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JENNIE BOND: ‘King Charles has a secret weapon when dealing with Andrew – it’s saving his legacy’
The ‘Andrew problem’ and royal rifts have sent approval ratings sliding, but the King is deploying a lifetime of training to shield the monarchy from the storm
King Charles is said to have a ‘secret weapon’ in dealing with fallouts(Image: Getty Images)
The crown has rarely weighed heavier than some of the recent fallouts that King Charles has had to endure. From his son Prince Harry moving stateside to his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor disgracing the family name, he has had a tough gig.
Yet, according to royal expert Jennie Bond, the monarch has found a powerful shield to protect the institution: a “relentless” work ethic designed to drown out the noise of scandal. In October, Buckingham Palace announced Andrew would be losing his prince title and will be leaving his Royal Lodge home in Windsor.
It’s thought to be part of a plan to modernise the monarchy and ensure its legacy lasts. According to experts, the King is using his schedule as a strategic weapon to ensure the monarchy is handed over in “fine fettle” to Prince William when the time comes.
READ MORE: Prince William ‘anxious’ after making major parenting change over Prince GeorgeREAD MORE: King Charles’ butler spots ‘sad difference’ between Harry and William’s Christmas cards
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been ordered to leave his Royal Lodge home(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The late Queen remains a hard act to follow, having steered the monarchy through decades of crisis while maintaining high public support. Charles, however, faces a steeper climb.
The persistent headlines surrounding Andrew, the rift with Harry and Meghan, and the scrutiny of royal finances have seen public approval begin to slip.
Jennie Bond suggests that the King is using his schedule as a defensive shield for the institution. “The King is upping his workload to compensate,” Bond explains.
“He is a man with a mission: to protect his mother’s legacy, make his own mark on the monarchy and then to hand it over in fine fettle to his son, William, when the time comes.”
King Charles is said to want to retain his mother’s legacy(Image: WireImage)
By adhering to the late Queen’s mantra that the Sovereign must be “seen to be believed,” Charles is attempting to anchor the monarchy with a “steady hum of public service.”
Bond notes that his commitment is nothing new: “His own sons have talked about his strong work ethic, recalling how they often used to find him face down at his desk in a pile of papers as he dealt with correspondence late into the night.”
Charles is not carrying the burden of visibility alone. Bond highlights the Princess Royal as his most steadfast ally, noting that Princess Anne remains “at his side still working as hard as he does.”
“In fact, she did more days than anyone, including him, in the past year,” Bond points out, although her total number of engagements was slightly lower. “The siblings represent a traditionalist front of duty that stands in stark contrast to the controversies surrounding other members of the family.”
Charles was hailed by doctors, charities and members of the public for his rare public broadcast where he revealed his cancer treatment had been going well(Image: Channel 4 via Getty Images)
While the King’s workload is high, Prince William has faced criticism for his position in the “league table” of royal engagements, coming seventh out of ten this year. However, Bond argues that the Prince of Wales deserves understanding given his personal circumstances.
“I still believe we should cut him some slack,” Bond says. “After all, he’s the only working royal to have a young family and the only one to have a wife who has so recently undergone gruelling cancer treatment. There will be time enough for him to immerse himself fully in the business of monarchy.”
Bond also notes a fundamental difference in how the father and son approach the role. While Charles packs multiple meetings into a day, William focuses on “impact.”
Charles is said to be prepping the monarchy for his son Prince William(Image: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publis)
“William tends to concentrate on single engagements, sharply focused and sometimes quite lengthy,” Bond explains. “He wants to see concrete results from his involvement.”
Despite the “cushy” appearance of royal life to some, Bond explains that the King’s role is a life sentence of service. Having carried out his first engagement more than 60 years ago, Charles shows no signs of slowing down.
“Like his mother – who, aged 96, carried out her final public engagement just two days before her death – he will almost certainly be working right up until the day he dies,” Bond concludes.
By immersing himself in the business of the crown while battling cancer, Charles is sending a message of resilience.
READ MORE: Inside Sandringham House, where the Royal Family will spend Christmas Day
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Deadly attack comes as Gaza government media office says Israel violated ceasefire 875 times since it began in October.
Israeli forces have killed at least two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as Israel continues to violate a ceasefire agreement and block desperately needed humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged coastal enclave.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Monday that two people were killed after Israeli troops opened fire in the Shujayea neighbourhood of eastern Gaza City.
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Their deaths bring the total number of Palestinians reported killed in Gaza over the past 24 hours to at least 12, including eight whose bodies were recovered from the rubble in the territory.
The Gaza City attack is the latest in hundreds of Israeli violations of a United States-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which came into effect on October 10.
Gaza’s Government Media Office on Monday condemned Israel’s “serious and systematic violations” of the truce, noting that the Israeli authorities had breached the ceasefire 875 times since it came into force.
That includes continued Israeli air and artillery attacks, unlawful demolitions of Palestinian homes and other civilian infrastructure, and at least 265 incidents of Israeli troops shooting Palestinian civilians, the office said in a statement.
At least 411 Palestinians have been killed and 1,112 others wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the ceasefire began, it added.
Worsening shelter conditions
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian families displaced by Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza continue to grapple with a lack of humanitarian supplies, including adequate food, medicine and shelter.
As the occupying power in Gaza, Israel has an obligation under international law to provide for the needs of Palestinians there.
But the United Nations and other humanitarian groups say it has systematically failed to allow unimpeded deliveries of aid into Gaza.
The situation has been worsened by a series of winter storms that have pummelled the Strip in recent weeks, with rights groups saying Israel’s refusal to allow tents, blankets and other supplies into Gaza is part of its genocidal policy and threatening Palestinian lives.
On Monday, the Gaza Government Media Office said that only 17,819 trucks entered the territory out of the 43,800 that were supposed to be allowed in since the ceasefire came into effect in October.
That amounts to an average of just 244 trucks per day – far below the 600 trucks that Israel agreed to allow into Gaza daily under the ceasefire agreement, the office said.
On Monday, a spokesperson for UN chief Antonio Guterres reiterated the call “for the lifting of all restrictions of the entry of aid into Gaza, including shelter material”.
“Over the past 24 hours, and despite the ceasefire, we have continued to receive reports of air strikes, shelling and gunfire in all five governorates of Gaza. This has resulted in reported casualties and disruptions to humanitarian operations,” Stephane Dujarric said.
He said that the UN’s humanitarian partners are working to address the significant shelter needs, particularly for displaced families living in unsafe conditions.
“Our partners continue to work to improve access to dignified shelter for approximately 1.3 million people in Gaza in the past week, about 3,500 families affected by storms are living in flood prone areas,” he said.
Dujarric said that aid deliveries have included tents, bedding sets, mattresses and blankets, as well as winter clothing for children, but the needs remain overwhelming.
Palestinians struggle with flooding after heavy rain hits the Bureij refugee camp in Gaza City [File: Moiz Salhi/Anadolu]
The appeals come a day after the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said that a lack of drugs and other healthcare supplies was making it difficult to provide care to patients.
Nearly all of Gaza’s hospitals and healthcare facilities were attacked during Israel’s two-year bombardment of the territory, damaging at least 125 facilities, including 34 hospitals.
The Israeli army has killed at least 70,937 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, and injured 171,192 others since its genocidal war began in October 2023.
Spain’s Christmas lottery has been welcomed as an “injection of hope” in the northwest of the country, where the jackpot handed out hundreds of millions of euros just months after wildfires had caused devastation.
Most of the first-prize-winning tickets in the lottery, known as El Gordo, had been bought by people in small towns in the province of León.
A single ticket, or décimo, costing €20 (£17), is worth €400,000 (£349,484) if it bears the winning number, in this case 79432. Décimos come in strips of 10 and when many strips of the same number are sold to a group of neighbours or workmates, there is potential for a massive jackpot.
People in the town of La Bañeza shared out €468m (£409m).
Among the recipients were members of a local football club in the town, which has a population of around 11,000.
The jackpot came four months after forest fires had torn through León, burning 8,000 hectares (31 sq miles) of land surrounding La Bañeza and killing a local man, 35-year-old Abel Ramos.
The sparsely populated, heavily forested north-west of Spain is used to wildfires, although during this record-breaking year, the area was particularly severely affected. Firefighters battled enormous blazes in León and the neighbouring Galicia region throughout much of August and during the summer 0.8 percent of the country’s total surface area was burned.
According to the mayor of the town, Javier Carrera, the lottery win “means for La Bañeza an injection of excitement and hope,” he told Spanish media. Carrera also mentioned the closure this year of a local sugar-beet factory which caused the loss of dozens of jobs.
Another town in the León province that was heavily affected by the summer’s fires, Villablino, also took a massive share of the jackpot, receiving €200 million (£175m).
“We needed some good news,” said the mayor, Mario Rivas.
On top of the blazes, five local men were killed in two separate mining accidents in nearby Asturias this year.
“It doesn’t make up for the loss of the lives of our friends, but this shows us that there can also be good news,” said Rivas.
Most of the winning tickets in Villablino were sold by a local Alzheimer’s association.
In addition, the town of La Pola de Gordón, also in León and with a population of 3,000, shared out 60 million euros. Sixty-four million euros of jackpot money also went to a working-class district in Madrid.
In Villablino, Maribel Martín had one of the winning décimos, worth €400,000 (£349,484). She was out doing grocery shopping when her son called her to give her the good news.
“We were really down and 200 million euros is a wonderful thing,” she said
She is clear what she wants to do with the prize money. “Spread it around a bit and enjoy life,” she said.
Skip next section New Russian drone attack hits Odesa — governor12/22/2025December 22, 2025
New Russian drone attack hits Odesa — governor
Saim Dušan Inayatullah
The Russian army launched a drone attack Mondy evening on the coastal city of Odesa in southwestern Ukraine.
Regional Governor Oleh Kiper reported on the attack on his Telegram account, saying it damaged port facilities and a civilian ship.
He said that the relevant authorities were dealing with the aftermath of the attack, while also adding that there are is currently no information regarding casualties.
https://p.dw.com/p/55quW
Skip next section Peace negotiations with US ‘quite sold’ — Zelenskyy
12/22/2025December 22, 2025
Peace negotiations with US ‘quite sold’ — Zelenskyy
UkrainianPresident Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the negotiations between his country and the US over a peace deal with Russia look “quite solid at this stage.”
While admitting no side is likely to get all of its demands, Zelenskyy said many parts of the US proposals are in line with his country’s demands.
Zelenskyy said that there are “some thing” Ukraine is not willing to accept, while the same can be said about the Russiansas well.
According to the Ukrainian leader, the solutions to many of the key issues — which include Kyiv’s European Union membership, the future size of its army and others — are likely to lie with other countries and their support for his country.
“Some key countries will provide presence in these domains; others will contribute to energy security, finance, bomb shelters, and so on,” the Ukrainian president said.
US special envoy Stefe Witkoff said Sunday that his talks with Ukrainian and European representatives, which took place in Florida, were “productive and constructive.
https://p.dw.com/p/55qmU
Skip next section Two Russian members of judiciary sanctioned by EU
12/22/2025December 22, 2025
Two Russian members of judiciary sanctioned by EU
The European Union (EU) barred two members of the judiciary in Russia from entering its members’ territory due to allegations of human rights violations.
The two, Dmitry Gordeev and Lyudmila Balandina, will also not be able to use any assets held in the 27-country bloc.
A statement issued by the EU blamed the two for “serious human rights violations, the repression of civil society and democratic opposition, and the undermining of democracy and the rule of law in Russia.”
EU citizens and businesses located in the EU’s territory are also prohibited from providing the two with funds.
According to the statement, Gordeev made politically motivated judgements against opposition representatives and human rights defenders as part of his role as a judge at the Moscow City Court, while Balandina, a prosecutor, abused her position to issue politically motivated charges.
Politzek — voices that defy the Kremlin
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https://p.dw.com/p/55qAc
Skip next section Ukraine says Russian troops are resorting to using horses
12/22/2025December 22, 2025
Ukraine says Russian troops are resorting to using horses
The Ukrainian military said they encountered Russian soldiers riding horses near the front line. On Monday, Ukraine’s 92nd Separate Assault Brigade posted a video on Telegram that appears to show Russian soldiers traveling on horseback or mules being struck by small drones.
“The Russian occupiers are losing their equipment so quickly in their ‘meat assaults,'” Ukraine’s term for direct attacks with little chance of survival, “that they are being forced to move on horses,” the brigade wrote in the post.
Both sides of the conflict heavily rely on drones to monitor the battlefield. This makes undetected movement nearly impossible and severely limits the use of armored vehicles.
Consequently, Russian forces have increasingly relied on small assault groups to advance quickly toward Ukrainian positions and attempt to establish a foothold.
Previous videos have shown Russian troops using off-road motorcycles, quad bikes, electric bicycles, and electric scooters for transportation.
https://p.dw.com/p/55pzR
Skip next section Russian general killed in Moscow car bombing
12/22/2025December 22, 2025
Russian general killed in Moscow car bombing
A Russian general was killed in a car bombing in southern Moscow on Monday, Russia’s federal investigators said.
Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff, died from his injuries.
“Investigators are pursuing numerous lines of inquiry regarding the murder. One of these is that the crime was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services,” Svetlana Petrenko, spokesperson for Russia’s Investigative Committee, said.
Read more about the other top Russian officers killed in Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russian officials say army general killed in explosion
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https://p.dw.com/p/55pxw
Skip next section European Union transfers €2.3 billion in aid to Ukraine
12/22/2025December 22, 2025
European Union transfers €2.3 billion in aid to Ukraine
The European Commission announced that Ukraine received an additional €2.3 billion ($2.7 billion) from the European Union to support its finances and public administration.
Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022, the EU and its member states have pledged hundreds of billions of euros in assistance to the war-torn country, including military aid, financial support, and aid for Ukrainian refugees.
One of the EU’s main funding instruments is the Ukraine Facility. It has a total budget of €50 billion. According to the Commission, the Facility is designed to support Ukraine’s recovery, reforms, and path toward EU membership.
Additionally, the EU is providing approximately €18.1 billion through the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) loans initiative, a G7 effort to support Ukraine financially. This funding is generated from the interest earned on frozen Russian state assets held within the EU.
https://p.dw.com/p/55pxL
Skip next section ‘Slow progress is being observed’ in peace talks — Kremlin
12/22/2025December 22, 2025
‘Slow progress is being observed’ in peace talks — Kremlin
Russian state media on Monday quoted the country’s deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov citing “slow progress” in staggered negotiations held between US, Russian and Ukrainian representatives in US-led talks to end Russia’s ongoing nearly four-year invasion of its neighbor.
Ryabkov also reportedly pushed Washington to sideline European leaders, saying there were “extremely harmful, malicious attempts by an influential group of states to torpedo these efforts.”
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner have hosted both Russian and Ukrainian negotiators as the two try to push Ukraine into ceding land to Moscow in order to stop Moscow’s unprovoked invasion — which Russian President Vladimir Putin commenced on February 24, 2022 — and bring an end to the war.
The US has at times sidelined Ukraine’s European allies, whom Moscow claims are only interested in prolonging the war.
Witkoff leak hints at conflict of interest in Trump camp
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US and Ukrainian representatives said their talks focussed on security guarantees for Kyiv.
In identical posts on X, Witkoff and lead Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said; “Over the last three days in Florida, the Ukrainian delegation held a series of productive and constructive meetings with American and European partners. Ukraine remains fully committed to achieving a just and sustainable peace.”
Putin advisor Kirill Dmitriev, who represented Russia in Miami, described talks as “constructive,” according to Russia’s state news agency TASS, to which Witkoff posted that “Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine.”
https://p.dw.com/p/55plu
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage12/22/2025December 22, 2025
Welcome to our coverage
Today, we will discuss the latest updates from Ukraine, including the progress of the US-led peace talks in Miami.
In an attempt to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has lasted nearly four years, the Trump administration’s international negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met separately with Ukrainian and Russian representatives.
Elsewhere, a car bomb killed a leading Russian general in Moscow Monday morning and Ukrainian drone operators report having attacked Russian soldiers traveling on horseback.
Stay tuned for these stories and more.
https://p.dw.com/p/55plq
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China has reportedly loaded more than 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles into three newly constructed silo fields near its border with Mongolia and shows little interest in arms control talks, according to a draft Pentagon report seen by Reuters.
The assessment underscores Beijing’s accelerating military buildup, with the report saying China is expanding and modernizing its nuclear forces faster than any other nuclear-armed power. Chinese officials have repeatedly dismissed such findings as attempts to “smear and defame China and deliberately mislead the international community.”
The Pentagon declined to comment when contacted by Fox News Digital about the Reuters report.
Military vehicles carrying DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles travel past Tiananmen Square during the military parade marking the 70th founding anniversary of People’s Republic of China, on its National Day in Beijing, China Oct. 1, 2019. Jason Lee/Reuters (Jason Lee/Reuters)
Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump said he may pursue denuclearization discussions with China and Russia. The Pentagon report, however, concluded that Beijing does not appear inclined to engage.
“We continue to see no appetite from Beijing for pursuing such measures or more comprehensive arms control discussions,” the report said.
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China’s rocket force has rapidly advanced. (CNS Photo via Reuters)
According to the assessment, China has likely loaded more than 100 solid-fueled DF-31 intercontinental ballistic missiles into silo fields near the Mongolian border. While the Pentagon had previously disclosed the existence of the silo fields, it had not publicly estimated how many missiles had been placed inside them.
China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The report did not identify potential targets for the newly loaded missiles and could change before it is formally submitted to Congress, U.S. officials said.
CHINA’S ENERGY SIEGE OF TAIWAN COULD CRIPPLE US SUPPLY CHAINS, REPORT WARNS
China’s Long March 2F rocket, carrying three astronauts for the Shenzhou 21 manned space mission, blasts off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwestern China, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) (Andy Wong/AP Photo)
China’s nuclear warhead stockpile remained in the low 600s in 2024, reflecting what the report described as a slower production rate compared to previous years. Still, Beijing is on track to exceed 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.
China says it adheres to a nuclear strategy of self-defense and maintains a no-first-use policy. But analysts say Beijing’s public messaging increasingly contradicts that restraint.
“For a country that still advocates a policy of ‘no-first use,’ China has become increasingly comfortable showcasing its nuclear arsenal, including parading its nuclear triad together for the first time in September,” said Jack Burnham, a senior research analyst in the China Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
TRUMP ORDERS US NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING TO BEGIN ‘IMMEDIATELY’ AFTER RUSSIA TESTS NEW MISSILES
Trump and Xi will meet in South Korea for the first time in six years, on Oct. 30, 2025. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
Burnham said Beijing’s rejection of arms control talks reflects the pace of its weapons construction. “China has no interest in locking in a long-term strategic disadvantage, and every intention of building an arsenal on par with its perceived place in the world, alongside and potentially eventually ahead of the United States,” he said.
The report also warned that China expects to be able to fight and win a war over Taiwan by the end of 2027. Beijing claims the self-governed island as its own territory and has never ruled out the use of force.
China is refining options to seize Taiwan by “brute force,” including long-range strikes up to 2,000 nautical miles from the mainland that could disrupt U.S. military operations in the Asia-Pacific, the report said.
The findings come as the 2010 New START treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, approaches expiration. The treaty limits both sides to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads.
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J-20 fighter jets fly in the sky during flight performance at the aviation open-day activities of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and the Changchun Air Show 2025 on Sept. 19, 2025 in Changchun, Jilin Province of China. The event will be held from Sept. 19 to 23 in Changchun. (VCG via Getty Images)
“What is surprising is that China has now loaded only about 100 of the silos it has built recently,” said Gordon Chang. “That’s an indication money is tight in the People’s Liberation Army.”
Chang warned against extending New START without Beijing’s participation. “This is no time for the U.S. to agree to an extension of the New START Treaty with Russia,” he said. “Russia and China are de-facto allies, and they are ganging up on America. Without China in a deal — Beijing has flatly rejected every nuclear arms-control initiative of the U.S. —no treaty can be in America’s interest.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
Efrat Lachter is an investigative reporter and war correspondent. Her work has taken her to 40 countries, including Ukraine, Russia, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Afghanistan. She is a recipient of the 2024 Knight-Wallace Fellowship for Journalism. Lachter can be followed on X @efratlachter.
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The Democratic Party could have a seven-point lead on Republicans in the 2026 midterms, according to a new set of findings from top Republican pollsters.
On a national general congressional ballot, Democrats were favored by a seven-point margin in 2026, according to a December 18 memo from FabrizioWard, the firm of former chief Trump campaign pollster Tony Fabrizio, based on findings from surveying 1,000 registered voters.
The result is consistent with other recent polling ahead of the 2026 elections.
As of Monday, December 22, Democrats had a 4.8 percent lead over the Republicans on a generic ballot, according to Race to the WH, which aggregates the findings of mainstream polls.
RealClearPolling, another aggregator, pegs that lead at 3.7 percent.
Facing voter anger over the economy and the White House’s handling of the Epstein files, the Republican party is projected to suffer during the 2026 midterms (Getty)
Making matters worse, Americans are increasingly growing weary with the actions and agenda of President Donald Trump himself, who remains the GOP’s defining force.
In the latest Quinnipiac University poll, 54 percent of respondents said they feel Trump has exceeded his authority, after a year that saw the president taking sweeping unilateral steps including launching worldwide tariffs that rewrote much of the global economy and sending military troops into U.S. cities.
Even among the president’s most likely supporters, approval is eroding.
A recent NBC News Decision Desk analysis found that among both mainstream Republicans and self-identified members of Trump’s MAGA movement, respondents were 6 percent more likely to say the country was heading in the wrong direction as they were in August.
Meanwhile, 57 percent of respondents to a recent NPR/PBS News/Marist survey said they disapprove of Trump’s management of the economy, as affordability looks set to be a defining 2026 issue, especially after Republicans allowed Obamacare health subsidies to expire without approving any plan to offset health costs for lower-income Americans.
Beyond these big-picture findings, voters are also frustrated with Trump’s handling of the Epstein files, with just 26 percent of respondents telling a recent Quinnipiac University poll that they approve.
This sour feeling mirrors the divisions within the Republican delegation itself, where a handful of GOP representatives such as Rep. Thomas Massie and the soon-to-retire ex-MAGA loyalist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have been leading voices criticizing the administration for not disclosing the Epstein files fast enough.
In the face of these tough 2026 odds, the GOP has taken a variety of strategies, ranging from pushing to carry out a rare mid-decade redistricting to boost Republican seats to Congress, to the White House pushing to inject more of Trump into local races.
“Typically in the midterms it’s not about who’s sitting at the White House,” White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said in a recent interview with The Mom VIEW web show. “You localize the election, and you keep the federal officials out of it. We’re actually going to turn that on its head and put him on the ballot because so many of those low propensity voters are Trump voters.”
NEED TO KNOW
- Lilah Pate has responded to a comment about her dad, Outer Banks executive producer and co-creator Jonas Pate
- Jonas allegedly shook and screamed at a female production assistant on set, PEOPLE previously reported in October following an initial story from TMZ
- “Don’t believe everything you see online ❤️,” Lilah wrote in the comments on TikTok
Lilah Pate of Outer Banks is speaking out about claims surrounding her dad, executive producer Jonas Pate.
Nearly two months after TMZ first reported that series co-creator Jonas allegedly got physical with a female production assistant, his daughter has now responded to a comment from a fan referencing the report.
On Friday, Dec. 19, the 22-year-old actress shared a clip to TikTok showing her father during his final days on set of Outer Banks season 5. “The face of a dude who just wrapped OBX. Champion,” she captioned the post.
One commenter responded to the clip, asking, “Did he yell at you like he did the employee after this queen?” She responded: “Don’t believe everything you see online ❤️.”
Lilah also shared another comment below the clip, calling her father her “biggest role model” and noting that she was “beyond proud” of him wrapping the show.
PEOPLE has reached out to Lilah’s manager for comment about her reaction on TikTok.
Lilah Pate responds to Jonas Pate allegations.
TikTok
The actress later shared another video from the set featuring several costars, along with the caption, “growing up on this set has been the biggest blessing of my life.”
Lilah’s comment comes weeks after TMZ first reported on Oct. 22 that multiple sources claimed Jonas got physical with a P.A., and that series leads Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline reportedly intervened. A source told PEOPLE at the time that Jonas “was screaming at the female production assistant and grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her.”
“He didn’t hurt her or try to hurt her,” the source said. “He just crossed a line. Putting your hands on someone is never, ever okay.”
Neither Netflix nor Jonas responded to multiple requests from PEOPLE for comment at the time, and reps for Stokes and Cline did not immediately respond either. TMZ reported in October that “tensions were high” on set when the co-creator allegedly grabbed an employee.
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Netflix previously confirmed that Outer Banks began filming season 5 on June 20. At the time, the streamer released two group photos of the cast — Stokes, who plays John B.; Cline, who plays Sarah Cameron; Madison Bailey, who plays Kiara Carrera; Jonathan Daviss, who plays Pope Heyward; Drew Starkey, who plays Rafe Cameron; and Carlacia Grant, who plays Cleo.
Lilah, who also stars as Sophia Kinney in Prime Video’s The Runarounds (also created by her dad), spoke with PEOPLE in September about growing up on a film set and following in her dad’s footsteps in television. “I was always drawn to it, but [my dad] really only wanted me to pursue it if it was something that I truly loved,” she said. “He was like, ‘Great, you wanna act then act, take improv, do local theater, study it in school.’ ”
“I continued to show him and learn from him and shadow him consistently,” she added. “And then over time, after I had booked a few roles on my own, he saw that this is really what I wanted to do with my life.”
WORLD NEWS
Victims of butcher surgeon Sam Eljamel report NHS board to police after they admit evidence was destroyed
A health board who destroyed 40 theatre logbooks of a disgraced surgeon at the centre of a public inquiry has been reported to police by two of his victims.
NHS Tayside, who employed consultant Sam Eljamel, was issued with a Do Not Destroy notice on all paperwork connected to the case.
But victims were furious after discovering workers at the board binned the records AFTER getting the order.
Now two of his victims have reported the board to detectives themselves and just weeks after the board referred itself to police. Campaigners Jules Rose and Pat Kelly have now submitted their own complaint.
Ms Rose said their report ‘should materially increase scrutiny and priority over this potentially criminal act’.
She said: ‘That is our aim and to send strong, strong signals that patients are not prepared to accept this was just human error gone badly wrong.’
Ms Rose, a victim of Eljamel’s who has been at the forefront of the campaign to secure justice, said: ‘This so-called “systematic failure” exposes a deeper problem. We believe that NHS Tayside has not changed its culture and the evidence suggests it has worsened.’
NHS Tayside said it ‘deeply regrets this error’ and said those who destroyed the documents were not aware of the link between the former Ninewells Hospital, in Dundee and the neurosurgeon.
Disgraced Ninewells Hospital consultant surgeon Sam Eljamel, who is at the centre of an inquiry into his work
Campaigner Jules Rose has submitted a complaint to police about Tayside Health Board
Ms Rose demanded ‘meaningful accountability’, and renewed calls for health board chief executive Nicky Connor to go.
Eljamel removed Ms Rose’s tear duct instead of a brain tumour while Mr Kelly has been left in constant pain following botched surgery on his spine.
He was able to return to his homeland of Libya in 2018, where he continues to operate on patients.
Under Operation Stringent, Police Scotland had demanded theatre logbooks in August containing information regarding the surgical practice of Eljamel between 1995 and 2014.
But they discovered they were destroyed in July, months after the Inquiry issued its Do Not Destroy notice.
NHS Tayside said its internal investigation found that the ‘logbooks were placed into the confidential waste stream for disposal by members of staff in the department where the logbooks were held’ and that the ‘disposal of the books was an error’.
The health board said it ‘remains deeply sorry’ over the incident and has now ‘commissioned an independent, external review of the organisation’s systems, processes, actions and governance arrangements’.
Detective Superintendent Carron McKellar said: ‘Significant resource from the Major Investigation Team continues to be dedicated to this extremely complex and protracted inquiry to ensure it has the experience and specialist knowledge required.’
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Victims of butcher surgeon Sam Eljamel report NHS board to police after they admit evidence was destroyed
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Ecuador: Soldiers jailed for 34 years over disappearance of four murdered boys | World News
Eleven soldiers have been jailed for more than 34 years over the disappearance of four murdered boys in Ecuador.
The children, aged between 11 and 15, went missing in December last year in the city of Guayaquil.
Their disappearance happened during a military offensive against organised crime launched by the country’s president, who has decreed various states of emergency and ordered soldiers to patrol the streets.
Their families say the boys had left home to play football on the day they disappeared in the Las Malvinas neighbourhood of Ecuador’s largest city.
Protesters in Guayaquil held signs saying “we are still waiting for justice” and “never forgive, never forget” on Monday as the sentences were handed down.
Five other soldiers who assisted prosecutors were sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars, while a lieutenant colonel accused of being complicit, but who was not part of the patrol, was declared innocent.
Soldiers allegedly detained the boys during a night patrol, after which they beat them and forced them to remove their clothes.
A protester holds a sign that reads: “379 days since the enforced disappearance of the 4 children. We are still waiting for justice”. Pic: Reuters
They were allegedly abandoned naked in Taura, a desolate and dangerous rural area around 19 miles south of the city.
One of the children called his father from Taura, but when he arrived to pick them up, he could not find them, according to witness testimonies.
Days later, four charred bodies were identified as the missing children.
Lawyers for the boy’s families said autopsies found injuries and bruises that were sustained prior to their deaths.
“The patrol abandoned the minors in that area, knowing it was dangerous, desolate, and abandoned,” Judge Jovanny Suarez said in the ruling that ended a weeks-long criminal trial.
Read more from Sky News:
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Lawyers for the soldiers had argued the prosecution’s evidence was not conclusive.
They claimed the soldiers were sent on patrol without prior training and that they had left the minors alive in Taura.
Ecuador’s authorities continue to struggle with powerful drug cartels that hold huge amounts of influence.
President Daniel Noboa has decreed various states of emergency and ordered soldiers to patrol the streets.
NewsFeed
A final group of 130 Nigerian schoolchildren abducted last month have been freed, ending a mass kidnapping that drew global concern. The pupils were among more than 300 taken from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Niger state, spotlighting worsening insecurity and ransom attacks on schools.
Published On 22 Dec 2025
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Australia news live: NSW lower house passes anti-protest laws; Greens and pro-Palestine groups plan constitutional challenge | Australia news
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Richard Marles says the Richardson review into law enforcement and Asio processes leading up to the Bondi attack will involve a certain amount of reporting to the public, but there would be elements that would remain classified – so we won’t get to know everything Richardson finds out.
Marles says:
There will be a public version of the report. I mean, there will be elements of it which necessarily deal with classified information and it’s, by definition, important that remains classified. But we’ve made clear there’ll be transparency in respect of this.
Dennis Richardson is a person with enormous experience, firsthand experience, in terms of being secretaries of departments, but also these intelligence agencies.
He will do this independently. He’s not of the agencies or the department now, so he is able to go into this in an independent way. But we need to get to these answers quickly, and we cannot be waiting around for years, which is what a royal commission would take.
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Deputy prime minister Richard Marles has been speaking to ABC TV just now, and the first question he’s been asked is about the calls for a federal royal commission into the Bondi attacks.
He repeats the argument that we’ve heard a few times from the federal government over the last couple of days, which is about how slow royal commissions tend to be.
Marles says:
Royal commissions take years, and we need to be acting within weeks. It’s really as simple as that. We’ve had Jillian Segal do her report as our special envoy into combating anti-Semitism. We understand that anti-Semitism is at the highest point that I’ve seen in my lifetime. She has given us program of action. We have now endorsed that in full. And we are working on those actions. And we want to do that right now…
We need to be going after hate preachers, and that’s why we’ve announced that we will pursue law reform in that regard. And we want to do that in the coming weeks, not in the coming years. We need to be looking at the opportunities that those who seek to do this damage have in terms of access to guns, and there is further gun reform that can be done. And we need to be doing that right now. And there is a task in understanding what’s happened here in terms of intelligence, in terms of policing and the like.
He mentions the review into intelligence and law enforcement processes in the lead-up to the Bondi beach attack, to be led by former Australian Security Intelligence Organisation boss Dennis Richardson. You can read more about that announcement here:
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Good morning
Stephanie Convery
Good morning folks, I’m Stephanie Convery and I’ll be taking you through today’s live news for the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon.
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Updated at 21.26 CET
Woman to face court after allegedly yelling antisemitic comments at university group in October
A woman will face court following an investigation into alleged intimidation at a university in Sydney’s inner west, New South Wales police say.
Police said the woman allegedly yelled antisemitic comments at a group of students and other members of the Jewish community who were celebrating the Jewish holiday Sukkoth within the grounds of the university at Darlington campus on 9 October.
The matter was reported to police officers at the time, prompting an investigation which led to a 53-year-old woman’s arrest at Parramatta police station earlier today.
Police said she was charged with three offences – two counts of stalking or intimidating intending to cause fear or physical harm, and one count of offensive conduct.
The woman was granted conditional bail to appear at Newtown local court on 3 February, police said.
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Updated at 21.25 CET
Chants of ‘globalise the intifada’, the phrase Minns wants to ban, at Sydney rally against proposed protest law changes
Hundreds of people rallied in Sydney last night in support of Palestine and chanted a phrase the premier has sought to ban on the eve of a new legislation preventing protests.
Chants of “globalise the intifada” followed an address by Sara Saleh, a human rights lawyer with Palestinian heritage, who condemned the Bondi terror attack but also condemned the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of Israel’s military.
“That is precisely why I intend to keep saying, ‘Globalise the intifada, free Palestine,’” Saleh said.
Our reporter Luca Ittimani was there and has sent this report:
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Updated at 21.23 CET
Greens lead constitutional challenge to anti-protest laws
The NSW Greens justice spokesperson, Sue Higginson, will join pro-Palestine and other activist groups to launch a constitutional challenge against the Minns government’s latest anti-protest laws this morning.
After the omnibus terrorism and other legislation amendment bill was passed by the lower house with Liberal support last night, Higginson will hold a press conference at 9.15am this morning to announce the challenge.
She claims the new laws “impermissibly burden the constitutional freedom of political communication”.
She will be joined by other campaigners and activists opposing the laws including: Michelle Berkon of Jews Against the Occupation; Elizabeth Jarrett of Blak Caucus; Nick Hanna of Hanna Legal; Nasser Mashni, president of Australia Palestine Advocacy Network; Josh Lees of Palestine Action Group Sydney; NSW Timothy Roberts of the Council for Civil Liberties; Sheikh Wesam Charkawi; Shovan Bhattarai of Students for Palestine; Pete Moss of Labor Friends of Palestine; Zack Schofield of Rising Tide; April Holcombe of Community Action for Rainbow Rights; NSW Socialists; and the Coalition of Women for Justice and Peace.
NSW Greens MLC Sue Higginson. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAPShare
Updated at 21.22 CET
Anne Davies has also filed this analysis of the legal changes being planned for NSW.
She writes that while a tragedy like Bondi demands action, “the unpredictable political wave of public feeling after a disaster can either wipe you out or see you riding high”.
Drafting laws that significantly curtail rights – such as the right to express your view on political matters by peaceful protest, or even as some would have it, the ‘right’ to own guns – need to be approached with careful and forensic clarity.
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Updated at 20.54 CET
NSW lower house passes gun reform and anti-protest bill
Anne Davies
NSW parliament’s emergency sitting of parliament in the wake of the Bondi shootings will continue today with the omnibus bill to change gun laws and to restrict protests expected to move to the upper house.
The lower house passed the bill last night after nearly 10 hours of debate. The Liberals voted with Labor, while the Nationals opposed the bill.
Labor does not have the numbers to pass legislation in the upper house but will again be counting on the Liberals to support the bill.
The crossbench, the Nationals and the Greens are expected to move hundreds of amendments and could use debate on changes to force a marathon session on Tuesday night.
The usual rule to prevent the parliament sitting for very long hours will be lifted.
The Nationals, the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party and other independents are vehemently opposed to Labor plans to restrict the number of guns that individuals can own to 4 while farmers and professional shooters will be restricted to 10.
The Shooters plan to move about 120 amendments to this and other aspects of the proposed gun laws.
The Greens are planning numerous amendments to the bans on protests, which they argue are unconstitutional and undemocratic.
Government sources said the government was prepared to have the parliament sit on Christmas Day if it proved necessary, but added they were hopeful the bill would pass on Tuesday night.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the day’s breaking stories and then Stephanie Convery will take the reins.
NSW parliament’s emergency sitting of parliament in the wake of the Bondi massacre will continue today with the omnibus bill to change gun laws and to restrict protests expected to move to the upper house. More details coming up.
The NSW Greens, pro-Palestine and civil liberties groups will launch a constitutional challenge against the anti-protest laws this morning at 9.15. We’ll have more on this shortly.
Shareholders in Seven West Media have overwhelmingly thrown their support behind a deal to create an Australian media giant spanning television, radio, print and digital by merging with Triple M owner Southern Cross Austereo. We’ll have more very soon.
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