Russia warns UK over supplying drones to Ukraine

We begin with a developing story from London tonight. Russia has escalated its warnings to the United Kingdom over Britain's decision to supply unmanned aerial vehicles to Ukraine.

The UK Ministry of Defence responded this evening, saying Britain stands, quote, shoulder to shoulder, with Ukraine in what officials are calling a matter of collective security across the European alliance.

The drones are surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, not offensive weapons systems.

Russia has called the supply a provocation. The Kremlin says further transfers will result in what it called serious consequences for bilateral relations.

Also tonight, Norway's King Harald has been admitted to hospital and placed on medical leave. The eighty-nine-year-old monarch is being treated for a rare blood condition.

King Harald is one of Europe's longest-serving monarchs. He acceded to the throne in nineteen ninety-one following the death of his father that January.

The Royal Palace says Crown Prince Haakon will assume duties while the king recovers. Norway has a constitutional framework that allows for seamless transitions during periods of royal incapacity.

No timeline has been given for the king's return.

And the BBC is reporting that schools in the UK are encountering closed doors when referring children to the government's Prevent anti-terror program.

Teachers say referrals meant to flag early signs of radicalization are now being rejected or delayed due to what the Home Office calls resource constraints.

The program was established in two thousand six to identify vulnerable individuals before they engage in extremist activity, operating through coordinated outreach between education and security sectors.

Teachers interviewed by the BBC say they have been told there is no capacity to accept new referrals in several regions. The National Education Union is calling for emergency funding to restore access.

The Home Office has not commented on the funding request.

A Wexler County man is facing charges tonight after what prosecutors are calling the most elaborate excuse for missing jury duty in county history.

Police say the thirty-two-year-old defendant set his workplace out-of-office message to redirect all correspondence to a fake business trip in Toronto, then called the court clerk's office from what he claimed was a Canadian area code.

He was arrested at home four hours later after a neighbor reported seeing him mowing his lawn. The area code, investigators determined, was seven-one-six.

In Manchester, authorities have charged three individuals in connection with what prosecutors describe as a sophisticated prescription fraud operation targeting medications used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders.

Prosecutors allege the defendants created false patient profiles and obtained prescriptions across three states. All three have pleaded not guilty and are being held on fifty thousand dollars bail each.

Authorities say a man allegedly stole seventeen cartons of cigarettes from a convenience store on Route Four early Sunday morning, then accidentally left his résumé on the counter.

The document included his full legal name, current address, and references from two previous employers, one of whom told investigators the suspect had been, quote, very reliable.

Across the Atlantic, British officials are investigating after a cabinet minister's phone was allegedly compromised by someone posing as an incoming administration official.

The fraudulent contact reportedly exchanged several messages with the minister before the deception was discovered. British authorities have not identified a suspect and declined to comment on whether sensitive information was shared.

Punch the capuchin is continuing to make progress at the Fairmont Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.

Thursday he accepted a second piece of fruit from his handler and then returned to the handler's palm for more. That is the first time he has initiated contact twice in one session.

He held the mango for eleven seconds and ate most of it.

Researchers in Sumatra have documented something remarkable. A wild orangutan applied medicinal plant paste to an open facial wound, and the wound healed without infection.

This is the first documented use of targeted plant-based medicine by a great ape in a natural habitat. The orangutan selected the plant, prepared it, and applied it directly to the injury.

Researchers observed the entire process and say it suggests a level of medical knowledge previously unknown in wild populations.

Closer to home, Maple the golden retriever begins official pediatric wing visits Friday at Fairmont Regional. She will be there twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays, starting at nine in the morning.

Parents can request a visit through the nursing staff, and Maple is certified for patients ages three and up.

We begin tonight with a follow-up to a story from earlier this hour. British sprinter Amy Hunt won four gold medals at the European Athletics Championships in Rome.

Hunt ran the hundred meters in ten point eight-seven seconds, a personal best, and after winning her fourth gold she quoted Gladiator. The Gladiator quote is what makes it a story.

In the NBA, the Buss family intends to sell a controlling interest in the Lakers. The sale would end forty-seven years of family ownership and remove Jeanie Buss as governor.

The family purchased the Lakers in nineteen seventy-nine for sixty-seven point five million dollars. Current valuation is seven point one billion.

The NFL's Los Angeles Rams ranked fifth in ESPN's Future Power Rankings despite going seven and ten last season and trading away four first-round picks since twenty twenty.

ESPN's methodology weights front office, coaching, and quarterback play over win-loss record, so the ranking is forward-looking rather than retrospective.

In mixed martial arts, lightweight champion Islam Makhachev responded to criticism from Max Holloway over carrying two championship belts.

Makhachev holds titles in both the lightweight and welterweight divisions. Holloway questioned whether Makhachev should carry both belts when he has not defended the welterweight title in eleven months.

In soccer, a new documentary about Pep Guardiola's final two seasons at Manchester City reveals a confrontation between Guardiola and former captain Kyle Walker.

The series documents Walker's departure from the club and shows Guardiola questioning Walker's commitment during a team meeting. Walker left Manchester City for AC Milan in January.