Israel carried out an attack against the Hamas leadership in Doha, an Israeli source told CNN, after an explosion was heard in the Qatari capital.
The source didn’t say who was targeted, but Hamas leaders have used the Qatari capital as a headquarters outside of Gaza for years.
Shortly after the explosion, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement that it had targeted “senior leadership” of Hamas with “a precise strike” in a joint operation with the Shin Bet security agency.
The statement didn’t specify where the operation was carried out, but suggested that it was outside Gaza.
“For years, these members of the Hamas leadership have led the terrorist organization’s operations, are directly responsible for the brutal October 7th massacre, and have been orchestrating and managing the war against the State of Israel.”
A senior Hamas official confirmed to CNN that the group’s negotiators were targeted in Doha.
On Monday, Hamas’ chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya met with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in Doha.
The attack appears to mark the first time Israel has launched an operation in Qatar.
‘SmartLess’ Coming to the Hollywood Bowl for Fall Podcast Taping
“SmartLess” is coming to the Hollywood Bowl this fall for what is certain to be one of the most well-attended podcast tapings ever.
Hosts Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes will bring their hit series to the Bowl on Nov. 15, in what counts as the iconic venue’s first presentation of a live podcast recording.
Two guest interview subjects are promised for the occasion, but they will remain surprises up until the show (as they sometimes are to two out of the three co-hosts themselves).
Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. PT through Ticketmaster. An American Express cardholder presale will take place beginning today at 10.
“We’re beyond honored, and honestly still a little confused, to be the first live podcast ever recorded at the Hollywood Bowl,” said hosts Arnett, Bateman and Hayes in a joint statement. “The Beatles played here… and now, somehow, so are we. Sorry, history.”
It will not be the largest audience for a podcast taping in history. According to Guiness World Records, the record for the most tickets sold for a podcast recording ever belongs to Canadian podcaster Mike Ward, whose “Mike Ward Sous Écoute” sold 20,986 tickets for a show in Montreal in July 2022. A show at the Hollywood Bowl, with a capacity of 17,500, can’t break that record.
However, “SmartLess” — which is up to more than 270 episodes — could draw the largest crowd for a podcast taping in the U.S.
At one point last year, Jason and Travis Kelce’s “and “New Heights” looked like it could draw a record audience, when a taping was set for Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium. However, inclement weather forced the April 2024 show to be moved indoors to Fifth Third Arena, where it played to a capacity crowd of 12,500.
Although the guests are not being announced, it would not be a stretch to imagine one of them could be a musician, given the podcast’s history of hosting such stars, and how well a musical performance would likely go over in the climes of the Hollywood Bowl. Recent guests on the music side have included John Mayer, Jelly Roll, Ariana Grande and the team of Brandi Carlile and Elton John. Other guests just since the beginning of 2025 have included Julia Garner, James Gunn, Marc Maron, Parker Posey, Pete Buttigieg, John Lithgow, Bill Burr, Mark Hamill, Jesse Eisenberg, Maria Shriver, Jason Momoa and Bill Gates.
“SmartLess” launched in July 2020 and is among the top 5 most listened-to podcasts monthly. It is produced by Michael Grant Terry, Bennett Barbakow, and Rob Amjärv. SiriusXM acquired the podcast from Amazon in 2024.
Who has qualified for World Cup 2026? Full list of teams
Clint Dempsey predicts which guys will start for Pochettino in 2026
Former USMNT player Clint Dempsey on Coach Pochettino’s first year as head coach and how he’s looking to set the starting 11 for the 2026 World Cup.
Sports Seriously
The qualifying process for the 2026 World Cup involves nearly every sovereign nation on the planet, with every team pursuing one of the 48 berths at next summer’s massive tournament.
While the United States, Mexico, and Canada were all guaranteed places as host nations, the other 45 berths have to be earned the hard way. Qualifying kicked off all the way back on Sept. 7, 2023, with a game between Paraguay and Peru being the first to kick off. From there, each of the six continental confederations work through a sometimes byzantine process to sort out the nations that will take the field at the next men’s World Cup.
Over the last two days, four nations have sealed their places at next summer’s tournament. On Thursday, Uruguay and Colombia both clinched their places with wins in South America, while Paraguay joined them after a scoreless draw against Ecuador (and then declared a national holiday to celebrate). Morocco became the first African nation to qualify, sealing their place with a 5-0 rout of Niger on Friday.
Here’s what to know about who has qualified for the 2026 World Cup, who might join them in the near future, and a breakdown of how many berths each of the world’s regions gets:
Who has qualified for World Cup 2026?
The 2026 World Cup will be the first ever to include 48 nations, a massive jump up from the 32 that competed in Qatar in 2022. The qualifying process varies from confederation to confederation, with 17 nations having clinched their places in next summer’s massive tournament.
Here is a complete list of every country to qualify for the 2026 World Cup as of Friday, Sept. 5:
Host nations: Canada, Mexico, United States
Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan
Africa: Morocco
Concacaf: None yet
Europe: None yet
Oceania: New Zealand
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
World Cup qualifying: Who could clinch a 2026 spot next?
World Cup qualifying is going on worldwide, with each confederation’s schedule and process containing variations. However, in the next few days, three countries could claim their places at the 2026 tournament:
Algeria: A win on Monday against Guinea (which will be played in Casablanca, Morocco, as Guinea doesn’t have a stadium that meets CAF standards) combined with Uganda failing to beat Somalia in Kampala would send Algeria to their fifth men’s World Cup.
Egypt: With three games left to play, Egypt leads Group A by five points over Burkina Faso. Those two meet in Ouagadougou on Tuesday, and a win for the visitors would get “the Pharoahs” back into the World Cup after they missed out in 2022.
Tunisia: Tunisia leads Group H by seven points with three games to play, leaving them with several paths to clinch qualifying. A win on Monday at Equatorial Guinea would do the job, as would Namibia failing to defeat São Tomé and Príncipe on Tuesday.
Additionally, there are two high-pressure games in South America, where Venezuela and Bolivia are fighting for the region’s only intercontinental playoff spot. Venezuela holds a one-point lead between the two (as well as a 12-goal edge in the first tiebreaker, goal difference), meaning that a win at home over Colombia will keep their hopes alive.
Bolivia must beat Brazil — something they’ve only done once, back in 2009 — and hope for Venezuela to stumble at the finish line. Otherwise, the “Vinotinto” will begin looking forward to the intercontinental playoff.
World Cup 2026: How many spots for each region?
Here is a complete breakdown of how FIFA sorted out all 48 berths at the 2026 World Cup:
Host nations (3): Canada, Mexico, and the United States all qualified as soon as they were picked to host the tournament.
Asia (8): Six Asian countries have qualified. The Asian Football Confederation’s fourth round (which will settle who claims the final two automatic bids) begins on Wednesday, Oct. 8.
Africa (9): African qualifying sorted 54 countries into nine groups of six (though Eritrea withdrew from Group E before play began). Group winners all qualify, while the best four runners-up will have a pathway to the intercontinental playoff.
Concacaf (3): The region’s third round — featuring three groups of four — began on Thursday, Sept. 4. Group winners qualify directly, while the two best runners-up will enter the intercontinental playoff.
Europe (16): UEFA qualifying features 54 teams broken up into 12 groups. Group winners qualify for the World Cup, while the second-place finishers (along with the top four teams from the UEFA Nations League who didn’t win their qualifying groups) will enter a playoff for Europe’s final four berths that is set for March 2026.
Oceania (1): New Zealand has already claimed Oceania’s only guaranteed berth at the 2026 World Cup.
South America (6): CONMEBOL’s marathon qualifying tournament is down to one final round of games, but all six direct spots have already been clinched. The region’s seventh-place finisher (which will be either Venezuela or Bolivia) will go into the intercontinental playoff.
Intercontinental playoff (2): New Caledonia is the only team locked into a spot in what will be a six-team tournament scheduled for March 2026.
During an exclusive interview with PEOPLE on the set of their daytime talk show, Live with Kelly and Mark, on Tuesday, Sept. 2, the couple revealed that they have an all-black bathroom — complete with black toilet paper to match.
“Somebody — as a gift, as a joke — said that you need black toilet paper in this black bathroom,” Ripa, 54, explains.
“And you know what? It actually looks normal because the white toilet paper was the thing that looked really strange,” she adds.
Consuelos, however, disagreed.
“I will say, it doesn’t feel normal,” the All My Children alum, also 54, says.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’ on July 28, 2025.
LORENZO BEVILAQUA/Disney via Getty
Ripa then chimed in, “Nobody really uses that toilet,” prompting her husband to reply, “I have.”
“Well, there you go,” Ripa responds, adding, “I have not used the black toilet tissue. I just like the way it looks. It blends into the wall.”
Elsewhere in their conversation with PEOPLE, the couple shared that their dressing rooms on the Live set have been given some playful names, which Ripa says was “Mark’s idea.”
“Lucy and Desi,” Consuelos reveals. “Desi is the guy’s bathroom, Lucy is the girls.”
Ripa adds: “There’s like a Lucy and a Desi, and he likes that. So that’s what he named our dressing rooms. It’s kind of cool.”
In the video, Ripa said the townhouse, where the family has lived for more than 12 years, is their “favorite place on earth.”
“We’ve moved several times in our lives, but no matter where we go, for me, this is my forever home,” Ripa said while showing off the couple’s gorgeously decorated primary bedroom. “When I walked in here, I was like, ‘This is the final place where I will live.’ I love this house so much.”
Referencing the large mirror on the wall opposite their bed, Consuelos said, “And don’t think we’re crazy about putting a mirror in front of our bed. It hides a TV.”
Ripa then joked, “Yeah, we don’t stare at ourselves. We watch Judge Judy in here.”
Reiterating her love for the home, Ripa said during the tour that she and Consuelos have no plans ever to leave.
“I don’t want to sound morbid,” she said, “but they’ll have to carry me out of here feetfirst because I have gotten good and comfortable in this house.”
This year, Ripa is celebrating her 25th season with Live. During her conversation with PEOPLE on the set, she recalled that Consuelos said to her backstage ahead of Tuesday’s season 38 premiere, “It doesn’t feel like that many seasons.”
“And I go, ‘For you, it hasn’t been that many seasons!’ ” Ripa says.
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Consuelos joined the show as his wife’s co-host in April 2023, replacing Ryan Seacrest, who had co-hosted with Ripa for six seasons beginning in 2017.
Looking back on her journey so far at Live, Ripa tells PEOPLE there’s been “so many” happy memories — especially the times when her and Consuelos’ kids visited the set.
“I have sort of this living diary of their lives,” she notes.
