July jobs report reveals unexpected loss of 23,000 jobs

Friday's jobs report showed employers shed jobs last month, rather than adding 95,000 new hires that had been forecast by economists.

A quandary for the Fed: Dealing with hot inflation and cool job growth

A sudden slump in hiring has dramatically changed the outlook for the Federal Reserve's September interest rate decision.

Middlesbrough v Wrexham: Carabao Cup first round – live

⚽ League Cup updates, 8pm BST kick-off at the Riverside
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6 min: The whistle goes for a foul by Malanda, who was holding on to Hyam as the corner came in.

Wolves have the lead against Port Vale, Adam Armstrong tucking home after Mateus Mane’s cutback.

Who are the Trump allies running Latin America? – Stateside with Kai and Carter

An outspoken conservative endorsed by Donald Trump was sworn into office as Colombia’s new president on Friday. Abelardo de la Espriella is the seventh rightwing politician to take office in Latin America since the start of Trump’s second term. Kai Wright speaks to former US ambassador to Panama John Feeley about why the region is moving rightwards, and how it is boosting Trump’s foreign policy objectives, from immigration to containing China.

Idaho shooting video shows gunman start deadly rampage in In-N-Out drive-thru

Three people were killed in the shooting that started at an In-N-Out restaurant in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Pentagon releases new batch of UFO files: "Did you see that?"

The Pentagon on Friday released a new batch of documents and images related to UFOs, the fifth disclosure in recent months about the strange encounters.

DOJ's top prosecutor in LA hires aide with pending battery charge, DUIs

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli hired former top aide Shawn Lewis to be a federal law enforcement liaison, though Lewis has three prior convictions for driving under the influence and a pending battery charge.

Trump announces $180 million to boost mining education

President Trump announced over $180 million in grants to boost educational programs for the mining industry, part of a bid to increase critical mineral production.

Trump renews push to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook

Trump is once again threatening to fire Cook over unproven allegations of mortgage fraud after an earlier effort to remove Cook was struck down by the Supreme Court.

At least one person dead in California wildfire allegedly sparked by chainsaw

Police arrested Herbert Wayne Smith, 65, in connection with the Gann fire, which has burned more than 15 sq miles in Calaveras county

At least one person has died in a wildfire burning in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range that officials believed was sparked by a man using a chainsaw.

Police arrested Herbert Wayne Smith, 65, in connection with the Gann fire, which has destroyed seven buildings, scorched more than 15 sq miles in Calaveras county and killed a well-known dog breeder in the town of Angels Camp.

Russia sanctions bill honoring Lindsey Graham breezes through Senate, heads to House

A measure to impose new sanctions on Russian oil purchasers easily cleared the Senate and heads to the House.

U.S. economy unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs in July

Nonfarm payrolls were projected to increase by 83,000 in July while the unemployment rate would hold steady at 4.2%, according to the Dow Jones consensus.

Trump mounts new effort to fire Fed's Lisa Cook after Supreme Court ruling

The White House has informed Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, that President Trump is considering firing her.

Infantino’s World Cup sell-off debacle has rocked football but Fifa’s crisis has deep and rotten roots

It has been a remarkable few days for an institution that may be irredeemable but this is a story that stretches back to a decision in 2010

There are decades in which nothing happens, and weeks in which decades happen, and those weeks tend to result in leaders being toppled. Not even a fortnight ago, Gianni Infantino was taking his victory lap on Instagram, attacking “those behind their pens and papers, behind their screens spreading hate and false rumours” who had dared to question elements of his World Cup, which had generated a record $15bn in revenues. But the next day came the revelation of his plan to sell the World Cup to outside investors and a backlash that has him scrabbling to save his presidency.

It has been a remarkable few days, but this is a story whose roots stretch way back, to the decision in Zurich in 2010 to award the 2022 World Cup not to the US but to Qatar, to a furious Bill Clinton hurling an ashtray across the room and demanding action, to an FBI inquiry into corruption, and to the flipping of the larger-than-life Concacaf general secretary Chuck Blazer, who had two apartments in Trump Tower, one for himself and one for his cats.

Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports making waves in European football transfer market

Vinícius Júnior and Yan Diomande are among more than 100 players at an agency owned by the hip-hop legend

In the end there was a clear winner. And Jay-Z’s latest victory came only 24 hours after the first record featuring him actually rapping for four years had been released by his wife, Beyoncé, on an extended remix pack of Morning Dew (Donk).

These days, the man who remains one of the most influential artists in hip-hop has his fingers in many pies, from the streaming service Tidal and his own streetwear brand, to champagne and cognac. But it is Roc Nation Sports – an offshoot of his entertainment company of the same name founded in 2008 – making headlines in the summer transfer window.

Trump renews bid to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook despite supreme court ruling

White House continues to target Cook despite decision from justices that upheld Federal Reserve’s independence

Donald Trump is attempting once again to oust the US Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud, despite a recent US supreme court decision that upheld the central bank’s independence.

Cook reportedly received a letter from the White House this week that provided notice, in accordance to the supreme court’s June ruling, that Trump was “considering removing” her from her Fed position over the same claims of mortgage fraud that he levied against her last summer.

Energy company sues data center over who should pay for AI buildout

At issue is who pays to expand energy infrastructure when a data center​​ needs as much electricity​ as a midsize city.

Burger King overtakes Wendy's as the nation's second-largest burger chain

Burger King is once again the second-largest burger chain in the U.S. by system-wide sales.

Another court blocks White House ballroom work, teeing up a Supreme Court review

A federal appeals court says above-ground construction cannot continue without approval from Congress, siding with historic preservation advocates.

Here are three key takeaways from the disappointing July jobs report

Nonfarm payrolls in the U.S. unexpectedly declined in July, but so did the unemployment rate, leaving investors with mixed signals.

Millions in England face longer waits for mental health care as NHS providers plan cuts

Exclusive: Seven in 10 survey respondents expect services to be reduced or shut, while more than half anticipate job losses

Millions of adults and children in England face being forced to wait longer for mental health care, with more than two-thirds of NHS providers planning to cut services and half expected to axe jobs, the Guardian can reveal.

With mental health services already under extraordinary pressure amid soaring demand for support, experts warned the proposed cuts – drawn up by trusts to plug holes in their finances – would also have “significant” consequences for the wider NHS, the economy and public services.

Trump teased an Iran deal that didn't come, but markets soared. Here’s why it keeps happening

As oil reserves and munitions stockpiles reportedly dwindle, analysts wonder how much longer markets will pounce when the Trump admin. dangles an Iran deal.

Monty Roberts, who trained horses through trust, dies at 91

The internationally acclaimed horseman defied the conventional method of breaking horses and developed his own gentler approach — based on horses' non-verbal language. Roberts spoke with Fresh Air in 1997.

French officers halted small boats at sea 10 times since spring

Disclosure challenges Conservative and Reform claims that police are refusing to intervene

The French authorities have halted small boats at sea in the Channel on 10 occasions since the spring, officials said on Friday.

Despite claims from the Conservatives and Reform that the French were refusing to intervene in small boat crossings, maritime prefect officers were using “intervention tactics” to board or control vessels at sea and take asylum seekers back to France.

Niewiadoma crushes Tour de France Femmes rivals on Mont Ventoux and takes overall lead

• Pole leaves fellow contenders behind on iconic climb

• Demi Vollering trails by 15sec, Marlen Reusser by 39sec

Kasia Niewiadoma took a spectacular solo victory on the legendary Mont Ventoux, securing a slim overall lead in the Tour de France Femmes after leaving behind her fellow race favourites Marlen Reusser and Demi Vollering.

“It’s hard to describe my feelings because I’m still blown away by what just happened,” Niewiadoma, who won the yellow jersey in 2024, said of the first Tour stage victory of her career.

Appeals court halts construction of Trump’s $400m White House ballroom

Ruling put on hold for two weeks, allowing administration to appeal to US supreme court

• US politics live – latest updates

A US federal appeals court has ordered the Trump administration to halt construction of the US president’s $400m White House ballroom, in a fresh blow to the controversial project.

Donald Trump, who demolished the historic East Wing of the White House last year to make way for planned ballroom, has repeatedly touted it as “a gift” to the US people.

Businessman was ‘preparing champagne’ to celebrate Caruana Galizia murder, court hears

Taxi driver says he acted as middleman between Yorgen Fenech and three men already convicted of €150,000 contract killing

The businessman accused of paying for hitmen to murder the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was impatient for the killing to take place, and once texted from his boat to say he was “preparing champagne” to celebrate, a jury in Malta has heard.

Yorgen Fenech, the 44-year-old heir to a property empire that includes several Hilton hotels, is on trial in Malta for complicity in the murder of Caruana Galizia. She died in a car bombing in October 2017 after publishing a series of revelations about senior politicians that were so damaging they triggered a snap general election.

Cassidy backs Blanche for attorney general, clearing way for confirmation

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican, announced he will vote to confirm Todd Blanche for attorney general.

Senate passes Russia sanctions bill that was long championed by Lindsey Graham

The bill is meant to stifle Russia's economy by allowing for tough new tariffs against major importers of Russian energy. The legislation was led by Lindsey Graham before his unexpected death in July.

The week around the world in 20 pictures

Wildfires in the US and Europe, Russian strikes in Kyiv, beekeepers in Gaza and the European Aquatics Championships – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists

Appeals court blocks Trump's White House ballroom, teeing up Supreme Court fight

A federal appeals court said the White House lacks the authority to unilaterally construct the 90,000-square-foot ballroom. President Trump said the administration will appeal to the Supreme Court.

‘Not braggadocious, not swaggerdocious’: Moses Itauma on why he lets his fists do the talking

The 21-year-old British boxer has the chance to become the second youngest world heavyweight champion after Mike Tyson when he fights for the IBF crown this month

Moses Itauma was initially unmoved when hearing that his bout against Filip Hrgovic in London on 29 August had been upgraded to a fight for the vacant IBF world heavyweight title.

“I didn’t really have any reaction,” Itauma said on Friday afternoon. “I was like, if I’m fighting Hrgovic and I’ve got the opportunity for it to be a world title, then yeah, chuck it on the line. I didn’t have any other feeling. I was taking Hrgovic serious – and, now the fight is for a world title, I’m still taking him serious. It’s still the same fight, innit?”

The Guardian view on Jason Arday: diversity advocates must stand firm | Editorial

Serious failings by one academic, and his bosses at the University of Cambridge, should not be allowed to undermine wider progressive goals

Jason Arday’s resignation from the University of Cambridge on Wednesday marked a full stop of sorts, but not an end to the furore surrounding his promotion to a professorship at the age of 37. Academic colleagues have demanded, with justification, that an investigation into his appointment to the faculty of education in 2023, and the subsequent fallout, should include people from outside the university. Allegations of plagiarism and claims made by Mr Arday about his background, career and charity fundraising remain under scrutiny. The memoir for which he said he had received a huge advance, billed as a triumph over adversity including an early autism diagnosis, is scheduled to appear later this month. His publisher, Simon & Schuster, ought to pause while inquiries run their course.

But several things are already clear. By failing to do due diligence on Mr Arday before launching him, with fanfare, as Cambridge’s youngest-ever black professor, and through its inadequate response to later challenges, the university has done a serious disservice to black and neurodivergent scholars more widely. It has also set back the efforts of all the people and groups who have worked in good faith, over many years, to boost the presence of underrepresented groups in influential positions.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

The Guardian view on Gianni Infantino: in the interests of the game he professes to love, he should go | Editorial

The Fifa president’s attempt to brazen out the storm, after attempting to sell a stake in the World Cup to private equity, adds insult to injury

“How did you go bankrupt?” a character is asked in Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises. “Gradually, then suddenly” comes the reply. Right now, Fifa’s justly besieged president, Gianni Infantino, is experiencing something similar in relation to the loss  of his own authority.

Since taking over the running of world football’s governing body in 2016, Mr Infantino has survived regular criticism of a monetising approach which has often come at a sporting cost. But since egregious plans to sell a stake in the World Cup to the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law were leaked to the media, his credibility has been draining away at speed.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Cassidy supports Todd Blanche, rescuing Trump's embattled attorney general pick

Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche needs at least 50 votes on the Senate floor to be confirmed after clearing the Senate Judiciary Committee.

A ‘Keminaissance’ for the Tories is wishful thinking – Badenoch’s Reform-lite summer will only end one way | Jonathan Freedland

Hiring a convicted antisemite as an adviser; rabble rousing at a time of violent unrest. She is still in a race to the bottom and making too many mistakes

The Keminaissance will be delayed. For nearly a year, Conservative optimists and a clutch of supportive pundits have been forecasting an upturn in the fortunes of Kemi Badenoch, confident that her party will emerge from the crater it fell into in 2024, overtake Reform UK to become once again the main party of the right and, who knows, maybe, with a following wind, even push Labour aside and return to government. Every sign of strength from the Tory leader – a robust conference speech here, a viral clip on social media there – has been hailed as evidence of the coming Keminaissance. On the evidence of the past week or so, we will have to wait a little longer.

It’s quite true that Badenoch’s personal ratings are better than those of her party. True, too, that she ended a long losing streak when the Tories won a Westminster seat at the Aberdeen South byelection in June. But there is a more recent election result that should temper the boosters’ enthusiasm, along with a series of decisions that confirm that, when it comes to both strategy and judgment, Badenoch is badly lacking.

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Cambridge academics reject university’s attempt to end row over Jason Arday

Group calls for ‘thorough and transparent investigation’ of hiring of professor who resigned after his claims came under scrutiny

The University of Cambridge has announced a review into the way it vets and hires senior academic staff in an effort to fend off external and internal criticism of its appointment of Jason Arday as a professor.

But a group of Cambridge academics quickly rejected the university’s response, saying: “We strongly believe that a thorough and transparent investigation into the wider circumstances of this damaging episode is essential.”

Russia-linked accounts spread far-right narrative online during Ceuta migration crisis, analysis finds

Counter-disinformation group says social media channels connected to Pravda network helped amplify message

Accounts with links to the Russian military promoting far-right messages reached more than 500,000 people in the days following the mass influx of people into Ceuta, according to an analysis by 411, a counter-disinformation group.

Russia-linked social media accounts frequently spread destabilising narratives in Europe, often promoting far-right talking points about immigration.

This week on "Sunday Morning" (Aug. 9)

A look at the features for this week's broadcast of the Emmy-winning program, hosted by Jane Pauley.

Rebecca Hendin on the ‘vertical drinking’ row – cartoon

Continue reading...

Meta ordered to pay $567 million into abatement fund as remedy to child harms case in New Mexico

A judge in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $567 million into an abatement fund after a jury ruled the company violated the state’s unfair practices act.

Warren presses U.S. companies to share tariff refunds with customers

Companies receiving billions in refunds for U.S. tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court should return money to consumers, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said.

Trump's firings of federal officials set stage for next presidential power test

A federal appeals court is set to consider President Trump's effort to fire two immigration judges this fall, a case that could have significant implications for federal workers.

AI, boy kibble and parasite cleanses: the 11 biggest wellness trends of 2026

Suggestions for improving your wellbeing are more plentiful than ever – and some may even be on to something

Every year, the wellness industry churns out new products and practices that it claims are finally – finally! – the real secret to being well. Sometimes, these trends are legitimate. Sometimes they’re utter nonsense. Often they’re somewhere in between.

These are the wellness trends that have provoked controversy and interest in 2026.

Monsters of God review – a messy feud between rival reptile smugglers gets the Tiger King treatment

Director Eric Goode has found two enemies to rival Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin in his new documentary about the animal trade’s underworld

Through the fear and general miasma of the Covid pandemic, TV brought people together like never before. Among the most-watched series of 2020 was of course Tiger King, Netflix’s hit about an improbably twisty feud between a gay, polyamorous big-cat breeder and convicted felon, and the conservationist rival whom he accused of murder (more specifically, of feeding her missing husband to the tigers in her sanctuary – which she denies). It was the perfect hit for quarantine: bold and ridiculous enough to get everyone talking, and with precisely no bearing on the grief and awfulness that was all around.

Producer and co-director Eric Goode has made a smattering of Tiger King follow-ups since then, as well as another series, Chimp Crazy, about the self-described Dolly Parton of the primate world. His latest project – a co-production between his own outfit, Goode Films, HBO, and A24 – continues the theme, focusing this time on the reptile trade and taking its lead from the 2008 book The Lizard King by journalist Bryan Christy. It’s stuffed full of wild stories and even wilder characters: there are canny smugglers, underworld crime gangs, and even legitimate zoos that are said to have turned a blind eye to the provenance of their big, scaly friends. The series is centred on the US – although clearly the supply chain is global – and the two men who kickstarted the illegal trade: Hank Molt and copycat trader Tommy Crutchfield. Like Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin before them, there is no love lost between Crutchfield and Molt, and no odd biographical detail too trivial to skip over. Hank, says Tommy, “will turn anything good into bad”, while Hank reckons that Tommy is “one of the angriest and most bitter people I’ve ever met”. Along the way we learn that Hank used to be a mayonnaise salesman, and that Tommy worked at an extremely on-the-nose Florida establishment named Snake-a-Torium as a teenager, where he would later have his wedding reception.

What follows is the story not only of their enduring beef and betrayals, but of other adjacent vendettas in the illicit reptilian market. Despite environmental concerns becoming increasingly en vogue in the late 60s, a “don’t ask, don’t tell” attitude still pervaded the world of wildlife trading, with many zoos happy to acquire what they needed from whoever happened to have it. There were, however, serious consequences for some of the creatures involved. With the police on his back, Molt once buried a stash of animals alive in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens, a location which would later become infamous via The Sopranos. When he was eventually arrested, Crutchfield would become the go-to guy. He supplied cobras to the makers of a Hollywood blockbuster, he says, and sold tortoises to Michael Jackson. He even bred distinctive white albino alligators, which he sold for £175,000 a pop.

The gruesome, revenge-fuelled culmination of the men’s feud at the end of the first episode is the high point of Monsters of God, which then limps through four more instalments. The illegal animal trade gets entangled with the (less interesting) drug trade in the 80s, and – somewhere along the way – the story becomes less punchy and more of an attempt to shoehorn in every strange character and weird/shocking/grim (delete as appropriate) anecdote that the producers had access to. A tangent about a federal agent who wore a gorilla costume in a sting operation is rather funny but, er, isn’t this a series about snakes and stuff? It does feel like Monsters of God could have been a two-parter, but then maybe it’s simply too hard to kill your darlings when you have so many of them. The story of a German man who collaborated with Crutchfield (and who attempted to escape the feds by running across eight lanes of traffic, in handcuffs, and wearing Birkenstocks) is hardly essential. But it is clearly entertaining.

Monsters of God may lack that tight narrative thread that makes you want to recreate lockdown and spend five hours parked in front of the TV. But Goode is a conservationist as well as a film-maker, and it’s clear that he is interested in what became of the species whose existence was endangered by men like these. Much of the final episode is dedicated to notorious dealer Anson Wong from Malaysia, and the smuggling that meant that the ploughshare tortoise became all-but extinct in the wild. There is one final bit of good news, though, and a sense that nature – perhaps – is healing. It might not be a conclusion ripped from the bizarre world of Joe Exotic, but it’s the perfect ending to a wildlife documentary.

Top Democrat proposes killing tax breaks for overseas oil production

Gas prices in the U.S. averaged $4.06 per gallon on Thursday — a major source of voter discontent heading into November's midterm elections.

Police and prosecution errors left proven sex offender free to murder two women in London

Delays to sexual assault charges and failures to report past convictions in court hearings gave Simon Levy chance to attack more women

• Violence against women: has anything changed in policing since Sarah Everard’s killing?

Catastrophic errors left a persistent and proven sex offender free before he murdered two women in London, it can be revealed.

On Friday, an Old Bailey jury found Simon Levy, 40, guilty of murdering Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo in March 2025 and Sheryl Wilkins five months later.

Colombia's new president vows to remake the country — and challenge rebel groups

A new political era for Colombia: a hard-right president promises order, growth and confrontation.

Kemi Badenoch’s weird week: defence of ex-neo-Nazi raises questions over Tory direction

Some in party are delighted by leader’s tack rightwards but opponents have savoured latest Conservative controversy

There was a moment in the middle of this week when a news alert raised eyebrows among the politically committed. It read: “Kemi Badenoch: Former neo-Nazi candidate would just be sorting out bins.” It was a collection of words that might prompt palpitations in the most sanguine of communications professionals, followed by panicked advice that retreat was necessary. But as a deeply weird week for the Conservative party came to a close on Friday, its leader appeared adamant she would hold the line.

With Badenoch accused of aping Reform UK on policy and purging centrists from her party in recent weeks, her decision to stand by a man who was jailed after creating sexualised images of a Jewish MP and calling her a “rodent” has prompted concerns about the leader of the opposition’s political antennae and the Tories’ wider strategy.

Prince to Madonna, Blur to Beth Orton: William Orbit’s 12 greatest recordings

The late producer’s gift for bringing in elements from dance music’s cutting edge drew all manner of music royalty – and he often made them sound better than ever before

• William Orbit, pop producer for Madonna, All Saints and more, dies aged 69

William Orbit’s first band were a curious business. Torch Song had one foot in the pop mainstream – their biggest success came about when one of their tracks was featured on the soundtrack of the Tom Hanks-starring sex comedy Bachelor Party – and one in the left field: they recorded at London’s anarchist hub Centro Iberico, famed for staging gigs by Crass and Throbbing Gristle; they covered the Velvet Underground’s Venus in Furs. Mothdoom Ecstasy is very much of its time – stuttering samples, booming drums – but in its hazy synth textures and ethereal female vocals, you can definitely hear intimations of Orbit’s future approach.

Water rationing begins in Puerto Rico amid drought crisis: "It's brutal"

Puerto Rico's massive rationing measure comes amid a severe drought on top of shortages due to infrastructure issues.

Trump’s attorney general pick Todd Blanche appears to clear last hurdle for confirmation

Bill Cassidy, Republican seen as a decisive holdout, said he is prepared to back Trump’s former personal lawyer

• US politics live – latest updates

Bill Cassidy, the US Republican senator seen as the decisive holdout on Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general, announced on Friday that he will support the pick, setting the stage for a major win for Donald Trump.

Confirmation that Cassidy, of Louisiana, is prepared to back Blanche – Trump’s former personal lawyer, and a loyal ally of the president – appeared to clear the last hurdle of his confirmation process, which had been challenged by the defections of the Republican senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins.

Companies scoff at airlines' cheapest business class tickets. 'The real value is flexibility'

Some companies plan to shun the cheapest business- and premium- economy fares from their executives.

It’s not just Homer: the new generation of poets enjoying epic success

Christopher Nolan’s film has made the Odyssey a bestselling book again, but a slew of new poets are breaking sales records, and have more in common with the ancient Greek than you might expect

The death of poetry – much anticipated, much prematurely mourned – has been put off again, this time by the Odyssey. Thanks to Christopher Nolan’s film, sales of Homer’s epic rose 1,400% in the weeks around release – and it’s not alone. Poetry collections are once again sailing up the charts: Lucas Jones, Donna Ashworth and Nikita Gill, among others, have all burst forth on to the bestseller lists.

The word bestseller, it must be said, conjures up certain images: a TV tie-in cookbook; a sexy thriller. It does not, generally speaking, imply poetry. Poetry is a genre more often relegated to the adolescent, the academic, or the words inside sentimental birthday cards: either over-emotional or elitist, depending on which poet and which perspective. What it certainly is not is a money-spinner: nobody gets into poetry to make the big bucks. Nobody gets into poetry – not these days, anyway, not since Byron’s day – for the fame or the fortune.

When it comes to marriage and divorce, is gen Z the sensible generation? | Van Badham

This happily married gen Xer celebrates the fact marriage rates are down. It shows Australians have the freedom and opportunity to make the best decisions for them

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported last month that the marriage rate is declining. As someone who champions marriage, is married and thinks a wedding is lovely, I think it’s great news.

According to the data, the crude rate of registered marriages per 1,000 residents aged 16 and over fell from 5.5 in 2024 to 5.3 in 2025, with the largest falls occurring among the 25-29s and 30-34s.

Van Badham is a Guardian Australia columnist

Could Meta’s ‘pervert glasses’ be banned across the UK? - The Latest

With more than 7m pairs reportedly sold in 2025, Meta’s Ray-Ban smartglasses are fast becoming the world’s most popular new gadget.

But while supporters say they are transforming photography and accessibility, others have labelled them ‘pervert glasses’, with some UK pubs and restaurants, including Wetherspoons, banning the technology from their premises.

Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s deputy Opinion editor Kirsty Major

Don Lemon seeks dismissal of criminal charges, claims vindictive prosecution

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon's attorneys wrote that Trump's animosity toward Lemon "is well documented, stretching back over a decade."

Tate brothers’ lawyers urge ⁠US judge to release the two from Miami jail on bail

Andrew and Tristan Tate remain in jail as they fight extradition to UK to face charges of rape, assault and more

Lawyers for Andrew and Tristan Tate urged a ⁠US judge on Friday ⁠to release the ​brothers from a Miami jail as they fight the British government’s efforts to extradite them to face charges of rape, assault and facilitating trafficking for ⁠sexual exploitation.

In a filing in Miami federal court, the Tate brothers’ lawyers said their “extraordinary public visibility” would make it impractical for them to try to flee, meaning there was ⁠no need to keep them behind bars until the extradition proceedings end.

Thailand school shooting: eight killed including suspected attacker, police say

Teenager killed his grandparents ⁠before opening fire at school near Bangkok, where more than 30 were wounded

A Thai teenager killed his grandparents before opening fire at his school, where he shot five people dead and took his own life, police have said, in an attack that has shaken a country struggling to deal with gun violence.

The 14-year-old wounded more than 30 people in the ⁠shooting at the prestigious Debsirin Nonthaburi school northwest of Bangkok. Nine people were in a critical condition, the Thai health department said.

These NYC centers allow hard drug use in-house. Nearly 5 years in, is it helping?

An addiction-services nonprofit approved by the city focuses on harm reduction for hard drug users — to the chagrin of some in the neighborhood.

Blanche's path to confirmation appears clear after winning key Republican's support

A key Republican senator, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, said he would back Todd Blanche's nomination as attorney general, smoothing the path for his ultimate confirmation by the Senate.

Iran's chief negotiator accuses Trump of 'theater diplomacy' with Hormuz traffic near standstill

The conflict is broadening across the region, with Gulf energy infrastructure and key shipping choke points under renewed threat.

Colombia on the brink: ELN guerrilla group prepares for return to war

As Abelardo de la Espriella takes office as president vowing a new military offensive, the country’s last leftwing rebels are getting ready to fight back

As the boat approached the riverbank, camouflaged figures watched from the tree line.

Behind them, in the dim understory of the jungle, a commander of the National Liberation Army (ELN) sat with his rifle on his lap, amid the buzz and whine of insects and the thwacks of machetes on bamboo as his troops set up camp, hidden from enemy drones.

Swedish gummies, Parisian linens and Moroccan mint tea: what travel experts always bring home from their trips

Finding treasures is part of the fun of travel. Here, experts share their top tips on what to buy where

Speciality tea

Sam Neill filmed role in Legend of Zelda film adaptation before his death

The New Zealand actor, who died last month aged 78, will appear in live-action movie of popular video game, which is set for release next year

The New Zealand actor Sam Neill completed filming of a role in the forthcoming adaptation of The Legend of Zelda video game before he died, which will be one of his final screen appearances.

According to a report in Deadline, Neill, who died of pneumonia last month aged 78, will appear in the live-action movie, which finished filming in April this year and is set for release next May. Which role Neill plays has not been announced, but fans of the games have suggested that he would be a good casting choice for the King of Hyrule, the fictional fantasy realm in which the Zelda games are primarily set.

Florida man allegedly cut off teen lobster diver's air supply during fight

Former Florida boating safety task force member Michael Simpson was charged with attempted second-degree murder after allegedly cutting off a teen diver's air supply during a confrontation over lobster hunting.

Americans got their biggest raises in 40 years. Inflation took most of it.

The typical American's paycheck has grown faster since 2019 than in any stretch since the early 1980s. But prices climbed nearly as fast, swallowing about 80% of the wage increase.

Experts urge parents exercise caution over popular squishy toys

Squishy toys are all the rage on social media, from popular NeeDohs to other fun fidgets, but parents should be cautious of potential safety issues, as counterfeits may contain hazardous chemicals and attempts to heat or microwave the toys could lead to a dangerous explosion.

Airlines push back against rising ICE arrests at airports

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests at airports have risen. Airlines are saying the arrests could put employees and passengers at risk and are hoping for changes.

‘Not afraid of controversy’: Edinburgh fringe rejects calls to cancel Amanda Knox comedy

Festival organisers defend show after criticism from sister of Meredith Kercher, Knox’s murdered former flatmate

The Edinburgh festival fringe has said it is “not afraid of controversy” after it faced calls to cancel a sold-out show by Amanda Knox, who was wrongfully convicted for the 2007 murder of her flatmate Meredith Kercher in Italy.

Knox’s comedy show, Cartwheel, has been condemned by Kercher’s family, with her sister, Stephanie, saying it “normalises and trivialises violence against women”. A petition calling for it to be cancelled has been signed by more than 9,000 people.

Georgia Hunter Bell: ‘Getting the tube to work I was like … oh my God, I’ve kind of messed up my life’

The favourite for 1500m gold at the European Championships on her second chance after quitting at 23, learning from Keely Hodgkinson and eyeing an LA 2028 double

‘I grew up and was always just good at running,” says Georgia Hunter Bell, as she remembers the moment she felt her career was over at 23. “I always thought that I would be a professional athlete, go to the Olympics, all of that. So it was quite brutal when I had to make peace with the fact that it was not going to happen.”

At that stage Hunter Bell’s body was broken. Her teenage promise – she was the UK’s top 15-year-old having run a 2min 8sec 800m – worn away by injuries aggravated by overtraining in the US collegiate system. She retired; found a job in tech; didn’t run on the track for five years. And then came a comeback straight out of a Hollywood feel-good movie.

Puerto Rico's ongoing water crisis leads to rationing

Puerto Rico's water crisis is worsening amid an ongoing drought and aging infrastructure. Residents in some communities have been without reliable water for over 100 days. Now, over 180,000 households will be without water for 48 hours at a time as government rationing begins.

Employers unexpectedly cut 23,000 jobs in a sign of a wilting labor market

U.S. employers cut 23,000 jobs in July, and job gains for the two previous months were weaker than initially reported, according to a report Friday from the Labor Department.

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey sign Nato-style defence pact amid deadly Houthi strikes in Yemen

Mecca joint defence agreement says an attack on one country will be deemed an attack on all

• Who are the Houthis – explained in 30 seconds

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey have signed a mutual defence agreement, placing three of the Muslim world’s most influential states into a Nato-style pact, as Riyadh confronts attacks from Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen.

The Houthis and Saudi Arabia have increased their military exchanges in the past month and the first test of the tripartite pact long in preparation may come in Yemen.

EA Sports FC 27: what does the next instalment of the world’s biggest football game have in store?

The all-conquering franchise’s revamps are technically impressive, its transfers more true to life – and its new grassroots social hub is surprising fun

As if the world wasn’t sufficiently football-obsessed, it’s time to prepare for the arrival of its biggest football video game. EA Sports FC 27 (the franchise that used to be Fifa – what better time to no longer be Fifa-branded?) is due to be released on 25 September. I just spent two intense days in Vancouver, where the EA FC games are made, playing FC 27 and talking to its developers.

With an annual franchise such as EA FC, it helps to have something fresh to entice regular fans, and FC 27 has a whole new element, entitled the Grounds. It’s a physical hub-type area, similar to the City as seen in 2K’s recent NBA 2K basketball games, but much more pleasant to frequent, split as it is into areas inspired by British, French and Argentinian street-football culture.

Trump voter pleads for fiancée's release after ICE arrest: "They're destroying families"

"They are picking up law-abiding citizens. They're destroying families, jobs," said a Texas man who regrets his vote for President Trump after his fiancée, an immigrant from Venezuela, was detained by ICE.

Scramble to house hundreds camping in Rome heatwave after squat eviction

Officials try to find homes for residents as talks to save social assistance hub collapse amid government crackdown

Rome authorities are scrambling to find homes for hundreds of people sleeping in tents in extreme heat after talks aimed at saving Italy’s most high-profile centre for housing and social assistance collapsed amid a crackdown by Giorgia Meloni’s government on squatted buildings.

The approximately 400 evicted residents of Spin Time Labs, located in a 10-floor building in Rome’s Esquilino district occupied by grassroots groups since 2013, will not be allowed to move back in after its private owner refused Rome council’s offer to buy the property. The residents were forced out at the end of last month.

Out of the blue: James Cameron’s surprise departure would be good for Avatar

The director has yet again hinted that he may step away – but if he does actually relinquish control, it would likely benefit the franchise

After directing the highest-grossing film trilogy of all time, and having spent more than two decades bending technology, studio executives and several hundred million dollars’ worth of underwater motion capture to his will, James Cameron this week signalled that he may be ready to hand the future of the Avatar franchise to another director. Indeed, he bent Hollywood to his will so completely that it became almost impossible in the early 2010s to watch a blockbuster without uncomfortable plastic glasses, and without objects on the screen being hurled pointlessly towards the audience. Still, the Canadian film-maker now appears to be seriously considering handing over everyone’s favourite multibillion-dollar bioluminescent space jungle to someone else.

“There’s been momentum in the Avatar universe for 21 years at this point because we started in 2005,” Cameron told Denise Donlon in an interview for Canada’s governor general’s performing arts awards. “It’s been kind of an unbroken continuum. So this is the point where I’m looking at the landscape and asking, ‘What are the other stories I want to tell? How many of them do I need to direct myself versus writing and/or producing with other film-makers?’”

Volkswagen controlling families call for faster overhaul to fend off Chinese rivals

Volkswagen's top investor on Friday called on the auto giant to take immediate action to fend off intensifying competition from Chinese car brands.

William Orbit, pop producer for Madonna, All Saints and more, dies aged 69

Musician’s projects included Madonna’s Ray of Light, Blur’s 13 and All Saints’ chart-topping singles Pure Shores and Black Coffee

William Orbit, the British music producer whose dreamy yet propulsive style invigorated work by Madonna, Blur, All Saints, U2 and more, has died aged 69.

A statement on his social media, attributed to family and friends, said he died at home on 23 July. “He will be greatly missed by us and by so many whose lives he touched through his music, friendship and kindness,” the statement read. No cause of death was given.

Meet the army of amateur archivists racing to save US history in national parks

Save Our Signs aims to document every sign in the more than 400 national parks and historic sites across the country before the Trump administration removes them

Jenny McBurney was among hundreds of people around the world who sprang into action last year when the Trump administration started deleting government datasets and webpages because they included information about “gender ideology”, environmental justice or diversity, equity and inclusion.

McBurney, a government publications librarian at the University of Minnesota, joined the Data Rescue Project, a group that mobilizes volunteers to archive critical government datasets that are at risk of deletion by the Trump administration.

‘It might be one of the most unpopular tunes ever written!’: kids’ TV composers tell all

Big cheques, standing ovations, irate adults – there are surprising sides to composing a children’s TV theme tune. From Bluey to Byker Grove, the creators of the best reveal the secrets

How do you write TV theme music for children? Does it make you mega-rich? And does the tune itself eventually drive you (and parents everywhere) nuts?

We tracked down the creators of half-a-dozen of TV’s greatest children’s show themes in order to find out. As Bluey’s Joff Bush told us: “The key lesson is that if you’re going to write a theme tune, make sure you really like it because you’re going to hear it a helluva lot!”

Cocktail of the week: Half Cut Market’s peaches & cream – recipe | The good mixer

A frozen piña colada-style boozy drink/dessert

A frozen drink and a classic dessert all rolled into one. Instead of piña coladas and getting caught in the rain, we’re whipping up these and manifesting a sunny summer.

Jayma Voorheis, general manager, Half Cut Market, London N7

Weather tracker: central and western Europe brace for more sweltering heat

High 30s celsius forecast for France, Spain and Italy next week, before affecting Germany, Poland and Czechia

Another pulse of heat is expected to affect central and western Europe next week. The latest forecast models show daily maximum temperatures well into the high 30s celsius widely across France, Spain and Italy during the first half of the week, while Germany, Poland and Czechia will experience the highest temperatures towards the end of the week. The shift in the focus of the heat as the week progresses can be attributed to the movement of high pressure. At the start of the week, low pressure centred in the Atlantic and high pressure centred over the low countries will draw warm air from southern Europe northwards into parts of France. During the working week, the high pressure will slip a little farther south and east, enabling the warm air once situated over western Europe to make inroads into parts of Germany and central Europe.

The heat in central and western Europe this summer has been unrelenting. Last week’s weather tracker highlighted record-breaking temperatures for the month of July in Austria. However, only a few days later, on 4 August, the all-time record was shattered with 41.0C achieved in Stammersdorf, north-east of the capital, Vienna. This comfortably broke the previous all-time record set in August 2003 by 0.7C. Unbelievably, that record was broken again the following day when 41.2C was recorded in Deutsch-Altenburg. Slovakia also set an all-time record on the same day, of 41.4C. The continuing European heatwave, associated with a vertically extensive anticyclone, raised the freezing level above 4,000 metres across much of the Alpine region. This represents a level in the atmosphere well above many Alpine glaciers, accelerating the seasonal melting process. On the opposite side of the Atlantic, 51.8C was recorded in Badwater, California, the highest temperature in the US for 2026 so far.

Feds could scrap rules requiring airlines to disclose airfares in full

A Transportation Department proposal could obscure the cost of a plane ticket, aviation experts warn. Here's what to know.

A new vaccine could vanquish a major cause of deadly diarrheal disease

Over 1 million people a year die from diarrheal disease. Nearly half are kids under age 5. A new vaccine in trials offers great hope.

The July jobs numbers are due out Friday. Here's what to expect

Nonfarm payrolls are expected to post a gain of just 83,000 with an unchanged unemployment rate at 4.2%.

China is gaining ground in AI. But the U.S. still has a major advantage

Chinese AI companies have made recent leaps in closing the performance gap with U.S. frontier labs.

Black barrister was told ‘it’s not for defendants’ at London court car park

Stephen Akinsanya says being mistaken for defendant shows lack of progress on racism within legal system

A black barrister has said a security guard told him he could not park in a court’s car park in London because “it’s not for defendants”.

Stephen Akinsanya, who in June was awarded an OBE for raising awareness of youth knife crime and its prevention, said the incident, at an east London court about four weeks ago, illustrated the lack of progress on racism within the criminal justice system.

The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – review roundup

The Salt King by Natasha Pulley; A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett; Netherwood by Jake Arnott; Fawn by CN Vair

The Salt King by by Natasha Pulley (Gollancz, £22)
The latest from the author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street blends an apocalyptic end-of-the-world tale with folk horror and two slowly developing love stories. Avelyn Brocken is a trainee priest at the Vatican, sent to check out a possible miracle in the fens of East Anglia. His only qualification for the job is that he was born and raised in Hreodwater, a strange community based around a salt mine with its own language, religion and rituals. But what begins in Hreodwater, involving the mysterious salt light and a sleeping king deep in the mine, threatens civilisations. An original, rich and gripping tale that’s also an interesting exploration of the power of faith.

A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett (Hodderscape, £25)
A new case for Ana and Din, the crime-solving team introduced in the Hugo and World Fantasy award-winning novel The Tainted Cup, focuses on a murder among the cattle-ranching gentry of the Empire of Khanum. The murderer has been caught red-handed, unable to remember what happened. The victim was his lover, and their families were enemies; he is the last of his line, and fears his family is cursed. The detectives suspect a more material and dangerous adversary behind the scenes, with access to a terrifying weapon. This is the sort of other-world fantasy with close ties to speculative fiction, based on natural laws and science rather than any magical system, and some of the issues it raises are of immediate concern in today’s world of shrinking resources. Great world-building and a masterfully conceived mystery make for a compelling cross-genre blend.

Add to playlist: the anxiety-ridden sugar rush of Tiffany Day and the week’s best new tracks

Day’s latest album Halo is all high-energy exhaustion, injected with a crushing electroclash chaos that illuminates her insecurities in bright neon

From Los Angeles
Recommended if you like Slayyyter, Charli xcx, Underscores
Up next Halo out now. UK and Ireland tour starts in December

Right now popstar breakthrough and burnout are a hair’s breadth from one another. Enter Tiffany Day, a Wichita-raised artist who first went viral in 2017 when a video of her singing Hallelujah on a school trip blew up online. She spent the subsequent years unsuccessfully chipping away at building on that virality, cycling through acoustic guitar covers and bedroom R&B. Only by channeling her frustrations into this year’s anxiety-ridden sugar rush Halo did Day finally regain her early momentum.

‘Walking sausage’: the giant stick insect that proves it’s not over till we give up

Also known as the tree lobster, this ultra-rare creature was inadvertently driven to the brink by European settlers

• Revealed: the top 10 invertebrates of the year

When small species are left alone to evolve for centuries on small islands, they often become larger. Quietly, over thousands of years, Dryococelus australis grew to a great size on Lord Howe Island, in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand.

But the peaceful life of the Lord Howe Island stick insect, an invertebrate of such gargantuan proportions that it is also fondly known as the tree lobster, was destroyed by European settlers. In 1918, a shipwreck brought black rats to the island. The flightless insects were once so common they were used by settlers as bait for fishing, but the rats wiped out the entire population on the island in just two years.

Trump targets birthright citizenship. And, Iran aims to ban U.S. from Strait of Hormuz

President Trump says he has signed two new orders targeting birthright citizenship. And, Iran is aiming to ban U.S. ships from the Strait of Hormuz.

Five years and $122m later, North Sydney Olympic swimming pool has finally reopened. Was it worth the wait?

The famous art deco pool has taken so long to renovate that some lifelong patrons died waiting. On Friday, its lanes were once again filled with swimmers

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On a sunny Sydney Friday afternoon, a group of extremely athletic people in sailor costumes float merrily across a stretch of water, encased in inflatable spheres. On land, similarly dressed athletic people slowly pull them along with strings as the performers strike acrobatic poses and wave to passersby.

In the background is Sydney Harbour, its famous bridge and the Opera House. To the right, Luna Park’s iconic gates and a ferris wheel.

Boeing 737 Max operators told to check fuselages for cracks

Inspections ordered by US regulator will affect about 470 aircraft, after reported problems in earlier models

• Business live – latest updates

The US aviation regulator has ordered inspections of the fuselages of Boeing 737 Max planes for possible cracks in a component.

The Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness directive will affect an estimated 471 aircraft and follows reports of cracks in earlier Boeing models.

With their assault on science, Trumpists aren’t just harming America – they’re harming themselves | Jan-Werner Müller

The administration is subjugating science to political imperatives, a major blow to US soft power and technological progress

The Trump administration is waging an unprecedented war on institutions devoted to research and higher learning. While plenty of countries have harmed universities by imposing neoliberal logics on academia – creating artificial markets in the name of spurring professors to be more productive – the Trumpist subjugation of all science to political imperatives has no equivalent in a democracy; if anything, it is reminiscent of Stalin’s Soviet Union. The assault now also targets foreign students and any kind of international collaboration – a major blow to US soft power. Why are Trumpists engaging in what can only be described as an act of wanton self-injury?

Project 2025’s Russell Vought, the director of the office of management and budget, initiated the rule change that would make any federal grant subject to review by political appointees – including funds for science that so far have been allocated through judgment by first-rate fellow scientists. This measure would furnish Trumpists with a new weapon to threaten universities along the lines of: “Nice medical school you have there – pity if something were to happen to it because your administration had failed to come into alignment with the president’s priorities.”

Jan-Werner Müller is a Guardian US columnist and a professor of politics at Princeton University

Fancy fresh cabbages next spring? Then it’s time to get sowing

Spring cabbages sown now will grow swiftly and then overwinter in your garden

If you told primary-school-age me that I’d one day love cabbage, I would have laughed and called you a liar. Despite how much school dinners tried to put me – and likely, you – off this green-leafed staple, I’m happy to say that my taste has been rehabilitated. Yet, for all the love I have for the humble cabbage, it is not a crop I grow. And it is for the same reason that lots of grow-your-own classics don’t make it on to my plot: I don’t have enough space. For a vegetable that is so inexpensive and ubiquitous, I simply can’t justify it.

But if you’re fortunate enough to have a decent-sized patch – or just a strong desire to grow cabbages – then it’s a good time to get them started. Spring cabbages sown now – in good quality sowing compost in a modular tray – will grow swiftly in summer’s ideal conditions. They will then overwinter in the ground all the way through to next spring, when they will be ready to pick.

Everyone's talking about hormone therapy for menopause. Should I be on it?

For years, doctors advised against hormone therapy for women in the menopausal transition. Now everyone's talking about how great it is. Is it really a wonder drug that women should all be on?

Strange Loops: Clarinet Quintets album review – drama, imagination and sonic flair

Van de Wiel/Soloists of the Philharmonia
(Signum)
Clarinettist Mark Von de Wiel performs music by Anna Clyne, Ruth Gipps and Weber

Mark van de Wiel was principal clarinet of the Philharmonia from 2000 until 2025, during which time he gave the UK premiere of Anna Clyne’s Strange Loops. The title, derived from Douglas Hofstadter’s 1979 bestseller Gödel, Escher, Bach, describes a cyclic system where, by moving up or down through different hierarchical levels, you unexpectedly find yourself back at the beginning.

Composed during lockdown, Clyne’s klezmer-inflected musical loops do just that, multiplying and mutating with syncopations and sidesteps and yet somehow reaching a satisfying conclusion. It makes a buoyant, yet bittersweet opener, meticulously realised by Van de Wiel with violinists Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay and Fiona Cornall, Nicholas Bootiman on viola and cellist Karen Stephenson.

Trump orders new 15% tariff on key material for solar panels and microchips

Move to raise levy on goods made with polysilicon aims to protect domestic US supply chains from China, the major producer

Donald Trump has ordered a new 15% tariff on imported products made of polysilicon, an important ingredient in microchip manufacturing that is primarily produced by China.

The new tariff, which will take effect on 4 December, is aimed at supporting US chip and solar panel supply chains to compete with Beijing on artificial intelligence and energy.