There's been a change to F1's engine rules and it could mostly impact Mercedes

LONDON (AP) —Formula One's governing body has reached a compromise with manufacturers that changes the way the compression ratio will be measured midway through this season and in the 2027 season.

Bahrain F1 Auto Racing

New engine rules set out a compression ratio of 16:1 — a measurement of how tightly the pistons squeeze the mixture of fuel and air before it ignites, and therefore how much power can be generated.

The regulations include a test to stop teams exceeding 16:1, but the checks happen at "ambient temperature." Some rival teams have suggested Mercedes found a way for components to behave differently when they heat up during use, beating the test, though Mercedes says its engine is fully legal.

The compromise announced Saturday means the compression ratio will be controlled in both hot and cold conditions from June 1 and only when hot from the 2027 season thereafter.

There are seven F1 races before the June 1 test.

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"The regulations introduced for 2026 represent one of the biggest changes in recent memory," the FIA said. "All parties acknowledge that with the introduction of such significant regulatory changes, there are collective learnings to be taken from pre-season testing and the initial rounds of the 2026 championship.

"Further evaluation and technical checks on energy management matters are ongoing."

Mercedes also supplies McLaren, Alpine and Williams.

AP auto racing:https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

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February 28, 2026

There's been a change to F1's engine rules and it could mostly impact Mercedes

LONDON (AP) —Formula One's governing body has reached a compromise with manufacturers that changes the way the compre...

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This week's “RuPaul's Drag Race” special guest died 1 month before episode aired

Though the annualRuPaul's Drag RaceRusical challenge typically leads to gleeful fans each season, this year's installment was tinged with sadness, as it featured a special guest (and Emmy-nominated member of theDrag Racefamily) who died one month before Friday's episode aired.

This week's season 18 edition (which was filmed in 2025) featured the queens preparing to star inFannie, a Rusical spoof of the classicAnniestage production. Mid-way through the episode, the queens took to the Main Stage to record vocals for the project, where they joined songwriter Leland andlate producer Gabe Lopezto make music together.

Lopez died in January 2026, with his mother, Connie Howard, announcing on social media that her son died days earlier.

Howard called Lopez "loving, kind, talented," in her tribute, and added that he died following a "brief but intense battle with lymphoma."

TheMayo Clinicdescribes lymphoma as a form of cancer that primarily impacts the lymphatic system, and can damage "part of the body's germ-fighting immune system" in the process.

In astatement shared to social mediaat the time,Drag Raceproduction company World of Wonder honored Lopez.

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"We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Gabe Lopez. Gabe was a unique combination of musical brilliance, kindness and sharp wit. His impact — throughRuPaul's Drag Race& beyond — is immeasurable," the statement read. "We mourn a great talent and a greater friend. His melodies play on in all of us."

RuPaul's Drag Racefranchise stars also paid tribute to Lopez earlier this year, after the artist received an Emmy nod for his behind-the-scenes work mixing sound for the show's"Wigloose: The Rusical!" 2023 musical episodebased on the Kevin Bacon movieFootloose.

"Devastating to hear, sending so much love- he was a true gem," wroteDrag Race UK vs. the Worldseason 1 winner Blu Hydrangea, while season 2,All Stars 1, andAll Stars 6contestantPandora Boxxcommented with a tear-filled emoji and a heartbreak emoji under Howard's announcement.

Oscar-nominated songwriterDiane Warrenalso expressed sadness over Lopez's loss, writing, "Oh no this is horrible and heartbreaking shocking news. Sending love to You."

In addition to his work withDrag Race —including theDrag Racespin-off competition seriesQueen of the Universeand TV filmThe Bitch Who Stole Christmas— Lopez launched projects with pop star Belinda Carlisle, and further contributed behind-the-scenes toMonster High: The Movie,The Other Two,and theLas Culturistas Culture Awardsbroadcast.

Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

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February 28, 2026

This week's “RuPaul's Drag Race” special guest died 1 month before episode aired

Though the annualRuPaul's Drag RaceRusical challenge typically leads to gleeful fans each season, this year's ins...

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Superintendent of nation’s second-largest school district on paid leave after FBI searches of his home and office

Los Angeles School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho is being put on paid leave while he is part of a federal investigation. The move on Friday by the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education comes two days after the FBI served search warrants at his home and the district's headquarters.

Authorities have not provided details of the nature of the investigation involving the nation's second-largest school district, which serves more than 500,000 students.

Carvalho became superintendent in 2022. He previously led the public schools in Miami.

Andres Chait, the chief of school operations, will take over the helm while Carvalho is on leave, the district said.

Carvalho has not responded to a request for comment. The FBI on Wednesday also searched a third location near Miami. The Miami Herald reported the Florida property belonged to Debra Kerr, who previously worked with AllHere, an education technology company that had a contract with Los Angeles schools before it collapsed and its leader was indicted for fraud. She could not be reached for comment Thursday.

In 2024, Carvalho heavily touted a deal with AllHere for an AI chatbot named "Ed" designed to help students. But about three months after unveiling the technology and paying the company $3 million, the district dropped its dealings with AllHere, which collapsed into bankruptcy. Months later, founder Joanna Smith-Griffin was charged with securities and wire fraud, along with identity theft.

The school district said in a statement Wednesday that it "is cooperating with the investigation and we do not have further information at this time."

Carvalho denied personal involvement in the selection of AllHere, according to the Los Angeles Times. After Smith-Griffin was indicted, Carvalho said he would appoint a task force to examine what went wrong with the LA school district's project, but there have been no public announcements about it since.

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Kerr, an education technology salesperson who connects companies with schools, said she was never paid her $630,000 commission for her work in closing the AllHere deal with the LA district, according to a news organization, The 74, that covered the company's bankruptcy hearings in 2024.

The 74 reported that Kerr had longstanding ties with Carvalho from when he oversaw the Florida district and that her son who worked for AllHere pitched the technology to LA school leaders after he took over the helm there. The Associated Press was unable to reach Kerr for comment.

Over the past five years in Los Angeles, Carvalho has been lauded for the district's improvements to academic performance. He won similar praise while overseeing Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Florida's largest school district, where the national superintendents association named him Superintendent of the Year in 2014.

Spain knighted the Portugal-born administrator in 2021 for his work in expanding Spanish-language programs for Miami-Dade County schools.

Months later, Carvalho took the job in California and became a harsh critic of the Trump administration's aggressive immigration crackdown, especially following raids in Los Angeles last year.

Carvalho arrived in Los Angeles at a critical moment, as the district found itself flush with funding from state and federal COVID-19 relief money but still struggling with the impacts of the pandemic, including learning losses and declining enrollment. He previously sparred with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis over his order that schools not require masks during the pandemic.

The Miami-Dade school system said in a statement that it was aware of the investigation involving Carvalho but did not have any comment at this time.

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Superintendent of nation’s second-largest school district on paid leave after FBI searches of his home and office

Los Angeles School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho is being put on paid leave while he is part of a federal investigation...

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US says it supports Pakistan's 'right to defend itself' against Afghan Taliban

By Kanishka Singh

Friendship Gate, following the exchanges of fire between Pakistan and Afghanistan forces, in Chaman

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The United States on Friday expressed support for what it called Pakistan's "right to defend itself" against ‌attacks from Afghanistan's Taliban rulers after Islamabad said earlier in the ‌day that the neighboring countries were in "open war."

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers had said on Friday they ​were willing to negotiate after Pakistan bombed their forces in major cities.

"The United States supports Pakistan's right to defend itself against attacks from the Taliban, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group," a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed ‌statement. U.S. diplomat Allison ⁠Hooker said on X she spoke on Friday with Pakistan Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch.

Pakistan is nuclear-armed and its military capabilities ⁠are vastly superior to Afghanistan's. However, the Taliban are adept at guerrilla warfare, hardened by decades of fighting with U.S.-led forces, before returning to power in ​2021 ​when Washington withdrew chaotically.

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Pakistan is a major ​non-NATO ally of Washington. The ‌U.S. considers the Afghan Taliban to be a "terrorist" group.

The latest violence erupted after Pakistan's airstrikes on Afghan territory last weekend triggered Afghan retaliatory attacks along the border on Thursday, escalating long‑simmering tensions over Pakistan's claim that Afghanistan shelters Pakistani Taliban militants. Afghanistan denies this and argues Pakistan is deflecting ‌blame for its own security failures.

The State Department ​spokesperson said Washington was aware of the ​escalation in tensions and "outbreak of ​fighting between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban," adding the ‌U.S. was "saddened by the loss of life."

Both ​sides reported heavy ​losses in the fighting, which Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said amounted to an "open war".

"The Taliban have consistently failed to uphold their ​counterterrorism commitments," the ‌State Department said, adding that "terrorist groups use Afghanistan as a launching ​pad for their heinous attacks."

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing ​by Alistair Bell and Sam Holmes)

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February 28, 2026

US says it supports Pakistan's 'right to defend itself' against Afghan Taliban

By Kanishka Singh Friendship Gate, following the exchanges of fire between Pakistan and Afghanistan forces, in...

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“Heat 2”: What We Know So Far About the Classic 1995 Movie's Sequel

The 1995 crime film Heat starred Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and the late Val Kilmer

NEED TO KNOW

• In 2022, Michael Mann published his book Heat 2, serving as a prequel and sequel

• Heat 2 is being adapted for the screen, with production set to start in summer 2026

Heat 2is heating up!

The sequel to the 1995 crime classic,Heat, starringAl Pacino,Robert De Niroand the lateVal Kilmer, has long been in development.

For years, casting rumors have swirled about who would star in the film follow-up, and in February 2026,Christian Baleseemingly confirmed his involvement in the project.

The upcoming movie will be based on the 2022 novelHeat 2, which followed the characters before and after the events depicted in the 1995 movie.

"It's been my intention for a long time to do the further stories ofHeat," director Michael Mann toldDeadlinein January 2022. "There was always a rich history or back-story about the events in these people's lives before 1995 inHeatand projection of where their lives would take them after."

Here's what we know so far aboutHeat 2.

What isHeat 2about?

Heat 2is based on the 2022 novel of the same name by Mann and Meg Gardiner. The book takes place in different years, serving as both a prequel and a sequel to the 1995 action epic.

Heat 2picks up right after the movie, with Chris Shiherlis (Kilmer's character in the film) escaping Los Angeles and making his way to South America and Southeast Asia, where he becomes involved with the international drug cartel.

Another part of theHeat 2the novel is set in 1988 Chicago, and follows Vincent Hanna (Pacino's character), on the trail of a sadistic killer named Otis Wardell.

The section of the book also shows how Hanna and Neil McCauley (De Niro) almost met in the Windy City years before their face-to-face in the 1995 film.

Heat 2jumps to the year 2000, where the characters and plots from the different timelines intersect, leading to an intense showdown in L.A.

In an August 2022Rolling Stoneinterview, Mann described theHeat 2book as "a global version ofHeat."

Who is in theHeat 2cast?

The 1995Heatfeatured a star-studded cast, and the sequel is also shaping up to have A-listers on its roster.

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Some of the biggest names in Hollywood have been rumored to be joiningHeat 2, and in February 2026, one actor, Bale, seemingly confirmed his involvement in the project.

According to anXpost fromGood Day Chicago's Jake Hamilton, Bale told him, "I'll be back in Chicago soon forHeat 2!"

Other actors who have reportedly been linked toHeat 2includeLeonardo DiCaprio,Adam Driver,Austin ButlerandBradley Cooper, perThe Hollywood Reporterin October 2025.

With the plots spanning multiple decades, Mann said "aging and de-aging" technology "will be very important in the film," perThe Playlist.

Who is directingHeat 2?

Mann, who directed the 1995 film, is returning to helmHeat 2.

He also co-wrote the book the upcoming movie is based on, but he wasn't originally aiming for the novel to be adapted for the screen.

"It wasn't the intention, but you can't separate the two," Mann toldVulturein December 2023. "I don't know how to write novels. I do know how to write and imagine screenplays, and I wanted the novel to have a cinematic pace and a story-driven structure to it."

"What became exciting was to have them not be the people they are inHeat,but to put them through the experiences that turned them into the people that they are inHeat," he continued.

When willHeat 2start filming?

Heat 2is due to start filming in August 2026.

In a December 2025 interview withThe Guardian, Mann said, "Listen, no picture happens until it's happening, but right now we're looking to start Aug. 3."

According to The Playlist, at the 2025 Lumiere Film Festival, Mann shared thatHeat 2is "an expensive movie to make, but I believe it should be made at the proper size and scale. It's going to shoot in Chicago, Los Angeles, Paraguay and possibly some parts in Singapore."

Is there a release date forHeat 2?

As of February 2026,Heat 2does not have a confirmed release date.

Read the original article onPeople

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February 28, 2026

“Heat 2”: What We Know So Far About the Classic 1995 Movie's Sequel

The 1995 crime film Heat starred Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and the late Val Kilmer NEED TO KNOW In 2022, Mich...

Read More

Co-host Sri Lanka wins toss, elects to field against Pakistan in its last T20 World Cup match

PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka (AP) — Co-host Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field against Pakistan in the last Group 2 game at theT20 World Cupon Saturday.

Sri Lanka Pakistan T20 WCup Cricket

Pakistan needs to beat already eliminated Sri Lanka by about 65 runs to qualify for the semifinals ahead of New Zealand on net run-rate after England pulled off adramatic winover the Black Caps on Friday.

Pakistan made wholesale changes to its playing XI and brought in fast bowler Naseem Shah, aggressive batter Khawaja Nafay and legspinner Abrar Ahmed.

Babar Azam, whose strike rate has been criticized in the shortest format, was finally dropped; opening batter Saim Ayub was surprisingly left out while fast bowler Salman Mirza was rested.

Captain Salman Ali Agha said he would have fielded first but it was a "massive opportunity" for his team to achieve a difficult task and set up a tall target for Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka, which fell to heavy defeats against both England and New Zealand in the Super Eight, made two changes. Injured Kusal Mendis made way for Kamil Mishara while Janith Liyanage came in for Dushan Hemantha.

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South Africa from Group 1 and England from Group 2 have already qualified for the semifinals.

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha (captain), Khawaja Nafay, Usman Khan, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Charith Asalanka, Pavan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka (captain), Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka

AP cricket:https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

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February 28, 2026

Co-host Sri Lanka wins toss, elects to field against Pakistan in its last T20 World Cup match

PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka (AP) — Co-host Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field against Pakistan in the last Group 2 game...

Read More

“Heat 2”: What We Know So Far About the Classic 1995 Movie's Sequel

The 1995 crime film Heat starred Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and the late Val Kilmer

NEED TO KNOW

• In 2022, Michael Mann published his book Heat 2, serving as a prequel and sequel

• Heat 2 is being adapted for the screen, with production set to start in summer 2026

Heat 2is heating up!

The sequel to the 1995 crime classic,Heat, starringAl Pacino,Robert De Niroand the lateVal Kilmer, has long been in development.

For years, casting rumors have swirled about who would star in the film follow-up, and in February 2026,Christian Baleseemingly confirmed his involvement in the project.

The upcoming movie will be based on the 2022 novelHeat 2, which followed the characters before and after the events depicted in the 1995 movie.

"It's been my intention for a long time to do the further stories ofHeat," director Michael Mann toldDeadlinein January 2022. "There was always a rich history or back-story about the events in these people's lives before 1995 inHeatand projection of where their lives would take them after."

Here's what we know so far aboutHeat 2.

What isHeat 2about?

Heat 2is based on the 2022 novel of the same name by Mann and Meg Gardiner. The book takes place in different years, serving as both a prequel and a sequel to the 1995 action epic.

Heat 2picks up right after the movie, with Chris Shiherlis (Kilmer's character in the film) escaping Los Angeles and making his way to South America and Southeast Asia, where he becomes involved with the international drug cartel.

Another part of theHeat 2the novel is set in 1988 Chicago, and follows Vincent Hanna (Pacino's character), on the trail of a sadistic killer named Otis Wardell.

The section of the book also shows how Hanna and Neil McCauley (De Niro) almost met in the Windy City years before their face-to-face in the 1995 film.

Heat 2jumps to the year 2000, where the characters and plots from the different timelines intersect, leading to an intense showdown in L.A.

In an August 2022Rolling Stoneinterview, Mann described theHeat 2book as "a global version ofHeat."

Who is in theHeat 2cast?

The 1995Heatfeatured a star-studded cast, and the sequel is also shaping up to have A-listers on its roster.

Advertisement

Some of the biggest names in Hollywood have been rumored to be joiningHeat 2, and in February 2026, one actor, Bale, seemingly confirmed his involvement in the project.

According to anXpost fromGood Day Chicago's Jake Hamilton, Bale told him, "I'll be back in Chicago soon forHeat 2!"

Other actors who have reportedly been linked toHeat 2includeLeonardo DiCaprio,Adam Driver,Austin ButlerandBradley Cooper, perThe Hollywood Reporterin October 2025.

With the plots spanning multiple decades, Mann said "aging and de-aging" technology "will be very important in the film," perThe Playlist.

Who is directingHeat 2?

Mann, who directed the 1995 film, is returning to helmHeat 2.

He also co-wrote the book the upcoming movie is based on, but he wasn't originally aiming for the novel to be adapted for the screen.

"It wasn't the intention, but you can't separate the two," Mann toldVulturein December 2023. "I don't know how to write novels. I do know how to write and imagine screenplays, and I wanted the novel to have a cinematic pace and a story-driven structure to it."

"What became exciting was to have them not be the people they are inHeat,but to put them through the experiences that turned them into the people that they are inHeat," he continued.

When willHeat 2start filming?

Heat 2is due to start filming in August 2026.

In a December 2025 interview withThe Guardian, Mann said, "Listen, no picture happens until it's happening, but right now we're looking to start Aug. 3."

According to The Playlist, at the 2025 Lumiere Film Festival, Mann shared thatHeat 2is "an expensive movie to make, but I believe it should be made at the proper size and scale. It's going to shoot in Chicago, Los Angeles, Paraguay and possibly some parts in Singapore."

Is there a release date forHeat 2?

As of February 2026,Heat 2does not have a confirmed release date.

Read the original article onPeople

byAdministrator

in

February 28, 2026

“Heat 2”: What We Know So Far About the Classic 1995 Movie's Sequel

The 1995 crime film Heat starred Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and the late Val Kilmer NEED TO KNOW In 2022, Mich...

Read More