Robert Redford, giant of American cinema, dies aged 89 | Robert Redford

Published

8 hours ago

September 16, 2025

Robert Redford, star of Hollywood classics including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting and All the President’s Men, has died aged 89.

In a statement, his publicist Cindi Berger said the actor died on Tuesday at his home “at Sundance in the mountains of Utah – the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved”.

“He will be missed greatly,” Berger said, adding that Redford’s family are requesting privacy.

Redford was one of the defining movie stars of the 1970s, crossing with ease between the Hollywood new wave and the mainstream film industry, before also becoming an Oscar-winning director and producer in the ensuing decades. He played a key role in the establishment of American independent cinema by co-founding the Sundance film festival, which acted as a platform for films such as Reservoir Dogs, The Blair Witch Project, Donnie Darko, Fruitvale Station and Coda.

Redford with Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969. Photograph: 20th Century Fox/Sportsphoto/Allstar

Redford also acquired a reputation as one of Hollywood’s leading liberals and campaigned on environmental issues, including acting as a trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council advocacy group and vocally opposing the now cancelled Keystone XL pipeline extension.

Born Charles Robert Redford in 1936, he grew up in Los Angeles and, after he was expelled from the University of Colorado, studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After playing a series of small parts on TV, stage and film, he began to make headway in the early 60s, being nominated for a best supporting actor Emmy in 1962 for The Voice of Charlie Pont and winning a lead role in the original 1963 Broadway production of Neil Simon’s hit play Barefoot in the Park. Redford’s film breakthrough arrived in 1965: an eye-catching role as a bisexual film star in Inside Daisy Clover opposite Natalie Wood, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe.

After a series of solid Hollywood films, including The Chase and a screen adaptation of Barefoot in the Park, Redford had a huge hit with the 1969 outlaw western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, in which he starred opposite Paul Newman and Katharine Ross. It was nominated for seven Oscars, though none were for the actors.

Redford starred in Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here, the first directing credit in over 20 years by former blacklistee Abraham Polonsky, and then a string of key 1970s hits: frontier western Jeremiah Johnson (1972), period romance The Way We Were (1973) opposite Barbra Streisand, crime comedy The Sting (1973), again opposite Newman, and literary adaptation The Great Gatsby (1974). Redford followed these up with conspiracy thriller Three Days of the Condor (1975) and Watergate drama All the President’s Men (1976), co-starring with Dustin Hoffman.

Redford with Jane Fonda in the 1967 film version of Barefoot in the Park. Photograph: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

After a prolonged break from acting in the late 70s, Redford turned to directing with the ensemble drama Ordinary People, adapted from the novel by Judith Guest. A substantial hit, it won four Oscars in 1981, including best picture and best director for Redford – an accolade he never received for his acting.

His success as an actor continued in the 1980s and 1990s, though perhaps with less of the cutting-edge impact of his 1970s work. Baseball drama The Natural, adapted from a Bernard Malamud novel in 1984, was followed by Out of Africa in 1985, in which he played big game hunter Denys Finch Hatton opposite Meryl Streep’s Danish aristocrat. He returned to directing with The Milagro Beanfield War in 1988 and A River Runs Through It in 1992, both grappling in different ways with rural America. A year later he made what in retrospect was something of a turning point: an unalloyed Hollywood project, the erotic thriller Indecent Proposal, in which his businessman character offers a million dollars to sleep with Demi Moore’s character. It re-established Redford as a commercial force. Later in the 90s he directed Quiz Show and The Horse Whisperer (the latter of which he also starred in).

With fellow winners Robert De Niro, Sissy Spacek and Ordinary People producer Ronald L Schwary at the Oscars in 1981. Photograph: AP

It was in this period that the Sundance film festival – which Redford’s production company had co-founded in 1978 as the Utah/US film festival and renamed in 1984 after Redford’s Sundance Institute – began to exert its influence as a showcase for US independent cinema, promoting the likes of Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and Kevin Smith. Its impact only increased in subsequent decades as a forum for boosting films’ commercial chances and achieving awards recognition, showcasing films such as 500 Days of Summer, Napoleon Dynamite, Whiplash, Fruitvale Station and Coda.

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Redford’s 2007 Afghan war film Lions for Lambs was a disappointment, but an impressive solo performance in the 2013 survival-at-sea drama All Is Lost went some way to compensating for it. In 2014 Redford joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Hydra leader Alexander Pierce in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. He said at the time: “I wanted to experience this new form of film-making that’s taken over, where you have kind of cartoon characters brought to life through high technology.” He made a cameo in the same role in Avengers: Endgame in 2019.

Redford in his final major film role in The Old Man & the Gun in 2018. Photograph: Eric Zachanowich/AP

In the mid-2010s Redford scaled back his film-making activities, handing over stewardship of the Sundance film festival and announcing his retirement from acting. His final substantial role was in the 2018 crime drama The Old Man & the Gun, directed by David Lowery.

Redford was awarded an honorary Oscar in 2002, a lifetime achievement Golden Lion from the Venice film festival in 2017, and an honorary César in 2019. In 2010 he was also made a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur and in 2016 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama.

Redford was married twice: to historian Lola Van Wagenen between 1958 and 1985, with whom he had four children, and artist Sibylle Szaggars in 2009.

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A record supply load won’t reach the International Space Station as scheduled

Published

1 hour ago

September 16, 2025

Stephen Clark

The damage occurred during the shipment of the spacecraft’s pressurized cargo module from its manufacturer in Italy. While Northrop Grumman hopes to repair the module and launch it on a future flight, officials decided it would be quicker to move forward with the next spacecraft in line for launch this month.

This is the first flight of a larger model of the Cygnus spacecraft known as the Cygnus XL, measuring 5.2 feet (1.6 meters) longer, with the ability to carry 33 percent more cargo than the previous Cygnus spacecraft design. With this upgrade, this mission is carrying the heaviest load of supplies ever delivered to the ISS by a commercial cargo vehicle.

The main engine on the Cygnus spacecraft burns a mixture of hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide propellants. This mixture is hypergolic, meaning the propellants ignite upon contact with one another, a design heralded for its reliability. The spacecraft has a separate set of less powerful reaction control system thrusters normally used for small maneuvers, and for pointing the ship in the right direction as it makes its way to the ISS.

If the main engine is declared unusable, one possible option for getting around the main engine problem might be using these smaller thrusters to more gradually adjust the Cygnus spacecraft’s orbit to line up the final approach with the ISS. However, it wasn’t immediately clear if this was a viable option.

Unlike SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon spacecraft, the Cygnus is not designed to return to Earth intact. Astronauts fill it with trash before departure from the ISS, and then the spacecraft heads for a destructive reentry over the remote Pacific Ocean. Therefore, a problem preventing the spacecraft from reaching the ISS would result in the loss of all of the cargo onboard.

The supplies on this mission, designated NG-23, include fresh food, hardware for numerous biological and tech demo experiments, and spare parts for things like the space station’s urine processor and toilet to replenish the space station’s dwindling stocks of those items.

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Vikings will put Aaron Jones on injured reserve

Published

2 hours ago

September 16, 2025

Josh Alper

Vikings running back Aaron Jones is going to miss more than one game as a result of his hamstring injury.

According to multiple reports, Jones will be placed on injured reserve. That move will keep him out of at least the next four games.

The Vikings are signing running back Cam Akers to bolster their backfield options. Jordan Mason has been splitting time with Jones over the first two weeks and will move into the lead role in the Minnesota ground game.

Jones had 13 carries for 46 yards and three catches for 44 yards in the first two games of the season. He will miss this Sunday’s game against the Bengals as well as matchups with the Steelers, Browns, and Eagles. The Vikings have a bye in Week 6, so he will be eligible to return for the Vikings’ Week 8 Thursday night game against the Rams.

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See if your iPhone is eligible for the free update

Published

2 hours ago

September 16, 2025

Katie Teague

Did you know you can officially download iOS 26 on your iPhone? The update became available yesterday, along with iPadOS 26 and Apple’s other operating system updates. But that’s assuming you have an eligible device.

If your phone is compatible with the latest OS, you’ll notice substantial changes when you install the new update. You may have already heard about “Liquid Glass,” which (intentional or not) is sort of like Apple’s take on the old Windows Vista design language. That’s the most notable change, but we spent two weeks test-driving many of the other features included in the update — you can check out our hands-on iOS 26 preview for more impressions.

Not sure if you have an eligible smartphone or tablet but also don’t want to upgrade? No worries, we’ll help you find out if your devices will be able to run iOS 26.

While Apple didn’t nix any iPhones from its eligibility list last year, that’s not the case for 2025, as a few models are getting the axe this time around. All iPhone 8 models and the iPhone X were the last to receive the boot in 2023, and this year, iPhones released in 2018 will be left behind.

You can find a full list of iPhones and iPads that support iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 below. To see everything you get with the latest OS updates, you can check out our big rundown of what to expect from iOS 26. Additionally, here’s everything Apple revealed at the iPhone 17 launch event, including the all-new iPhone Air. (Check out Engadget’s liveblog of the event for full details.)

These three iOS 18 iPhones aren’t compatible with iOS 26

Unlike last year, a trio of iPhones won’t be eligible to download the newest iOS. These three models that were first released in 2018 won’t be coming to the iOS 26 party:

iPhones compatible with iOS 26

Per Apple’s site, the devices listed below will be compatible with iOS 26. In short, if you have an iPhone that was announced in 2019 or later, you’re in the clear:

iPhone SE (second generation or later)

iPads compatible with iPadOS 26

Meanwhile, the iPads listed below are eligible to download iPadOS 26:

iPad Pro 12.9‑inch (3rd generation and later)
iPad Pro 11‑inch (1st generation and later)
iPad Air (3rd generation and later, including M2 and M3)
iPad (8th generation and later, including A16)
iPad mini (5th generation and later, including A17 Pro)

What if I don’t want to buy a new iPhone?

If you want to continue using your older iPhone that isn’t supported by iOS 26, that’s fine. However, you’ll eventually miss out on security updates which could potentially put your phone at risk for malware and other threats. Additionally, some apps may stop working if they require a certain version of iOS or later. And, of course, you won’t be able to access the latest features iOS 26 offers.

Should I upgrade to iOS 18.7 or iOS 26?

When you first open Software Update in Settings, you’ll notice two different upgrade options: iOS 18.7 and iOS 26. Apple released the former to address security issues, so you can at least download that one if you’re unsure about all the big changes on iOS 26. It also gives you more time to wait for Apple to take care of any bugs on the new OS.

However, if you’re excited to finally have the Liquid Glass aesthetic on your phone and use all the new features iOS 26 has to offer, go ahead and install that one. After all, Apple had all summer to weed through the most problematic bugs during its beta phase and usually releases a new update shortly after the initial launch.

iOS 26 features to try out first

Liquid Glass design: Your home screen is getting revamped with new app icons, including dark mode and all-clear options. You’ll also notice buttons with a new floating design. Liquid Glass, in Apple’s terms, was designed to make all of the company’s operating systems more visually cohesive.

Phone app redesign: You can finally scroll through contacts, recent calls and voicemail messages all on one screen. It also comes with a new feature called Hold Assist that’ll notify you when an agent comes to the phone so you can avoid the elevator music.

Live Translate: iOS 26 brings the ability to have a conversation via phone call or text message with someone who speaks another language. Live Translate will translate your conversation in real time.

Polls feature: Coming to group messages in the Messages app, chat members can now create polls. This can help prevent the unwanted 30+ messages when it comes to deciding which restaurant you’re meeting at this weekend.

New lock screen options: More customizable iPhone lock screen options are available with iOS 26, including a cooler clock, 3D wallpaper effects, more widgets and better focus mode options.

Snooze longer (or shorter): Say goodbye to the 9-minute snooze setting in your alarms (if you want). You now have the option to change your snooze time from one to 15 minutes.

Fresh Camera app design: You’ll find the Camera app is simpler to navigate in iOS 26, with all the buttons and menus located in convenient spots. That means less swiping, more photo taking. Plus, there’s a new feature that tells you if your lens is too dirty.

Screenshot revamps: When you take a screenshot, you now have the option to search for the image on Google (maybe you’re looking for a sweater you saw on a celeb) and you can ask ChatGPT questions about the photo — all from the edit screen. It’s like a reverse image search but without all the hard work.

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