Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky recently revealed disagreements with ousted Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, pointing out what he sees as missteps. Fedorov’s involvement in massive protests and his push for elections are, according to Zelensky, a miscalculation, marking the first time Zelensky has publicly aired their differences.

Zelensky also touched on complications regarding defense expenditures, mentioning that the Defense Ministry’s misleading information resulted in an uncomfortable moment with US President Donald Trump concerning the deployment of Starlink technology in Russia.

Further, Zelensky shared statistics highlighting Ukraine’s growing shortage of vital Patriot air-defense missiles. Western allies’ shipments have been dwindling over the past three years, creating a worrisome gap as Russia ramps up missile attacks.

Nonetheless, Zelensky pointed to battlefield successes, noting that Ukrainian troops have nearly reclaimed the entire Dnipropetrovsk region, with only a small area of approximately 4 square miles still under Russian control.

These insights were shared during a two-hour, off-the-record session with journalists on Saturday, though a transcript was made public by Sunday.

Zelensky’s first public comments on Fedorov dismissal

His comments ranged widely, covering the latest battlefield developments, efforts to counter Russian ballistic attacks, the state of peace negotiations, Ukraine’s budgetary challenges and the political turmoil surrounding Fedorov’s dismissal.

“I really had and still have a very positive attitude toward Mykhailo. We have been through a lot together. But I believe that he himself goes, or is pushed, into the wrong things,” he said.

Fedorov, a popular minister credited with modernizing Ukraine’s armed forces and accelerating the military’s embrace of technology and drone warfare, was dismissed last month after reportedly falling out with the country’s top military commander.

His removal triggered mass protests that lasted for weeks, but ultimately failed to force a reversal of the decision. Fedorov later called for an election.

Zelensky said that he had offered Fedorov four different options to continue working in the government. Fedorov, he said, rejected all of them.

The Ukrainian leader told journalists that he believes holding an election during the war would be a huge risk with the potential to “split Ukraine apart.”

“I believe elections during a war like this would generally pose enormous risks. Holding elections right now would be a tsunami for the state that would split Ukraine apart,” he said.

Zelensky said he had previously faced pressure to hold an election during the war, but no partners had come up with a plan for how a poll could be held safely, legitimately and democratically.

Inaccurate information led to uncomfortable White House encounter

Zelensky appeared to link Fedorov to an awkward episode involving Starlink and Elon Musk.

Zelensky said that earlier this year, the Defense Ministry had told him that SpaceX had agreed to allow Ukraine to use Starlink over Russian territory to carry out deep strike operations, subject to political approval.

Acting on that, Zelensky said, he raised the issue directly with US President Donald Trump. He told Trump that Musk had confirmed the proposed use. Zelensky said the two sides subsequently sought Musk’s confirmation and discussed financing for the project.

But at a later meeting, Zelensky said that Trump told him that Musk had rejected the proposal and accused him of having misled the US president. Musk considered the move a dangerous escalation, according to Zelensky.

“He said that I had supposedly deceived him, because Musk had denied Ukraine the use of Starlink on Russian territory. I went back to our Ministry of Defense and they said that maybe it was so,” he said.

Zelensky didn’t explicitly accuse Fedorov of lying. He said that the situation was among the reasons behind “some of the steps.”

Zelensky also pushed back against protesters’ vilification of former army chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, who he dismissed, and current Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Yevhen Khmara, saying they had gone too far.

“Maybe someone doesn’t like Syrskyi for one reason or another. But the slogans ‘Syrskyi is the devil, Khmara is the devil,’” he said. “Listen, this is too much. Do you understand? In principle, you can’t treat the military like this and tolerate it, especially when it was the military that made it possible for any peaceful protests to take place in the Ukrainian capital at all.”

Pressure on defense budget but military successes

Zelenskyy also described severe financial pressure on Ukraine’s defense effort. He said that the Defense Ministry faced a $27 billion budget shortfall after spending decisions earlier in the year brought forward funds originally intended for the second half of this year.

Touching on a corruption inquiry that led Zelensky to fire one of his most senior officials this week, he said that anti-corruption investigators don’t believe that the president was involved.

The investigators had named a deputy head of the presidential office among the suspects in a money-laundering case.

“The heads of anti-corruption agencies have zero questions for me. They understand perfectly well that I am not involved in anything like that. And this is important to me,” he said.

On the battlefield, Zelensky was optimistic.

In addition to Ukraine almost completely regaining control of the Dnipropetrovsk region, he said that another operation was underway elsewhere and that its results were expected by the end of August.

He also predicted that by the end of the year, Ukraine could reach parity between the territory occupied by Russia since the beginning of the year and the territory retaken by Ukrainian forces.

Zelensky said that Russia had occupied about 380 square miles since the start of the year, while Ukraine had restored control over roughly 315 square miles.

The president said that Russia’s principal objective remained the Konstantynivka-Sloviansk-Kramatorsk axis, and that Moscow was still demanding that Ukraine withdraw from the Donbas region as a condition for a settlement.

Still struggling for access to Patriot missiles

Zelensky said that Ukraine was receiving substantially fewer Patriot interceptor missiles even as Russian ballistic attacks are increasing.

He said that Ukraine received 675 Patriot missiles in 2023, compared with 364 in 2025 and an expected 264 this year. Zelensky said that he wanted to secure 300 additional Patriot missiles for the coming winter, while Ukraine’s air force had requested 360.

The shortfall is particularly serious, because the United States and European partners are struggling to expand production. Zelensky said that he hoped Ukraine could obtain even 5% or 10% of US reserves and was able to pay for them.

Zelensky said that Russia could eventually produce up to 1,300 ballistic missiles a year, compared with an estimated current capacity of 600.

He said that Ukraine was also preparing alternatives to Starlink, including a European communications project, as Russia and China work on their own competing system.

In a notable interview, Dr. Mehmet Oz countered former President Donald Trump’s assertion that the MMR vaccine could be ‘lethal.’ This clarification came after Oz faced persistent questioning regarding Trump’s statement.

As head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Oz appeared on CBS’ Face the Nation this past Sunday. During the interview, Trump had alleged, without substantiation, that combining vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella into a single dose might be dangerous.

Host Margaret Brennan pressed Oz repeatedly to clarify whether Trump’s claims were inaccurate. Initially, Oz veered the conversation toward patient autonomy and the importance of consulting healthcare professionals.

It wasn’t until Brennan asked the question a third time that Oz provided a definitive response.

“The MMR vaccine is not a lethal vaccine,” he asserted clearly.

The exchange came less than two weeks after Trump signed an executive order overhauling federal childhood vaccine recommendations and called for the three components of the MMR vaccine to be separated.

While signing the order, Trump claimed there was a ‘possibility’ the combined shot could be ‘quite lethal’, but offered no evidence to support that assertion.

‘Together there could be a possibility they are quite lethal,’ Trump said. ‘Separately it looks like they are not at all lethal, but just very effective.’

The comments immediately raised questions because separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines are not currently available in the United States.

The combined MMR vaccine has been administered for more than four decades, and more than 800 million doses have been given across over 75 countries since 2021, according to research cited by Politico.

Brennan confronted Oz directly over Trump’s remarks on Sunday morning’s program.

‘The president twice said that the shot may be lethal,’ she told him. ‘Do you want to clarify that?’

Oz initially began: ‘We want the patients to make the —’

But Brennan interrupted and again pushed him to address the president’s specific assertion.

Rather than immediately saying whether the MMR vaccine was lethal, Oz turned to Trump’s broader position on patients seeing their doctors.

‘The president wants Americans – he said this many times – to get to the doctors as often as they can,’ Oz responded. ‘And it’s hard for parents to answer the questions.’

Brennan was not satisfied.

She returned to the practical problem with Trump’s suggestion that the three vaccines should be administered separately.

‘MMR is not offered in three shots,’ Brennan said. ‘Merck could not offer that. The president called that single shot lethal. Do you want to clarify that?’

Only then did Oz categorically state the MMR jab was not a lethal one.

Oz’s declaration put one of the administration’s most recognizable health officials in the position of publicly correcting a claim made by the president weeks earlier.

He suggested that one of the administration’s concerns was whether parents feel able to raise questions about vaccination requirements.

‘The challenge we’re running into is that many states have not clarified that, and actually, it’s harder for parents to ask these difficult questions,’ he said.

The CMS chief also claimed that the MMR vaccines are available separately in other countries and argued that the broader debate should center on the ability of parents to question medical recommendations and vaccination requirements.

‘The request of the president is to make sure that states offer parents either eligibility because of religious beliefs or other reasons why they may not want to have their kids take all the vaccines in order,’ Oz said.

The debate comes at an especially sensitive moment for US public health officials as measles cases have climbed to their highest level in 35 years.

The Trump administration itself has encouraged parents to vaccinate their children against measles as cases have surged.

At the same time, vaccination rates among young children have continued to slip.

Figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week showed that 92.4 percent of US kindergarteners had been vaccinated against measles during the 2025-2026 school year. 

That was down from 95.2 percent in 2019-2020.

The latest national rate is also below the roughly 95 percent vaccination level generally cited as necessary to achieve herd immunity against the extraordinarily contagious virus.

Measles can cause fever, cough, runny nose and a distinctive rash, but serious cases can lead to complications including pneumonia and encephalitis.

The MMR vaccine has been a cornerstone of childhood vaccination programs for decades.

Trump’s executive order earlier this month nevertheless called for a significant rethink of federal recommendations surrounding childhood vaccinations, including his push to separate the three MMR components.

But turning that proposal into practice presents an immediate obstacle: individual measles, mumps and rubella vaccines are not currently marketed separately in the United States.

A father of five from California has suffered paralysis from the neck down following a heroic attempt to rescue a child caught in a rip current.

Josh Collette, aged 42, was enjoying a day at Riviera Beach in San Clemente with his family on August 15. During their outing, a young boy, estimated to be around 7 or 8 years old, became trapped in a dangerous current, as recounted by his sister, Hillary Collette, to the news station KTLA.

Witnessing the child’s distress, the mother initially jumped into the water to save her son. However, Josh Collette sprinted past her, diving headlong into the ocean in a desperate bid to rescue the child, according to Hillary’s account.

As he entered the water, Collette’s sister said he struck either a sandbar or rocks and was immediately injured.

Several people then rushed to his aid and helped pull him from the water. He told his wife right away that he believed he had broken his neck.

The child Josh Collette was attempting to help was safely pulled out of the water before Collette was brought from the water, his sister said.

Collette’s sister said doctors told the family that Josh Collette was paralyzed from the neck down.

His sister said he was unable to speak but communicated by moving his lips; she said the family expects him to regain his ability to speak.

His family created a GoFundMe as they prepare to help with medical bills, long-term therapy and support for the family as they navigate the long and difficult recovery ahead.

“Josh was hurt in an ocean accident on Sat Aug 15th he has a spinal cord injury,” a family member wrote on the fundraiser. “The road ahead will be long, and the recovery will not be easy, we’re holding on to hope.”

“We believe in miracles! We’ve already seen so many and thank everyone for the love, support, and prayers!” the fundraiser added. “Please keep praying for miracles! Its working!”

In an update shared on Friday, the family said it will take some time for him to no longer need medicine. The family also shared a picture of Josh Collette from his hospital bed.

“Yesterday was so positive and productive! So, it was hard to have a day with less progress. This guy hates medicine! He’s trying hard to get off of everything… but, that’s going to take some time. Thank you so much for all the prayers, love, and support. We love you all so much and feel so loved by all the help you’ve given us. We’re hanging in there and so grateful for all of you,” the family wrote on the fundraiser.

The GoFundMe has raised nearly $110,000 as of Sunday night.

California’s legal landscape is stirring controversy as some of the state’s infamous criminals, including killers, rapists, and child predators, now have a pathway to potential freedom much earlier than initially planned. This shift is a result of the contentious elderly parole law.

Originally, inmates had to be at least 60 years old and have served 25 years to become eligible for parole. However, a new legislation signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2020 slashed this threshold to age 50 and 20 years served. These changes, effective from 2021, were part of efforts to alleviate overcrowding in California’s prisons.

The legislative adjustment has sparked a backlash. Critics argue that it undermines sentences that were intentionally lengthy to keep dangerous criminals off the streets for life.

While this opportunity doesn’t assure immediate release, it does allow inmates to present their cases to a parole board. The board examines various factors, such as the inmate’s current age and potential threat to society, to make their decision.

Among those affected is Gregory Lee Vogelsang, 57, who received a sentence of 355 years to life. This stems from his appalling spree of sex crimes against children in the Sacramento region during the 1990s.

Despite that sentence, a three-person panel granted him parole in November under the elderly parole program.

David Allen Funston, who lured, kidnapped and molested at least eight children, was also granted parole in February at age 64.

The case followed another parole decision that ignited outrage in Sacramento County.

The backlash eventually reached the state Capitol, where Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen introduced AB 2727 to tighten the rules governing elderly parole.

Nguyen initially sought to raise the eligibility age to 75, but the proposal was later watered down to 65, with at least 25 years served.

The revised law has yet to pass following pushback from the Prison Policy Initiative, which cited research claiming to show declining recidivism among offenders over 65.

But critics argue the cases that sparked the legislative fight show why age alone should not determine when a violent offender gets another chance at freedom.

“David Funston was released at 64. Do we all feel safer from this pedophile simply by waiting until he’s 65?” said Schubert.

“Age does not erase predatory behavior.”

The UCLA medical facility, where actor Robert Carradine sadly ended his life in February, has come under scrutiny for breaking safety standards, according to a Department of Health and Human Services report.

This crucial report was presented to the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, supplementing an earlier lawsuit lodged on August 7 by Carradine’s offspring against the Regents of the University of California, as covered by the Daily Mail.

Carradine’s family accuses UCLA’s Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital of understaffing, which they argue contributed to their father’s passing on February 23. The actor died from complications of an anoxic brain injury related to a suicide attempt during his treatment at the hospital, where he was 71 years old.

Following an April inspection, it was determined that the facility did not comply with Department of Health and Human Services regulations, particularly those concerning patients’ rights and nursing care.

The findings stated the hospital ‘failed to provide a safe environment for care,’ highlighting a specific infringement: the neglect to conduct patient checks every 15 minutes as mandated by the hospital’s protocol and procedures.

The Daily Mail has reached out to attorneys for the family, UC Regents, the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital and the Department of Health and Human Services for further comment on the story.

Another item cited in the report noted the presence of ‘two contraband items’ in the form of ‘a belt and a bedside table’ that Carradine used in his suicide attempt.

The facility’s director of quality management told DHHS officials in April that ‘the nurse failed to confiscate (take or seize with authority) the contraband of a belt, cellphone, and wallet’ when Carradine had been admitted to the facility January 16.

The director said ‘she was not aware whose responsibility it was to remove the bedside table’ in Carradine’s room, according to the DHHS report, adding that she said the table ‘was probably left over from the previous occupant’ in the room.

Earlier this month, Carradine’s daughters Ever and Marika, and son Ian, filed a wrongful death and elder abuse and neglect lawsuit against the regents and various does. 

According to court documents obtained by The Daily Mail, Carradine voluntarily admitted himself into Resnick twice in one month – he was discharged following seven days on January 9 before returning on January 16 due to a ‘manic episode suicidal ideation.’ 

Carradine was ‘relieved to be hospitalized’ and hoped that ‘additional inpatient treatment would reduce his anxiety,’ the documents stated. 

‘But Robert’s hopes for successful treatment didn’t match the reality he had stepped into,’ the document claims. ‘Instead of walking into a safe environment, he walked into a locked facility that broke a cardinal rule for a hospitalized psychiatric patient with active suicidal thoughts and a history of suicide attempts.’

Carradine’s children specifically highlighted that he was never stripped of a ‘belt,’ which is outlined as contraband, the complaint alleges. 

‘The belongings form that UCLA generated from Robert’s admission shows the facility failed to confiscate his belt,’ the lawsuit alleged. ‘UCLA also left a rolling bedside table in his room, which was not a standard piece of furniture in the locked psych unit.’

Carradine’s manner of death was ruled suicide in June; the actor endured a long struggle with serious mental illness that his family has spoken about publicly. 

Medical Examiner records state that the actor had a history of bipolar disorder, severe depression with psychotic features, anxiety and prior suicidal ideation.

‘None of this happened because UCLA lacked the knowledge, the policies or the means,’ the family’s lawsuit said. ‘It happened because UCLA took shortcuts with two safeguards that were meant to protect Robert’s life.’

Carradine’s children also claimed ‘no one watched him or checked on him for long periods of time despite orders to watch him every 15 minutes.’

‘The staff member assigned to watch Robert sat in a chair in the hallway and entered observations into an iPad without ever looking at him. 

Carradine’s children said in the filing, ‘The iPad carried forward whatever information had last been entered, so that UCLA staff were allowed to click that they had checked on someone without ever looking at them.’ 

‘On paper, UCLA produced a perfect record, making it look like they were checking on suicidal patients every 15 minutes.’

‘In reality, UCLA allowed staff to cut corners knowing that doing so placed its patients with suicidal ideation, including Robert at risk of suicide and death.’

Additionally, the filing stated UCLA ‘did not investigate reality’ and recorded ‘a version of events’ contradicted by video surveillance.

The plaintiffs are seeking general damages, special and economic damages, and wrongful damages.

According to the medical examiner’s investigative summary, Carradine voluntarily admitted himself to UCLA’s Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital on January 16, 2026 because he was experiencing suicidal thoughts.

The following day, hospital staff found him unresponsive in his room after what investigators described as an apparent hanging involving a leather belt.

Medical personnel were able to restore circulation and Carradine was transferred to intensive care, where he remained hospitalized for more than five weeks.

His condition continued to deteriorate and he was pronounced dead on February 23.

The medical examiner’s report lists the cause of death as ‘sequelae of anoxic brain injury’ due to hanging. The report notes that no foul play was suspected.

Investigators interviewed family members as part of the inquiry into Carradine’s death.

Carradine had battled bipolar disorder, depression and psychosis for roughly two decades and had recently become increasingly depressed.

The records also indicate that Carradine had previously sought treatment for suicidal thoughts at the same facility.

Family members believed he had been discharged too early following an earlier hospitalization before he returned and admitted himself again in January. 

If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US at 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org.

A California family has taken legal action against Six Flags Magic Mountain, claiming that a flawed ride design led to the tragic death of their 22-year-old son on the X2 roller coaster. The lawsuit alleges that the amusement park’s negligence resulted in fatal head injuries.

The heartbreaking event unfolded in the summer of 2022. Christopher Hawley, a recent San Diego State University graduate, had been enjoying a day at the Los Angeles County theme park with his family. According to a report by Fox 11 Los Angeles, Hawley collapsed soon after experiencing the X2 ride and sadly passed away the following day.

An earlier incident involving the same roller coaster occurred on July 5, 2026, when another rider was found unresponsive, leading to the temporary closure of the X2 for over a month, as reported by KTLA. This added to growing concerns about the ride’s safety record.

Authorities declared Christopher’s death accidental, attributing it to blunt-force head trauma incurred from the ride. His family described their experience on the attraction as exceedingly turbulent, highlighting potential safety issues, according to Fox 11.

His younger brother, Alex, described the ride as intensely violent, saying it jerked passengers around before ending with a jolt that sent their heads slamming into the headrests.

“It was very rough. It just jerked us. It just jerked us all around,” Alex told the local station.

“It just jolted us all the way forward and then our heads just swung all the way back into the end to the head.”

After Christopher stepped off the attraction, he reportedly appeared noticeably unwell, with his face turning very red before suddenly collapsing.

Emergency responders rushed him to a nearby hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries the next day, Fox 11 reported.

The family said a surgeon compared Hawley’s injuries to shaken baby syndrome, a condition in which violent and sudden forces cause the brain to move rapidly within the skull, potentially resulting in swelling, bruising and bleeding.

“The surgeon had said, he likened it to shaken baby syndrome, that the ride hit his head so hard that it had basically ruptured his brain,” Christopher’s father, William, told the local station.

Six Flags declined to comment directly on the litigation to News Media.

However, the amusement park told Fox 11 that the ride remains closed following the separate July 2026 incident involving the unconscious rider.

“The ride remains closed at this time. It has been closed since the evening of July 12th,” Six Flags said.

A jury trial involving Six Flags, the manufacturer of the X2 roller coaster and park employees is scheduled to begin Sept. 8, according to reports.

The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants failed to adequately warn the public about the ride’s risks, the local station said.

X2 has been advertised as one of the theme park’s most intense attractions and features seats that rotate 360 degrees.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner did not immediately respond to a request for comment from News Media.