Why Trump wants Greenland — and what makes it so important for national security

Greenland, a vast and sparsely populated self-governing Danish territory, has been thrust into the geopolitical spotlight once again.

Judge orders Lindsey Halligan to explain why she keeps using U.S. attorney title

A federal judge in November found that Lindsey Halligan had been invalidly appointed interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

U.S. military seizes Venezuela-linked oil tanker in the North Atlantic

The U.S. carried out an operation Wednesday to seize the Marinera, a Venezuela-linked oil tanker formerly known as Bella-1, the U.S. European Command said.

How mental health could play a major role in Nick Reiner's case as he's set to be arraigned

Nick Reiner, the son of Rob and Michele Reiner, is set to be arraigned Wednesday in the killing of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. It comes as details emerge about his time in custody and how his mental health history could play a role in his case. Matt Gutman reports.

Russian-flagged tanker seized by US military in North Atlantic waters, say officials – latest updates

US European Command says that the Venezuelan-linked Marinera, also known as the Bella 1, has been taken over due to ‘violations of US sanctions’

• People in Greenland, share your views on Donald Trump’s comments

Meanwhile, in the UK, Nigel Farage has offered his take on Trump’s plans to control Greenland, saying it would be “outrageous” for the US to seize it from Denmark.

Farage says he agrees with Starmer that the fate of Greenland must be decided by Greenland and Denmark, not the US – but sided with Trump on “some genuine security concerns” that require further presence there.

“What I will say is this. There are some genuine security concerns around Greenland and that becomes ever more relevant with a retraction of the ice caps as we head towards the North Pole. There is a strong feeling in British intelligence circles, and many in Nato, that there needs to be a significant Nato base located directly on the north of Greenland.

At the moment, it would appear that is something Greenland is not particularly keen to do.

Shadow attorney general to recuse himself from advising Tories on Ukraine over links with Abramovich – UK politics live

Tories confirm Lord Wolfson will step back following criticism from Starmer at PMQs over his work with Roman Abramovich

Farage is now talking about London, where council elections are taking place.

He says that Sadiq Khan has said he will run for a fourth term as mayor.

Gyrations rock the station as Elvis Express departs Sydney – in pictures

Elvis fever has taken over Australia’s largest railway station, as die-hard fans and curious first-timers join the annual train pilgrimage to Parkes to pay homage to the King

Jess Cartner-Morley on fashion: like a superhero cloak, a white shirt gives you formidable power

They don’t have to be expensive, they go with everything and they boost confidence – if you get the styling right

The eternal appeal of the white shirt is not just that it goes with anything, although it does. And not only that it can take you anywhere, although it can. It is not even that it never goes out of style, or that good quality versions are accessible at real-world prices, although those are true also.

A white shirt is self-confidence. It stands for it, and it brings it, and that’s the real secret. It is a superhero cloak that bestows you with this formidable power. Self-confidence is not as snazzy as the ability to fly or live for ever, but arguably it’s more practical. I don’t know why or how it works, but it doesn’t matter, because if you feel confident then you are confident. Faking it and making it are one and the same here.

The place that stayed with me: I fled the Greek Islands to chase a letter home

As his 30th birthday loomed in Greece, Steve MinOn sent a letter to his parents in Australia. Then he waited.

• Read more summer essentials

While day-drinking ouzo in a spiderwebbed taverna on the Greek island of Paros, I decided to write a coming-out letter to my parents. I sealed it in a surface mail envelope, moistened a ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ (Hellenic Republic) stamp with my aniseed tongue and posted it.

It was the 1990s and I had only just relocated from Australia to London with Nick, my boyfriend at the time, and Julie, a good mate. We had gone across to Greece for a holiday, island-hopping, catching ferries on a whim, knowing nothing about the places we were visiting except that backpacking there was cheap.

Alaska Airlines buys more than 100 Boeing jets in carrier's biggest order ever

Alaska Airlines orders 105 Boeing 737 Max 10s and five 787-10 Dreamliners in carrier's biggest order ever.

Warner Bros. Discovery rejects Paramount Skydance's latest hostile bid

Warner Bros. Discovery's board again urged shareholders to reject Paramount Skydance's offer, calling it inferior to Netflix's bid

Families of Uvalde victims hope for accountability as trial for former school officer begins

The trial has begun for the first officer tried in the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Adrian Gonzales pleaded not guilty to charges of abandoning or endangering a child. Prosecutors claim he failed to engage the gunman as 77 minutes went by before law enforcement confronted the shooter.

Nick Reiner to be arraigned in the murders of his parents

Rob and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead in their Los Angeles home in December. Their son Nick Reiner is facing murder charges.

Warner Bros Discovery tells investors to reject ‘inadequate’ $108bn Paramount bid

Board unwilling to accept hostile takeover despite $40bn guarantee from billionaire Larry Ellison

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has again told its shareholders to reject an “inadequate” $108.4bn (£80bn) hostile takeover bid by Paramount Skydance amid an extraordinary corporate battle to control the media conglomerate.

Paramount, controlled by the billionaire Ellison family, had sought to combat WBD’s criticism of its offer and claims it had “consistently misled” investors by saying it had a “full backstop” – a safety net to ensure it has sufficient funds – from the Ellisons.

The CDC just sidelined these childhood vaccines. Here's what they prevent.

Six routine vaccines that have safeguarded millions from serious diseases are no longer being recommended for all children by the CDC.

Elvis fans, carnival and Orthodox Christmas: photos of the day – Wednesday

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

Nigel Farage dismisses racist and antisemitic school bullying claims as ‘made up fantasies’

Reform UK leader says accusations about his behaviour at Dulwich college were politically motivated

Nigel Farage has called allegations of racist and antisemitic bullying during his time at Dulwich college “completely made up fantasy”, saying his accusers are “people with very obvious political motivation”.

More than 30 people have spoken to the Guardian as part of an investigation based on multiple accounts of racism, including Peter Ettedgui, 61, an Emmy- and Bafta-winning director, who recalled Farage growling repeatedly “Hitler was right” or “Gas them” at him when they were at school.

The role the Caribbean played in helping the US to depose Maduro

Support for US action in the region seems to have laid the ground for regime change in Venezuela

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Hello and Happy New Year. We have started 2026 with a geopolitical shock as the Trump administration ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and imprisoned him on US soil. As many western governments struggle to respond to this violation of international law, for Caribbean countries, this is not an awkward diplomatic spot but a real moment of political fear, uncertainty, and regional fracture.

One remarkable aspect of the Venezuela raid is how Trinidad and Tobago’s prime minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, has openly aligned with Donald Trump. Dr Jacqueline Laguardia Martinez, a senior lecturer at the Institute of International Relations at The University of the West Indies, told me that Trinidad and Tobago – one of the founding members of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), a regional grouping of 15 member countries – has “openly endorsed US actions under the pretext of combating transnational crime”. One way that has happened is through military cooperation. On 28 November, a radar appeared in a coastal neighbourhood of Tobago, described by the New York Times as “a state-of-the-art mobile long-range sensor known as G/ATOR, or Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar, that is owned by the US Marines and is worth tens of millions of dollars.” Along with the sophisticated equipment, US military jets and troops arrived on the island, which is only 7 miles from Venezuela.

Private payrolls rose 41,000 in December, slightly below expectations, ADP says

Private sector job creation turned positive in December though at a bit softer pace than expected.

Slot concedes Liverpool’s approach has grown dull: ‘I would not completely disagree’

• Liverpool manager says team struggling to create

• ‘My teams always try to play attacking football’

Arne Slot has said it hurts his principles as an attacking coach to hear his Liverpool team described as boring but he could not entirely disagree on current form.

Liverpool have stabilised after a damaging sequence of nine defeats in 12 matches, the club’s worst return in 71 years, with a nine-game unbeaten run but are struggling to produce convincing performances. Successive draws against Fulham and Leeds have prompted further criticism of Slot’s style and resulted in the champions falling 14 points behind the leaders, Arsenal, who they face at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday.

Brigitte Bardot laid to rest in funeral ceremony broadcast across Saint-Tropez

Service attended by singers, animal rights activists, and public figures including Marine Le Pen

Brigitte Bardot, the film star turned animal rights activist, will be laid to rest in her home town of Saint-Tropez on Wednesday during a funeral attended by her favourite politician, the far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

Bardot died at her La Madrague villa on 28 December aged 91. Her funeral is being held at the Notre-Dame de l’Assomption church and broadcast on large screens across the town.

How to turn excess hard veg into fridge-raid sauerkraut – recipe | Waste not

An easy and ingenious way to use up odd bits and pieces of root veg

The dry-salting fermentation method used to make sauerkraut works brilliantly on almost any firm vegetable, so you can happily explore beyond the traditional cabbage. I had a couple of carrots and a piece of squash that needed saving, so I turned them into a golden kraut with ginger, turmeric and a little orange zest for brightness. Use whatever you have to hand and let the ingredients lead your creativity.

More gen Z men live with parents in this city than anywhere in the US. How do they date?

In Vallejo, California, ‘trad sons’ report feeling trapped by family obligations, slim job prospects and the fear of violence – leaving little room for romance

Are boys becoming men later? In recent decades, the markers of adulthood have shifted for young American men: they are almost twice as likely to be single, less likely to go to college and more likely to be unemployed. Most significantly for their parents, they are also less likely to have fled the nest, with the term “trad son” springing into social media lexicon in recent months. In the 1970s, only 8% of Americans aged 25 to 34 were living with their parents, but by 2023, that figure had jumped to 18%, with men more likely to live at home than women, according to a Pew survey.

But not everywhere in the US has the same rates of adults living in their familial home. The living arrangement is least common in the midwest and most common in the north-east. Topping the list was Vallejo, where 33% of young adults live with their parents. How were they making it work?

First flight of 2026 under UK ‘one in, one out’ asylum scheme cancelled

Detainees under scheme to return people entering UK on small boats told their plane tickets have been cancelled

The first flight of 2026 to return asylum seekers who came to the UK on small boats to France has been cancelled, the Guardian understands.

Detainees earmarked for the UK government’s “one in, one out” scheme who had tickets for a flight on Wednesday morning to Paris were told their tickets had been cancelled.

Mortgage demand drops nearly 10% to end 2025, despite lower interest rates

The Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index reported a 9.7% decline in total mortgage applications despite decreased mortgage rates.

Yemen separatist leader to make last stand after rejecting Saudi ultimatum, supporters say

Saudi airstrikes hit Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s military camps after he defies a demand to travel to Riyadh for talks

The leader of Yemen’s routed southern separatist movement, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, has decided to make a defiant last stand in Aden, his supporters say, rejecting a Saudi ultimatum to travel to Riyadh for talks and – for now – a plan to flee the southern capital.

Al-Zubaidi, the president of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), has been gathering his remaining troops in Aden as rival Saudi-backed forces seek to take control of Aden. His supporters say his mood is to fight it out although he knows it is likely there will be an attempt to kill him.

GOP gearing up to face tough midterms. And, Pentagon reviews women in ground combat

Trump offers advice to the GOP as midterm fears grow and he struggles to connect with voters on the economy. And, the Pentagon reviews the "effectiveness" of women in ground combat roles.

Former Bengals and Texas receiver Jordan Shipley severely burned in ranch accident

• 40-year-old was flown to Austin after accident

• Shipley played three seasons in NFL

Former Texas star and NFL receiver Jordan Shipley is being treated in hospital after suffering severe burns in an accident on his ranch near his hometown of Burnet, Texas.

According to a statement from his family, Shipley was operating a machine when it caught fire. Although the 40-year-old was able to free himself from the machine “it was not before sustaining severe burns on his body in the process,” read the statement. “He was able to get to one of his workers on the ranch, who drove him to a local hospital. He was then care-flighted to Austin, where he remains in critical but stable condition.”

Americans are changing where they're moving. Here's how that could affect commercial real estate

Americans are increasingly moving to smaller markets rather than urban cores as they seek cheaper housing and better quality of life.

Pentagon to cut Sen. Mark Kelly's military retirement pay over 'seditious' video: Hegseth

Sen. Mark Kelly and other members of Congress on the video reminded members of the U.S. military that they can refuse to follow illegal orders.

France and allies discuss response to possible US invasion of Greenland

French, German and Polish foreign ministers to meet amid escalating threats to seize part of Danish kingdom

• Europe live – latest updates

France has said it is working with allies on how to react if the US were to invade Greenland, amid mounting tension over Donald Trump’s escalating threats to take over the Arctic territory.

The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said the subject would be discussed at a meeting with the German and Polish foreign ministers on Wednesday.

Pilot who landed jet after panel blew out says Boeing unfairly blamed him

Captain Brandon Fisher was commended for helping ensure none of the 177 people aboard flight 1282 were killed when the blowout happened in January 2024.

Dublin Gothic review – epic ‘losers’ history’ of the city traces 100 years of family life

Abbey theatre, Dublin
Barbara Bergin’s tale follows four families through strikes in the slums, the Easter Rising, the early years of independence and the HIV-Aids crisis of the 1980s

In Barbara Bergin’s epic “losers’ history” of Dublin, street names tell their own story. Tosser’s Pot leads to Cutpurse, then from Pokes Alley to Kiphouse Row. For the residents of the inner-city tenement building where the action opens in 1880, choices are starkly circumscribed and lives are cut short by poverty, disease or violence.

Covering 100 years of life in this house, the narrative traces four families, their lives intertwined through generations, with trauma recurring – to women in particular – echoing the spirit of Seán O’Casey. The historical backdrop is outlined in broad brush: from strikes in the slums to revolution and war, through the early years of the independent state, to the heroin and HIV-Aids crises of the 1980s.

At Abbey theatre, Dublin, until 31 January

Democrats can win back the White House in 2028. Here’s how | Colin Seeberger

Democrats should go on the offense against Republicans, but they should also lay out a vision for renewing the promise of a middle-class life

By January 2029, Donald Trump will be capping off a nearly 14-year stretch at the helm of American politics. While he will no longer serve as president of the United States, his shadow over the future of American politics will continue to loom large across both sides of the aisle. Following Trump’s popular-vote victory in the 2024 election, the Democratic party has been forced to wrestle with what went wrong and how they can regain the support of an American majority to win back the White House. To win back Americans’ trust, Democrats have to prioritize affordability, broaden their cultural appeal, and reconnect with disaffected voters beyond their base.

Trump’s political success has long been defined by his willingness to take on elite institutions and buck convention, putting distance between himself and weaknesses in the Republican brand while simultaneously undermining advantages in the Democratic brand. He’s ignored the wrath of editorial boards and economists while offering policy ideas and messaging that speaks to what voters think.

Colin Seeberger is a senior adviser for communications at the Center for American Progress

‘We were sitting with our calculator saying “we can afford that!”’ Joy for families as cystic fibrosis drug prices fall within reach

The cost of medication was too high for thousands of CF sufferers around the world. Now a Bangladeshi company is making a generic version that will change lives

Seven-year-old Grant Leitch had an important question for his mother. He asked if his little brother, Brett, who has cystic fibrosis (CF), was going to die.

The South African family, like tens of thousands around the world, have been priced out of access to modern cystic fibrosis therapies, and if Grant had asked at the start of 2025, he might have received a less optimistic answer.

Greetings from a Paris park, where a lone sequoia tree is a marvel to behold

Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.

A walking challenge to start 2026 on your feet — and off your screens

The solution to too much sitting is simple but hard to stick with. This walking challenge sets you up for success, with six tips to keep you moving throughout your day.

Trump says Venezuela to give up to 50 million barrels of oil to U.S.

Trump's announcement came days after U.S. forces attacked Venezuela and captured its leader, Nicolas Maduro, to be prosecuted on drug-trafficking charges.

Share your health and fitness questions for Devi Sridhar, Mariella Frostrup, and Joel Snape

Whether your question is about exercise, eating, or general wellness, post it below and we’ll put a selection to our panel on the night

There’s no bad time to take a more active interest in your health, but the new year, for lots of us, feels like a fresh start. Maybe you’re planning to sign up for a 10k or finally have a go at bouldering, eat a bit better or learn to swing a kettlebell. Maybe you want to keep up with your grandkids — or just be a little bit more physically prepared for whatever life throws at you.

To help things along, Guardian Live invites you to a special event with public health expert Devi Sridhar, journalist and author Mariella Frostrup, and health and fitness columnist Joel Snape. They’ll be joining the Guardian’s Today in Focus presenter Annie Kelly to discuss simple, actionable ways to stay fit and healthy as you move through the second half of life: whether that means staying strong and mobile or stressing less and sleeping better.

Injured Stokes to spend final day of Ashes tour watching from SCG pavilion

• England captain suffered groin injury in opening session

• Bethell says ‘I knew it was coming’ over maiden century

Ben Stokes is set to spend the final day of this Ashes tour watching on from the old pavilion at the SCG and hoping for a miracle in his absence after seeing yet another Test series cut short by injury.

The all-rounder had worked hard to get through all five Tests in Australia only to fall at the final hurdle, limping off 10 balls into his opening spell on the fourth morning and appearing in distress. An England spokesperson later confirmed it was an issue with his right abductor (groin).

Can Cuba’s bond with Venezuela survive Trump’s ousting of Maduro?

Havana’s long, fractious history with the US leaves it vulnerable if Caracas is forced to withdraw its support

On Havana’s Fifth Avenue, where the trees and lawns remain elegantly groomed even as the rest of Cuba wilts, a billboard outside the Venezuelan embassy reads: “Hasta Siempre Comandante” (Until For Ever, Commander) next to a vast picture of a smiling Hugo Chávez.

It is a staunch declaration that the two nations are bound together “for ever”. But this week, after the US operation to grab Chávez’s successor, Nicolás Maduro, those ties are in danger of unravelling.

The LA wildfire victims still living in toxic homes: ‘We have nowhere else to go’

A year after the Eaton fire, residents returning to Altadena confront lingering contamination and little official clarity

One year on from the Eaton fire, long after the vicious winds that sent embers cascading from the San Gabriel mountains and the flames that swallowed entire streets, a shadow still hangs over Altadena.

Construction on new properties is under way, and families whose homes survived the fire have begun to return. But many are grappling with an urgent question: is it safe to be here?

We study glaciers. ‘Artificial glaciers’ and other tech may halt their total collapse | Brent Minchew and Colin Meyer

How might we prevent sea-level rise? Satellite-based radar, solar-powered drones, robot submarines and lab-based ‘artificial glaciers’ could all play a role

Sea levels are rising faster than at any point in human history, and for every foot that waters rise, 100 million people lose their homes. At current projections, that means about 300 million people will be forced to move in the decades to come, along with the social and political conflict as people migrate inland. Despite this looming crisis, the world still lacks specific, reliable forecasts for when and where the seas will rise – and we have invested almost nothing in understanding whether and how we can slow it down.

Societies must continue to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but it’s increasingly clear that the world needs to do more: we need to predict the future of the world’s ice with precision, and to explore safe, science-backed methods to keep it from melting away.

Nicki Minaj’s Maga conversion is doing nothing for her career – or is it? | Arwa Mahdawi

The rapper’s recent cosying up to the Trump administration has upset a lot of her fans, but is she playing the long game?

Starships are meant to fly, but Nicki Minaj’s musical career is now doing a Maga-propelled nosedive. For the past few months, the rapper and former gay icon has been horrifying many of her fans by cosying up to the Trump administration.

In November, for example, Minaj shared a post by Donald Trump about the treatment of Christians in Nigeria and agreed to collaborate with the administration on awareness around the issue. Then, in December, the rapper made a surprise appearance at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest convention, where she heaped praise on the late Charlie Kirk (who once said Minaj was not a good role model for “18-year-old Black girls”) and the vice-president, JD Vance. She also accidentally called Vance an “assassin” while talking to Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow, but was quickly forgiven for her word choice. “I love this woman,” Erika Kirk proclaimed after the weird gaffe.

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.

Sick young ants send out a 'kill me' scent to prevent deadly epidemics

Young, infected Lasius neglectus ants will send out an altruistic "kill me" signal to worker ants, a new study finds, as part of a strategy to keep deadly pathogens from spreading through the colony.

Trump administration freezes $10 billion in child, family aid to 5 states over fraud concerns

The move comes a day after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he would not seek reelection amid political fallout over a massive fraud probe in his state.

The Spin | Revealed after 100 years: how a corrupt official robbed Percy Fender of the England captaincy

Documentary makers seeking funds to finish making film of an extraordinary man and his influence on the game

After a mere 100 years the Spin, always first with the news, is finally able to reveal the details of one of the more extraordinary secrets in the history of English cricket. The story comes from the private family archives of the former Surrey captain Percy Fender, which are being compiled into a fascinating new documentary film. It has always been a mystery that Fender, who was described by Wisden as “the shrewdest county captain of his generation” was never picked to lead England. After all these years, it now appears he was blackmailed out of the job by a corrupt cricket official.

In a private audio recording made shortly before his death in 1985, Fender explains that in May 1924 he was approached “by a gentleman who was very well known in the cricket world” who, during the course of a conversation over two half-bottles of champagne in Fender’s flat at the Adelphi, offered him the England captaincy for the 1924-25 Ashes tour. Fender was an amateur, and had a day job as wine merchant that meant he would need to arrange cover while he was away on the six-month tour. The “very well known” gentleman suggested he could do it for him.

Morocco and Regragui feel pressure before high-profile Afcon quarter-finals

Seven of the eight nations have won the tournament before while Mali take on the role of stubborn outsiders

A comfortable 3-0 victory for the defending champions, Côte d’Ivoire, over Burkina Faso on Tuesday evening completes the highest-powered set of quarter-finalists the Cup of Nations has ever known. Seven of the last eight are former champions; between them they have won 22 Cups of Nations. It is the first time all eight quarter-finalists are in the top 10 African sides in the Fifa rankings.

It’s been a strangely predictable tournament so far, at least after Ghana failed to qualify; the nearest to a surprise in the last 16 was Mali’s win over Tunisia and Cameroon’s victory over South Africa. After the lengthy preamble in a format lacking in jeopardy, the tournament needs the giants to deliver the appropriate payoff.

Resolution to block Trump from invading Greenland introduced by Sen. Gallego

Concerns about U.S. action against Greenland have grown after the U.S. attack on Venezuela, which led to the capture of leader Nicolas Maduro.

People from Venezuela and neighbouring countries: share your reaction to US raid

We’d like to hear from people in Venezuela, as well as from neighbouring countries mentioned by the Trump administration, about how they are responding to recent US actions

As Donald Trump prepares to make his first public appearance since Venezuela’s former president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared in a US court and pleaded not guilty to all charges, there is growing international concern over the shock US military operation in Venezuela, which the UN human rights office has said undermined a fundamental principle of international law.

We would like to hear from Venezuelans, both in the country and abroad, about how you are feeling in the wake of these events – either positively or negatively – and what concerns or hopes you have for Venezuela’s future. You might want to share how this is affecting you personally, your family, or people you know on the ground.

Judge letting high school gunman be resentenced, potentially freeing him

A judge granted a request for resentencing by Charles Williams, the gunman in a deadly 2001 shooting at a San Diego high school, potentially allowing him to be freed after 23 years in prison.

Revealed: how aviation emissions could be halved without cutting journeys

Exclusive: Getting rid of premium seats, ensuring flights are near full and using efficient aircraft could slash CO₂, analysis suggests

Climate-heating emissions from aviation could be slashed in half – without reducing passenger journeys – by getting rid of premium seats, ensuring flights are near full and using the most efficient aircraft, according to analysis.

These efficiency measures could be far more effective in tackling the fast-growing carbon footprint of flying than pledges to use “sustainable” fuels or controversial carbon offsets, the researchers said. They believe their study, which analysed more than 27m commercial flights out of approximately 35m in 2023, is the first to assess the variation in operational efficiency of flights across the globe.

‘It was overwhelming’: Katie Leung on Harry Potter, sudden fame, insecurity – and starring in Bridgerton

As a teenager, the actor landed her first ever job in the blockbuster film series. The experience was fun – but also led to horrendous online abuse. Now she’s back, playing a tough and surprising matriarch in the Regency smash hit

Some actors might have been a little put out to audition for the role of the beautiful young romantic lead, and instead be cast as her mother, but not Katie Leung. “Absolutely not,” she says with a laugh. “I look young for my age – as most people in the west think Asians do – but I felt really seen to finally get to play the role of a mother.” She is a mother, she points out, and anyway, the role of Lady Araminta Gun, the steely aristo who is about to rock the new series of Netflix’s Regency behemoth Bridgerton, is so delicious, who could be insulted?

Araminta, widowed, has seen off two husbands, and now she’s trying to marry off her two teenage daughters, ideally to a Bridgerton, while keeping her stepdaughter, Sophie, in her place – as a Cinderella-style servant for the family. “The showrunners reassured me that it wasn’t going to be the archetypal evil stepmother role,” says Leung. “They wanted to find the humanity in Araminta. They wanted to ensure I knew her background, her struggles, why she makes these decisions, and why she’s so formidable.”

The 15 best Xbox Series S/X games to play in 2026

This now venerable hardware remains an ideal platform for classics such as Minecraft and daring experiments from the brightest new developers

Now surely approaching their twilight years, the Xbox Series S and X machines nevertheless still have plenty to offer both new and veteran owners. We have selected 15 titles that show the range of what’s on offer, from the biggest blockbusters to lesser known indie gems you may have missed. Whether you’re after tense psychological horror or wild escapism, it’s all here and more.

Sali Hughes on beauty: why lactic acid is your ultimate skincare hero

Exfoliating, plumping and hydrating, the best products will leave your skin glowing without costing a fortune

Lactic acid – always the bridesmaid for the more hyped glycolic acid – is my first choice of alpha hydroxy acid for all manner of reasons. It exfoliates without stripping or stinging (its bigger molecule size makes it particularly well tolerated by even sensitive skins), can stimulate collagen and ceramide production to firm, plump and protect mature skins, has antibacterial properties for more problematic ones, and binds with water to keep every type more hydrated. Lactic also imparts an unmistakable glow to the complexion and deflakes rough areas brilliantly.

I’ve always loved it, but have rarely been so spoilt for choice. Beauty Pie’s new Youthbomb Extreme Retinal Triple Renewal Serum (£49 to members) is their best formula in some time, which goes some way to justify its high (for Beauty Pie) price point.

Pro-Trump influencers take a victory lap amid fallout from viral video alleging fraud

The swift policy and political repercussions the video helped propel illustrate the symbiotic relationship between online content creators and the Trump administration's policy goals.

DHS wants Venezuelans to return home, but fears remain as long as Maduro regime is in power

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have been in limbo since the Trump administration removed their temporary protected status late last year. That uncertainty has intensified as U.S. immigration officials again push for those migrants to return to Venezuela.

Football transfer rumours: PSG to move for Rashford? Roma eye Zirkzee?

Today’s rumours are staring at bare walls

Another day, another Jørgen Strand Larsen rumour. The latest speculation concerning the Wolves striker has Tottenham tussling with Newcastle for his services. With Mohammed Kudus sidelined by injury, Thomas Frank needs attacking reinforcements for his ailing side and Strand Larsen could fit the bill. Newcastle’s interest remains solid though, and they had scouts at Molineux last weekend, the Newcastle Chronicle reports.

Chelsea being Chelsea, Liam Rosenior’s arrival at Stamford Bridge has excited the gossip peddlers, and there’s talk in Spain of a cheeky move for Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Spanish outlet Fichajes claims: “Sources close to the club suggest that Chelsea could be preparing a multimillion pound offer to try to convince Real Madrid, assuming the deal must be a permanent transfer.” Though a move for the former Liverpool full-back wouldn’t particularly fit Chelsea’s transfer MO.

What’s to like? Why you can hate Timothée Chalamet’s character and still love Marty Supreme

Chalamet’s nogoodnik ping-pong hustler character is the latest in cinema’s rich history of protagonists with shabby morals. So why the backlash?

In the new hit movie Marty Supreme, the story is pushed forward by how lead character Marty Mauser keeps making messes then, rather than cleaning them up, manages to expand their scope beyond reason. Marty is attempting to prove himself as the world’s greatest table-tennis champion, to escape his meagre mid-century New York City circumstances and achieve a dream he’s locked on to, seemingly more out of desire to achieve it than a particular love for the sport.

And just as he’s presumably blown up some natural athleticism into a monomaniacal quest, all of Marty’s misdeeds across the film escalate. He cajoles, then lies. He quickly turns a pushy request to borrow money into petty theft, which then becomes armed robbery. At one point, a little ping-pong hustle at a New Jersey bowling alley literally blows up into a gas-station fire. Marty will not accept anything less than ultimate victory, which means he will especially not accept responsibility for his actions. And we, in the audience, are invited to like him anyway, at least in part because he is played by Timothée Chalamet.

‘I’d never told the same joke twice!’: the explosive rise of Ayoade Bamgboye, Edinburgh’s best new comedian

The Londoner from Lagos wowed the fringe with a show about language, family and cross-cultural identity. She talks about dread, dreams and her bid for ‘controlled chaos’

Before her first Edinburgh fringe run last summer, Ayoade Bamgboye put a question to her comedy friends: “How do you debut?” She recalls their advice: “You introduce yourself, and there’s a point of view. There should also be a narrative arc. And you need to establish who you are as a comedian.” This was a lot to hear. “It filled me with dread,” says the 31-year-old. “There’s this recurring thought that you can only debut once. If it falls flat, then you’re just a shit debutante, forever.”

Reader, Bamgboye avoided this fate, and then some. A fringe first-timer with a very slender comedy CV behind her, the Londoner-via-Lagos arrived at the festival with a fresh-minted show, Swings and Roundabouts, and left clutching the prestigious best newcomer award, as formerly won by Harry Hill, Sarah Millican and Tim Minchin. (She was the first Black woman to win the award.) It’s a ticket to the big time and Bamgboye is still reeling. “These past months have been very difficult, getting out of my head and out of my own way. That question of: why me, why this, why now?” Sometimes, only a cliche will cover it. “It changed my life,” says Bamgboye flatly. “I hate to say stuff like that, but it did.”

The Oak and the Larch by Sophie Pinkham review – are Russia’s forests the key to its identity?

How billions of trees left their mark on an empire’s psyche – shaping ideological and literal battles up to the present day

When Sophie Pinkham opens her fascinating book with the claim that “Russia has more trees than there are stars in our galaxy”, it might seem as though she is merely using a poetic turn of phrase. But the statistic is correct: while the Milky Way is estimated to have roughly 200bn stars, Russia has something in the region of 642bn trees. Stretching from the Arctic tundra to central Asia to the Pacific Ocean, the Russian forest is vast, mighty and inhospitable. Yet while it is a source of potential danger, it is also a place of great beauty and potential riches, providing furs, minerals and rivers overflowing with salmon.

Pinkham, a professor of comparative literature at Cornell University whose last book explored the intricacies of post-Soviet Ukraine, here charts the landscape’s influence on the Russian psyche, and its imprint on history, society and literature. The forest is deeply entwined with Russian national identity – the country is often symbolically represented as a bear – yet attitudes towards it have fluctuated. Different leaders have proposed different strategies for extracting value from the land, leading to cycles of deforestation and tree-planting depending on whether the priority was boosting agriculture, building Peter the Great’s imperial fleet, extracting minerals or constructing hydroelectric dams. Politically, it has been a place of resistance and of ultranationalist rhetoric glorifying the idea of Russian self-sufficiency.

CIA turncoat Aldrich Ames, who sold U.S. secrets to the Soviets, dies in prison at 84

CIA turncoat Aldrich Ames, who betrayed Western intelligence assets to the Soviet Union and Russia in one of the most damaging breaches in U.S. history, has died in a Maryland prison. He was 84.

No games, no league and now no City Football Group: Indian football faces up to ‘global embarrassment’

CFG have ditched Mumbai City and losing the glamour will hurt the game in the world’s most populated nation

The world’s biggest multiclub network shrank from 13 to 12 in the last week of 2025 but few blame the City Football Group for walking away from Mumbai City and India after six years. The reason for divesting their shares which gave them 65% ownership was addressed, not that anyone needed enlightening in a statement. “CFG has made this decision after a comprehensive commercial review and in light of the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the future of the Indian Super League (ISL).”

Uncertainty is an underestimation. The 2025-26 ISL season was supposed to kick off in September. However, with a 15-year Masters Right Agreement between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner ending in December and no new agreement or partner in place, it never started. Most assumed that it would be a short-lived delay but here we are, in 2026, and there is still no football. A meeting took place in Delhi on Tuesday and produced a start date of 14 February, just six weeks short of a year since Mumbai’s last ISL game. How it works, if it works, remains to be seen.

Prepare for takeoff: which football teams play closest to airports? | The Knowledge

Plus: goals (not) on film and was Liverpool’s substitution chain at Spurs the longest in football?

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“After St Mirren beat Celtic in the Scottish League Cup, I wondered where it actually is,” writes Dan J. “The answer is (as everyone bar me knew) Paisley, right next to Glasgow airport. Which got me wondering, which team is closest to an airport? I reckon Glentoran, next to Belfast City, and Eastleigh, virtually in Southampton airport, are in with a shout. And Charlton if you are happy to swim part of the way. Any closer ones?”

We had so many answers to this question, so thank you to one and all. Let’s start with a ground that is but a thunderclap away from the nearest airport. “The Icelandic football club Valur is near Rekjavík airport, which is mostly a domestic airport, but also has some international flights,” writes Kári Tulinius. “The distance from the fence around the airport to Valur’s fence is about 150 metres. From training pitch to the nearest piece of airport tarmac is 230m, and from corner flag to the end of the runway is 380m. All of these distances were measured with Google Maps.”

This, My Second Life by Patrick Charnley review – an astonishing debut of recovery

Drawing on his own near-death experience, the author finds a powerful intensity in this tale of a young man’s convalescence in a Cornish village

“I had to pick through the wreckage, blind at first. I had to find all the pieces of me, scattered all around, and put them back together, one by one.” Following a cardiac arrest which left him clinically dead for 40 minutes, Jago Trevarno, the young narrator of Patrick Charnley’s moving debut novel, has retreated to the Cornish village where he grew up, to shelter under the protection of his “off-gridder” uncle, Jacob.

His mother dead of cancer and his father long gone, at 20 Jago’s world seems to have shrunk to nothing but the hard daily labour of working a subsistence farm high above the rugged Atlantic coast. The life Jago had begun to construct in the city, “a runaway train” in flight from his mother’s death and everything that reminded him of her, has evaporated abruptly in the aftermath of his near-death experience. He has “gone from someone who needed to slow down, to be present, to someone having no choice about it”, and must start from scratch.

Women behind the lens: six of our most striking images from 2025

A few of our favourite photographs taken by women from the global south and capturing moments of everyday life and art

A moment that changed me: in the bombed-out ruins of an apartment block, I saw a book I’d translated

The sight of my work, torn and singed but still legible, made me realise the importance of translating and protecting stories – so they remain when everything else falls away

In the rubble of a collapsed apartment block, a single image stayed with me: a book I had translated from English to Persian, lying half-buried in dust and ash. Its cover was torn and smudged, its pages curled and singed, but it was still legible. Still speaking.

Two days earlier, on 13 June 2025, missiles from Israel began striking Tehran. There were no sirens, just sudden, violent blasts. The internet was completely cut off. I was in my apartment, translating Jhumpa Lahiri’s Translating Myself and Others – a book about what it means to transport words across languages, and the ethics and anxieties of inhabiting another’s voice. As buildings fell, I sat editing a text that argued, in its quiet way, for the endurance of meaning.

Seven U.S. troops injured in Venezuela raid that captured Maduro, Pentagon says

Seven U.S. service members were injured during a U.S. military operation in Venezuela that captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, a Pentagon official said on Wednesday.

1/6: CBS Evening News

Venezuelans celebrate in Florida as White House doubles down on Trump's Greenland pursuit; The many roles of Marco Rubio

Is Starmer’s reluctance to criticise Trump smart tactics – or the sign of a man without a plan? | Rafael Behr

The PM won’t call out Trump over Venezuela, and won’t commit to Europe. His refusal to choose leaves vital choices for Britain to be made by others

For an inveterate liar, Donald Trump is remarkably honest. The best guide to what he thinks is what he says. When forecasting his likely course of action, start with his declared intentions – removing the president of Venezuela, for example – and assume he means it. When he says the US must take possession of Greenland, he is not kidding.

The motives are sometimes muddled but rarely hidden. Trump likes making deals, especially real estate deals, and money. He wants to be great and to have his greatness affirmed with praise and prizes. He craves spectacle. The world as he describes it doesn’t always resemble observable reality, but there is an effortless, sociopathic sincerity to his falsehoods. The truth is whatever he intuits it to be in the moment to advance his interests and manipulate his audience.

Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist

‘It takes a town to raise a family’: the community sponsors supporting refugees in the UK

Groups are coming together across the country to help refugee families settle and integrate into local life

“Our children correct us when we don’t pronounce some words with the proper Derbyshire accent,” says Samir*, an Afghan refugee whose family have settled into their new lives in the north of England.

Initially, he says, it was difficult for the family to get used to rural life in Derbyshire, but after a while they had integrated into the local community so well that his children, who have adopted the Derbyshire accent, tease him about his.

Chickpea stew and lentil soup: Imad Alarnab’s recipes for Syrian comfort food

A warm, silky soup and a nourishing and flavourful stew to help get you through the colder weather

bowl of creamy red lentil soup feels like pure comfort – warm, silky and deeply satisfying. The lentils cook down into a smooth, golden blend, their gentle sweetness enriched by sauteed onions, garlic and a touch of spice. A drizzle of dukkah oil brightens things up, making it perfect for January. Then, a Levantine chickpea stew with aubergine and tahini, which is so nourishing and full of flavour. Tender chickpeas simmer slowly in a rich tomato base until they absorb the sweetness of onions, garlic, and the gentle warmth of cumin. Fried aubergine melts into the stew, and its smoky softness gives each spoonful a lush texture.

‘Yamagata is ramen’: Japan’s city of noodle fiends revels in ‘capital’ status

Noodle dish is nation’s favourite comfort food and source of civic pride – but it has health risks

The road to ramen paradise ends in the unlikeliest of places. At Men Endo, located in a suburban street, next to a school and a low-rise apartment block, bowls of noodles disappear in a flurry of slurps, gulps and hurried but heartfelt exchanges of appreciation between customer and chef.

On a cold afternoon in Yamagata, a city in Japan’s northeast, the wait for a seat at Men Endo’s counter is mercifully short. Inside the door, a ticket dispenser lists myriad options, from regular shoyu (soy sauce) ramen – in small, medium or large portions – to maji soba, a soupless symphony of toppings, sauce and noodles that diners are invited to mix together with their chopsticks, along with a spoonful of spicy miso.

Rosalía’s Lux is more than epic Catholic pop – it grapples with a world fraught with complexity and crisis | Carlos Delclós

Behind its lavish ‘nun-core’ aesthetic, the Spanish star’s hit album pushes us to think beyond good and evil – to see that we contain multitudes

I went into Lux primed not to like it. Not because I doubt Rosalía’s virtuosic talents or her intense intellectual curiosity, but because the album’s promotional campaign had already done too much work on my nerves. The rollout was relentless: thirsty reels teasing the album on social media, fashion-forward mysticism, even bringing Madrid’s city centre to a halt – everything about it felt designed to send the message that this is less a set of songs than a global event demanding reverence.

Over the past decade, Rosalía has become Spain’s biggest pop export, and Lux appears to inaugurate her imperial phase. The album debuted at No 1 in five countries, was voted the Guardian’s album of the year, broke streaming records on Spotify, and reached No 4 in the US and UK charts, where non-anglophone pop rarely thrives. Multilingual and stylistically expansive, Lux is saturated with Catholic iconography, with lyrics in no fewer than 13 languages, and circling themes of transcendence, suffering and grace.

Beast Games season two review – this mindless, vibeless reality show is like Squid Game meets Love Island

Is this big-money challenge cruel? Yes. But it’s mainly just tedious to watch these immature players and their teenage machinations as they battle for cash

The first season of Beast Games – the big-money reality challenge masterminded and hosted by internet personality Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast – prompted a lawsuit. Five anonymous contestants sued both the production companies behind the series and Donaldson himself, claiming that they had been kept “underfed and overtired”, and alleging an unsafe environment on the set of the Gladiators-ish, Squid Game-esque series (claims, of course, firmly denied by all parties). While the participants claimed they had been “shamelessly exploited” in the name of entertainment, this did little to impede the success of Beast Games, which went on to become Amazon’s most-watched unscripted series ever, garnering 50 million viewers in the month after its release.

You may well come to Beast Games with a sense that this is a slightly murky, mercenary endeavour, the $5m grand prize (“generational wealth!!!!” says Donaldson) distracting from potential ethical issues just below the surface. Weirdly, though, moral issues will probably be the least of viewers’ concerns. More than ever, in its second series Beast Games also happens to be mindless, vibeless television, flecked with Squiddy sadism but also borrowing heavily from the Love Island playbook. As they stay up into the wee hours building improbably high towers from foam blocks or playing convoluted games of dodgeball, the contestants couple up, crash out and even seek to avenge fallen players. Take Luisitin, playing to defend the honour of his wife from series one, by badmouthing her former nemesis, Karim, to anyone who will listen (“he and his brother gaslit my wife on television!”) People say things like “be careful who you trust!” and “he’s backpack boy … his girlfriend is carrying him over the finish line”. You don’t get this sort of feuding on Ninja Warrior, that’s for sure.

‘Extraordinary’ iron age war trumpet find in Britain may have Boudicca links

Bronze instrument or carnyx dug up in Norfolk in area inhabited by Celtic tribe led by warrior who fought Romans

An “extraordinary” iron age war trumpet that may have links to the Celtic tribe led by Boudicca in the period they were battling the invading Roman army has been discovered by archaeologists in Norfolk.

The bronze trumpet or carnyx is only the third ever found in Britain, and the most complete example discovered anywhere in the world. Fashioned in the shape of a snarling wild animal, the object would have been mounted on a long mouthpiece high above the heads of warriors, allowing it to be sounded to intimidate the enemy in battle.

U.S. plans to intercept tanker involved in Venezuelan oil trade

Two U.S. intelligence officials said Venezuelan officials had discussed placing Soviet-era defense systems and armed military personnel on tankers — disguising them as civilians for defense purposes.

1/2: CBS Evening News

Coast-to-coast storm dumps snow and rain as post-holiday travel begins; A bittersweet update to the goose love story that touched so many

Teen killed by bus during ultra-Orthodox protest against conscription in Jerusalem

Mass demonstrations against compulsory service law have been taking place as Israel’s military tries to solve its manpower shortages

A mass ultra-Orthodox Jewish rally against military conscription turned deadly in Jerusalem on Tuesday, when a teenage boy was crushed and killed after a man driving a bus hit the crowd.

The Israeli police said they detained the driver and are investigating.

12/18: CBS Evening News

Greg Biffle killed in plane crash; Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson sign off from the "CBS Evening News."

Aldrich Ames, CIA agent who spied for Soviet Union and Russia, dies aged 84

In damaging intelligence breach, Ames admitted to passing information to Moscow for nearly a decade

Aldrich Ames, the CIA agent who spied for the Soviet Union and Russia in one of the most damaging intelligence breaches in US history, has died in a Maryland prison. He was 84.His death on Monday was confirmed by the Bureau of Prisons.

Ames is best known as an ex-CIA agent who spied on the US on behalf of the Soviet Union. Ames, along with his wife, Rosario Ames, was arrested in February 1994 and pleaded guilty without a trial to espionage and tax evasion. Aldrich was charged with espionage, and his wife with aiding and abetting his activities.

White House discussing "range of options" for acquiring Greenland, Leavitt says

President Trump wants the matter settled before the end of his term, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Families of Uvalde shooting victims seek accountability as trial begins

Adrian Gonzales, a former Uvalde schools officer, is accused of failing to act during the May 24, 2022, attack.

Ohio police release video of person of interest in dentist and wife's killing

Investigators believe Spencer and Monique Tepe were fatally shot between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. last Tuesday in their home located in the Near East Side neighborhood of downtown Columbus.

Noem says she's "focused on policing the streets, not policing President Trump's words"

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has deployed 2,000 agents to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul to conduct immigration raids and assist in the widening fraud investigation.

Ohio police seek person of interest in murders of dentist and his wife

Police are asking for the public's help identifying a person seen walking in an alleyway near the home of Spencer and Monique Tepe hours before they were found shot dead in Columbus, Ohio. Tom Hanson has more.

Trial begins for former Uvalde schools officer

Families of the children and teachers killed at Robb Elementary School sat in the courtroom this week as a former school police officer went on trial, seeking accountability nearly four years after the devastating mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Jason Allen reports.

Noem defends Minnesota immigration raids, fraud probes: "The American taxpayer is grateful"

The Trump administration has launched another crackdown on illegal immigration in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Nicole Sganga is there and spoke exclusively with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Venezuelans in the U.S. react to upheaval at home and who should lead next

After decades of fear and instability, Venezuelans in the U.S. are cautiously hopeful about what comes next. CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil spoke to Venezuelans in Doral, Florida.

Brown University shooter confesses in videos, says attack was planned for a long time

According to transcripts released by authorities from a series of recorded videos, the gunman did not reveal a motive for the killings.

Detained Americans are used as "trading chips," Marine imprisoned under Maduro says

Matthew Heath, a corporal in the Corps from 1999 until 2003, says Maduro detained Americans to be used as "trading chips" and a policy tool.

Aldrich Ames, CIA officer convicted of spying for Russia, dies at age 84

Aldrich Ames was a counterintelligence officer for the CIA who spied for the Soviet Union and later Russia.

New study urges flyers to avoid tap water, coffee and tea on aircraft

New research recommends against drinking coffee or tea served by airlines, urging travelers to stick to bottled water.

Republicans silent and Democrats incensed on fifth anniversary of US Capitol attack

Democrats hold hearing to examine impact of January 6, while protesters commemorate attack on Capitol grounds

Congressional Republicans were largely silent on the fifth anniversary of the January 6 insurrection on Tuesday, even as Democrats sought to use the occasion to condemn Donald Trump and a small group of protesters convened on the grounds of the US Capitol in solidarity with those who carried out the attack.

Democrats, who are in the minority in Congress after fruitlessly hoping that the well-documented violence would cause voters to reject Trump for good, seized on the anniversary to decry the president as a threat to democracy, and accuse Republicans of acting as his accomplices.

Meta hires Microsoft exec, former Trump deputy as chief legal officer

Meta said Tuesday that it hired former Microsoft legal executive Curtis Joseph Mahoney to become its chief legal officer.

Police-style handcuffs on murder victim made police fear killer was among them

Beloved schoolteacher Mary Catherine Edwards was found murdered wearing police-grade Smith & Wesson handcuffs — sending ripples through the Beaumont, Texas, Police Department.

Cold case murder victim was a bridesmaid in killer's wedding

The investigation into the 1995 murder of Texas teacher Mary Catherine Edwards went cold for years. Advances in forensic science and tireless work by investigators would reveal the startling connection between the victim and her killer.

Elon Musk’s xAI announces it has raised $20bn amid backlash over Grok deepfakes

AI company’s chatbot faces criticism over its generation of sexualized, nonconsensual images of women and girls

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company has raised $20bn in its latest funding round, the startup announced Tuesday, even as its marquee chatbot Grok faces backlash over generating sexualized, nonconsensual images of women and underage girls.

xAI’s Series E funding round featured big-name investors, including Nvidia, Fidelity Management and Resource Company, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, and Valor Equity Partners – the private investment firm of Musk’s longtime friend and former Doge member Antonio Gracias. The funding round exceeded its initial $15bn target, according to xAI’s press release. The company touted Grok’s image-generation abilities in the announcement of its latest funding round.

Classified Venezuela briefing leaves lawmakers split along party lines after Maduro capture

Senate Democrats are moving to force a vote on a measure to block further military action in Venezuela.

Amazon's AI shopping tool sparks backlash from online retailers that didn't want websites scraped

Some businesses have objected to their products being sold on Amazon through the "Shop Direct" feature without their permission.