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America’s Favorite Burger Chain Debuts First-of-Its-Kind Restaurant Concept

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America’s Favorite Burger Chain Debuts First-of-Its-Kind Restaurant Concept

In-N-Out has debuted its newest California restaurant in a setting that stands out from nearly every opening in the chain’s history: next to a major public park, athletic fields and a growing shopping and dining district.

For devoted fans of the West Coast burger favorite, the sight of In-N-Out’s red-and-yellow signage is enough to spark excitement on its own.

This latest location, however, is drawing extra attention because it breaks from the more familiar blueprint many customers associate with the brand.

The company’s Store No. 443 is now open at 7900 Great Park Boulevard in Irvine, California, putting the restaurant beside the expansive Great Park and close to its soccer fields, baseball diamonds and tennis facilities.

The new restaurant does include the chain’s signature drive-thru, but its parkside location represents a notable shift for In-N-Out, which has long preferred roadside sites and spacious lots designed to handle long lines of cars.

The new restaurant forms part of The Canopy, a 12-acre shopping and dining development being built at Great Park.

The wider Great Park transformation has been billed as a $1 billion project, turning the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro site into a vast public destination with parks, sports facilities, cultural attractions, retail and entertainment. 

For In-N-Out, meanwhile, the location provides a chance to put its famously simple menu in the middle of one of Southern California’s biggest new developments.

An In-N-Out has opened in Irvine, California, placing the burger joint directly alongside the enormous Great Park and its soccer fields, baseball diamonds and tennis facilities

An In-N-Out has opened in Irvine, California, placing the burger joint directly alongside the enormous Great Park and its soccer fields, baseball diamonds and tennis facilities

The new Irvine restaurant measures about 3,860 square feet, with 84 indoor seats and 36 seats on an outdoor patio.

Its drive-thru can accommodate up to 33 vehicles – a useful feature for a chain whose most popular restaurants can attract substantial queues. 

The restaurant is an anchor tenant at The Canopy, that will eventually contain more than 90,000 square feet of restaurants, retail and everyday services. 

And that setting is what makes the new restaurant particularly unusual. Rather than sitting beside a major highway or being surrounded primarily by parking lots, it backs onto Great Park’s sports facilities and is within walking distance of a huge public recreational space.

The park itself is expected to cover roughly 1,300 acres when the transformation is complete – making it larger than New York City’s 843-acre Central Park. 

The In-N-Out officially opened on September 4, with normal hours running from 10.30am to 1am Sunday through Thursday and until 1.30am on Fridays and Saturdays. 

The chain’s own location page confirms that the restaurant offers both drive-thru and dine-in seating. 

For a company that now has more than 400 restaurants and more than 44,000 employees, the scale of the Irvine development is a long way from where In-N-Out began.

The new restaurant measures about 3,860 square feet, with 84 indoor seats and 36 seats on an outdoor patio

The new restaurant measures about 3,860 square feet, with 84 indoor seats and 36 seats on an outdoor patio

Its drive-thru can accommodate up to 33 vehicles - a useful feature for a chain whose most popular restaurants can attract substantial queues

Its drive-thru can accommodate up to 33 vehicles – a useful feature for a chain whose most popular restaurants can attract substantial queues

Harry and Esther Snyder opened the first In-N-Out in Baldwin Park, California, in 1948. The tiny drive-thru hamburger stand was designed around a simple idea: customers could order from their cars and receive fresh food quickly.

Harry Snyder later introduced a two-way speaker system that allowed customers to order without leaving their vehicles – an innovation that helped establish the drive-thru model that became a defining part of American fast food.

More than seven decades later, In-N-Out remains fiercely protective of that formula.

ALSO READ: Renoir Museum Heist: Thieves Steal Paintings Worth £15m in France

The chain continues to operate a deliberately limited menu of burgers, fries and drinks, while emphasizing fresh ingredients and avoiding the freezers, microwaves and heat lamps used by many fast-food competitors. 

It also remains privately owned and family-run, with Lynsi Snyder, Harry and Esther’s granddaughter, serving as president.

Despite its relatively limited geographic footprint, In-N-Out has developed a cult-like following – and its restaurants are among the highest-performing burger locations in the country.

Restaurant-industry data showed In-N-Out generating average annual sales of approximately $5.8 million per restaurant in 2024, across 415 locations at the time. 

The company has also continued its cautious expansion beyond its traditional California base, most recently adding restaurants in states including Tennessee and Washington. 

The excitement surrounding the Great Park restaurant was evident long before the doors opened.

Residents watching the construction shared drone footage and photographs online, while Reddit users speculated about when they would finally be able to order their first Double-Double at the new location.

One Irvine commenter wrote that they would ‘definitely try it’ and immediately named their preferred order: ‘Double double, animal fries, chocolate shake.’

Another simply said: ‘Can’t go wrong with an In-N-Out.’

But the excitement has been mixed with a healthy dose of concern about what thousands of hungry customers could do to local traffic.

‘I can’t imagine what the lines will be like when it opens,’ one commenter wrote.

Another dubbed it the ‘newest Traffic Congestion Generator,’ while another joked: ‘I’m gonna be smelling burgers all day, and fighting traffic to get home lol.’

Others were even more blunt.

‘I’ll either walk there or park in the lot to go inside. Drive thru is too long and a complete waste of time,’ one person wrote.

Harry and Esther Snyder opened the first In-N-Out in Baldwin Park, California, in 1948. The tiny drive-thru hamburger stand was designed around a simple idea: customers could order from their cars and receive fresh food quickly

Harry and Esther Snyder opened the first In-N-Out in Baldwin Park, California, in 1948. The tiny drive-thru hamburger stand was designed around a simple idea: customers could order from their cars and receive fresh food quickly

The In-N-Out is just one small part of a much larger project. Great Park is being transformed from the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station into a sprawling civic and recreational destination. Above, a rendering of the Canopy Great Park project

The In-N-Out is just one small part of a much larger project. Great Park is being transformed from the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station into a sprawling civic and recreational destination. Above, a rendering of the Canopy Great Park project

Another complained that the area was already congested and predicted the restaurant would make matters worse. 

One particularly unhappy resident called In-N-Out a ‘blight’ on the neighborhood and complained about potential traffic, accidents and litter.

But not everyone sees the arrival as a problem. One commenter pointed out that the Great Park neighborhood currently had ‘no restaurants and grocery stores,’ arguing that a commercial center was needed. 

The new In-N-Out may be grabbing the headlines, but it is just one piece of a much bigger transformation underway at Great Park.

Irvine’s plans for the sprawling 1,300-acre park include botanical gardens, museums, a veterans memorial park, cultural spaces and upgrades to the existing sports complex, alongside new retail and dining destinations.

There is also a major entertainment element in the works, including a 10,000-seat open-air amphitheater.

US Expands Iran Aviation Sanctions in Push to Isolate Tehran

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US Expands Iran Aviation Sanctions in Push to Isolate Tehran

The Trump administration on Tuesday expanded U.S. sanctions on Iran’s aviation industry, blacklisting more than two dozen commercial and private airlines along with foreign cargo service providers in a renewed effort to further isolate Tehran from the trading partners it still has.

The measures fall under the administration’s Operation Economic Outcast campaign, a pressure drive designed to cut off what officials describe as “critical financial lifelines” to Iran’s already heavily sanctioned government. This latest round focuses on what remains of Tehran’s battered aviation network, a sector Washington has targeted repeatedly over the years.

“Let this be a warning to anyone doing business with Iran’s remaining airlines, all of which we sanctioned today: You are at risk of being cut off from the global financial system,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a press release.

U.S. officials said the 36 entities sanctioned this week helped the Islamic Republic use its aviation sector to transport weapons, personnel and illicit cargo. The designations expose foreign companies and governments that continue to work with the listed entities to potential sanctions, including the freezing of any assets they hold under U.S. jurisdiction.

The administration also alleged that private firms based in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and Malaysia supplied parts and logistics support to Iran’s Mahan Air. The major carrier, which operates flights from Tehran to dozens of destinations across Asia, Europe and the Middle East, has been under U.S. counterterrorism sanctions since 2019 over its support for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which the State Department has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

The airline was first targeted by the U.S. under the Obama administration in 2011, when it accused Mahan Air of being used to send weapons to Iranian proxies in Lebanon and Yemen.

READ MORE: Child Hospitalized After Alligator Attack in Florida on Labor Day

The latest sanctions campaign is part of a two-pronged economic and military approach by President Donald Trump as he struggles to bring an end to a more than six-month-old war with Tehran.

Last week, the U.S. announced penalties against Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi, a Turkish bank, which it accused of being established to enable Iran’s efforts to transfer oil revenues from China to Turkey, where they could then be converted to cash and gold.

The U.S. also said the institution “knowingly offered” banking services to Iranian financial entities, including those already sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2022 for funneling Tehran’s oil sales.

An Egyptian bank’s operations in the United Arab Emirates were also limited last month as part of the campaign, but the administration stopped short of imposing sanctions as it grapples with how to sever Iran’s economic footprint without upending the global financial system.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Child Hospitalized After Alligator Attack in Florida on Labor Day

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Child Hospitalized After Alligator Attack in Florida on Labor Day

A child was taken to the hospital on Labor Day after being seriously bitten by an alligator while swimming in a restricted area of Florida, authorities said.

The child, whose age and gender were not made public, suffered bites to the arm and leg from an alligator believed to be between 9 and 12 feet long, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.

The attack unfolded Monday afternoon at the Weeki Wachee Preserve, where the youngster became stranded on a sandbar with several other children and could not get back to shore.

A child was bitten by an approximately 9- to 12-foot alligator while swimming at the Weeki Wachee Preserve in Weeki Wachee, Florida, on Monday. Hernando County Fire Rescue

Hernando County Fire Rescue was called in and used an airboat to reach the group and bring them safely back.

The injured child was transported to Bayonet Point Hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, the sheriff’s office said.

MORE STORY: Bryan Kohberger Gets New Court Date to Withdraw Guilty Plea

A licensed Florida wildlife trapper responded to the scene and placed traps in the hopes of capturing the beast responsible for the attack.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is investigating the violation for swimming – which is strictly prohibited at the preserve.

Officials reiterated the warning for people to obey posted rules at waterways in the state and to exercise extreme caution.

“Do not swim in areas where swimming is prohibited,” the sheriff’s office said.

The Weeki Wachee Preserve spans over 11,200 acres in west-central Florida, and is located about 50 miles north of Tampa.

Renoir Museum Heist: Thieves Steal Paintings Worth £15m in France

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Renoir Museum Heist: Thieves Steal Paintings Worth £15m in France

Four valuable Renoir paintings were taken during an early-morning raid at a small museum on the French Riviera on Tuesday, though the thieves abandoned two of the works while making their escape. The artworks targeted in the burglary are estimated to be worth a combined £15million.

Bryan Masson, the mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, said at the scene that the intruders appeared to be both “well-equipped” and “well-informed” when they broke into the Renoir Museum through its garden.

According to Masson, the group cut through a fence using what was believed to be an electric knife or saw, then entered the museum at ground level before severing the clips that held the painting frames in place.

The museum alarm was triggered at 5.48am local time, and officers reached the site within five minutes, the mayor said.

In a written statement, Masson credited the rapid police response with “forcing the burglars to flee in haste” and said it helped prevent an even larger loss from the museum’s collection.

Two of the stolen works were found in the museum garden, but the two others are still missing, the statement said: ‘Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano’ and ‘Young Woman at the Well.’

An official with the regional police administration confirmed the theft and the hunt for suspects, and said an investigation is underway.

Police officers arrive at the Renoir Museum as an investigation beings into the art heist

Police officers arrive at the Renoir Museum as an investigation beings into the art heist

A police officer stands guard at the point where the thieves cut a hole in the outer fence to gain access to the museum

A police officer stands guard at the point where the thieves cut a hole in the outer fence to gain access to the museum

The theft comes less than a year after eight pieces of priceless 19th-century French crown jewels, valued at around £76million, were stolen from the Louvre in Paris during a daylight robbery

The theft comes less than a year after eight pieces of priceless 19th-century French crown jewels, valued at around £76million, were stolen from the Louvre in Paris during a daylight robbery

Carabinieri TPC art squad officers of the Parma Provincial Command posing with recovered valuable artworks by Paul Cezanne (L) Pierre-Auguste Renoir (R) and Henri Matisse

Carabinieri TPC art squad officers of the Parma Provincial Command posing with recovered valuable artworks by Paul Cezanne (L) Pierre-Auguste Renoir (R) and Henri Matisse

The museum had 12 works by Renoir in total, the mayor said. The museum was closed Tuesday while the investigation unfolded.

The mayor called for greater security measures for museums around France. ‘This incident should serve as a warning about the protection of our museums, which now face a new form of organized crime targeting works of art,’ his statement said.

Art theft expert James Ratcliffe of the Art Loss Register said that thieves are increasingly targeting valuable artifacts, including traditional art.

‘Sadly, without further funding to improve museum security, we are likely to see an increase in the number of museum thefts we see. 

ALSO READ: Why the Lindsay Clancy Case Is So Painful for Mothers Like Me

‘Each time thefts occur, it draws yet more attention to the perception of these museums as relatively easy targets. That can only encourage some criminals to consider them as straightforward places to steal from.’

The Renoir Museum on the French Riviera was opened in 1960 in Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s last home before his death in 1919. Its collection includes objects and furniture that belonged to Renoir, including his easel and wheelchair, as well as portraits, landscapes, and nudes painted by the artist.

The theft comes less than a year after eight pieces of priceless 19th-century French crown jewels, valued at around £76million, were stolen from Louvre in Paris during a daylight robbery.

Four suspected thieves were later arrested, but the stolen items have still not been found, despite extensive searches by French investigators in the Paris region and exchanges with police in Belgium, Italy and beyond.

Since the Louvre robbery, France’s Ministry of Culture has made museum security a priority.

In July, a 33-measure national security plan was unveiled, recommending temporarily removing certain pieces from display cases.

‘The aim is to shelter the most vulnerable objects in suitable locations that will be identified for each department, pending the securing of their presentation,’ the Ministry said in a statement.

However, that same month, a gold collar dating from the Celtic period, from 2,500 years ago, which had been found buried in Burgundy, was stolen in broad daylight from the archaeological museum in Chatillon-sur-Seine.

Also in July,  thieves stole an estimated 4.5million euros worth of jewellery from the Lalique museum in Wingen-sur-Moder in north-eastern France.

And just last month, paintings worth more than €9million (£7.5million) were recovered after being stolen in just three minutes by masked thieves from a museum in northern Italy in March.

Videos showed the thieves sneaking into the Magnani-Rocca Foundation near Parma to steal works by Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse in just 180 seconds.

They removed three paintings – Fish by Renoir, Still Life with Cherries by Cezanne, and Odalisque on the Terrace by Matisse – from the walls before handing them out of a window to an accomplice.

Fish is worth £2.6million, Still Life with Cherries £5.1million and Odalisque on the Terrace £17,000.  

Italian police found the paintings in the storeroom of a house in Parma, where they arrested five Moldovans. They had been stashed in the cardboard packaging of a flat-screen television.

Bryan Kohberger’s Bid to Oust Judge, Undo Plea Gets Court Date

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Bryan Kohberger’s Bid to Oust Judge, Undo Plea Gets Court Date

Convicted Idaho student killer Bryan Kohberger is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 15 for a hearing tied to his request to remove Judge Steven Hippler from the case, part of a broader effort to challenge his guilty plea through post-conviction relief.

Kohberger, 31, submitted a handwritten petition in July arguing that his attorneys provided ineffective counsel. He also claimed his guilty plea was “not knowingly or voluntarily entered because it was induced by unkept promises” and was “not voluntarily entered because of threats asserted by petitioner’s (Kohberger’s) legal counsel.”

The court assigned Moscow, Idaho, attorney Greg Rauch to represent him, and New York private defense lawyer Jason Goldman later became part of Kohberger’s new legal team.

BRYAN KOHBERGER GETS NEW ATTORNEY AFTER IDAHO MURDERS CASE TOPS $8 MILLION IN TAXPAYER COSTS

Bryan Kohberger adjusts his seat at the Ada County Courthouse, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit over a white T-shirt

Bryan Kohberger is seen at the Ada County Courthouse during his sentencing hearing on July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho. He pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students nearly three years earlier. (Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Images)

His new lawyers are expected to file an amended petition by Nov. 13 — four years to the day after the murders.

“We think the [amended petition] and evidentiary hearing will naturally address some of the outstanding and unanswered questions,” Goldman told News Media last week. “That said, the main priority right now is to scrutinize the constitutional issues surrounding Bryan’s plea.”

Judge Steven Hippler gesture with both hands from behind the bench in an Ada County courtroom

Judge Steven Hippler of Idaho’s 4th Judicial District in Ada County rejected the latest attempt by Bryan Kohberger’s defense to drop the death penalty as a possible sentence if a jury convicts him of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022. (Katherine Jones/Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Kohberger pleaded guilty on July 2, 2025, to four counts of first-degree murder and a burglary charge for the stabbing deaths of 21-year-olds Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves as well as 20-year-olds Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

On July 23, 2025, Hippler sentenced him to four consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus another 10 years, as part of a plea deal in which Kohberger avoided the death penalty.

READ MORE: Channel 4 Worker Found Dead in Sea Three Days After Last Contact With Family

The University of Idaho students killed in a November 2022 attack pose together in the final photo taken of them all together, with the faces of two surviving roommates blurred.

Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)

Rauch filed a 22-page motion to have the judge disqualified on Aug. 27, questioning Hippler’s impartiality after he declined to give Kohberger’s former defense team more time when they said they were not finished with discovery as the expected trial date approached last year.

Kohberger pleaded guilty weeks before it would have taken place. Rauch also took issue with some of the language Hippler used to describe his client at sentencing: “someone in whom the Court could identify nothing remaining that was ‘good or intrinsically human.'”

Inside the courtroom where Bryan Kohberger is being sentenced to life in prison.

Judge Steven Hippler speaks at the sentencing hearing of Bryan Kohberger at the Ada County Courthouse, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho, for brutally stabbing four University of Idaho students to death nearly three years ago. (Kyle Green/AP Photo, Pool)

In the prosecution’s fight against his petition for post-conviction relief, Deputy Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Keith Scholl asked for the transcripts from both hearings, in which Kohberger admitted guilt and affirmed he was entering his plea knowingly and under no duress.

In a separate order last week, Hippler gave Kohberger’s lawyers until Sept. 10 to explain why the court should seal a supplemental filing attached to their motion to disqualify him from the case.

They’ve also been ordered to share the confidential filing with the Latah County Prosecutor’s office. It has not been made public and will remain sealed at least until the deadline — likely longer after a justification is given.

The hearing on the motion to disqualify will be held on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 1:30 p.m. MT via WebEx.

5 Best Historically Accurate Action TV Shows, Ranked

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5 Best Historically Accurate Action TV Shows, Ranked

Dick with dirt on his face in Band of Brothers and a green background

Static Media

Watching a grand historical drama can be irresistible, whether it unfolds across a movie screen or over several binge-ready television episodes. Still, one question tends to follow every sword clash, palace scheme, and battlefield speech: how much of it actually happened that way?

Of course, not every viewer is looking for a documentary-level recreation of the past. Plenty of audiences are happy to be swept up in the spectacle, which helps explain the enduring appeal of historical drama adjacent epics such as “Game of Thrones” and its prequel spin-off “House of the Dragon.” They deliver the political maneuvering, medieval-style warfare, and dynastic chaos fans crave — with the added bonus of fire-breathing dragons. But for viewers who have spent years reading nonfiction and want television that treats history with unusual care, the standards are a little different.

A quick caveat: the phrase “historically accurate” almost always invites debate. Someone, somewhere, will point out a costume error, a compressed timeline, or a character invented for dramatic effect. That said, the shows on this list stand out for making a serious effort, whether through multilingual dialogue, deep archival research, authentic costuming, or, in the case of the top-ranked title, a combination of all of the above. From an ambitious HBO drama canceled far too early to one of Hulu’s biggest breakout successes, these are five of the most historically accurate action TV shows, ranked.

5. Rome

Julius and Lucius looking at someone in Rome

HBO

“Rome,” HBO’s lavish historical epic, helped clear the path for sprawling prestige spectacles like “Game of Thrones” by proving that television could handle enormous casts, brutal power struggles, and cinematic world-building. Unfortunately, the series never had the long run its admirers believed it deserved. Created by John Milius, William J. MacDonald, and Bruno Heller, “Rome” lasted just two seasons before its massive production costs reportedly became too steep even for HBO.

The drama centers on two fictionalized soldiers — Kevin McKidd’s disciplined Roman officer Lucius Vorenus and Ray Stevenson’s volatile, charismatic Titus Pullo — whose lives intersect with the seismic transformation of Rome from republic to empire. One major reason the series earned praise for its historical texture was its use of consultant Jonathan Stamp, who pushed the production to incorporate credible details about Roman and Egyptian life. As Stamp told the BBC:

“We did everything we could to make these episodes historically authentic, which meant researching and incorporating every kind of detail we could about the way our characters behaved, the way they interacted, how they dressed and gestured, the kind of streets they walked down, the way they conducted their private and public lives. We were not, however, making a documentary. We were striving for authenticity because it enriches the experience of the drama for the viewer.”

This paid off, cancellation notwithstanding — and “Rome” is regarded as a particularly accurate series. With a supporting cast that also includes Ciáran Hinds, Tobias Menzies, Kerry Condon, Indira Varma, and Polly Walker, just to name a few, “Rome” is a marvel, and it’s one of the most historically accurate action TV shows ever made.

4. The Last Kingdom

Uthred looking at something on The Last Kingdom

Netflix

Adapted for the small screen by Stephen Butchard from Bernard Cornwell’s series “The Saxon Stories,” the Netflix original series “The Last Kingdom,” which tries to accurately depict the years between 866 and 878 in what’s now modern-day England, which saw an invasion by a group called the Great Heathen Army led by Guthrum and Ubba Ragnarsson and changed forever. On the series, Alexander Dreymon plays Uhtred of Bebbanburg, a warrior who fights for the Saxons but was raised by the Danes; Thomas W. Gabrielsson plays the aforementioned army leader Guthrum, while Rune Temte plays Guthrum’s partner in crime Ubba Ragnarsson. 

As with the other shows on this list, there’s certainly an element of fiction involved with “The Last Kingdom,” much of which was explained by the show’s historical consultant Ryan Lavelle in an interview with Den of Geek. “I still have an element of that initial excitement of thinking that this is a world that I’ve tried to inhabit in my mind, and it’s being paid enough attention to be able to put flesh on the bones of characters who’ve been dead for 1000 years,” Lavelle said of the initial ask to get involved with “The Last Kingdom.” He continued, “I have to be pedantic. I have to let them know when things aren’t right, but they have to make the decision, and they make those decisions from a perspective of being informed of the actual history.”

Ultimately, as Lavelle pointed out, “The evidence for our period is limited so we always have to play with history to some extent.” While there might be some inaccuracies in “The Last Kingdom,” it’s still a pretty good look at a largely unknown time period, and it strived for accuracy at all times.

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3. Chernobyl

Valery and Ulana looking at plans in Chernobyl

HBO

Created by Craig Mazin, the HBO miniseries “Chernobyl” is one of the most gut-wrenching miniseries you’ll ever watch thanks to its stark, bleak, and largely realistic portrayal of the nuclear catastrophe that left the area near Pripyat, Ukraine destroyed and desolated after a nuclear reactor unexpectedly exploded. With Jared Harris as nuclear institute director Valery Legasov, Stellan Skarsgård as high-ranking USSR official Boris Shcherbina, future Oscar winner Jessie Buckley as the wife of a first responder (and Adam Nagaitis as her husband), and Ralph Ineson as Nikolai Tarakanov — the leader of the cleanup efforts — “Chernobyl” is one of the darkest and most striking series in recent TV memory. So is it accurate?

Yes and no, according to someone who was there. “The Chernobyl catastrophe is depicted in a very powerful way, as a global catastrophe that absorbed huge numbers of people. Also, emotions and mood at that time are shown quite precisely, both among the personnel and the authorities,” real Chernobyl survivor and former engineer Oleksiy Breus told the BBC of the series. Though he said some liberties were taken, they were likely just played up for the fictionalized version of the story, and isn’t that really all we can ask for?

2. Band of Brothers

Dick and another soldier sitting in silence in Band of Brothers

HBO

The full timeline of the HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers” is long and complex, but once you sit down and fully immerse yourself in this World War II epic helmed by Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks, you’ll be glad that you did. The true story of the so-called  “Easy” Company in the Second World War that helped accomplish the heroic efforts of D-Day, “Band of Brothers” is regarded as one of the most faithfully accurate historical action shows ever made. Back when it released in 2001, some veterans were actually able to speak to outlets about that point … and they had pretty good things to say.

William Guarnere, who lost a leg during the conflict, told The New York Times it was a mostly accurate depiction. Pretty good,” he noted. ”You’ve got 45 guys here, and everyone will have seen the war from a different point of view. You can’t be perfect. But I’d say it is as accurate as possible.”

As for Hanks, he had his own take on the situation — and he’s right. As he put it: 

“We’ve made history fit onto our screens. We had to condense down a vast number of characters, fold other people’s experiences into 10 or 15 people, have people saying and doing things others said or did. We had people take off their helmets to identify them, when they would never have done so in combat. But I still think it is three or four times more accurate than most films like this.”

Beyond anything else, “Band of Brothers” captures the horrors of war, which makes it a tough watch … but it’s worth it. So what beat this modern classic out for the number one spot?

1. Shogun

John and Lady Mariko in the great hall on Shogun

FX/Hulu

The only correct answer for the number one spot on this list is “Shōgun,” adapted from James Clavell’s original novels by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks for FX and Hulu in 2024. This Emmy-winning series stars Cosmo Jarvis as newcomer John Blackthorne, an English maritime pilot whose vessel shipwrecks on Japanese shores, where he gets involved in massive political intrigue alongside surprising new allies Lady Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), an interpreter with a dark past, and Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), fighting battles alongside them as Toranaga’s control of the region is threatened.

“Shōgun” is painstakingly accurate, down to its costumes and sets and the fact that the spoken Japanese isn’t modern Japanese, but appropriate to the Edo period. So how did they do that?! According to producer and translator Eriko Miyagawa in an interview with Vulture, the process involved looking at Clavell’s novel and then working through several different translations:

Then the American writers, they write the script. Then it goes to a team of Japanese translators in Tokyo. Hiro and I are checking in at different stages. Then it goes to Japanese dialogue polishers, who are experienced with Japanese period shows, to make sure it’s period-appropriate and feels natural for a human being to be speaking. Because you know, it happens a lot in dubbing, when dialogue is pretty much directly translated from another language and it just sounds like something that’s been translated. So we wanted to make sure it felt natural.

If you’ve seen “Shogun,” you know that this was very much worth the effort. Thanks to game-changing performances and a commitment to accuracy, “Shōgun” is the most accurate historical series around, and it’s not close.

How Online Conspiracies Hijacked the Lindsay Clancy Trial

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How Online Conspiracies Hijacked the Lindsay Clancy Trial

In a special episode of Daily Mail’s Trial USA podcast, presented by The Crime Desk, senior reporter Rachel Sharp speaks with misinformation scholar Professor Michael Wagner about the flood of conspiracy theories that surrounded the Lindsay Clancy case.

Wagner, who leads the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studies how people absorb information, shape their beliefs and, in some cases, become drawn into conspiracy-driven narratives.

The discussion comes after Clancy’s murder trial came to an abrupt end on Friday, following seven days of jury deliberations that failed to produce a verdict on whether she was legally responsible for the deaths of her three children.

Clancy did not deny strangling five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan inside the family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Her defense team argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time and had spent months trying to get help as her mental health declined.

But while the courtroom focused largely on Clancy’s mental state, online speculation took the case in a very different direction. Across social media, users spent weeks constructing alternate theories, seizing on minor details — including the shoes her ex-husband wore the night the children died — as supposed clues.

Professor Wagner told the podcast that this rush to find alternative explanations is primarily because people struggle to make sense of a mother killing her own children.

On an exclusive episode of the Daily Mail's Trial USA podcast, Rachel Sharp sits down with misinformation expert Professor Michael Wagner to discuss the wave of conspiracy theories that engulfed the Lindsay Clancy trial

On an exclusive episode of the Daily Mail’s Trial USA podcast, Rachel Sharp sits down with misinformation expert Professor Michael Wagner to discuss the wave of conspiracy theories that engulfed the Lindsay Clancy trial

‘So many people on Earth are parents and virtually all of those people love their children and cannot imagine doing something like this,’ he said.

‘When even the defence doesn’t dispute that she killed her children, people are often inclined to think: well, how can that be? There must be some other explanation, because I cannot make cognitive sense of the fact that someone would do this willingly.

‘This particular case really hits a conspiracy sweet spot, because it’s something almost all of us can identify with in some way. Whereas election fraud or other kinds of political claims only really get excitability amongst people who really care about politics.

‘This is something almost everybody intuitively understands.’

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He added that while more contradictory information, including the evidence heard at trial, can sway some people, others simply double down.

Many baseless online theories centred around Clancy’s ex-husband, Patrick, yet both surveillance footage and phone records proved he was not in the house at the time of the killings.

‘People engage in what psychologists call motivated reasoning,’ the professor explained.

‘So, if I believe something, I am motivated to keep believing it. If you provide me evidence that I am wrong, I start to look for other evidence that can allow me to keep thinking what I already thought.

‘You could imagine someone going through this internal monologue: ‘Well, this mother is accused of killing their kids and I don’t believe that. I know men are way more likely to commit acts of violence than women are. So, how could it be that the mother did it?’

Clancy never disputed strangling Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and eight-month-old Callan at the family home in Duxbury, Massachusetts

Clancy never disputed strangling Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and eight-month-old Callan at the family home in Duxbury, Massachusetts

Many baseless online theories centred around Clancy's ex-husband, Patrick, yet both surveillance footage and phone records proved he was not in the house at the time of the killings

Many baseless online theories centred around Clancy’s ex-husband, Patrick, yet both surveillance footage and phone records proved he was not in the house at the time of the killings

‘If someone is sure of something, evidence isn’t enough. If facts were enough, more people would get their children vaccinated.’

Judge William Sullivan, who declared the mistrial, said he would like to retry the case later in the autumn, while Clancy’s attorney Kevin Reddington has pushed for it to begin within weeks.

The decision rests with Plymouth District Attorney Tim Cruz, who said on Friday he would not be announcing it immediately.

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Lindsay Clancy Lawyer Asks Trump for Pardon After Mistrial

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Lindsay Clancy Lawyer Asks Trump for Pardon After Mistrial

Following a hung jury in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial last week, her attorney, Kevin Reddington, said he remains optimistic that the defense and prosecutors may be able to reach some form of agreement.

Reddington also said he hopes President Donald Trump will take a close look at Clancy’s case and consider granting her a pardon.

“Mr. President, I would hope that you would consider this young lady and the person she is, what she’s been through, and consider a pardon,” Reddington said Tuesday during an appearance on “Good Morning America.”

Clancy has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder in connection with the deaths of her children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and infant Callan — who died at the family’s home in Duxbury, a suburb of Boston, on Jan. 24, 2023.

Her five-week trial came to an end in a mistrial on Sept. 4, after jurors deliberated for more than a week but were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

When asked about the trial on the day the mistrial was declared, the president told reporters that he was following it, saying, “It’s on television so much, it’s hard not to follow it.”

“Look, she did a horrible, horrible thing. Can’t be worse,” he said of Clancy. “But you’ll find out what the price to pay is. There’ll be a price. It’s going to be mental institution or jail or something, but I guess they’re going to go through another trial. It’s too bad.”

When asked for comment on Reddington’s remarks, the White House pointed back to Trump’s comments Friday.

Citrus County Man Accused of Threatening to Stab Fast-Food Worker Days After Prison Release for Similar Incident

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Steven Meric Gunkle, 36, was arrested Saturday night after police say he displayed a large knife during a dispute with a fast food worker in a Gainesville drive-through. Gunkle had been released from prison on September 4 after serving a five-year sentence tied to a similar incident in Citrus County.

According to the Gainesville Police Department, officers were called at about 9:12 p.m. on September 6 to Gyros and Grill at 826 W. University Avenue. An employee told police the confrontation began when he asked Gunkle to move out of the drive-through. During the exchange, the employee said Gunkle pulled out a hunting-style knife with an eight-inch blade, kept in a sheath, and held it up. The worker told officers he feared for his life because he was standing only a few feet away when he saw the knife.

Police said officers found Gunkle about a block from the restaurant. After being read his Miranda rights, Gunkle reportedly acknowledged that he and the employee had argued but denied ever touching his knife. When an officer told him the incident had been captured on video, Gunkle allegedly said he did not want to answer any further questions.

Gunkle also reportedly made a spontaneous statement to officers, saying he had just been released from prison for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

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An officer later reported that surveillance footage showed the employee walking toward Gunkle before Gunkle reached into his waistband and pulled out a knife.

Gunkle, whose address is listed as Bushnell, Florida, has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His full criminal history is unavailable because those documents are not posted on holidays, but he was released from prison on September 4 after serving a five-year sentence. Documents from Citrus County state that Gunkle was arrested on August 26, 2021, for threatening a Boost Mobile employee in Inverness while holding two knives; he also stabbed the front window of the business while saying he was going to kill the employee because Boost Mobile had hacked his cell phone.

Judge Sheree Lancaster set bail at $75,000 on the new charge.
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