Deep-sea search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 to resume Dec. 30

The Malaysian government says it will pay the robotics firm Ocean Infinity $70 million if it can locate the wreckage from the missing flight within a 55-day period.

San Francisco sues nation's top food manufacturers over ultraprocessed foods

The city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against some top food manufacturers on Tuesday, arguing that ultraprocessed food from the likes of Coca-Cola and Nestle are responsible for a health crisis.

Surge in Myanmar opium poppy farming as conflict pushes farmers into illicit trade

The UN office on drugs and crime said in a report the growth underscores Myanmar’s position as the world’s main known source of illicit opium

Opium poppy cultivation in war-torn Myanmar has surged to its highest level in a decade, according to the UN, rising 17% in the past year as conflict and economic hardship push more farmers into the illicit trade.

Poppy cultivation climbed to 53,100 hectares this year from 45,200 hectares in 2024, the UN office on drugs and crime (UNODC) said in a report, underlining Myanmar’s position as the world’s main known source of illicit opium amid declining production in Afghanistan.

The best science and nature books of 2025

From the threat of superintelligent AI to the secrets of a longer life; plus the evolution of language and the restless genius of Francis Crick

This felt like the year that AI really arrived. It is on our phones and laptops; it is creeping into digital and corporate infrastructure; it is changing the way we learn, work and create; and the global economy rests on the stratospheric valuations of the corporate giants vying to control it.

But the unchecked rush to go faster and further could extinguish humanity, according to the surprisingly readable and chillingly plausible If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies (Bodley Head), by computer scientists Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares, which argues against creating superintelligent AI able to cognitively outpace Homo sapiens in all departments. “Even an AI that cares about understanding the universe is likely to annihilate humans as a side-effect,” they write, “because humans are not the most efficient method for producing truths … out of all possible ways to arrange matter.” Not exactly cheery Christmas reading but, as the machines literally calculate our demise, you’ll finally grasp all that tech bro lingo about tokens, weights and maximising preferences.

Tesla privately warned UK that weakening EV rules would hit sales

Elon Musk-owned electric carmaker also called for support for the secondhand market, documents reveal

• Business live – latest updates

Tesla privately warned the UK government that weakening electric vehicle rules would hit battery car sales and risk the country missing its carbon dioxide targets, according to newly revealed documents.

The US electric carmaker, run by Elon Musk, also called for “support for the used-car market”, according to submissions to a government consultation earlier this year obtained by the Fast Charge, a newsletter covering electric cars.

‘Bad girls’ is how society labels women in prison. But what if that label is a lie? | Sabrina Mahtani

Incarceration should be a last resort, yet this broken and brutal system punishes marginalised women, most of whom are inside for non-violent crimes

‘When you imprison a woman, you imprison a family,” a young woman in Sierra Leone told me, cradling her small baby in a damp cell. My mind flashed back to being a teenager, hearing my mother sob after receiving a phone call to say that my father had been arrested in Zambia for political reasons.

I understand how children are collateral damage of imprisonment, and over 20 years as a lawyer, I know that is even more true when women – primary caregivers – are arrested.

Party starters: Jacob Kenedy’s Italian Christmas canapes – recipes

Three Italian light bites to get you started on the big day: pinzimonio crudites, chilled prawns with boozy mayo, and a delicate frittata that you can stud with artichoke, radicchio or celery

I am evolving as a host, and coming to realise that those rich dishes that crown our festive tables shine brightest when surrounded by contrasting and lighter bites – before, around and after, rather than just on the day itself. I do enjoy angels and devils on horseback, devilled eggs, little sausages wrapped in bacon, mince tarts crowned with goose liver, fried breads and cheesy pizzette, buffalo wings, paté en croute, crab beignets, oysters Rockefeller, shrimp tostadas and rich tamales, but, for the most part, I save these for the parties earlier in December. For Christmas day itself, I start with lighter bites, as better preparation for the rich meal ahead. A trio of dainty, grazing canapes served alongside sparkling Alta Langa …

The Guardian aims to publish recipes for sustainable fish. Check ratings in your region: UK; Australia; US.

Brat-core tees, butterfly bling and a hot-to-go hat: the best Christmas gifts for pop girlies

Shopping for a Swiftie, a Brat or a Short n’ Sweet superfan? We’ve rounded up the ultimate pop-girlie gifts of 2025, inspired by everyone from Chappell Roan to Olivia Rodrigo

• The best 90s Christmas gifts

From Olivia Rodrigo headlining Glastonbury to Chappell Roan winning a Grammy for best new artist, 2025 has been yet another slay for the pop girls. And with recently released albums from Taylor Swift, Olivia Dean and Sabrina Carpenter (and one on the way for Charli xcx), there’s no sign of them slowing down.

So, whether you’re shopping for a loved one who’s clinging on to Brat summer or in need of a present for a Swiftie, we’ve rounded up thoughtful gifts inspired by their favourite artists. From a blush used to create Sabrina Carpenter’s rosy cheeks to a Polaroid camera for taking snaps at concerts, you’ll find something on this list to delight the pop girlie in your life.

Fear of facing the future has British politics stuck in the past | Rafael Behr

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves claim to be dealing with the world as it is, but their choices betray yearning for a world that has disappeared

Hollywood has stopped betting on original ideas. Sequels and remakes dominate the box office. Among this year’s Christmas movie releases are Zootropolis 2 (the first Zootropolis came out in 2016), Avatar: Fire and Ash (third in a series that began in 2009), and Wicked: For Good (part two of the adaptation of a musical that premiered in 2003).

New stories are risky. It is safer to retell old ones. British politics feels similarly afflicted by paralysis of the imagination, intimidated by change, stuck in a narrative loop.

Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist

12/2: CBS Evening News

Major snowstorm that walloped Midwest hits East Coast; Sasha DiGiulian becomes first woman to free-climb El Capitan's longest route, despite storm

Search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 to resume more than 11 years after plane went missing

The country’s transport ministry said the search would resume on 30 December and confirmed that US robotic company Ocean Infinity would take part

The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will resume this month, the Malaysian transport ministry has said, more than a decade after the plane disappeared in one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.

In a statement on Wednesday, the transport ministry confirmed the search would resume on 30 December, saying that US-based robotic company Ocean Infinity would recommence a search of the seabed over a period of 55 days, conducted intermittently.

Reuse and return schemes could help eliminate plastic waste in 15 years – report

Pew Charitable Trusts finds plastic pollution will more than double globally by 2040 unless action taken

The 66m tonnes of pollution from plastic packaging that enters the global environment each year could be almost eliminated by 2040 primarily by reuse and return schemes, significant new research reveals.

In the most wide-ranging analysis of the global plastic system, the Pew Charitable Trusts, in collaboration with academics including at Imperial College London and the University of Oxford, said plastic, a material once called revolutionary and modern, was now putting public health, world economies and the future of the planet at risk.

National Trust launches fundraiser to help buy land around Cerne Giant

Deal expected to pave way for further scientific study, boost conservation and open up access to Dorset chalk figure

The mystery of when, how and – perhaps most importantly – why a giant naked figure was carved into a dizzyingly steep hillside in the English West Country has been a source of wonder and intrigue for centuries.

Future generations may come closer to solving the puzzle of the Cerne Giant after the National Trust stepped in to buy 340 acres of land around the 55-metre (180ft) figure.

Scott Galloway on the masculinity crisis: ‘I worry we are evolving a new breed of asexual, asocial males’

When his book Notes on Being a Man was released last month, it raced to the top of the bestseller lists. The US author, tech entrepreneur and podcaster explains his theories on dating, crying – and the rise of Donald Trump

It takes balls to title your book Notes on Being a Man. And, superficially, Scott Galloway could easily be lumped in with a dozen other manosphere-friendly alpha-bros promising to teach young men how to find their inner wolf. He is, after all, a wealthy, healthy, white, heterosexual, shaven-headed, 61-year-old Californian who made his name and fortune as a successful investor and podcaster.

But in reality, he is almost the opposite: liberal, left-leaning and surprisingly sensitive. The guy who advises his readers on “how to address the masculinity crisis, build mental strength and raise good sons” has been described as a “progressive Jordan Peterson”, or “Gordon Gekko with a social conscience”.

Pentagon's report on "Signalgate" could be released this week, source says

A copy of the Pentagon inspector general's report has been sent to Congress, and a redacted and unclassified version is expected to be released to the public as early as Thursday, the source said.

ICE tapped to target undocumented Somali immigrants in Twin Cities, source says

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been directed by the Trump administration to target undocumented Somali immigrants in the Twin Cities, according to the New York Times.

Russia ‘ready’ for war with Europe, Putin says, as US peace talks end without progress

Kremlin aide says Ukraine crisis is no closer to resolution after Witkoff talks, as Russian president accuses European powers of sabotaging peace

Russia and the US did not make progress toward a peace deal for Ukraine during their talks, a senior aide to Vladimir Putin has said, hours after the Russian president issued threats that Russia was ready for war with Europe.

In remarks to Russian media, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that after a five-hour meeting with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the two sides were “neither further nor closer to resolving the crisis in Ukraine. There is a lot of work to be done.”

Trump says he doesn't want Somalis in the U.S., urges them to go back to their homeland and fix it

President Trump says he doesn't want Somali immigrants in the U.S., saying residents of the war-ravaged eastern African country are too reliant on U.S. social safety net and add little to the U.S.

Australia social media ban: when is it, how will it work and what apps are being banned for under-16s?

Will the ban be delayed or postponed, and how will age verification work? Platforms will need to deactivate accounts for users under 16 and stop teens from making accounts until they are that age, or face fines of up to $50m. Here’s everything you need to know

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Australia’s world-first social media ban for children under the age of 16 is just a week away.

The tech platforms – large and small – are working on functionality that will kick off existing under-16 account holders and prevent any new ones from signing up.

Republican Matt Van Epps wins closely watched Tennessee House race, AP projects

Republican candidate Matt Van Epps is on track to defeat Democrat Aftyn Behn in a special election for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District, the AP projected.

What to watch for in Tennessee's special election today

Voters are heading to the polls Tuesday in central Tennessee for 2025's final election showdown in a race that could be a referendum on President Trump.

Republican Matt Van Epps wins US House special election in Tennessee

Van Epps defeats Aftyn Behn in congressional election closely watched for signs of Republican weakness

Republican Matt Van Epps defeated Democrat Aftyn Behn in a congressional special election in the western Nashville suburbs, which was being closely watched for signs of Republican weakness going into congressional midterms next year.

The Associated Press called the race at 9.47 EST with Van Epps holding a 52% to 46% lead.

‘A king above all’: The rise and rise of Asim Munir, Pakistan’s increasingly powerful army chief

Known as Trump’s ‘favourite field marshal’, Munir’s power now extends over all the armed forces, along with lifelong immunity from prosecution, thanks to a constitutional amendment

Since it was penned in 1973, Pakistan’s constitution has been dealt many blows. Originally a statement of democracy, it was just a matter of years before a pattern of endless constitutional amendments began, validating successive coups and military dictatorships.

Yet for the past 15 years, the constitution had – at least on the surface – returned Pakistan to some semblance of civilian rule. That was until last month.

Trump claims to void all documents signed by Biden, citing autopen use

Presidents of both major parties have used the device and experts called into question legality of Trump’s move

Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is terminating all documents, including pardons, that he said his predecessor Joe Biden signed using an autopen – an unprecedented attempt to rollback a previous president’s actions using what legal thinkers view as a flimsy pretext.

The autopen is a device used to replicate a person’s signature with precision, typically for high-volume or ceremonial documents. It has been employed by presidents of both major parties to sign letters and proclamations.

White House justifies strikes on boat survivors, but it's unclear where buck stops

In the face of charges that these strikes amount to execution without trial, the White House is sending a confusing message about who exactly gave each order to use deadly force.

Family alarmed over Jimmy Lai’s deteriorating health as he languishes in solitary confinement in Hong Kong

Hong Kong media mogul has suffered dramatic weight loss and other worrying ailments since being jailed in 2020, Lai’s family say

The children of Hong Kong’s jailed pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai have voiced new alarm for his health, describing his dramatic weight loss, teeth rotting and nails turning green before falling off.

Lai, who turns 78 next Monday, has been behind bars in Hong Kong since late 2020 as China clamps down on the financial hub to which it promised a separate system when Britain handed it over in 1997.

Sasha DiGiulian becomes first woman to free-climb El Capitan's longest route

Sasha DiGiulian free-climbed the roughly 3,000-foot sheer granite wall in Yosemite National Park over the course of 23 days.

Sasha DiGiulian becomes first woman to free-climb El Capitan's longest route, despite storm

Sasha DiGiulian, 33, is now the first woman to free-climb what's known as the "Platinum Wall," the longest route straight to the 3,000-foot peak of Yosemite's El Capitan. She did it in the face of a brutal storm. Carter Evans reports.

Investigation shows lack of oversight for charter schools

Classical charter schools have been rising in popularity across the country. They are funded by taxpayers and often tout a more traditional curriculum than regular public schools, but a CBS News investigation found there is limited oversight of the schools, including their finances. Mark Strassmann reports.

San Francisco sues ultra-processed food makers

In San Francisco on Tuesday, city attorney David Chiu announced the first government lawsuit of its kind against 11 companies that manufacture ultra-processed foods. Elizabeth Cook reports.

Trump administration fires 8 immigration judges in New York City, official says

All eight judges worked out of immigration court offices at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City, which is where Immigration and Customs Enforcement is headquartered in the city, the official told CBS News.

Should you open a Trump account for your child? Here's what experts say.

Trump accounts offer a new tax-preferred way for families to save money for their kids. Here are the pros and cons.

Michael and Susan Dell to give 25 million U.S. kids $250 in Trump accounts

Michael and Susan Dell said they will spend $6.25 billion to fund Invest America accounts for U.S. children.

Michael and Susan Dell giving $250 apiece to 25 million U.S. kids via Trump accounts

Michael and Susan Dell on Tuesday committed more than $6 billion to open savings accounts for 25 million American children aged 10 and under. Ed O'Keefe reports.

Putin aide says "much work to be done" following Witkoff, Kushner meeting

President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin​ in Moscow on Tuesday, amid a push by Mr. Trump to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump and Hegseth provide new details on controversial boat strikes

President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed new details about an attack on an alleged drug boat in September that has sparked intense criticism.

Putin accuses European leaders of blocking peace in Ukraine before meeting with U.S. envoy

President Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met with Russia's Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Tuesday to discuss the war in Ukraine. Putin, meanwhile, accused America's European allies of meddling in the peace process. Holly Williams reports.

Trump defends boat strikes, disparages Somali immigrants in Cabinet meeting

President Trump and his defense secretary spoke Tuesday at a Cabinet meeting about their involvement in a September attack on an alleged drug boat that has come under fire following a Washington Post report that said the military launched a follow-up strike that killed two survivors of the initial attack. At the same Cabinet meeting, Mr. Trump also launched a vicious verbal attack on Somali immigrants. Weijia Jiang reports.

Major snowstorm that walloped Midwest hits East Coast

A storm that dumped snow on the Midwest was doing the same in the Northeast on Tuesday, with parts of New England expecting as much as a foot from what is the first major snowstorm of the season. Tom Hanson reports on the conditions and Lonnie Quinn takes a look at the forecast.

Raccoon passes out on Virginia liquor store bathroom floor after drunken rampage

An employee at the Ashland, Virginia, area liquor store on Saturday found the trash panda passed out on the bathroom floor at the end of his drunken escapade.

Handling of China spying case was ‘shambolic’, security committee concludes

Report says ‘systemic failures’ led to collapse of trial, but found no evidence of UK government interference

Parliament’s security committee has criticised prosecutors for pulling their charges against two men accused of spying for Beijing, in a damning report that concluded the handling of the case was “shambolic”.

MPs said that a process “beset by confusion and misaligned expectations” and “inadequate” communication between the government and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had contributed to the collapse of the trial, while several “opportunities to correct course were missed”.

It was “unclear” why the CPS had concluded that a July 2024 ruling concerning a Bulgarian spy ring “altered the legal landscape so significantly” that they had to change their approach.

It was “surprised” the CPS had deemed the government’s evidence insufficient to put to a jury when it had set out how China “posed a range of threats to the United Kingdom’s national security” that “amounted to a more general active threat”.

The government “did not have sufficiently clear processes for escalating issues where there was a lack of clarity” and “the level of senior oversight” from cabinet ministers and national security advisers “was insufficiently robust”.

More than 200 leading cultural figures call for release of jailed Palestinian leader

Group including Margaret Atwood, Ian McKellen and Richard Branson sign open letter to free Marwan Barghouti

More than 200 leading cultural figures have come together to call for the release of Marwan Barghouti, the jailed Palestinian leader seen as capable of uniting factions and bringing the best hope to the stalled mission of creating a Palestinian state.

The prestigious and diverse group calling for his release in an open letter includes a variety of prominent names, including the writers Margaret Atwood, Philip Pullman, Zadie Smith and Annie Ernaux; actors Sir Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Josh O’Connor and Mark Ruffalo, and the broadcaster and former footballer Gary Lineker.

Nike, Superdry and Lacoste ads banned in UK over ‘misleading’ green claims

Advertising watchdog says all three firms misled shoppers by using term ‘sustainable’ in paid-for Google adverts

Ads for Nike, Superdry and Lacoste have been banned in the UK for misleading consumers about the environmental sustainability credentials of their products.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said paid-for Google ads run by all three retailers used terms such as “sustainable”, “sustainable materials” or “sustainable style” without providing evidence proving the green claims.

Justice Department seeks to dismiss Maurene Comey's lawsuit over her firing

The Justice Department is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit that former federal prosecutor Maurene Comey brought against it​, saying she didn't properly follow administrative complaint procedures before suing.

Marvell to acquire Celestial AI for as much as $5.5 billion

The deal is an aggressive move for Marvell to acquire complimentary technology to its semiconductor networking business.

Trump says he's planning land strikes on alleged drug traffickers "very soon"

President Trump said his administration could attack accused drug traffickers who traverse Latin America by land "very soon," which would mark an escalation in his anti-narcotics campaign.

Truth Social operator Trump Media settles legal dispute with co-founders

Trump Media operates the Truth Social app frequently used by President Donald Trump.

Fabergé egg made for mother of Russia’s last tsar sells for £23m

Christie’s says the sale price is the highest for a Fabergé, beating a £8.9m auction in 2007

A vintage jewel-studded Fabergé egg that belonged to the mother of Russia’s last emperor has been sold for a record £22.9m in London.

The Winter egg was commissioned in 1913 by Emperor Nicholas II as an Easter gift for his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, and is described as one of the most lavish of Fabergé’s imperial creations.

Amazon to let cloud clients customize AI models midway through training for $100,000 a year

It can cost hundreds of millions or even billions to build a large language model from scratch, and this process is more affordable, Amazon said.

Amazon launches cloud AI tool to help engineers recover from outages faster

Amazon Web Services' DevOps Agent is meant to help developers more quickly figure out what caused an outage and how to fix it.

Mother charged with killing pregnant daughter in rural Michigan woods

Authorities charged a woman and her husband with murder Tuesday in the death of her pregnant biological daughter, whose body was found in a Michigan forest three weeks after she disappeared.

Raphinha leads comeback for Barcelona in victory against Atlético Madrid

Barcelona recovered to secure a 3-1 win against Atlético Madrid as goals from Raphinha, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres handed the visitors their first La Liga defeat since August and extended the champions’ lead at the top after an intense clash on Tuesday.

The result puts Barcelona on 37 points, four ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who visit Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday. Atlético, arriving at Camp Nou on a seven-game winning run in all competitions, remain in fourth place with 31 points.

Slot uneasy over dropping Salah for Liverpool and wants him back on pitch

• Salah left out for champions’ victory at West Ham

• Slot: ‘It’s not a nice thing for him and not for me’

Arne Slot has admitted feeling unease at dropping Mohamed Salah after the striker’s eight phenomenal seasons at Liverpool, and said he wants him “doing something special” on the pitch rather than sitting misera­bly on the bench.

Omitting Salah was Slot’s big call at West Ham on Sunday when the ­Liverpool head coach found a ­solution to the Premier League champions’ dismal run of results. The Egypt international, who will depart for the Africa Cup of Nations on 15 December, has struggled to hit his customary heights this season and is not guaranteed to return against Sunderland at Anfield on Wednesday.

Cristian Romero overhead kick snatches late Tottenham draw to deny Newcastle

Two late goals from Cristian Romero enabled Thomas Frank to leave Tyneside celebrating the sort of dramatic draw that can be construed as a form of moral victory.

The Tottenham captain’s equaliser in stoppage time, his second leveller of the scrappiest of games, not merely camouflaged plenty of visiting flaws but surely reinforced his manager’s recently fragile looking job security.

Police were skeptical about tip that led to arrest of UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect

Officers joked about tip that Luigi Mangione was at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, where they arrested him

Police involved with Luigi Mangione’s arrest were so skeptical that the tip on his whereabouts was true that they joked about a reward sandwich in text messages, Manhattan state court proceedings revealed on Tuesday.

“He said, ‘if you get the New York City shooter, I’ll buy you a hoagie from a local restaurant,’” testified Joseph Detwiler, an Altoona, Pennsylvania police officer, of texts exchanged with a supervisor. “I said, ‘Consider it done.’”

Michael and Susan Dell commit $6.25 billion for investment accounts for kids

Michael and Susan Dell are donating $6.25 billion to fund "Trump Accounts" for 25 million U.S. children. The gift would put $250 into each eligible child's account.

What’s the Monarchy For? review – David Dimbleby’s demolition of the royals is hugely entertaining

Now he’s free of the BBC, he’s gone combative. He drives a horse and cart through a piece of Dominic Grieve sophistry, and tries his best to skewer the institution based around a jewelled velvet hat

Settling down in front of David Dimbleby’s new three-parter, and looking at that confrontational title, you wonder why the question it asks is not debated more often. Dimbleby himself has trailed the series by worrying aloud that during his stint as a BBC staffer he was part of an organisation that didn’t challenge the monarchy robustly enough. But retirement means the shackles he wore when he was the corporation’s top politics presenter have been loosened.

The opening episode cleaves closest to the titular question – parts two and three are more like “Is the Monarchy a Giant Ponzi Scheme?” and “Are the Monarchy Personally Repellent?”, respectively – with its theme of how much power the monarchy has and how it wields it.

Manchester City hold off heroic Fulham fightback to win nine-goal epic

Fancy a bit of history? Under the floodlights of this storied old ground you were welcome to take your pick. The inevitable Erling Haaland smashed through the 100-goal barrier and a Premier League record. Phil Foden scored his second double in four days. City raced to a 5-1 lead before an hour was even on the clock only for Fulham to come agonisingly close to parity by the end. All of that resulted in the seventh highest-scoring match in three ­decades of the Premier League. Not bad.

The pendulum swung throughout the contest in movements big and small. City set off with gusto and looked to have sealed the result with two short spells of dominance before and after half-time. But Fulham had more shots and more possession and were in charge of the match from the moment Alex Iwobi calmly scored their second 12 minutes into the second half. City have the points on the board in their ongoing pursuit of Arsenal, they could not disguise defensive vulnerabilities. Fulham, meanwhile, were unable to halt a run of defeats against City that now runs to an astonishing 19, but yet showed they could compete with anyone.

Trump threatens strikes on any country he claims makes drugs for US

Trump signals imminent land strikes in Venezuela, blaming a navy admiral for a deadly September attack

Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that any country he believes is making drugs destined illegally for the US is vulnerable to a military attack.

The US president’s comments came during a question-and-answer session at the White House at which he also said military strikes on land targets inside Venezuela, which he has accused of narco-terrorism, would “start very soon”.

Stranger Things season 5 breaks Netflix viewership record

New episodes of sci-fi series achieve 59.6m views in first five days of release, a new record for an English language show

The upside-down is still the right way for Netflix – Stranger Things 5 is now the company’s biggest English-language debut ever.

The fifth season of the streaming company’s flagship sci-fi series achieved 59.6m views in its first five days on the platform, making for the best premiere week for an English-language series ever on Netflix, and the third biggest debut overall behind the second and third seasons of the Korean sensation Squid Game.

Costco sues the Trump administration over tariffs, joining a refund queue

Costco is one of the largest companies to sue for possible refunds if the Supreme Court strikes down the new import duties.

Man sentenced to 40 years in murder of Ole Miss student

A man pleaded guilty to murder and tampering charges and was sentenced to 40 years in the killing of a University of Mississippi graduate who was a prominent figure in the LGBTQ community.

Family of victim in Trump drug boat killings files first formal complaint

Exclusive: Petition says Colombia citizen Alejandro Carranza Medina was illegally killed in US airstrike on 15 September

A family in Colombia filed a petition on Tuesday with the Washington DC-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, alleging that the Colombian citizen Alejandro Carranza Medina was illegally killed in a US airstrike on 15 September.

The petition marks the first formal complaint over the airstrikes by the Trump administration against suspected drug boats, attacks that the White House says are justified under a novel interpretation of law.

Fearless Robin Smith and his square cuts gave hope to England in grim era | Tanya Aldred

Smith stood up to West Indies bowling and scored centuries against Australia in the most demanding of circumstances

A Robin Smith square cut was more than a whip‑crack snap of the bat. For English cricket fans of the late 80s and early 90s, it was a nudge in the ribs that, underneath the pastings, the dismal collapses and Rentaghost selections, the national team would fight another day.

Smith’s cut, alongside a David Gower cover drive, gave hope where there was little left in the bucket. Those famous forearms – half oak, half baobab – the white shirt unbuttoned past the clavicle, the chain glinting through his chest hair, smelt enticingly like bravery, and old spice and one last throw of the dice.

GOP lawmaker moves to force vote on congressional stock trading ban

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is seeking to force a vote on a bipartisan bill that would ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks.

‘A lot of bad things happened’: the most shocking moments from the Diddy docuseries

Netflix and 50 Cent’s harrowing new series looks back at the disgraced music mogul’s rise to fame and fall from grace

The controversial Netflix docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning had already been called a “shameful hitpiece” by the disgraced mogul’s lawyers after a trailer was released on Monday.

Now after all four episodes have been dropped on Netflix, it’s been called “grimly necessary” and a “relentless” portrait of “a terrifying individual” by critics.

A major winter storm is pummeling the Northeast with ice and snow

A system expected to drop 6 inches of snow or more from Pennsylvania to Maine could tie up the Tuesday evening commute, the National Weather Service says.

Sabrina Carpenter blasts Trump admin for 'evil' ICE video that uses her song 'Juno'

Carpenter joins Beyoncé, Olivia Rodrigo, and others in demanding that President Trump and his administration not use their songs to promote policies.

Delayed tariff impact starting to hit, could cause companies to reduce head count in 2026

President Trump's tariffs, aimed at reshoring American jobs lost to overseas manufacturing, could end up lowering head count instead

Spain sink Germany to retain Women’s Nations League title as Hermoso makes return

Too slick, too quick and, ultimately, just too good at football; Spain reaffirmed their standing as the best team in the world as they outclassed Germany and retained the Women’s Nations League title in spite of the absence of their injured superstar Aitana Bonmatí.

The world champions were playing their first game since their Ballon d’Or-winning midfielder was ruled out for five months after undergoing surgery on a broken leg, but anybody who worried that her absence may disrupt Spain’s stylish football was immediately proved wrong, as they demonstrated the extensive depth of talent across their classy team and eventually played some ruthless football to dispatch their rivals at the Estadio Metropolitano.

Watch: Trump holds Cabinet meeting as Hegseth boat strike scrutiny mounts

Scrutiny over the boat strikes, government shutdown, ACA tax credits, Jeffrey Epstein and more has dominated the news since Trump's last Cabinet meeting.

Global heating and other human activity are making Asia’s floods more lethal

Much improved response systems are struggling to cope with ever more powerful and destructive storms

• Death toll from Indonesia floods passes 700 as 1 million evacuated

Families stranded on their rooftops. Homes buried by fast-flowing mud. Jagged brown craters scarring lush green hillsides.

The scenes are the result of a series of cyclones and storms in a heavy monsoon season that have struck Asia with torrential rains, gutting essential infrastructure and reshaping landscapes. The violent weather has killed at least 1,200 people in the past week and forced a million to flee without knowing whether their homes will still be standing when they go back.

Broadcast station owners want to consolidate. They're struggling to get deals to the finish line

Nexstar, Tegna and Sinclair are among the broadcast station groups eager to consolidate as the industry awaits regulatory changes.

Invasive crab that can climb over 13-foot-high walls spotted in Oregon again

A Chinese mitten crab was recently found alive and captured by hand in an Oregon river, marking the state's second sighting of the invasive species.

Personal finance advice doesn't work for most Americans, economists say

Personal finance is too complex for most people to navigate, two economists contend in a new book. Is there a better way to help people deal with money?

Appeals court disqualifies Trump's NJ prosecutor pick Alina Habba, rejecting DOJ challenge

The ruling affirming Habba's disqualification came one week after another Trump-picked prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, was deemed invalidly appointed.

Strengthened Australia welcome England to Gabbatoir in pivotal Ashes week | Ali Martin

Ben Stokes is still bullish but the omens suggests pink-ball Test could be a nightmare on Vulture Street

My first day at the Gabba was 23 years ago, half a lifetime having passed since I slept on my brother’s sofa across the river and followed the Ashes tour as a backpacker. The coin went up, Nasser Hussain decided to have a bowl, and Steve Waugh’s Australians cashed in on generosity.

Having not returned until 2017‑18, and then covered the Covid tour four years later, the Sydney finale in 2003 remains the only time I have seen England win a Test on Australian soil. Even then I missed the last day: flat broke and forced to head back to Queensland to find work, I eventually found myself on a farm upstate, shovelling melons like a scrum-half for eight hot hours a day while dodging venomous snakes underfoot.

One Battle After Another gains Oscars traction after early awards season wins

Paul Thomas Anderson’s comedy thriller named best film by Gotham awards and New York Film Critics Circle

Paul Thomas Anderson’s acclaimed comedy thriller One Battle After Another has emerged as an early best picture frontrunner as the awards season kicks off.

The Thomas Pynchon adaptation, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as an ex-revolutionary searching for his daughter, was named best feature at Monday’s Gotham awards. “I didn’t expect this, actually,” Anderson said on stage. “I started to think I didn’t know what was going on.”

New York City bill aims to ban toxic ‘forever chemicals’ in firefighting gear

Approval of legislation to ban Pfas would be major win for advocates pushing for safer gear alternatives across US

A new bill proposed in the New York city council would ban the use of toxic Pfas “forever chemicals” in protective gear worn by the city’s 11,000 firefighters.

The New York fire department is the nation’s largest firefighting force, and approval of the legislation would mark a major win for advocates who are pushing for safer “turnout gear” alternatives across the US. Massachusetts and Connecticut last year became the first states to ban the use of Pfas in turnout gear, and Illinois enacted a ban this year.

Trump administration considering expanding travel ban to around 30 countries

The Trump administration is considering expanding its travel ban to around 30 countries in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard soldiers.

Production of French-German fighter jet threatened by rivalries, chief executive says

Relations between French company Dassault and the German unit of Airbus are reportedly ‘very strained’

The leaders of France and Germany have a “strong willingness” to build a new fighter jet together despite bitter internal rivalries, according to the chief executive of engine manufacturer Safran.

A row over who should lead between French aerospace company Dassault and the German unit of Airbus has threatened to break apart the countries’ efforts to make a next-generation fighter jet.

Trump frees ex-Honduran president from prison as country awaits knife-edge election result

Release of convicted cocaine trafficker Juan Orlando Hernández is latest US interference in election and comes despite Trump’s apparent ‘war on drugs’

• Analysis: Trump’s pardon of Honduras’s ex-president shows counter-drug effort is ‘based on lies and hypocrisy’

A former president of Honduras who was convicted of drug trafficking has walked free from a US prison after receiving a pardon from Donald Trump, as the country’s presidential election remained on a knife edge with the US-backed candidate leading by 515 votes.

Juan Orlando Hernández, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”, was released from a West Virginia prison after Trump’s intervention, Hernández’s wife confirmed on Tuesday.

Jodie Foster, who began her career aged three, calls acting ‘a cruel job’ she never would have chosen

Actor, who started working in commercials before making her first film at six, calls acting a job that was ‘chosen’ for her

Jodie Foster has spoken out about parents who encourage their children to act, saying she “know[s] how dangerous it is”.

Speaking at the Marrakesh film festival, Foster said that she “would never have chosen to be an actor, I don’t have the personality of an actor. I’m not somebody that wants to dance on a table and, you know, sing songs for people.”

RFK Jr. wants to delay hepatitis B vaccine. Here's what parents need to know.

The three-dose hepatitis B vaccine has a long track record of safety, but rolling back recommendations could leave kids vulnerable to infections, doctors say.

Mad Men begins streaming on HBO Max and viewers spot bizarre mistakes

The award-winning drama series has received a 4K restoration that has seen jumbled up episodes and a vomit machine goof

A recent 4K restoration of Mad Men has brought new fans to HBO Max – as well as technical headaches.

Bemused and bewildered fans of the groundbreaking television series, which ran from 2007 until 2015 on AMC, have spotted numerous errors after the supposedly sleek restoration began streaming on HBO Max, including several episodes out of order and one particularly glaring post-production goof.

Apartment rents drop further, with vacancies at record high

A good supply of new multifamily units is coming online at a time of much weaker demand.

Sam Altman issues ‘code red’ at OpenAI as ChatGPT contends with rivals

Chief executive tells staff it is ‘critical time’ for chatbot as it faces intense competition from Google’s new Gemini 3

Sam Altman has declared a “code red” at OpenAI to improve ChatGPT as the chatbot faces intense competition from rivals.

According to a report by tech news site the Information, the chief executive of the San Francisco-based startup told staff in an internal memo: “We are at a critical time for ChatGPT.”

Trump pardons Honduran ex-president who was convicted of drug crimes

President Trump has officially pardoned former Honduran President who US officials said was at the center of one of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking conspiracies in the world.

Is love addiction real – and what does it look like?

Experts still debate whether ‘love addiction’ appropriately describes destructive romantic fixation

Elizabeth Gilbert was using people like drugs: a point she emphasizes throughout her memoir All the Way to the River, released in September.

In the book, Gilbert describes falling in love with her friend Rayya Elias. Elias’s terminal cancer diagnosis compelled Gilbert to reveal her feelings, despite being married at the time. She admits to enabling Elias, a self-described “ex-junkie”, to access hard drugs and alcohol during her final months as a warped act of care.

'Franklin' publisher slams Hegseth for his post of the turtle firing on drug boats

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces growing scrutiny over an attack on an alleged drug boat. His response included a parody of the kids' book character Franklin, showing the turtle firing at boats.

Ellen DeGeneres left Trump's America. Will the British weather force her to return? | Arwa Mahdawi

She’s far from the only celebrity to have declared her intention to live outside the US. As with many others though, it looks like a reverse ferret could be in the works

I’m not some sort of secret Reform voter, OK? As a Brit (albeit a Brit abroad), I’ve got no problem with rich immigrants coming to the UK and taking all our mansions. I just think they really ought to integrate and not bring their funny foreign ideas with them.

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, I’m talking to you. The California couple arrived in the UK last year, just before Donald Trump won the election. As soon as the votes were in, they declared they weren’t going back, and would stay on the saner side of the Atlantic. I’m not sure how the immigration logistics worked, but it seems “one in, one out” schemes don’t apply to people coming in on big jets, only small boats. The pair bought a fancy pad in the Cotswolds and DeGeneres buttered up the locals during a public appearance in July by declaring “Everything here is just better.”

Constitution Hill should never be asked to jump a hurdle in public again | Greg Wood

There is no need to attempt to write a glorious final chapter, when an alternative ending does not bear thinking about

Trainer Nicky Henderson and owner Michael Buckley are still mulling over the options for Constitution Hill after his third fall in four starts at Newcastle on Saturday, but the simple fact that Henderson floated the question “can we go on asking him to do it?” in the immediate aftermath suggests that, in his heart, he already knows the answer. Whatever else might beckon for the eight-year-old – and a recent 160+ rating over timber suggests that he could compete at a very decent level on the Flat – this is a horse that should not be asked to jump a hurdle in public again.

Henderson’s competitive streak is as fierce as ever after nearly half a century in the game, and so too his appetite for a challenge. As such, it would be odd if the urge to attempt a repeat of Sprinter Sacre’s unlikely return to Grade One-winning form at the 2016 festival was not nagging away at the back of his mind somewhere. Sprinter Sacre’s second Champion Chase victory was one of the great Cheltenham moments of recent decades, and Constitution Hill, after all, set off as the 4-11 favourite for the Champion Hurdle just eight months ago, with an unbeaten 10-race record to his name.

Jon Stewart on Trump claiming not to know about his own MRI: ‘That’s not physically possible’

Late-night hosts discussed the president alleging he knows nothing about a recently revealed MRI scan from October

Late-night hosts tore into Donald Trump for his use of an ableist slur and unconvincing attempts to assuage concerns about his cognitive abilities.

Costco sues Trump admin seeking tariff refunds before Supreme Court rules if they're illegal

Costco joined dozens of other companies that are seeking to protect their rights to refunds of Trump's tariffs without first waiting for the Supreme Court.

The art of tablescaping | Jess Cartner-Morley

Laying a table well is one of the best ways to make guests feel relaxed and cosy. Queen of tablescaping Laura Jackson’s advice? Forget the stiff old rules and have fun with it

A feast is not just about food. Just to sit at a table surrounded by the faces of your people: nothing beats it. A feast is about togetherness, whether there are two people at the table, or 16. The primal joy of good food taps into something even more fundamental than hunger; if food is a love language, a feast is a big hug.

Is it sacrilege to say that being a host matters more than being a cook? Not to disparage the skill of the chef. Quite the opposite, it takes skill to make really good gravy, concentration to remember to take the cake out of the oven before it burns, and years of experience to time a roast to come together at the right moment. It takes no skill to fold a napkin and light a candle, yet with a beautifully laid and bounteously laden table, the night feels special before dinner is served, which takes the pressure off.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond review – Samus Aran is suited up for action again. Was it worth the 18-year wait?

Nintendo Switch/Switch 2 (version tested); Retro Studios/Nintendo
The bounty hunter – Nintendo’s most badass and most neglected hero – returns in an atmospheric throwback sci-fi adventure that’s entirely untroubled by the conventions of modern game design

In a frozen laboratory full of cryogenically suspended experimental life forms, metal boots disturb the frost. A lone bounty hunter in a familiar orange exosuit points her blaster ahead. Making my way towards the facility’s power generator, scanning doors and hunting for secret entrances, broken hatches and hidden keys, I suspect that I know exactly what’s going to happen when this place begins to thaw; every clank and creak sounds sounds as if it could be a long-dormant beast busting out of one of those pods. And yet Samus Aran delves deeper, because she has never been afraid of anything.

This section of Prime 4 is classic Metroid: atmospheric, eerie, lonely, dangerous and cryptic. Samus, Nintendo’s coolest hero, is impeccably awesome, equipped here with new psychic powers that accent her suit with pulsing purple light. (I have taken many screenshots of her looking identically badass all over the game’s planet.) She is controlled with dual sticks, or – much better, much more intuitive – by pointing one of the Switch 2’s remotes at the screen to aim. Or even by using it as a mouse on a table or your knee, though this made my wrist hurt after a while. She transforms into a rolling ball, moves statues into place with her mind, and rides a futuristic shape-shifting motorcycle across lava and sand between this distant planet’s abandoned facilities, unlocking its dead civilisation’s lost knowledge.

Sean Combs: The Reckoning review – you can see why the musician is fighting to ban this horrific documentary

Netflix’s series feels like the point of no return for the rapper and mogul. It’s so thorough in its harrowing detail that it will surely block any chance he ever had of a return to stardom

If its subject gets his way, the new documentary series Sean Combs: The Reckoning might not be available on Netflix for long. On Monday, lawyers on behalf of Combs sent a cease and desist letter to the streamer, demanding that the series be withdrawn based on the inclusion of footage that they claim violates copyright, and involves discussions of “legal strategy that were not intended for public viewing”.

After watching the series, you can see why Combs might be rattled. This is a man whose fall from grace last year was sudden and comprehensive, and yet Sean Combs: The Reckoning feels like the moment of no return for him. It does such a thorough job of laying out and backing up so many horrific allegations that his way back to stardom is surely blocked for ever.

‘A doll to me and a trumptet to Jimmie’: six-year-old girl’s letter to Santa in 1883

Janet’s wishlist, which ran in Leeds Mercury, and letter from Hampshire girl in 1898 unearthed in newspaper archives

The toys on the Christmas wishlist may have evolved in more than 140 years but children, it seems, do not change. That, at least, is the suggestion of a newly uncovered letter to Father Christmas dating from 1883, believed to be one of the earliest known such messages in the UK.

The letter, addressed to “DeAR SAnTA CLAus”, was written by a six-year-old girl called Janet and preserves her idiosyncratic spelling and capitalisation. “PLeAs BRIng a Doll to Me with a cRADEL, AND a TRuMPtet to JiMMie, AND SoMe OTHer THing to MA AND PA,” wrote Janet, demonstrating both a touching concern for her family members and a canny nose for publicity.

‘He asked me what I’d done sexually with a woman’: how Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor turned her asylum grilling into a film

The rising star has made her debut film, Dreamers, a semi-autobiographical love story set in an immigration detention centre. She talks about fleeing persecution in Nigeria – and what she learned from French new wave

Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor had a little wobble when she stepped on to the stage after the screening of her debut feature, Dreamers, at the London film festival. The Nigerian-British director’s film is a love story set in an immigration detention centre. It had already premiered in Berlin earlier this year. But showing her semi-autobiographical film to a home crowd in London felt exposing. “I suddenly had this feeling: Oh my God, everyone can see me. Everyone knows everything about me.” She laughs.

Gharoro-Akpojotor has built a reputation as a rising star producer. Her company Joi Productions makes films telling black, female and gay stories. (“All of the above, sometimes individually.”) Her credits include Rapman’s Blue Story and Aml Ameen’s romcom Boxing Day, and she is currently working on Ashley Walters’ directing debut Animol.

‘Those who eat Chilean salmon cannot imagine how much human blood it carries with it’

The country is the world’s second-largest producer of the popular fish, and the biggest supplier to the US, but its farms are beset by accusations of dangerous labour conditions, antibiotic overuse and ecological harm

Julia Cárcamo López’s house faces the sea, near enough to hear the gulls calling through the salt-encrusted windows. She lives in the small town of Maullín, on the edge of Chile’s Patagonia, an area where almost everyone works in the fishing industry.

Outside, it is drizzling and the sky is darkening as she recalls 1 May 2019, one of the worst days of her life. “Two men knocked on my door and told me they had bad news: my husband had had an accident while working at sea,” she says. Since then, she has discovered that the accident seems to have been caused by negligence.