Patrick Clancy, ex-husband of Lindsay Clancy, opens up on children’s killings in first televised interview

In a 60 Minutes interview, ex-husband describes moments leading to the 2023 killings

In his first televised interview, Patrick Clancy, the ex-husband of Lindsay Clancy, described the moments leading up to the 2023 killings of their children and how he coped in the aftermath.

Patrick Clancy responded to online criticism and conspiracy theories from people who supported Lindsay Clancy and believed he did not provide enough care to his wife at the time.

Police allege mother stabbed three children in Blue Mountains leaving one child dead

Bystanders found all four on the side of the road at Valley Heights on Sunday with stabbing injuries

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Police have alleged that a mother was behind a stabbing attack on three young children that left one dead and two others fighting for their lives in hospital.

The woman, aged in her 40s, is also in a critical condition.

John Farnham tribute: Céline Dion, Chris Martin and Hugh Jackman honour ‘living legend’ at livestreamed concert

Though the man of the hour is unable to attend, fans flock to Rod Laver Arena and cinemas nationwide to celebrate the songs of an Australian icon

At a Sydney shopping centre on a balmy Sunday evening, hundreds of people gathered to watch a concert that, according to its host, Richard Wilkins, would set a new livestreaming record for Australian cinemas.

Experiencing a Rod Laver Arena event with popcorn in a cinema chair was unusual in itself – but so too was the fact that its hero, John Farnham, would not be performing, or even in attendance.

Bessent meets with Chinese counterpart ahead of Trump-Xi summit

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, ahead of the planned summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping this week.

Ukraine war briefing: Russia to ‘intensify’ attacks on Kyiv after Moscow hit with mass drone strikes

At least two killed in Moscow and oil refinery set alight on last day of Russia’s parliamentary elections. What we know on day 1,671

The black robin, once down to just a single breeding pair, wins NZ bird of the year

Fondly known as the ‘goth’ of New Zealand’s bird world, the black robin now has a population of 350 adults thanks to a pioneering breeding programme

The black robin, once the world’s rarest bird before an extraordinary conservation project brought it back from brink of extinction, has been crowned New Zealand’s bird of the year, after record voter turnout.

The tiny bird is found only in the Chatham Islands, 800km east of mainland New Zealand. Called kakaruia in Māori and karure in Morirori – the language indigenous to the Chathams – the birds are also fondly known as the “goth” of New Zealand’s bird world, for its striking black plumage, black eyes and a little pointy black beak.

Macron and Carney announce closer France-Canada ties amid Trump tensions

Two leaders meet in French territory off Canada as Ottawa seeks stronger relations with EU while fighting trade war with US

The leaders of France and Canada have pledged closer ties to grapple with rising geopolitical tensions, climate change and the erosion of democratic values, after ⁠they met in a ⁠French territory off Canada’s Atlantic coast.

The two leaders’ visit to Saint-Pierre ​and Miquelon – the first by a French president since 2014 and the first by a Canadian prime minister – came just weeks ⁠after Donald Trump posted an image showing the islands, as well as all of Canada and other countries in North America, covered by the US flag.

Bessent calls meeting with China Vice Premier He Lifeng 'successful' ahead of Trump-Xi summit

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said his meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng was "successful" ahead of the Sept. 24 Trump-Xi summit.

ICE agent shoots and wounds man in Austin, Texas

The lawyer for the man identified him as a 28-year-old Venezuelan national, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez. Officials said he was shot at least once in the torso and was in serious but stable condition.

Star Trek tech catches up with present day

This month marks 60 years since the first episode of Star Trek aired on TV, and Dave Malkoff shows how all these years later, the future is now.

More than 800,000 bees stolen across far north Queensland in ‘sophisticated’ operation

Apiarists will lose not just the insects but the value of pollination contracts, which can be worth thousands of dollars

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An estimated 800,000 bees, worth tens of thousands of dollars, have been stolen from properties in far north Queensland.

The industry is already reeling from the this month’s arrival of the varroa mite parasite.

Newsom signs "Jay Leno's Law," allowing classic cars to hit the streets for short trips

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill known as "Jay Leno's Law," allowing high-emission classic cars to hit the streets for short trips. Adam Yamaguchi has more details.

Ed Sheeran resumes tour with no openers: "I'm so, so sorry"

This weekend, British pop star Ed Sheeran resumed his concert tour in Philadelphia, with no openers, amid a world of controversy. Jared Ochacher reports from outside Lincoln Financial Field.

Tariffs, inflation, trade wars taking toll on American farmers

America's farmers face a tough harvest this year with trade wars, tariffs and inflation all taking a toll. The cost of diesel hit a new record, averaging $6.50 a gallon, nearly a dollar higher than last month. Lana Zak reports from North Liberty, Iowa.

Trump faces pressure as midterms inch closer

President Trump triggered a showdown over the First Amendment after several journalists had their White House access revoked this weekend. The ban followed a week of bad economic news for the president. Aaron Navarro reports.

ICE agent shoots and wounds man at traffic stop in Austin, Texas, officials say

Anti-ICE protests break out in push for transparency as unnamed man is in serious but stable condition at hospital

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and wounded a man on Sunday afternoon in Texas’s capital of Austin, local authorities said, and anti-ICE protesters quickly gathered at the scene.

The unnamed man was in serious but stable condition at a hospital after being shot once in the torso on the city’s north side, Austin’s police chief, Lisa Davis, said at a news conference with the mayor and other city officials.

Trump to meet Mamdani tomorrow in New York City

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Trump have met at least twice since Mamdani was elected last year.

‘A terrible, terrible accident’: Cubs’ Bregman undergoes CT scans after taking foul ball to face

• Third baseman was standing near on-deck circle

• Player taken to hospital for X-rays and CT scan

Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman was taken to the hospital for tests after being struck in the face by a foul ball while standing in front of the on-deck circle during Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds.

Bregman underwent X-rays and CT scans, and the team were hopeful he would be able ⁠to travel back to ⁠Chicago on Sunday ​night. The Cubs are off Monday before beginning a three-game home series against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday.

Can Trump and Xi cooperate to guide humanity through the AI revolution? Humanity might depend on it | Alan Finkel

The CEOs of tech firms issue stark warnings over the rate of change, with AI capability doubling every four months

Recently, Jacob Coxon, a researcher at Anthropic, quit his job over concerns that AI was on a collision course with humanity. A flurry of headlines put the spotlight on the current crisis: unregulated competition between technology companies and between the US and China is putting our global infrastructure at risk at the very least, and threatening human existence at worst.

One’s mind fills with pictures of robot armies or systematic blackmail.

Federal immigration agent shoots and injures man in Austin, Texas

The person shot is in serious but stable condition, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said in a press conference.

Poison suspected in deaths of ten lions in game reserve in Tanzania

The lions were found dead inside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a popular wildlife reserve in Tanzania. Deaths raise concerns over wildlife poisonings in East Africa.

The Split Up review – this soapy divorce drama is loads of lavish, nonsensical fun

Sanjeev Bhaskar plays a patriarch handing over the family firm in a spinoff of The Split. It’s full-on sudsy fun right from the off

I do like a soap that doesn’t hang about. That works itself up to a creamy lather and invites you to shut the bathroom door against real life and dive into a hot bath with it immediately for a much-needed break.

The Split Up delivers full-on sudsy fun from the start. From the team behind The Split, it’s another glossy tale of a family-run family law firm specialising in the never-too-complicated divorce cases of any high net worth individuals in their vicinity. This time, it’s written by Ursula Rani Sarma instead of Abi Morgan, the family is British South Asian and the location is Manchester not London, but beyond that it’s very much business as usual. A case of the week functions as the still eye of the ever-growing storm composed of the love lives, personal concerns and professional ambitions of the interrelated lawyers and their friends, colleagues and enemies – who are often, of course, one and the same thing. Mild glamour meets much plot; viewer happiness ensues.

The Split Up is available on BBC iPlayer

NFL roundup: Bears QB Caleb Williams carted off in loss to Vikings; Saints stun Ravens

• Caleb Williams leaves game with leg injury

• Tyler Shough’s late touchdown cheers New Orleans

Carson Wentz passed for 143 yards, Aaron Jones Sr. rushed for 105 yards, and the visiting Minnesota Vikings (2-0) escaped ⁠with a 9-3 win over the Chicago Bears, who lost their quarterback to a hamstring injury.

Evenepoel wins fourth world time trial title in a row, Reusser retains her crown

• Remco Evenepoel dominates men’s event in Montreal

• Marlen Reusser denies Zoe Backstedt in women’s race

Remco Evenepoel etched his name into the history books with a dominant fourth successive men’s world time-trial victory in Montreal on Sunday.

The 2024 Olympic champion came into the race as the overwhelming favourite and he did not disappoint. Evenepoel was already more than 30 seconds ahead of the rest by the second intermediate time check, just over halfway along the 39.2km (24.4 mile) route.

More than a dozen arrested in connection with 2021 assassination of Haitian president

Jovenel Moïse, 53, was shot dead in July 2021 in a killing which sparked chaos in Haiti

Eighteen people have been arrested in association with the 2021 assassination of the Haitian president Jovenel Moïse, according to US officials.

Moïse, 53, was shot dead on 7 July 2021 at his private residence by a hired group of about 20 military-trained Colombian mercenaries. His security detail did not intervene to protect him.

Carrick disputes Cunha’s claim that Manchester United lacked energy in Fulham draw

• Michael Carrick insists team ‘kept pushing’ for leveller

• Matheus Cunha: ‘Fulham put in more energy than us’

Michael Carrick rejected the suggestion that his Manchester United players lacked physical fitness after they snatched a last-gasp 1-1 draw at Fulham on Sunday. The statistics showed the home side ran a collective 6.6km more than United, whose goalscorer in the 89th minute – Matheus Cunha – was critical of his team’s efforts.

United were poor after the restart at 0-0, leading up to a disastrous Lisandro Martínez own goal in the 63rd minute, with Cunha saying they had to give more. “In the beginning of the second half, Fulham put in more energy than us and we cannot accept this,” Cunha said.

Cassidy: Trump needs to be "radically honest" on vaccines amid measles outbreak

GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana urged the president to be "radically honest" when he's speaking about vaccines, as the U.S. this year has recorded the most measles cases in more than three decades.

UK minister warns of impact of Trump’s Iran war on next month’s budget

Bridget Phillipson says Burnham’s past criticisms of US president not an issue as PM prepares to meet Trump at UN

Next month’s budget will be made more difficult by Donald Trump’s war with Iran, one of Andy Burnham’s cabinet ministers has said, while adding she did not expect the prime minister’s previous disparaging comments about the US president to be an issue.

Burnham is expected to meet Trump early next week at the UN general assembly summit in New York, the pair having previously spoken twice by phone since Burnham entered No 10.

18 suspects in killing of Haiti's president being extradited to Florida for trial

Eighteen suspects who were arrested in the July 2021 killing of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse​ were awaiting extradition to the U.S. on Sunday.

Trump to meet with NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday ahead of UN General Assembly

The mayor's press office said the meeting will take place at Gracie Mansion and "will focus on issues affecting New York City and New Yorkers."

Middle East braces for more violence as Iran claims US is planning to renew bombing campaign

Tensions grow as Trump tells Fox News he is considering ‘wiping Iran out’ after attacks on Riyadh by Houthi rebels

Governments across the Middle East are bracing for an escalation of violence after Iran claimed it had received intelligence that the US was preparing for a renewed bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic.

In a potential sign of growing tensions before the UN general assembly in New York this week, Donald Trump cut short a weekend visit to the Camp David presidential retreat on Sunday with no official explanation, and a new security alert was issued by the state department to all US citizens in the Middle East.

Full transcript of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Sept. 20, 2026

On this "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" broadcast, Reps. Ro Khanna and Maria Elvira Salazar join Margaret Brennan.

Friedrich Merz vows to stay in office after CDU ‘disaster’ in German state elections

Far-right AfD wins in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and leftwing Die Linke on course for victory in Berlin

Germany’s embattled chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has vowed to stay in office and fight for future-proofing economic changes despite heavy losses for his conservatives in two state elections, one to the far right and the other to a leftwing party.

Preliminary results indicated Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) tallied just 4.9%, below ⁠the 5% threshold needed to enter the state parliament and indicating they may be excluded altogether. It would be the CDU’s worst-ever state score, which Merz called a “disaster”.

Elvira’s fairytale crumbles at the last to hand Spaun PGA Championship title

• World No 294 lets victory slip in agonising fashion

• JJ Spaun triumphs by two shots at Wentworth

We will come to JJ Spaun and Jeremy Clarkson later. Only those without an ounce of compassion in their body could feel no sympathy for Manuel Elvira. The Spaniard, without a professional win to his name, stood on the 18th fairway at Wentworth’s West Course with one of golf’s most extraordinary stories in his grasp. Having just eagled the 71st hole and found the short grass on the friendly par five, the 30-year-old who began tournament week as the world’s 294th ranked player knew a birdie would seal the PGA Championship title. A par would force Spaun into a playoff.

What happened next was a form of sporting torture rather than the realisation of a fairytale. Elvira pulled his layup into a bunker, flew the green, fluffed a chip into another sand trap and missed a bogey putt from 4ft. He did exceptionally well not to burst into tears. The disastrous 18th meant Elvira finished in a four-way tie for second place. Even Spaun, a winner on his Wentworth debut, had to be bashful at the manner of success.

Salazar tells Trump on Hispanic voters: "Preserve that fortune"

GOP Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida warned in a campaign ad last week that President Trump's immigration enforcement policy has "gone too far."

Trump says proposed arch will also be a "top grade Military Complex"

President Trump said that he has agreed to convert plans for a massive triumphal arch into a "top grade Military Complex," equipped with snipers and drone storage.

Christopher Kane and Mulberry make swaggering joint comeback at London fashion week

Appointment of Kane as creative director signals the return of serious style ambition for former It-bag brand

With spicy leather mini-dresses and shoes with miniature axes for heels, two beloved British names made a swaggering joint comeback at London fashion week.

Fifteen years ago, Christopher Kane and Mulberry were two of the biggest shows on the line-up. Kane was the brilliant young designer who could find fashion in the most unlikely places: rubberised lace minis were inspired by “Princess Margaret on acid”; while illustrations from the 1972 classic The Joy of Sex appeared on slinky slip dresses. Mulberry was London’s home-grown It-bag brand: anyone who was anyone had a Bayswater or an Alexa.

Jonathan David earns Atlético precious win over 10-man Real Madrid in fractious derby

On the eve of the derby, Diego Simeone described this as a special week in Madrid, a “tremendous energy about the city”, and it closed the way he wanted. He had enjoyed the Formula One, he said, and he had enjoyed seeing Shakira in concert, but he enjoyed this even more. At least he did by the time the last of many, many blows on the referee’s whistle brought it to an end, sprinting up the tunnel punching the air. Having been 2-0 up against 10 men through goals from Álex Grimaldo and Jonathan David, seemingly in control, a late header from Antonio Rüdiger awoke old ghosts and brought tension, but they did it.

José Mourinho’s first derby back at Real Madrid ended in defeat and recriminations: he turned up in the press conference with a picture of two moments in which he claimed that Lee Kang-in and Cristian Romero should have been sent off and insisted the story was there. And yet there are other questions: over the way Dean Huijsen gave away the penalty and got the red card that tilted the game against them, and how his team played, how little they did.

AI, data center alarms dominate Congressional Black Caucus week in Washington

AI interests pro and con turned out for the Congressional Black Caucus's annual gathering in Washington as the topics — plus redistricting concerns — dominated.

Germany's Merz vows to press ahead with reforms after historic state election defeat

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has faced a major electoral setback in two state elections, with his center-right party losing ground. The far-right Alternative for Germany party made significant gains.

Maresca dismisses title talk as ‘too early’ after Manchester City take over at the top

• ‘I prefer to win 1-0 than 5-3 but expected a difficult game’

• Semenyo scored twice in 5-3 victory against Sunderland

Enzo Maresca dismissed ­Manchester City pulling ahead in the title race after Sunday’s 5-3 win over Sunderland, with the manager stating it is “too early” in the season.

The frantic victory at the Etihad Stadium gave City 15 points from their opening five league matches, three more than Arsenal after the champions lost at Brighton on Saturday. Maresca was asked about his team being top before the three-week international break.

Trump says proposed 250-foot arch will be used as military complex

President Trump posted on social media early Sunday that his proposed 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery will be used as a military complex, saying there will "large numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage."

Ella Baron on our evolving relationship with AI – cartoon

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Man, 82, dies after brawl with 76-year-old over sunlounger on Greek beach

Row at Athenian riviera resort turned violent after two elderly bathers reportedly argued over shortage of loungers

Greek police are investigating the death of an 82-year-old man after a brawl over a sunlounger at a beach on the Athenian riviera.

The man had arrived at the popular bathing spot of Vouliagmeni before 10am on Sunday hoping to secure a sunbed, but he soon began arguing with a fellow bather – described by authorities as a “76-year-old man unknown to him” – when it became clear loungers were in short supply.

The Guardian view on AI v mathematicians: humans are still vital to the field, but tech firms refuse to see that | Editorial

OpenAI claims its agents have solved the Navier-Stokes problem. But questions remain about how useful and independent its work really is

On 8 September, OpenAI claimed that its AI agents had solved the Navier-Stokes problem, one of the most famous and difficult challenges in mathematics. Had a human solved it, they would have collected both prize money and plaudits from their fellows. The announcement instead ignited what some mathematicians have called an “existential crisis” in their field over the power of AI, and accusations that OpenAI misused human work.

The maths behind Navier-Stokes is difficult to understand, but the critiques levelled by mathematicians will be familiar to artists, office workers, or anyone else concerned about AI. OpenAI’s results, like any arising from a large language model, depend on digesting work by human mathematicians. The OpenAI paper cites sources, but many believe the company didn’t give sufficient credit, especially to several mathematicians believed to be very close to a solution – bad form that erases human ingenuity and hogs all the glory. The mathematician Tristan Buckmaster also has concerns that work he was doing on Navier-Stokes using OpenAI’s Codex model was seen by the OpenAI team. OpenAI has denied directly accessing this material, but could not rule out that data from Buckmaster’s use of their products “helped improve our model”.

European spy chiefs warn Moscow is planning more decisive action against Nato

Exclusive: Intelligence officers say Russian campaign could intensify ‘in months, not years’ – but that panic risks playing into Kremlin psy-ops

European intelligence officials have raised the possibility of an imminent Russian test of Nato, with one saying a potential attack could come in a matter of “months, not years”.

The warnings come after Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, told parliament that intelligence assessments suggested Russia might launch an attack with drones or missiles on Nato territory in the coming months, as part of efforts to prove that “article 5 is more theoretical than practical”.

‘An out-of-touch Silicon Valley radical’: meet Trump’s AI whisperer pushing for limited regulation

David Sacks convinced Trump against any restrictions on AI – putting the White House out of step with its own party

As lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in the US have joined together calling for the regulation of powerful artificial intelligence models, one of the few vocal naysayers has been Donald Trump. He’s called the perceived dangers of the technology a “hoax” and a “scam”, arguing that the government already has “tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these companies”.

It’s a starkly different stance from those of his former adviser Steve Bannon, the Republican Texas senator Ted Cruz and even the heads of the world’s leading AI companies. But it’s directly in line with the opinion of David Sacks – a prominent billionaire venture capitalist and Trump’s onetime AI and crypto czar, who has pushed back publicly and forcefully against recent claims of an impending AI apocalypse.

‘I suck at breaks’: a day in the life of an aerial cellist

Cellista, an aerialist who regularly performs upside down with her cello, shares what her life looks like training for the stage

Mastering the cello is hard enough, but Cellista also regularly performs upside down. She’s based in Las Vegas, but the aerialist spoke to us while traveling in Germany, and told us about what her life looks like training and writing for the stage.

‘I feel betrayed’: inside Ed Sheeran’s controversial return to the stage

Some fans were hesitant to turn the page after Sheeran’s tour resumed in Philadelphia after the removal of Macklemore, who spoke out in support of Palestine

“This is not usually how I would open the show,” Ed Sheeran told the crowd at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday night, a humble preamble to a three-plus-minute speech addressing the greatest controversy of his career. Shaky-voiced and stealing glances at the monitor at his feet, he looked every bit the chastened superstar.

“I have tried in my career not to be a political commentator of any kind, because I want my music and shows to be about unity, not division, about humanity, not politics, but this is a humanitarian issue and I cannot hide how I feel about it any more,” Sheeran said. He described the Hamas-led attack at the Nova music festival in Israel on 7 October 2023 as “horrific”, and expressed heartbreak over civilian deaths in Gaza and the West Bank, describing the situation as “catastrophic and unjustified and disproportionate”.

Trump says his D.C. arch will serve as 'military complex' with snipers and drones

President Trump has claimed that military operations are needed at his proposed triumphal arch in Washington D.C., in order to protect national security. A federal court is weighing the arch's legality.

Hungry for connection? This is what we lose when we stop eating together | Shadi Khan Saif

Mealtimes offer a pause in the day for parents and children to sit together, listen to one another and trade stories

• Making sense of it is a column about spirituality and how it can be used to navigate everyday life

When I was growing up in a Muslim household, food was rarely just food. As the youngest child, my job was to bring out a large water jug with a matching basin pot and soap to help the family wash their hands. Mum would distribute freshly baked breads to everyone to have with the soup or curry. Dad would have me sit next to him as he presided over the gathering – asking questions, giving directions all the while passing food and utensils around. My older brother would take turns helping everyone wash their hands.

There was even a small ritual around something as ordinary as a piece of bread. If it fell on the ground anywhere in the house or was even seen on the ground outside, we would pick it up, clean it, kiss it respectfully and place it somewhere clean and safe. Food was not to be treated carelessly.

Adults with severe mental illness die 15 to 20 years earlier from diseases such as cancer

Exclusive: Stark health inequalities in terms of deaths before age of 75, NHS data reveals

Adults with severe mental illness are nearly five times more likely than their peers to die from serious physical diseases before the age of 75, according to research.

The analysis of NHS data by the Rethink Mental Illness charity reveals that people with severe mental health problems die 15-20 years earlier than the wider adult population, largely due to preventable physical conditions.

‘The fears begin to fall away’: why Britain’s mosques are opening their doors to public

As attacks on Muslim places of worship rise, more than 100 mosques this weekend have offered conversation, food and friendship to challenge prejudice

At one mosque in north London, a woman shouted at worshippers that more of their children should be killed, as children had been in Gaza. On another occasion, gas pipes were ripped from the building and reconfigured so leaking gas built up inside it.

These are among a series of incidents the London Islamic Cultural Society has faced in the past three years. But rather than retreat behind closed doors, the mosque has opened them wider. It is one of more than 100 across the UK, including in London, Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester, Glasgow, Southend and Cardiff, that have invited in members of the public this weekend to learn more about Islam and British Muslims.

9/20: Face The Nation

This week on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," President Trump faces a pivotal week ahead in foreign policy as the House is recessed until after the midterm elections. Reps. Ro Khanna and Maria Elvira Salazar join, as well as Sen. Bill Cassidy.

Henry Herford obituary

Baritone with an appealing tonal quality who was an enterprising explorer of song and more than 70 roles in opera

The Scottish baritone Henry Herford, who has died aged 79, was notable for the breadth of his repertoire – offering sterling performances of often neglected works – and his warm, appealing tonal quality.

He began his career in the Glyndebourne Opera Chorus (1977-78). In those years he also impressed in small solo roles, as a well-projected, spontaneous Forester in Cunning Little Vixen and the Speaker in Magic Flute. He returned to Glyndebourne in 1981 as a fiery Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and with a powerfully delivered Boris Pasternak (a key figure who narrates the action) in Nigel Osborne’s Electrification of the Soviet Union (1987-88).

Bear-y good neighbors: humans and animals are learning to live together in an expanding LA

People are increasingly crossing paths with the wild animals as homes ring the outskirts of forests, sparking a new era of coexistence

Every year, as summer draws to a close and fall begins, California’s bears get hungry.

Black bears have long roamed the state, hunting for acorns, ants and pine nuts by the bucketload to pack on calories before hibernation. But increasingly, for every berry and root, there’s an even greater temptation: our trash and the detritus of human existence.

Bernie Sanders is right about the four-day workweek – but wrong about how to get there

The senator proposed a federal overtime rule mandate, but incentives can better spur employers to reshape the workweek

Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator, recently proposed new legislation that would change federal overtime rules. The new law, if passed, would require employers to pay a minimum 1.5 hours of overtime for each hour worked past 32 hours in a week. Currently, overtime kicks in at 40 hours per week. The requirement would phase in over a few years.

Sounds great. Who wouldn’t want that? There’s just one problem: somebody has to pay for it. For business owners, this isn’t an ideological argument. It’s math.

Pedal-car racing and bowling for trams: photos of the weekend

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

Retiring Smithsonian head Lonnie G. Bunch III: "You can run from history, but you can't hide"

In 2019, Bunch became both the first historian and the first African American to serve as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. As he prepares to retire, he talks about the museums' mission to protect history, and give America a full picture of itself.

Patten and Skupski take Great Britain past Ecuador to reach Davis Cup Final 8

• GB pair win doubles match in straight sets

• Finals to be played in Bologna in November

Few people across London enjoyed a more soothing night’s sleep than Leon Smith on Saturday. After an ideal first day for his team in their Davis Cup qualifier against Ecuador, where his singles players handled business efficiently, the Great Britain captain had the luxury of calling upon one member of each of the two best doubles pairs in the world to close out the tie.

In just their second match as partners rather than rivals the world No 1, Henry Patten, and Neal Skupski, the US Open champion a week ago, played their roles to perfection as they convincingly sealed their place in the Davis Cup Final 8 with a clinical 6-3, 6-4 victory against Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo, securing for Great Britain an unassailable 3-0 lead. Harry Wendelken, the British No 7, closed out the tie with a 6-2, 6-3 win against Angel Veliz in the dead rubber.

In a world of wars and climate crisis, a new leader could save the UN. But would Trump allow it? | Steve Bloomfield

As the organisation meets this week, it remains the best hope for restoring order. But it relies on goodwill from the US president – and that is lacking

If all goes to plan, at some stage in the coming weeks 15 diplomats will emerge from a small sound-proofed room deep in the bowels of the United Nations headquarters in New York and announce the organisation’s next secretary-general.

The person they choose will face a combination of challenges unlike any that their predecessors have had to deal with. Two of the security council’s permanent members, the US and Russia, are engaged in wars of choice that have no end in sight. A UN commission of inquiry has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, but the UN has effectively been reduced to the role of bystander, pushed out by Donald Trump’s Board of Peace. The climate crisis is creating a cascade of new humanitarian disasters, while every day now seems to bring a new security threat caused by the unregulated rise of AI.

Steve Bloomfield is the former international editor of the Observer and a previous winner of the Orwell prize

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.

Trump claims triumphal arch will serve as a ‘top grade military complex’ to store weapons

US president on Truth Social claims his new plan for the 250ft arch comes at the ‘strong request’ of the US military

Donald Trump is proffering a new argument for building his triumphal arch in Washington DC: it will be converted into a “top grade military complex” replete with drone and ammunition storage space and customised sniper facilities on the roof and plaza.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday morning, Trump claimed that his new plan came at the “strong request” of the US military. He said the 250ft structure would be able to “house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage”.

‘I got married in it’: readers on their favourite secondhand fashion finds

To mark Oxfam’s Second Hand September, here are some of your best thrift discoveries and the stories behind them

Oxfam’s Second Hand September campaign encourages people to avoid buying new clothes for 30 days and choose preloved pieces instead. From £28 Prada skirts to £5 wedding dresses, we asked people to share their favourite fashion finds and the stories behind them.

My mum has died - and every decision I make about her belongings feels wrong | Polly Hudson

Until now I’d never realised how much work is involved in sorting out a parent’s affairs, and how much heartbreak

In all the talk of the five stages of grief, I don’t recall one of them being spending hours on hold to energy suppliers. Perhaps I misunderstood, though, and that’s entirely what they’re about. This call won’t take long (denial); aargh, are they ever going to answer? (anger); if I hang on for five minutes more, they’ll definitely pick up (bargaining); they are never, ever going to pick up (depression); and I live on hold now – this is my life (acceptance).

You hear the term “sadmin” bandied about, you understand there’s paperwork to do after somebody dies – but until it’s you who has to do it, you don’t realise how much, what it entails or how encompassing it is. My mum’s death has basically become my full-time job. The hours are terrible, the pay is worse and the promotion prospects sobering, to say the least.

Which leader from history does the world need now?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

• Last week’s replies: What would be the most useful superpower?

It’s clear that the world as it is – considering the climate crisis, the rise of nationalism, geopolitical tumult, the possibility of AI killing us all by the end of the decade – could do with some more ethically astute and capable leadership. If you could timewarp them into the present day, which leader from history could the world do with now – and why? Bernard, Machynlleth

Post your answers (and new questions) below or send them to [email protected]. A selection will be published next Sunday.

PHOTOS: The precarious life of fisherfolk

In the bustling heart of the southern Indian city of Chennai is a market that never sleeps, where residents from the poorest neighborhoods wage a battle of survival with the sea.

Michelle Bachelet withdraws from race to become UN secretary general

Former president of Chile drops out after support collapsed in security council straw poll, leaving seven candidates in contest

Michelle Bachelet, a former president of Chile, has withdrawn her candidacy to become the next secretary general of the ⁠UN, ending an attempt ​that had struggled to gain traction among security council members.

Bachelet, 74, announced ⁠her decision in a video posted on Instagram on Saturday, saying: “I will now continue, with the ⁠same determination as always, my international work.”

‘I have nothing in the UK at all’: British man torn from his Swedish wife and home

Charles lands at Heathrow with just two bags and nowhere to go as a result of Brexit and Stockholm’s hardline immigration position

Doubled over a Heathrow baggage trolley, the former British business director is sobbing uncontrollably, exhausted emotionally and physically after being deported from Sweden.

Hours earlier the 65-year-old had been marched on to a plane in Stockholm, separated from his home and his Swedish wife after a five-year battle to stay in the country after Brexit came to an end.

How to make the perfect apfelschmarrn – recipe | Felicity Cloake's how to cook the perfect …

This fruity central European pancake dish can be served as part of a main course or as a dessert. Our resident perfektionistin flips through a selection of the best recipes

Schmarrn, or schmarren, Anja Dunk writes, is “peasant food at its best: filling, simple and comforting”. The usual English translation, pancake, a dish we generally associate with delicate desserts is, I think, somewhat misleading; schmarren, as it’s also spelled, bears very little resemblance to a thin, lacy crepe, and instead sits somewhere between our own plump, rich Shrove Tuesday numbers and a batter pudding. Indeed, you’ll find it on the sweets section of restaurant and cafe menus, but in Germany, Dunk reports in her book Strudel, Noodles and Dumplings, it “passes as a main meal, not dessert, because it is very filling and not particularly sweet in flavour”, and also, I suspect, because “it takes 10 minutes to make from start to finish” and is therefore a brilliantly quick supper. (“Quite frankly,” she adds,” as a mother, I find this recipe a godsend.”)

Austro-Hungarian in origin, it’s eaten in both Germany and Austria, and there are many variations, including kaiserschmarren (studded with rum-soaked raisins), savoury potato schmarren, semolina schmarren and bread schmarren, though fruit, often apples, but also stone fruit or berries, seems to be the most common pairing. Whether you’re serving this as a main course (it goes very well with sausages) or afterwards, it’s a very handy addition to the repertoire, especially when paired with soured cream or ice-cream.

US environment agency let Bayer pick regulations for destructive weedkiller, documents show

Environmental Protection Agency asked firm to choose rules it wanted for dicamba, then put the choices in a proposed federal rule

The EPA allowed pesticide giant Bayer to pick from a menu of regulation options for the controversial and destructive weedkiller dicamba, newly released internal agency documents show.

The documents provide an unusually clear look into the process of developing pesticide regulations, which is typically done out of public view. It shows in detail how the EPA asked Bayer which regulations it wanted, received a response from Bayer, then put Bayer’s choices into a proposed federal rule.

Budget airline king Bill Franke warms to first-class seats and premium upgrades

Serial airline investor Bill Franke is embracing more upmarket changes like first-class seats.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang emerges as Trump's top ally in AI safety debate

Jensen Huang's position as the leader of the world's most valuable company, has earned him Trump's ear on the most important topics in AI.

Ed Sheeran says situation in Gaza ‘unjustifiable’ in first show since tour plunged into turmoil

Pop star has faced boycott calls since rapper Macklemore was removed from tour after shouting ‘free Palestine’ at concert

Ed Sheeran has opened a solo concert in Philadelphia with comments about Gaza, saying what is happening is “catastrophic and unjustifiable”, in his first show since his tour was plunged into turmoil.

“My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, of children’s lives,” Sheeran said on Saturday, adding that he wanted his music and shows to be about unity and humanity, not politics.

Caitlin Moran: social media went from utopia to hellhole in a decade – if you want to feel hopeful again, get offline

Fourteen years ago, Twitter was the fastest, funniest game on the web. Now I’ve been driven out by so-called ‘online activists’. The only answer is to unplug and try this instead

God, I love social media! I cannot believe my exquisite luck – to exist in a time when it was invented! Bliss it is in this dawn to be @live! If you’ve not been on Twitter yet – please join! It’s kind of like a cross between your best ever pub, and the bit on Live & Kicking where celebrities like Duran Duran were doing the phone-in, and you could ring in and talk to them. Literally! Because Duran Duran are on Twitter! Well, Simon Le Bon is. And Spandau Ballet, too! Well, Gary Kemp. And they’re really funny. During the royal wedding with Kate and William, when all the lesser royals were herded on to some shitty coaches, Kemp was horrified.

Dining across the divide: ‘He suggested the Clacton byelection was a vanity project. Obviously I disagree’

A Reform politician and an NHS worker had different takes on Nigel Farage, but could they agree on renewable energy or tax policies?

Chris, 42, London

Occupation Electrical supervisor of the maintenance team at an NHS hospital

‘It’s transformed the village’: the volunteers greening up Britain’s train stations

Exclusive: Five gardening teams shortlisted for Royal Horticultural Society’s new Railway Stations in Bloom award

Every year since 1964, towns across the UK have bloomed with hanging baskets and brightly coloured flowerbeds planted by residents.

They wield their trowels in aid of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Britain in Bloom competition, a coveted accolade for the 1,600 communities that enter each year.

In New Orleans, an empty building becomes a free store — and roller skating rink

In the Lower Ninth Ward, an old Family Dollar stands covered in graffiti. It looks abandoned. But inside, it's a treasure trove — clothing, home goods, toys and books. And everything is free.

Andros Townsend avoids injury after bizarre pitch roller incident in Thailand

• Former England player run over while warming up

• ‘It turns out Stoke away wasn’t so bad,’ says winger

The former England winger Andros Townsend has joked Stoke away “wasn’t so bad after all” following a bizarre incident in Thailand where he was run over by a pitch roller.

The former Tottenham and Crystal Palace attacker currently plays in Thai League 1 for PT Prachuap and made headlines on Saturday night when a clip emerged on social media which showed the 35-year-old being taken out before a fixture at Pattani.

AI slowdown calls justified but collapse of bubble may be more immediate threat | Heather Stewart

Scale of debt issuance being used to fund the hectic pace of the datacentre rollout by tech firms is a worry

Warnings about powerful and uncontrolled AI have dominated the headlines this past week. But even amid the omens of apocalypse, it is still worth asking if the entire AI-industrial complex is sailing towards a financial iceberg.

It will hardly be our most pressing concern if the bots are poised to take over the world, but a collapse of the AI bubble would have repercussions far beyond the US.

Judge orders Fox to hand over hundreds of documents in shareholders' case

Fox Corp. must turn over hundreds of documents that could shed light on how founder Rupert Murdoch handled some of his media companies' biggest scandals.

Dominic West backs ‘top shagger’ Byron in poetry battle with Bob Geldof

Actor hails ‘proto-rock star’ as best poet, while musician argues for ‘Ireland’s Shakespeare’ WB Yeats at Somerset festival

Dominic West has said Lord Byron is his favourite poet because he was a “top shagger” and said he was not concerned the rise of AI might snuff out poetry.

The actor was taking part in a “poetry battle” at the Big Brue festival in Somerset, against rock star Bob Geldof, who said he preferred the Irish poet WB Yeats to the excesses of Byron.

This is how we do it: ‘As a Catholic monk, I was celibate. But sex with Orla feels so natural’

Rory left the monastery after feeling lonely; with Orla, herself a Catholic, he’s been making up for lost time

• How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

We had sex after a week. I remember thinking afterwards wow, everything has changed

Kimchi tuna and beetroot halloumi: 10 easy, delicious lunch bowls to make for work – as suggested by chefs

A ‘packed lunch revival’ is under way among office workers who want to eat more healthily. From bread salads to rice bowls, food experts offer their ideas

Nearly half of office workers are making packed lunches more regularly than they were a year ago, thanks to the rising cost of buying food on the go, according to new research. Does this mean employees will be lunching on soggy sandwiches and ultra-processed snacks? Apparently not.

The survey, by online supermarket Ocado, found the “packed lunch revival” was, in part, driven by a rise in the number of people opting for more nutritious “lunch bowl” options, often inspired by ideas shared on social media. With this in mind, we asked food writers and chefs how to make the perfect lunch bowl – something to brighten up your break, and keep you feeling satiated until you clock off.

U.S. childcare costs are astronomical. More families are turning to grandparents

Grandparents taking care of their grandkids is nothing new. But the surging cost of childcare in the U.S. has made familial support even more critical for some parents who struggle to afford it.

Ukraine fires over 1,000 drones at Russia, including hundreds launched at Moscow

Moscow's mayor described the wave of drones as the "largest ever" attack on the Russian capital and said there had been damage to a Moscow oil refinery and a residential building.

‘Resident Evil movies? I’ve never seen one’: Weapons director Zach Cregger on resurrecting the beloved zombie franchise

Raised on punk, alt-comedy and the church, Cregger’s Lynchian approach to horror is anything but typical. After two wildly original hits, his pivot to a 30-year-old video game has caused a storm among protective fans

When Barbarian, Zach Cregger’s debut film as a solo writer-director, came out in 2022, it was a big success, creating a buzz among horror connoisseurs, garnering good reviews, and grossing $46m. Then his second film, Weapons, came out in 2025 and did even better. Mounting industry buzz around the project crystallised into a fierce bidding war; Jordan Peele was reportedly desperate to produce and, incensed by his failure to secure the rights, allegedly fired his managers. The rumours went viral, resulting in a wave of incredible PR that saw the film wildly outperform box office expectations and win an Academy Award (for Amy Madigan’s blunt-fringed, bonsai-pruning best supporting actress turn as instantly classic villain Aunt Gladys).

Even if Cregger had not had a box-office smash that crossed over into awards contention, there would still be an atmosphere of hushed expectation around his next move. Both Barbarian and Weapons addressed hot-button issues – sexual assault and school shootings, respectively – while resisting easy interpretation. Both, too, started out seemingly heading in one narrative direction, before thrillingly careening off elsewhere. Thus, with just two features, Cregger had established a reputation for totally terrifying, utterly unpredictable and – most importantly – genuinely original movies.

‘We broke the rules:’ why chef Ferran Adrià is the subject of new TV drama

Six-part drama Gènesi tells the story of Adrià’s Catalan restaurant El Bulli from the day he arrived as a kitchen hand

Revered and reviled, during the 28 years he presided over El Bulli, a small restaurant in a remote corner of Catalonia, Ferran Adrià changed cooking for ever.

Now he is the subject of Gènesi (Genesis), a six-part TV drama screening on Catalan television with a worldwide release later in the year that recounts the story of El Bulli from the day he arrived there in 1983 as a kitchen hand with no background at all in haute cuisine.

Taryn Simon on her most ambitious exhibition yet: ‘It’s built almost like a novel’

The multidisciplinary artist delves into pockets of history, including within her family, for the largest ever debut of new work staged at the Guggenheim

Taryn Simon is seated in a conference room at the Guggenheim, looking dazed. Her new show, Father Country I Do Love You, opens in under three weeks. It’s a big deal, the first monographic exhibition by a photography-based artist in the iconic spiral rotunda, and the largest debut of new work ever staged at the museum. There’s still a lot of work to be done.

Downstairs, the lobby is being transformed into the Bangkok living room of Jim Thompson, a silk businessman-slash-spy who disappeared in 1967. Simon’s father, a US government worker, was living in Thailand at the time and figured that the Chinese got him, if not a tiger. When Simon was nine, the father and daughter recreated Thompson’s famous wood-panelled den back in Long Island. “And then I built it here with fake teak,” she says, voice wilting. “It’s driving me nuts. I’ve spent so much time trying to make non-teak look like teak.”

NPR's College Podcast Challenge is back for 2026

Students: It's time to turn on the mic and hit 'record.' Send us your podcasts and we'll pick the best ones. It's $5,000 for our grand prize and $500 for our finalists.

Thousands of pregnant women in England are reporting domestic abuse. Midwives are struggling to cope

Exclusive: Analysis ‘lays bare’ something midwives already know from their day-to-day work

About 20,000 disclosures of domestic abuse are estimated to be made to maternity services in England every year, analysis has found.

The figures are likely to be an underestimate of the true scale of disclosures, according to experts, highlighting the role maternity professionals play in identifying abuse.

10 of the best mountain huts in Europe: bunkrooms, bothies and bonhomie

Beautifully situated refuges with superlative views offering sanctuary to intrepid hikers and climbers

A good mountain hut, I reckon, should be small and only accessible on foot after considerable effort. Throw in a bit of historical interest and I’m bound to be happy. In which case, Cabaña Verónica in the Picos de Europa is a fine start to this list. It sleeps six, and at 2,325 metres requires a two-hour trek from the nearest cable car station, never mind road. It has incredible views and a friendly custodian who keeps things in good order. Yet the real attraction is that this place was formerly a gun turret of a US navy battleship that was scrapped in Bilbao in 1960. An enterprising engineer, Conrado Senties, had it carried up on horseback and reassembled on a plug of rock in the middle of nowhere. Don’t ask why, just enjoy the eccentricity.
€15, reservarefugios.com

Reαd carefully: how to spot – and avoid – a homoglyph attack

Scam emails are increasingly using psychological tricks, such as using near-identical URLs like miсrosoft.com

You’ve read the email carefully and it looks legitimate. The link it asks you to click on has none of the usual red flags: there are no weird numbers or extra parts to the URL. You feel safe to proceed.

But if you had looked slightly closer you may have noticed something slightly wrong with one of the characters. Just as in the headline of this piece where instead of “a” we used the Cyrillic “α”.

It just goes to show that the split-second decision you make when clicking a link is often the most vulnerable part of the whole security chain.”

Are global stock markets heading for a crash?

Economies thrown into renewed turmoil as AI debt, Iran war and soaring government bond yields fuel alarm

At the height of the summer, the mood was optimistic in the world’s financial capitals. Powered by the AI revolution, the US stock market had rallied to a fresh all-time high, as investors bet the multitrillion-dollar investment spree would overshadow the hit from the Iran war.

Now the warning lights are flashing red. As the fighting in the Middle East intensifies without clear sign of a resolution, financial markets have been thrown into renewed turmoil. A slowdown looms in the AI arms race, and tinderbox conditions in the market for government debt are fuelling alarm.

Ms Rachel, the controversial queen of toddler TV: ‘My goal isn’t to be the most liked. It’s to help kids and speak the truth’

Her catchy videos have racked up billions of views, but Rachel Accurso’s statements on everything from Gaza to LGBTQ rights have caused a stir. She talks about screen time, song fatigue and speculation she might enter politics

The YouTube star Ms Rachel, toddler whisperer extraordinaire, spots me before I clock her, and even from a distance and without her trademark pink T-shirt and denim dungarees, she is instantly recognisable by her wave, which is accompanied by an enthusiastic bounce. I half expect her to say, “Hi, friends”, as she does at the start of many of her videos. Instead she bounds over, wearing a classic off-duty mum uniform – Sesame Street sweatshirt, grey leggings, baseball cap that reads “Mama” – and removes her oversized sunglasses. She’s very sorry, she says, rubbing her eyes, that she is so tired – but her manner remains unfailingly, characteristically peppy.

It is only seven years since Rachel Accurso, who used to be a preschool music teacher, uploaded her first video to YouTube, a counting song for preschoolers called Bubble, Bubble Pop!. She and her husband, Aron Accurso, who worked as a music director on Broadway, made the video because their one-year-old son had a speech delay and there seemed to be a dearth of quality videos online that could help toddlers learn to speak.

Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv denounces Russia’s inclusion of annexed regions in parliamentary elections

Ukrainian officials call the move illegal while European Commission condemns ‘another blatant violation of international law’ in parliamentary poll. What we know on day 1,670

Strictly Come Dancing review – delighted new hosts help show feel genuinely fresh

The presenters look terrified and some of the celebs are hard to identify, but Strictly remains a rare refuge of joy

At this point, Strictly Come Dancing cannot be allowed to fail. When we’re all living off our Wes Streeting-mandated prepper rations, it’s the only thing that will keep us going, linking us to a time when joy, sparkle and diversity brought the nation together. Enshittification stalks the show – it has long felt too repetitive, its celeb lineups seem to get feebler each year, and the departure of longstanding presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman threatened to be a lethal blow – so there’s a lot riding on this new series.

“Strictly Come Dancing – still fabulous,” said the continuity announcer introducing the launch show, not sounding entirely sure.

The moment I knew: On a bike ride, she did a bunny hop over a speed hump – her pure joy for life delighted me

Anna Malos and Georgie bonded over their shared love of travel and horses. By their third date, an awkward encounter cemented their relationship

• Find more stories from the moment I knew series

Georgie and I met at a kick-boxing club in London in 2004. We sparred together in a few beginner classes, just hitting soft pads. Although I didn’t pay her too much attention initially, I immediately recognised she was tall, elegant and very good looking.

It wasn’t until the club’s Christmas drinks that things kicked off between us. We started talking and couldn’t stop. We’d both travelled and worked in Latin America, and also loved horses – Georgie had volunteered with a horse-riding business for tourists in Ecuador. The sparks were flying all over the place.

‘I feel like I’m cancelling out her life’: the wrenching work of clearing out a parent’s home

From old love letters to pieces of string, our homes are stuffed with stuff. When it comes time to empty a parent’s home, sorting the junk from the memory can be overwhelming

Soon after her marriage in 1952, Ellen Rogers’ mother, Fay, bought a coordinated bedroom ensemble – a floral dressing gown and matching bedspread. The day I talk on the phone with Rogers, she has made a tough decision – she is putting the gown and bedspread in a garbage bag to be sent off to a charity shop. “I feel so bad,” she says.

Fay died in May aged 97, and had lived in the same terrace house in Camperdown in inner Sydney her whole life. Rogers grew up in the house and returned three years ago to be a live-in carer for her mother. Now she’s cleaning out the house so it can be sold. The decisions she must make are endless; which pile for what item – family, rubbish or charity? “It’s overwhelming – there’s so much,” Rogers says, “including every bloody card she ever received.”

CNN, MS NOW and Politico staffers barred from White House after Trump ban

President Trump said Friday that three outlets would be banned from the White House, "effective immediately."

The Black women who choose to have children on their own: ‘We’re going in eyes open’

With growing support networks online and in person, these moms say they’re changing the narrative around Black single motherhood

When Chamise Alston was ready to have a child, she connected her computer to her TV and scrolled through profiles with her best friend, dismissing people who seemed like the wrong fit. Unlike the average millennial on a dating app, Alston was scanning a sperm bank catalogue for potential donors. The Maryland-based therapist hoped to conceive a child through the assisted reproductive technology in vitro-fertilization (IVF).

That winter day in 2023, Alston and her friend chose a donor who would help her become pregnant with her now 16-month-old daughter. As a Black woman, she felt empowered taking control of her reproductive destiny.