Cyclosporiasis outbreak traced to lettuce from Mexico used by Taco Bell

A lettuce supplier to fast-food giant Taco Bell has been linked to a nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened thousands of people, the CDC said.

Taylor Farms pulls iceberg lettuce linked to cyclosporiasis outbreak

Taylor Farms said none of its branded salads or kits contain the iceberg lettuce associated with the outbreak.

Fact checking Trump's new claims of election interference

In a primetime address on Thursday evening, President Trump accused China of interfering in U.S. elections as he questioned the integrity of the country's voting system. CBS News' Jake Rosen fact-checks his claims.

Paul Pelosi faces hit-and-run charge after he allegedly crashed into parked vehicle

Husband of Nancy Pelosi has traffic infractions in California stretching back at least to 2011, according to public records

Paul Pelosi, husband of US congresswoman and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, is facing a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge after he allegedly crashed into a parked vehicle and left the scene in early July, the Napa county district attorney announced on Friday.

No passengers were in the struck car, authorities said, but the vehicle was left with “major” damage. A spokesperson for the Pelosi family told several outlets in a statement that Paul apologized to the owner of the vehicle and was assuming responsibility for the damage.

7-foot-3 former pro basketball player sworn in as Texas police officer

At 7-foot-3, Jordan Wilmore was told his entire life that he was destined for a career in basketball. But that was never his dream. Steve Hartman has the story.

Jimothy, an unusual raccoon with a possible spinal condition, embraced by a Seattle community

Jimothy the raccoon has a condition known as short-spine syndrome, but he has been embraced by a Seattle community and the internet alike.

One person dies amid legionnaires’ disease outbreak in New York City

Officials haven’t released additional information about the person’s identity, age or details on when and how they fell ill

A legionnaires’ disease outbreak that has sickened dozens of people in New York City has claimed its first life, health officials said Friday.

Officials didn’t release additional information about the person’s identity, age or details on when and how they fell ill.

Trump revisits disputed claims about elections but offers no new proof of fraud

In a primetime address, President Trump alleged the U.S. election system falls "catastrophically short," revisiting a topic that has drawn his attention for years — and making claims that election experts have heavily disputed.

House panel probing Epstein asked Leon Black about birthday book, their friendship

Billionaire Leon Black, who paid Epstein $158 million for tax advice, was subpoenaed for a second interview with the House Oversight Committee in September.

Maps show wildfire smoke forecast, air quality alerts in swath of U.S.

Heavy smoke from several large wildfires blazing in Canada and Minnesota is engulfing large swaths of the Midwest and the U.S. East Coast this week.

ICE shared Medicaid data it wasn't supposed to have with Palantir

The revelations came out in a federal court case brought by Democratic states challenging ICE's access to Medicaid data to aid in deportation efforts.

DHS Secretary Mullin doubles down on Trump's claims of election tampering

President Trump had harsh words for China in his speech on Thursday night. After calling President Xi Jinping a friend at a summit in May, he accused the communist country of "sinister election meddling." Ed O'Keefe has more details.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires blankets major U.S. cities for third straight day

Millions of Americans across major cities continued to face dangerous air conditions on Friday as smoke from Canadian wildfires lingered. Tom Hanson reports.

Rivers rise in Texas Hill Country after heavy rain, rescue efforts ongoing

Rivers across Texas Hill Country were still rising on Friday, after the region got more than two feet of rain. The downpours that began Monday were finally winding down, but the danger is not over. Jason Allen reports and Eric Fisher has the forecast.

Leather jacket worn by Nvidia CEO goes for just under $1 million at Sotheby's auction

The high price for the garment is a sign that collectors are looking to bid on artifacts and collectibles from the artificial intelligence boom.

‘A revolutionary act to watch it’: the film India’s censors do not want you to see

Director Honey Trehan decries ‘dystopian’ opposition to his film depicting crackdown on Punjab’s separatist movement

For as long as he has been a film-maker, there is one story Honey Trehan has wanted to tell above all.

Growing up in the Indian state of Punjab, Trehan saw firsthand the devastation wrought by police who carried out tens of thousands of killings and illegal cremations in the 1990s, as they cracked down on a separatist insurgency. To those in Punjab, the period remains one of the darkest in India’s modern history. Jaswant Singh Khalra, the activist who exposed the crimes and was murdered in the process, is a national hero.

Feeding Our Future fraud ring's alleged No. 2 appears in court after Somalia arrest

Forty-two-year-old Abdikerm Eidleh appeared in federal court in St. Paul on Friday, just weeks after he was arrested in Mogadishu.

Ex-wife says ICE agent who killed man in Maine had racist beliefs, violent tendencies

Ashley Brouillette has identified her ex-husband, David Brouillette, as the officer who fatally shot Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday. She said she learned he was the officer responsible when he called her on Wednesday.

Republicans threaten Canada with sanctions over drifting wildfire smoke

Fires are also blazing across the US and the Trump administration has repealed several climate protections

US Republicans are threatening to sanction Canada and Canadian government officials after smoke from devastating wildfires has drifted across huge swathes of the US, creating hazy conditions and dangerous air quality for tens of millions of Americans.

Donald Trump on ⁠Friday blamed ⁠his country’s northern neighbor for ​the smoke spreading from ⁠wildfires and said he planned to call ​Mark Carney, the Canadian prime ‌minister, ‌ to ‌ask about Ottawa’s plans for dealing with the blazes.

Cuban dissident artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara cleared to travel to US

Whereabouts of artist imprisoned after 2021 protests had been unknown following end of his prison term in July

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, a prominent Cuban dissident artist whose whereabouts remained unknown after his prison sentence ended last week, has been given permission to travel to the US, according to his official Facebook page.

Otero Alcántara, designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2022 for insulting national symbols, contempt and disturbing the public order.

Voter data Trump claimed China obtained is easy to get in most states

President Trump called China's acquisition of voter information "the largest compromise of election data in history." In 20 states, anyone can get this information with a simple public request.

Off-duty employee at Colorado ICE facility arrested for shooting protester

Woman has non-life threatening injuries after Brandon Booth shot her with pistol outside ICE facility and drove off

An employee of a company that runs an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Colorado is under arrest after shooting and injuring a woman on Thursday evening. The incident happened after the woman participated in a protest in front of the facility earlier that day, according to the Aurora police department.

When officers arrived on the scene, they said they found the woman with a gunshot wound in her lower body. She had a friend with her, who was unharmed.

DeChambeau will play on at the Open despite anger over two-stroke penalty

• American’s participation over weekend was in doubt

• DeChambeau: ‘I don’t agree with it, but it is what it is’

Bryson DeChambeau’s ongoing participation in the Open Championship was in doubt until after midnight on Friday, after extraordinary scenes at the conclusion of the 32-year-old’s second round at Royal Birkdale.

DeChambeau was handed a two-stroke penalty for improving the line of his swing in thick rough, with the scenario prompting a furious response from the American. The sanction shifted DeChambeau out of second place – one stroke behind the leader, Lucas Herbert – and left him in a tie for fifth.

7/17: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Trump claims catastrophic election vulnerabilities without proof; Washington Post identifies installation failures as cause of Reflecting Pool damage.

US launches seventh night of Iran strikes as Hormuz conflict escalates

Central Command says attacks were designed to ‘continue degrading Iranian military capabilities’

The US military said it had launched a seventh consecutive night of strikes on Iran on Friday night as fighting escalated over the strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command, in a post on X, said the strikes, which began at 7pm GMT, were designed to “continue degrading Iranian military capabilities”.

‘Leo has surpassed Diego’: after two decades Argentina embraces Messi

The little maestro has hitherto lived in the shadow of Maradona who has for so long coloured the soul and defined the passion of football in Argentina

It is time to consign Diego Maradona’s Hand of God to a museum piece. For 40 years that moment and Maradona’s unforgettable “goal of the century” coloured the soul and passion of Argentinian football. Today things are very different, and the main reason is Lionel Messi. By asserting himself over the memory of Maradona, Messi is establishing a new Argentina.

An impressive 2–1 semi-final victory over England showcased a revitalised Argentina who go into Sunday’s final against Spain relying on a simple, powerful weapon: excellent football.

Analysis: Fed Chairman Warsh faces an inflation credibility test after Congress hearings

The new Fed chairman avoided major stumbles in two days of testimony before the House and Senate, but faces a rapid test of his commitment to price stability.

Smoke, travel and Trump threaten New York’s grand World Cup finale

Wildfires, transport issues and the appearance of the president could overshadow the final for a city that has embraced the tournament

The thick smoke that has engulfed New York and much of the eastern seaboard over the past few days has drawn wry smiles in Dallas and Los Angeles, where locals will watch on with a sense of schadenfreude when the World Cup final takes place in the New York New Jersey Stadium (usually known as the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey) on Sunday.

The Dallas and Los Angeles stadiums, which were passed over when Fifa awarded the final in February 2024, are more impressive venues without the same climatic risks as New York, which was chosen because of its global appeal and favourable timezone for European television audiences.

Spain could make World Cup history: The first to win men's and women's trophies back-to-back

The Spanish Men's National Team will face Argentina in Sunday's World Cup final. The country's women's team lifted its first World Cup trophy in 2023.

Epstein victims blast Trump attorney general nominee Todd Blanche after meeting

"Todd Blanche treated the meeting as a mere 'check-the-box' exercise intended to secure votes for his confirmation," said Epstein survivor Dani Bensky.

Economic outlook is worsening and Trump is getting blamed, CNBC survey finds

The public is as depressed about the economy as it has been since the years just after the pandemic, according to the All-America Economic Survey.

Trump encourages Darline Graham to run for Lindsey Graham's seat

Darline Graham indicated in a White House meeting Thursday that she's weighing a bid, CBS News confirmed. A day later, President Trump wrote on Truth Social: "RUN, DARLINE, RUN! "

FAA lets Boeing sign off on 737 Max, 787 airworthiness certificates again

The move is a vote of confidence in Boeing from the U.S. government.

Move over, Super Bowl? There's an even bigger – and splashier – World Cup halftime show coming

The show, which will begin somewhere around 3:45 PM ET, will air in the U.S. on Fox, Fox One and in Spanish on Telemundo, as well as on the Fox Sports app and streaming in Spanish on Peacock. It's expected to run for about 11 minutes.

China signals possible return of U.S. trade privileges for Hong Kong

The decision comes two months after President Donald Trump met with Xi Jinping, potentially warming ties ahead of Xi's expected U.S. visit.

God’s will? Destiny? Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal, that photo and the World Cup final

The boy in the baby bath has unbelievably become the successor to Messi at Barcelona and now, maybe, on the world stage too

“Maybe Lionel Messi has picked up lots of babies, maybe it’s chance, but for those of us who have faith, who believe in something beyond, ‘chance’ is God’s pseudonym when he doesn’t want to sign his name,” Luis de la Fuente says. “In life, everything happens for a reason. Sometimes it’s true that the circle isn’t closed, but in my view there’s something else, something … I don’t know, mystical, spiritual.”

Contemplate the scene, gaze upon the image of this World Cup, and you may be inclined to agree with Spain’s coach, to reach out and touch faith. How else to comprehend this? You will have seen the picture and will certainly see it again, and still it won’t make sense.

The new $1 Trump coin doesn't just buck norms. Experts say it also breaks laws

President Trump's face will appear on a new commemorative coin honoring the nation's 250th birthday. It's one of the many unusual places his likeness has popped up this year.

Andy Burnham promises to end Labour infighting as he becomes party’s leader

Government has ‘last chance’ to get it right, says incoming PM, while anxiety surrounds his choice of chancellor

Andy Burnham pledged to lead a united Labour government free of infighting and factional politics as he took over as leader, despite anxiety on the left of party about the prospect of Shabana Mahmood as chancellor.

Burnham, who will become prime minister on Monday, set out a distinctly leftwing vision for Britain. He promised to undo the Thatcherism of the 1980s, bring in more public ownership of utilities, find the money to fix social care and build a new generation of council homes.

Trump has declared war on elections in the name of protecting them | Austin Sarat

The president’s Orwellian speech on Thursday was just the latest instance of his denialism. It is up to us to resist

On Thursday night, Donald Trump did it again, trashing another American tradition with his primetime address from the White House’s East Room about election integrity. Other presidents have used such speeches in times of national emergency, to announce major new policies designed to improve Americans’ lives or to honor American traditions.

Not Trump.

This week on "Sunday Morning" (July 19)

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

Iran says civilian infrastructure hit by latest U.S. strikes, expands attacks to Syria, Bahrain

The escalating standoff comes as the fragile truce signed by the U.S. and Iran last month showed further signs of unravelling

The week around the world in 20 pictures

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, wildfires in Europe, ICE in Maine and the World Cup semi-finals – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists

Feline good: why kitten heel flip-flops are winning over flats-only gen Z

From Lily Collins at Wimbledon to the cast of Love Island, heels-averse cohort is stepping it up a notch

Gen Z, the flats-only generation, has finally succumbed to the heel – albeit a tiny one. Long vocally anti-heel, the cohort who were born between 1997 and 2012 have famously shunned millennials’ obsession with Jimmy Choos in favour of pancake-flat shoes, from the Adidas Samba “It-trainer” to the split-toe Margiela Tabi and so-called “French girl ballet flats”.

But they now appear to be embracing a potential gateway heel, typically measuring in the region of 1.5in (3.8cm) or the height of a triple-A battery.

Tom Pidcock surges up standings while Mauro Schmid wins Tour de France stage 13

• British rider moves into fourth in general classification

• Schmid claims first Tour win after mass breakaway

Tom Pidcock leapt up the overall standings in the Tour de France, briefly climbing as high as second place, after a fulminating stage to Belfort ended in a first Tour win for Switzerland’s Mauro Schmid.

Pidcock was one of the key instigators of a mass breakaway that formed on the rolling roads of the Jura and Doubs, on the long approach to the 9km climb of the Ballon d’Alsace, overlooking Belfort.

Iceberg lettuce at Taco Bell linked to cyclospora outbreak in 5 states

Federal health officials have identified a single supplier of the produce from Mexico that was served in Taco Bell restaurants in five states.

The U.S.-Iran battle over the Strait of Hormuz raises risks for global waterways

Recognizing Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz could set a dangerous precedent, with other countries attempting to claim important waterways, analysts say.

Brenda Fricker, Oscar winner who played Pigeon Lady in "Home Alone 2," dies

Brenda Fricker won an Academy Award for 1989's "My Left Foot," played the Pigeon Lady in "Home Alone 2" and appeared in "A Time to Kill" and "So I Married an Axe Murderer."

Democratic socialists top MAGA candidates among voters in CNBC's All-America poll

The survey's findings come as democratic socialist candidates win Democratic primaries following the 2025 election of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The Odyssey: is Nolan adaptation worth the hype? - The Latest

Christopher Nolan’s star-studded take on Homer’s Odyssey has received rave reviews from critics and is one of the most hotly anticipated films of the year. The three-hour Imax blockbuster has an estimated budget of $250m and a star-studded cast including Matt Damon, Zendaya and Tom Holland. But will it live up to expectations? Annie Kelly speaks to film editor Catherine Shoard

The Guardian view on Andy Burnham: political poetry must become governing prose | Editorial

Larkin, Harrison and Shakespeare shaped Labour’s leader. Now comes the harder task: turning language into lasting change

Andy Burnham is finally Labour leader. After trying – and failing – twice to be elected by party members, he took the top job on Friday without a contest. Sir Keir Starmer remains prime minister until Monday, when he will tender his resignation to King Charles, who will invite Mr Burnham to form a government. Then the future that Mr Burnham has long imagined will cease to be a promise and become a test.

Much will be written about the man. But why does Mr Burnham believe what he believes? One clue lies in the Guardian’s letters page in 1991. Fresh from graduating in English at Cambridge, the 21-year-old Mr Burnham defended an “uncouth and uncultured” Philip Larkin from critics who dismissed him as “too parochial”. Larkin – a bigoted curmudgeon – is difficult to admire, but his poems are not.

ICE officer in Maine shooting has history of violent behavior, relatives say

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot and killed a Colombian man in Maine this week is an Army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood, relatives say.

The Guardian view on The Lord of the Rings: not a weapon in the culture wars | Editorial

The lack of diversity in the latest film is a backwards step. Adaptations of Tolkien’s epic must reflect our times

There is trouble in Middle-earth – again. So far, all of the actors announced for the latest The Lord of the Rings film instalment, The Hunt for Gollum, to be released next year, are white. Kate Winslet, Jamie Dornan, Anya Taylor-Joy and Leo Woodall join a cast that has already been criticised for its lack of diversity. “Tolkien himself was influenced a lot by Norse mythology,” the film’s director, Andy Serkis, who plays Gollum, said. “The Shire feels very white.”

Ironically, Serkis invokes fidelity to Tolkien to defend the casting, yet his “modern film version” of Animal Farm, which came out this week, plays fast and loose with Orwell by replacing the novel’s crushing conclusion with a hopeful one.

Meta trying to destroy whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams, US senator says

Republican Josh Hawley accuses Mark Zuckerberg’s firm of relentlessly pursuing and attempting to bankrupt her

A US senator has accused Meta of using lawfare in “efforts to destroy” a whistleblower who made allegations about the social media company’s dealings with China and its treatment of teenagers.

In a letter to its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, the Republican senator Josh Hawley demanded to know what measures Meta had taken to monitor Sarah Wynn-Williams, Facebook’s former global head of public policy, and her family.

The ghosts of Downing Street past may have some advice for Andy Burnham | Jonathan Freedland

The incoming PM has made a strong start – but there are several traps he needs to avoid. Brown, Blair and even Thatcher can show the way

The first piece of unsolicited advice I would offer to Britain’s incoming prime minister is: don’t take unsolicited advice. Don’t be one of those leaders who’s swayed by the last person in their ear. That’s what they used to say about Boris Johnson, that he was a cushion that bore the imprint of the last person who sat on him. Instead, Andy Burnham should study closely the experience of Johnson and the rest of his recent predecessors – and, let’s face it, there’s plenty of them.

He might start by thinking about the period that will begin the moment he steps into Downing Street on Monday. How he handles this opening phase of his tenure is crucial: you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and all that. To many voters outside Greater Manchester, Burnham is still a relatively unknown quantity. The view they will form of him will be largely shaped by what he says and does in the next few weeks. For much of the electorate, it will be the overture that decides their verdict on the show.

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist

Jill Scott review – joyous phones-free show is a taste of how all concerts should be

Kings Theatre, Brooklyn

The queen of Philly soul is in phenomenal form in a saucy and effortlessly virtuosic show celebrating 26 years in music

At one point during her triumphant phones-free show at Brooklyn’s Kings Theater, Jill Scott takes a moment to introduce Dwayne Wright, her bass player and co-musical director who is known to his friends, the queen of Philly soul informs the 3,000-strong audience, as the “pussy whisperer”. The crowd cracks up, but she’s not done. “I want you to close your ears and listen with your vagina,” she instructs, as Wright launches into a deep, toe-curling run on his instrument. “Kegel to the music!” she whoops. “You come to a Jill Scott concert and you become a virgin again.”

Perhaps Scott is emboldened by the no-phones policy tonight; ours were stashed in Yondr pouches upon entry à la recent Jack White and Phoebe Bridgers concerts. But the emotionally attuned, pointedly political and proudly horny soul singer probably doesn’t need any help in getting loose. Despite my initial grumbles, the technology ban turns out to be an inspired decision in an evening that feels deeply connected, as if we’re at a summer block party hosted by the neighborhood’s most charismatic character.

Israeli strike on Gaza funeral killed at least seven people, hospital says

Another 22 reportedly injured while mourning Palestinian killed in Israeli attack earlier in the day

An Israeli strike on a funeral in the Gaza Strip has killed at least seven people and injured another 22, according to a local hospital.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Europe’s most effective tool to cut greenhouse gas emissions ‘risks being weakened’

European Commission proposal to overhaul emissions trading system would give companies less demanding pathway to reductions

Europe’s most effective method of cutting dangerous planet-heating gases risks being weakened after the European Commission proposed an overhaul of its flagship carbon market, critics have said.

In a long-awaited review of the European Union emissions trading system (ETS), the European Commission proposed giving companies a less demanding and cheaper pathway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

‘We slept with three of the same women’: 12 people on what it’s really like dating a friend’s ex

Guardian readers tackle a thorny topic and share their stories of dating a friend’s ex – or a friend dating their ex

Life is full of big, messy questions. How should we spend our finite time on Earth? What is the nature of good and evil? And, thorniest of all: is it OK to date a friend’s ex?

This year, reality TV fans debated this question with vim and verbosity when it was revealed that Bravo reality stars Amanda Batula and West Wilson had started kissing (!) and dating (!!) even though West had broken the heart of Amanda’s best friend, Ciara Miller.

Josh Kerr ‘not scared of failure’ as he targets one-mile world record in London

• ‘I like goals that are lofty and sport needs moments’

• Keely Hodgkinson races in 800m in Diamond League

A bullish Josh Kerr has insisted he is in the shape of his life and “not scared of failure” as he attempts to break the one-mile world record at Saturday’s London Diamond League.

The former 1500m world champion and double Olympic medallist has developed a reputation as an admirably straight‑talker throughout his career, unafraid to state his ambitions publicly. Few have ever been so lofty as the one that awaits this weekend, though, as he attempts to surpass the great Hicham El Guerrouj’s one-mile mark of 3min 43.13sec that has stood since 1999. An entire generation of athletics fans were not even alive to see it happen.

George Russell ready to keep chasing down championship leader Kimi Antonelli at Spa

Antonelli’s lead in the F1 drivers’ standings looked insurmountable after Monaco, but now Russell is potentially within one race win of wiping it out

Squaring off at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, Formula One’s leading title protagonists Kimi Antonelli and George Russell are embroiled in an increasingly tense head to head.The teenager and his experienced Mercedes teammate facing each other as well as each addressing their own approach to a championship still very much up for grabs.

The 19-year-old Antonelli appeared to have an iron grip on the lead, having secured five straight victories, the last at Monaco, after which he enjoyed a 68-point lead over Russell. However, with Antonelli enduring some bad luck during the past three rounds and Russell taking a strong win in Austria, that gap has reduced to 25 points. A seemingly insurmountable chasm has suddenly become all too bridgeable and with it the title race is on again.

Boomer wealth transfer will mostly benefit the already rich, report finds

Trillions of wealth passed down by the baby boomers will likely go to younger Americans who are already rich. Here's how much they'll get.

Garry Sobers was the greatest of all time, a cavalier in an era of roundheads

West Indies legend, who has died aged 89, was cricket’s finest all-rounder, delivering victories with style and grace

Cricket nuts like an argument. Who is the best fast bowler ever? The best spinner? The best wicketkeeper? The best slip catcher? They – oh all right, we – can spend hours discussing the candidates. But the best all-rounder?

That does not take any longer than the debate over the best batter; here we have to concede even in the presence of our Australian friends the supremacy of Don Bradman. The best all-rounder is universally agreed to be Garry Sobers. The other contender, WG Grace, lived so long ago that we are reduced to guesswork. So Sobers it is.

Wildfire smoke is like smoking 'half a pack a day.' Here's how to protect yourself

As Canadian wildfires spread smoke across the U.S. the air pollution is dangerous to health. But there are ways to protect yourself. Here's what to know.

World’s largest olive oil company says market has 'definitively' entered new phase

The update comes as analysts raise concerns about the prospect of global olive oil supplies swinging dramatically from one season to the next.

A new entente? Bayeux tapestry’s UK arrival ‘closes loop’ on Brexit tensions

Culture secretary Lisa Nandy is among first viewers as epic embroidery is unpacked at British Museum, a landmark in Anglo-French diplomacy

In the decade after Brexit, the relationship between Britain and France has been defined by rows over fishing rights, Channel crossings and trade. Boris Johnson even mocked Emmanuel Macron, telling his French counterpart to “donnez-moi un break”.

This week, that fractious chapter gave way to one of the most significant acts of cultural diplomacy between the two countries in decades. Almost 1,000 years after it was created, the Bayeux tapestry arrived at the British Museum, transported from France under cover of darkness, the culmination of years of painstaking negotiations between London and Paris.

Amazon Web Services customers receive bills for up to $1.5tn after global glitch

One UK man whose bill is usually less than £1 says he ‘almost had a heart attack’ when he saw £5.8bn invoice

People always suspected big tech was greedy, but not quite like this. Patrons of Amazon Web Services have been landed with panic-inducing monthly bills running as high as $1.5tn for subscriptions that usually cost less than the price of a cup of coffee.

From Bangalore to Bolsover, the bills have been causing alarm after a computer glitch resulted in the astronomical invoices being dispatched around the world by Jeff Bezos’s company, which provides data and cloud services to millions of customers, from students and small charities to big businesses.

Sir Garry Sobers, West Indies cricketing great, dies aged 89

• West Indian widely regarded as greatest all-rounder

• First to hit six sixes in one over in first-class game

• Vic Marks: why Sobers was the greatest of all time

• Sir Garry Sobers – a life in pictures | Obituary

Sir Garfield Sobers, the great West Indies cricketer widely regarded as the finest all-rounder in the sport’s history, has died aged 89. His death at his home in Barbados only 11 days shy of his 90th birthday was announced by Cricket West Indies on Friday, with the simple line: “A great innings has come to an end. In our hearts, now and forever, Sir Garfield Sobers.”

The prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, paid tribute to Sobers in a post on social media and said that Friday has been declared a day of national mourning – flags will be flown at half-mast and no official functions will take place. A state funeral will follow in the coming days.

Is smoke in your home? Here's how to make an air purifier using a box fan

Smoke from wildfires in Canada and Minnesota is sending air quality indexes to record levels, posing a hazard for millions of people. Here are tips for how to breathe easier in your home.

Apple dethrones Nvidia to regain title of world’s most valuable company

Shift in pecking order illustrates that investors are reassessing outlook for artificial intelligence

Apple overtook Nvidia on Friday to become the world’s most valuable company, reshuffling the top ranks of tech heavyweights as investors reassess the outlook for artificial intelligence.

Apple was last valued at $4.88tn as ⁠its shares held steady, while Nvidia ⁠was roughly at $4.86tn, ​after a 3.5% decline.

How has Donald Trump changed our view of reality? | Fiona Katauskas

Things are a lot less scripted now

• See more of Fiona Katauskas’s cartoons here

A friend, Facebook or ... Ukraine? No easy surrogacy options for Australian families desperate for children

With huge amounts of money at stake and power imbalances in play, the Australian Law Reform Commission is looking at how to better regulate the industry

Over eight years, Ethan and his wife went through nine rounds of IVF in Melbourne.

They travelled to Spain for two more, without success.

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Twelve days nursing my father in the ‘dying room’ taught me the value of planning for death

Dying is difficult, a nurse told me. It might have been even more appalling had Dad not been clear about his wishes. Yet most of us remain deeply reluctant to outline how we want the end to go

My father spent the last 12 days of his life unconscious, unresponsive, in a hospital bed on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

My mother sat beside him night and day, holding his hand. I massaged Dad’s legs, horribly swollen, the effects of oedema – a buildup of fluids. His mouth fell open, dried out; I swabbed it constantly in an attempt to keep it wet. Sometimes his breath was a gurgle. My brother and I took turns sleeping on a stretcher in his room – the “dying room” was what hospital staff called it.

Genuine hope may have been fleeting for England. But it was still life-affirming | Max Rushden

Two minutes and 55 seconds. That’s how long I really had hope of reaching the World Cup final. And it didn’t kill me

In her book Hope in the Dark the author Rebecca Solnit examines if it is possible to have hope when you consider all of human suffering. She quotes the Bulgarian writer Maria Popova: “Critical thinking without hope is cynicism, but hope without critical thinking is naivety.” By all accounts it is a compelling argument for hope as a catalyst for social change.

Meanwhile, Graham Burrell wrote: “It is the hope that kills you” following Lincoln City’s 2-1 home defeat to Wigan in 2024. “I feel perhaps our playoff push was finally killed off yesterday.”

Mother of Henry Nowak’s murderer jailed for removing knife from scene

Kiran Kaur, 53, sentenced to three years for assisting Vickrum Digwa after he stabbed student in Southampton

The mother of Vickrum Digwa, the murderer whose false claims of racism against his victim, Henry Nowak, triggered riots in Southampton, has been jailed for removing a knife from the scene of the killing.

Appearing at Southampton crown court, Kiran Kaur, 53, was jailed for three years for assisting an offender by taking the knife from where her son had murdered Nowak on 3 December 2025 back to her family home.

Brenda Fricker, Oscar winner for My Left Foot, dies aged 81

The acclaimed Irish actor started her career in Coronation Street and Casualty before a string of high-profile Hollywood roles

Brenda Fricker, who became the first female Irish Oscar winner for acting with My Left Foot, has died aged 81. Her agent Phil Belfield told the BBC in a statement: “We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her … I was honoured to know, love and work with her and she will always have a place in my heart and in the heart of so many film and TV fans the world over.”

In My Left Foot, Fricker plays the mother of Christy Brown, whose cerebral palsy means he only has muscular control over one of his feet. The film, directed by Jim Sheridan, was released to enormous acclaim in 1989, winning the best actor Oscar for Daniel Day-Lewis as well as best supporting actress for Fricker.

Amazon's Zoox issues software recall after robotaxi drove into heavy smoke

Last month, an unoccupied Zoox robotaxi drove into an active emergency fire scene that was clouded with smoke, the company said.

Coca-Cola temporarily halts production of Fairlife milk after cyberattack

A cybersecurity incident has forced Coca-Cola to suspend Fairlife milk production in the U.S. An investigation is underway.

Trump speech lays groundwork for him to tamper with midterm results, critics warn

Democrats and advocates sound alarm at Trump rehashing false claims about 2020 election in his primetime address

Democrats and voting rights groups say Donald Trump’s primetime speech making unverified claims of Chinese interference in the 2020 election is the clearest sign yet that the president is laying the groundwork to tamper with the results of November’s midterms.

The upcoming elections to decide the balance of power in Congress and many state legislatures will be a major test of Trump’s appeal to voters two years after he resoundingly beat the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris to return to the White House. With polls showing that the president is disliked by majorities of voters and his Republican allies are at risk of losing their control of the House of Representatives, the president’s Thursday evening speech rehashing allegations about the 2020 election he lost to Joe Biden sparked fears he was already looking for ways to ensure November’s results are in his favor.

Airlines say permanent daylight saving time won't be simple

Adjusting to permanent daylight saving time would cause significant disruptions to schedules and operations, an airline trade group said.

Import prices post surprise gain as costs of goods from China hit highest since 2008

Import prices were up 0.3% for the month, as a drop in energy was more than offset by increases elsewhere.

Langer leads shortlist to become next England Test coach after Flower rules himself out

• Zimbabwean informed ECB this week he is not interested

• Langer due to lead Manchester Super Giants in Hundred

Justin Langer is believed to have moved to the top of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s shortlist of potential coaches of the men’s Test team, after Andy Flower ruled himself out of the running for the position on Friday.

Less than a week after Brendon McCullum was sacked as red-ball coach Rob Key, the managing director of men’s cricket who is leading the ECB’s recruitment process, has made significant progress in his search for a replacement.

Appeals court keeps in place Pentagon's escort policy for reporters

The appeals court in Washington, D.C., divided 2-1 in ruling in favor of the Trump administration in the legal battle over the Pentagon's escort policy for journalists.

Beijing’s message to the world’s tourists: come here and judge China for yourselves | Zichen Wang

By relaxing visa rules, Beijing has two things on its mind – boosting its economy and improving its self-image

Walk through central Beijing today and one thing quickly becomes apparent: foreigners are back. They are taking photos outside the Forbidden City and sitting in cafes around Gulou and Sanlitun. The shift is visible online, too; YouTube is increasingly filled with videos titled “China Shocked Me” or “My First Week in China”. Most of the creators are tourists, not China specialists or journalists, and many of them are encountering the country for the first time.

The resurgence is striking because to many outside observers China’s story has become one of closure and increased security – of intensifying strategic rivalry with the west, expanded anti-espionage enforcement and increasingly constrained foreign reporting, including the withholding and revocation of visas for US journalists. Yet on the ground, another story is unfolding. When it comes to its relationship with the rest of the world, Beijing increasingly appears to be betting on direct exposure: come to China and judge for yourself.

Zichen Wang is deputy secretary-general at the Center for China and Globalization, a thinktank in Beijing. This article was co-written by Hao Wu, an assistant professor at the School of International Studies at Peking University

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.

Hot tubs and £80 rosé: how the mud-soaked British festival got a luxury makeover

Struggling industry seeks to capitalise on Gen Z’s willingness to spend on experiences and comfort

It had always been the great British festival way: greasy burgers and warm beer, retch-inducing toilets and the descent into dishevelment as roughing it takes its toll.

But a generation of festivalgoers has emerged who are willing to splash the cash to inject luxury into the experience. This summer, there are signs the under-pressure industry is ramping up its offer, from gleaming private toilets and “pamper parlours” to fine dining, hot tubs, saunas and even a “cold waterfall drench” to keep refreshed.

Biodiversity fears as human-bred hybrid fish integrate into Philippines lake

Escaped flowerhorn cichlids are causing concern for native species and about parasites capable of infecting humans

Escaped ornamental aquarium fish have integrated into a local ecosystem in the Philippines, but scientists say they may be threatening the native biodiversity of the lake.

Flowerhorn cichlids – human-bred hybrid fish prized for their bright-gold colour and prominent head humps – are believed to have escaped from breeding facilities into Lake Sampaloc, which sits in a volcanic crater, during a typhoon.

"Master yachtsman" fugitive captured on boat after 21 years on the run

Ronald L. Fischer, who was featured on "America's Most Wanted," fled Rhode Island during his criminal trial for first-degree sexual assault in 2005.

Dangerous flooding in Texas leads to more than 230 water rescues

More than 2 feet of rain slammed the Texas Hill Country in the past four days, causing dangerous floods. Jason Allen reports.

Fact-checking Trump's speech on election security

President Trump delivered a speech on election security Thursday night at the White House. Here are the facts behind some of his claims.

Chastity, nodding and enormous pores: will women also love Nolan’s Odyssey?

Christopher Nolan’s epic adaptation has been met with almost universal acclaim – from mostly male film critics. Might women find the journey less comfortable?

Long ago, almost as long ago as Homer composed The Odyssey, I was a film critic on the Sunday Telegraph. People sometimes ask me how sexist the scene was then, back in the bronze age mid-noughties, when male critics outnumbered female by about eight to one. Well, there wasn’t any sexism. It was actually totally fine and everyone was really nice.

They were nice in Soho, anyway. Farther afield, less so. Particularly certain readers, when it came to certain films, made by certain directors. Quentin Tarantino, obviously. Ken Loach, weirdly. And Christopher Nolan. Question their genius and prepare for epic correction by a legion of self-appointed bouncers.

England rugby players may walk off pitch in Argentina if racist abuse is repeated

• Jamie George promises ‘the strongest of reactions’

• England players were racially abused by fans last year

England’s rugby players are threatening to walk off the pitch in protest against Argentina on Saturday if there is any repeat of the racial abuse aimed at black squad members on their last visit a year ago. Further incidents will not be tolerated and, according to England’s captain, Jamie George, will prompt “the strongest of reactions”.

George was also present in San Juan last July when his replacement prop forward Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Chandler Cunningham-South were the target of racist slurs from a group of home supporters during the warm-up and the first half of the second Test. World Rugby later confirmed England had made a complaint, but, despite an investigation, the individual perpetrators could not be identified.

The Hunt for Gollum is being criticised for its all-white cast. Blaming Tolkien is the wrong answer

The Lord of the Rings author’s debt to Norse mythology is simply irrelevant when it comes to the appearance of hobbits and elves on screen today

Casting has come a long way since the early 1980s when it was somehow still acceptable to sign up Max von Sydow to play Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon in 1980, or hire Peter Ustinov as the lead in Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen in 1981 (despite protests at the time). These days, film-makers will have to defend an all-white cast in a medieval fantasy flick, which appears to be what has happened this week to The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’s Andy Serkis.

Asked by the BBC why every major casting for the new film has been a white actor, Serkis appeared to lay the blame on his literary source material. “Tolkien himself was influenced a lot by Norse mythology, there’s a lot of that feeling,” he said. “The Shire feels very, very much like a very, a very white, you know … They’re not very concerned about what goes on beyond the borders of the Shire, but they know they don’t want people coming in.

ConocoPhillips to buy 42% stake in Iraqi unit from BP as U.S. seeks to weaken Iran's energy hold

BP and ConocoPhillips are set to announce billions of dollars of new investments in Iraq on Friday.

‘I thought there’d never be enough work!’ Ruth Madeley on sex, success and becoming a star out of sheer nosiness

She is shaking up showbiz and redefining the way disability is portrayed on screen. Ahead of her end-times thriller The Rapture, the star talks about being a Doctor Who badass and why her husband finds her job hysterical

The day I met Ruth Madeley in a hotel in central London was the peak of the last heatwave, the buttons on traffic lights almost too hot to touch. Eerily, this is a major theme of The Rapture, the BBC’s new adaptation of Liz Jensen’s 2009 bestseller. It’s set in a children’s secure psychiatric unit, and the 38-year-old actor plays Gabs, a clinical psychologist recently paralysed in a car accident that killed her husband. She becomes transfixed by the inmate Bethany – a surly, biting performance from India Amarteifio – who has been convicted of killing her own mother. Gabs is hard-boiled, as far from gullible as you could imagine, and Bethany’s “visions”, which pour out of her in frenetic drawings of faces, disasters, landscapes, don’t fall on fertile ground. Yet Gabs cannot help but notice when they start to come true.

In the background, the heat is stultifying and climate crisis activists are begging the world to take notice. “Yes, it’s feeling very timely,” she says wryly. This is on-brand; her first major role was in Russell T Davies’s Years and Years, the apocalyptic smash hit that ends with a monkey flu pandemic (sorry, spoiler), “and then a year later we were in lockdown. I told Russell: ‘You’re not allowed to write anything else, my nerves can’t take it.’”

Cocktail of the week: Bar Antoine’s jardin éphémère – recipe | The good mixer

Come into the garden for a sparkling summer spritz with flavours of elderflower, apples, eau-de-vie and a splash of absinthe

A bright, floral summer spritz, inspired by the gardens of France and simplified for home purposes.

Leon Gasco, bar manager, Bar Antoine, London W1

‘I dreamt of a show where the audience becomes horny’: the Swedish puppet play starring bonking barbies

Malmö Dockteater is adapting Jackie Collins’s debut novel about the swinging 60s using anatomically enhanced dolls. Puppets help you explore sex in a different way, they say

Erik Holmström holds up a naked, headless Ken doll. Most of the figure is as you’d expect: lean muscles, smooth skin. But lower down, something’s different. Between those hairless thighs is a small plastic penis nestled in a tuft of hair. “It’s real hair,” says Holmström, the director of Malmö Dockteater (that’s “puppet theatre” in Swedish). Performer and puppeteer Kajsa Ericsson jumps in. “Not real pubic hair,” she clarifies.

This doll is not just a prop of the company’s new show; it’s one of the stars. Malmö Dockteater has adapted Jackie Collins’s debut novel, The World Is Full of Married Men, into an experimental puppet production that leaps fearlessly into the explicit sex scenes that got the novel banned in several countries when it was first published in 1968. After performances in Malmö and Stockholm, the company is bringing the show to the newly refurbished Yard theatre in east London, where it will be performed in Swedish with English subtitles.

The White House’s guide to manhood: pop some T, restart a war and do WHAT with a corn dog? | Marina Hyde

Pete Hegseth wants to win the war on Iran with a secret weapon: testosterone. Meanwhile, JD Vance is worried about how to eat an ice-cream

Are the men of the Trump administration OK? Feels like it’s been a tricky week for some of them. On the one hand, you’ll note the US is already rebooting its Iran war. Clearly, many will feel this latest version of the conflict is coming too soon after the last one, with fans simply not given enough time to miss the IP. A lot like the live-action Moana currently falling off the screen in cinemas. On the other hand, defence secretary Pete Hegseth seems to have moved the defence department beyond even its latter-day renaming as the department of war, posting a video entitled “The High-T Department of War” in which he announced mandatory testosterone screening for US troops aged 30 and over. We’ll get to JD Vance being unintentionally aroused by footage of Joe Biden eating ice-cream in a minute. Or as soon as I can face it.

Even the lower-ranking White House operatives seem to be spinning out. You may remember the UK’s political betting scandal, where various police officers, campaign officials and aides to former prime minister Rishi Sunak were arrested or investigated for putting bets on the last general election date. Everything’s bigger in the US, of course, so in some ways it’s not a surprise to learn that the guy who operates Trump’s teleprompter has allegedly made $100,000 on Kalshi by placing bets on words or topics appearing in Trump’s speeches. He is currently on unpaid administrative leave, according to press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who yesterday added solemnly, “there are very strict ethical guidelines here at the White House”. A statement so hilarious that I refuse to believe Leavitt herself didn’t say it for a bet. Probably with Hegseth. “Dude, I know I can get it in. I back myself. And if I do say it, you owe me $1,000 and an off-the-books testosterone shot.”

Marina Hyde’s new book, What a Time to be Alive!, is out in September (Guardian Faber Publishing, £20). To support the Guardian, order your signed copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply

Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist

Elon Musk's Memphis AI empire is the epicenter of the data center backlash

Data center-related policy proposals, protests and litigation are underway across the country citing Colossus and Memphis as a cautionary tale.

‘I don’t play around’: Nolan fans fly into London to see The Odyssey at BFI Imax

Film fanatics arrive from US, Switzerland and Ireland for midnight premiere of director’s critically acclaimed epic

Odysseus made his name by embarking on a perilous journey from Troy to Ithaca, plus a few unplanned diversions courtesy of the gods. But this is nothing on Christian Campbell, who last night travelled more than 4,000 miles to see the Greek king’s epic fable on the big screen.

The 22-year-old film graduate, who aspires to be an editor, made the journey from Atlanta to London to watch Christopher Nolan’s take on Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey.

Trump doubles down on 2020 election claims in national address, alleging China meddling

Trump also repeated his calls for the Republican-led Congress to pass the "SAVE America Act," a controversial election bill that lacks support to pass.

Add to playlist: the nervy breakbeats and acid delirium of Silverwingkiller and the week’s best new tracks

The industrial dance duo make music for this summer’s heatwave: filled with dread and jangling with pent-up energy

From Manchester, via Peterborough and Shanghai
Recommended if you like Crystal Castles, Mandy, Indiana, acid house
Up next Festival dates including East London Block Party, Brighton Psych Fest and End of the Road

Salford’s Silverwingkiller sound how this summer’s heatwave feels: delirious, dread-filled and jangling with pent-up energy. Named after the Chinese title for Blade Runner, they build pummelling industrial dance music from nervy breakbeats, the acid sounds of the Roland TB-303 synthesiser and the shared sense of creative freedom that James Baca and Yushang Ni discovered on moving to Greater Manchester, from Peterborough and Shanghai respectively.