possible about the expansive site.

The discovery holds particular significance as it aligns with the 200th anniversary of the first-ever described dinosaur, the Megalosaurus, which was found in Oxfordshire in 1824.

“There’s a really long legacy in this area of exciting dinosaur tracks and body fossils,” said Kirsty Edgar, a professor of micropaleontology at the University of Birmingham in England who was involved with the excavation.

The recently uncovered tracks connect to a previously discovered dinosaur path in the same Oxfordshire quarry back in 1997, but it’s no longer accessible.

However, with advancements in technology, the new trackways will provide scientists with an opportunity to analyze previously unavailable information about these extinct animals and unlock secrets about their movements, dietary habits and social dynamics.

A prehistoric roadmap

During the excavation, scientists uncovered five extensive trackways, with the longest continuous pathway measuring more than 150 meters in length (492 feet), according to a University of Birmingham news release.

Four of these paths contained tracks from colossal, long-necked, four-legged herbivorous dinosaurs of the subgroup known as sauropods — most likely Cetiosaurus, which reached up to 18 meters (59 feet) in length, with the largest tracks measuring 90 centimeters (around 35 inches) long, according to Edgar.

Lawrence Tanner, a paleoecologist and professor of biological and environmental sciences at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, likened sauropods to modern elephants due to their massive size and herbivorous diet. He explained that most of the tracks were from hind legs, noting that, similar to elephants, sauropods’ hind feet were larger and often stepped over the impressions left by their front feet.

“The general rule of locomotion is that the faster the animal is moving, the farther apart the footprints will be,” Tanner, who was not involved in the excavation, said.

The fifth pathway contained prints from the Megalosaurus, a massive predatory dinosaur known for its distinctive, three-toed feet. Megalosaurus is believed to be up to 9 meters in length (30 feet), and in Oxfordshire, researchers found 65-centimeter (2.1-foot) long footprints.

From the footprints, researchers were also able to determine the direction and speed at which the dinosaurs were moving. Most of the giants were moving northeast at an average speed of around 5 kilometers per hour (3 miles per hour), which is comparable to the pace of a human walking, Edgar said.

Scientists believe larger theropods, such as the Megalosaurus, lacked running capabilities, unlike their smaller theropod counterparts, which possibly had the ability to run at fast speeds. Tanner said this theropod seemed to be moving at a leisurely pace, as indicated by the footprints.

Researchers noted that the Megalosaurus path intersected with the sauropod trackways, suggesting the predator moved through the area shortly after the herbivores.

While it’s difficult to pinpoint where the dinosaurs were headed, Tanner indicated they may have been traveling along the shoreline to navigate around trees or to search for food sources.

Ideal preservation conditions

The preservation of such an expansive ancient trackway is rare and was made possible by the unique conditions of the land during this time frame of the Jurassic Period.

The distinct footprints indicate the area was once covered in soft sediment, with an ideal amount of water to conserve the impressions.

Edgar compared the site’s ancient environment to the Florida Keys, with its carbonate mud banks and nearby water source.

The tracks were also quickly covered, likely by a storm, protecting them from erosion caused by wind, water or other animals, according to Edgar.

While Jurassic bone discoveries often draw significant attention, dinosaur tracks provide more specific insights into the lives of these extinct animals, Edgar said. Unlike bones, which can be transported to different areas by wind, water or scavengers, footprints remain in the exact locations where they were made.

Tracks not only indicate the size of the dinosaurs but also provide clues about their behavior, such as group dynamics and predator-prey interactions. If well-preserved, the impressions can also shed light on how these creatures reacted to environmental changes, according to Tanner.

“It’s like a snapshot into the day of the (dinosaurs’) life, and what they were doing,” Edgar said.

Planning future discoveries

During the excavation, researchers captured more than 20,000 images of the footprints with aerial drone photography. The team will use these images to create detailed 3D models to further investigate the interactions and biomechanics of the dinosaurs.

Over the next six months to a year, researchers will be working to quickly analyze the data collected and prepare to release their findings to the public.

“We have these 3D models for the first time, which means that anyone, as soon as we publish them, will be able to see the site and (its) legacy,” Edgar said.

As a result of the limited time researchers had to document the site to prevent further disruptions to the quarry site, Edgar noted that a large portion of the surface remains unexplored, potentially offering even more information about the diverse creatures that once roamed the area.

“As quarrying continues, as long as we can, I think we’ll be continuously evaluating and working with the quarry workers as new areas are exposed,” Edgar said. “We would hope to be doing excavations each summer.”

Steve Guttenberg doesn’t just play a good guy on the screen.

The actor, best known for performances in hit films like “Police Academy” and “Three Men and a Baby,” sprang into action when Los Angeles County wildfires threatened the area around his Pacific Palisades neighborhood.

Life-threatening fires have been racing across LA County, where residents have been faced unpredictable flames, heavy smoke and evacuation orders for thousands.

Earlier, Guttenberg spoke with Los Angeles television station KTLA as he actively worked to try and clear some of the abandoned cars in an area where he said it was hindering people’s ability to evacuate.

“There are people stuck up there. So we’re trying to clear Palisades Drive and I’m walking up there as far as I can moving cars,” Guttenberg told KTLA. “There are families up there, there are pets up there. There are people that really need help.”

“There were mothers who were hysterical [having] panic attacks, helping them with their suitcases and they were worried about their families up there because they couldn’t get them out in time,” he told Coates. “There were little kids crying. There were people who couldn’t speak English, driving their friends cars or their bosses cars and being careful where they drove.”

Ultimately, he said, the fire got so close that people were told to get out of their cars and evacuate on foot. He said he spent all day trying to move abandoned cars to make way for firetrucks to be able to get through.

“This is the most unbelievable fire I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Guttenberg is just one of many recognizable faces who have been affected by the fires.

“Star Wars” star Mark Hamill is among the thousands of LA County residents forced to evacuate their homes due to wildfires.

“7pm – Evacuated Malibu so last-minute there (were) small fires on both sides of the road as we approached PCH,” Hamill wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday night. “

He and his wife and their dog went to stay with their daughter near Hollywood.

“Most horrific fire since ’93,” Hamill added, before encouraging others to “stay safe.”

Actor James Woods shared a video on social media of the view from his home in the Pacific Palisades, taken the night before he wrote it was hit by flames.

“I took this last night from our beautiful little home in the Palisades. Now all the fire alarms are going off at once remotely,” Woods wrote. “It tests your soul, losing everything at once, I must say.”

“She came out with her little Yeti piggy bank for us to rebuild our house,” he said, breaking down in tears.

Parts of Pacific Palisades High School, a location for films including the horror classic “Carrie” and the 2003 movie “Freaky Friday,” was also engulfed in flames from the Palisades Fire, which has spread to more than 15,000 acres and zero containment as of Wednesday afternoon.

Reality star Spencer Pratt, who is married to Heidi Montag, posted a photo of their children’s room burning. Both their house and Pratt’s parents’ house burned in the fires, according to his social media on Wednesday.

The devastating wildfires that continue to ravage the celebrity-filled enclave of Pacific Palisades and other areas have forced a production shutdown across Los Angeles, as well as the cancellation of a number of key award season events that were set to take place this week.

“This unfolding tragedy has already had a profound impact on our community. All our thoughts and prayers are with those battling the devastating fires and with all who have been affected,” said Critics Choice Awards CEO Joey Berlin in a statement.

The Critics Choice Awards was set to be the second major televised Hollywood award show for the 2025 season, following last weekend’s Golden Globes.

The award show was set to be held at The Barker Hanger, a venue in Santa Monica, not far from the Pacific Palisades where fire has destroyed at least 1,000 structures and burned more than 5,000 acres. Evacuation orders have also reached residents in Santa Monica where the award show was set to be held.

Amid the ongoing wildfires in Southern California, a number of glitzy Hollywood events and red carpet premieres have also been cancelled.

The in-person nominations for the 31^st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were cancelled on Wednesday morning, instead being announced via press release.

The annual AFI Awards luncheon, which was set to be held on January 10, will be rescheduled. And the annual BAFTA Tea Party, a key stop in the Oscars race set for January 11 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, has been cancelled, the organization announced.

Many Hollywood productions have been forced to stop filming, amid the high winds, smoke and dangerous fires.

More than a dozen shows that shoot in LA have halted production, according to The Hollywood Reporter, including “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Hacks,” “Suits L.A.,” “NCIS” and “The Price Is Right.” Late night shows, like ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and CBS’ “After Midnight,” will also cease production on Wednesday, per Variety, which reports that the situation will be monitored for Thursday’s shows.