U.S. strikes ISIS targets in Syria, after 3 Americans killed last week

The airstrikes on ISIS targets are being conducted in response to the killing of two U.S. Army soldiers and an civilian contractor by a lone terrorist in Palmyra, Syria.

Justice Department releases initial trove of Epstein files under new law

The Justice Department has released records from the Epstein files, the first documents to come to light under a new law signed by President Trump. Follow live updates here.

Nine of the largest pharma companies ink deals with Trump to lower drug prices

President Donald Trump has pushed to lower drug prices for Americans, which are on average nearly three times higher than overseas.

Motive sought after suspect in Brown shooting, MIT professor's murder found dead

The Brown University shooting suspect was found dead in a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire. Authorities believe he is also responsible for killing an MIT professor.

Epstein files released by DOJ

President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November.

Elon Musk’s 2018 Tesla pay package restored by Delaware court

Decision from state supreme court on deal once worth $56bn overturns ruling that prompted angry Musk backlash

Elon Musk’s controversial $56bn pay package from Tesla was reinstated by the Delaware supreme court on Friday, two years after a lower court struck down the vast compensation deal as “unfathomable”.

The decision comes less than two months after Tesla shareholders approved a new plan that could be worth $1tn to Musk, already the world’s richest person, in a decade’s time. It overturns a ruling which had prompted a furious backlash from Musk.

US justice department releases long-awaited cache of Jeffrey Epstein files

Release of documents from DoJ investigation comes after Trump reverses and signs bill into law

• Epstein documents release – live updates

The Department of Justice on Friday released a long-awaited and huge tranche of documents related to its investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a major development in the lengthy political saga that turned into one of the biggest setbacks Donald Trump has suffered since his re-election last year.

While significant portions of the files are redacted, those that were viewable included images of Epstein socializing with Bill Clinton and former British royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as well as entertainers like Michael Jackson, Chris Tucker and Kevin Spacey.

Epstein files release live updates: Trump administration releases trove of documents after months of public outcry

It is unclear if the heavily redacted Epstein documents released by Trump’s justice department are the entirety of the government’s trove on the late sex offender

• Full report: US justice department releases long-awaited cache of Jeffrey Epstein files

Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche has said that more than 1,200 victims and their families were found during the review of the documents, according to a letter to Congress obtained by Fox News, and that the justice department had redacted or withheld any materials that could reveal their identities.

In the letter, Blanche said:

This process resulted in over 1,200 names being identified as victims or their relatives. We have redacted reference to such names. In addition to redacting the names of these victims, we have also redacted and are not producing any materials that could result in their identification.

Elon Musk's 2018 Tesla pay package must be restored, Delaware Supreme Court rules

Shareholder Richard J. Tornetta brought the suit, accusing Musk and the Tesla board of a breach of fiduciary duties.

Timeline of gunman in Brown University and MIT professor shootings

Investigators are piecing together a detailed timeline of Claudio Neves Valente's actions before, during and after the Brown and MIT shootings.

This week on "Sunday Morning" (Dec. 21)

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

It was called the Kennedy Center, but 3 different presidents shaped it

Washington, D.C.'s performing arts center was named for President Kennedy after his assassination. But his vision for the arts as a cornerstone of democracy was shared by Eisenhower and Johnson.

CPI report shows the inflation rate rose at a 2.7% pace in November

Economists had expected CPI to rise at an annual rate of 3% last month.

LA Angels settle lawsuit with family of late pitcher Tyler Skaggs over fatal overdose

• Angels reach confidential settlement after civil trial

• Skaggs died in 2019 from fentanyl-laced pills

• Parties arrive at settlement while case with jury

The Los Angeles Angels on Friday settled a lawsuit over the drug overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.

The decision to settle was reached after a two-month civil trial in Southern California over whether the Angels should be held responsible for Skaggs’ 2019 death after he snorted a fentanyl-laced pill provided by the team’s communications director, Eric Kay.

Here's how much ACA costs would have risen this year without subsidies

Millions of people with an Affordable Care Act health plan face a massive jump in premiums next year — this chart shows just how much.

Justice Department begins the release of the Epstein files

The Justice Department has begun publishing the Epstein files, releasing documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's criminal charges and his death by suicide in federal custody.

More than 60,000 pages of Epstein files already released so far this year

The latest deluge of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, released by the Justice Department, adds to a huge trove of documents and photos that have already been made public.

Greg Biffle's wife texted "we're in trouble" before crash, her mother says

Cathy Grossu, the mother-in-law of retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, said she had seen the family a day before the fatal crash.

Judge blocks HUD homelessness overhaul, rebukes agency for causing 'chaos'

A federal judge said HUD cannot dramatically change its funding policies on homelessness for now. States, cities and nonprofits say the proposed overhaul would push thousands back onto the streets.

Investigators seek motive for shootings of MIT professor and Brown students

Suspect Claudio Manuel Neves Valente was found dead in New Hampshire storage facility after five-day manhunt

Investigators turned on Friday to the search for a motive in the murders of two Brown University students and a physics professor in Massachusetts in separate but linked attacks, after the prime suspect was found dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The body of Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national and formerly very briefly a student at Brown, was discovered in a New Hampshire storage facility on Thursday night after a five-day manhunt.

Judge in nursing home bankruptcy case gives families fresh hope

A bankruptcy judge blocked an attempt by a nursing home chain's primary investor to shield himself from settlement payments and liability in lawsuits over allegations of poor care.

At the dark end of a brutal year, I’m grateful to these heroes for showing us the light | Jonathan Freedland

From the Bondi beach rescuers to the women taking on the police, great acts of courage offer hope even in the bleakest times

Some traditions are getting harder to maintain. Among them, my own custom of devoting the last column before Christmas to reasons to be hopeful. In recent years, amid war and bloodshed, that task has been especially challenging – and this week was no exception.

It began with the news from Bondi beach, where 15 people were gunned down and dozens more injured, most of them Jews celebrating the festival of Hanukah. That came just two-and-a-half months after the deadly attack on Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester, on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. To be a Jew at the end of 2025 is to fear that to gather together, whether at moments of joy or sorrow, is to take a mortal risk. That even to do relatively ordinary things together has become a matter of life and death.

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist and the author of The Traitors Circle: the Rebels Against the Nazis and the Spy Who Betrayed Them

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.

DraftKings hopes to score big with new prediction markets app

Sports betting companies face mounting competition from rapidly growing prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket.

When airports will be the busiest this holiday season

This year has already seen eight of the busiest air travel days in TSA history. Could a December date join them?

Trump's name added to Kennedy Center building a day after board votes to rename DC theater

President Kennedy's niece, Maria Shriver, said it is "beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial."

Trump and top aides refuse to rule out war with Venezuela

President Nicolás Maduro orders Venezuelan navy to escort oil tankers after seizure by US forces

• What action is Trump taking against Venezuela’s oil industry?

Donald Trump and his top advisers have refused to rule out the potential for open conflict with Venezuela as Nicolás Maduro urged his navy to escort oil tankers defying the largest US fleet deployed in the region in decades.

In an interview broadcast on Friday morning, Donald Trump told NBC News that going to war with Maduro’s regime remains on the table. “I don’t rule it out, no,” he said in a phone interview with the network.

The week around the world in 20 pictures

The Bondi beach terror attack, the Brown University shooting, ICE in Chicago and a fallen Statue of Liberty: the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists

Trump suspends U.S. green card lottery after Brown University shooting

USCIS is pausing the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program after the fatal Brown University shooting last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.

Mohamed Salah apologised to Liverpool squad for outburst, reveals Curtis Jones

• Liverpool teammate discusses fallout from interview

• ‘He apologised to us … That’s the man that he is’

Curtis Jones has revealed Mohamed Salah apologised to the Liverpool squad for the fallout from his interview criticising the club and Arne Slot.

Salah was omitted from Liverpool’s Champions League win against Inter having accused the club of throwing him under a bus in response to a poor run of results. The striker also claimed his relationship with Slot had broken down and that he had earned his position in the team after eight phenomenal seasons.

The Guardian view on the rise of romantic fiction: finally getting the respect it deserves

Jilly Cooper, Joanna Trollope and Sophie Kinsella all changed the genre. A new generation of novelists are doing the same and sales are soaring

At last, the perception of popular fiction by women as “silly novels by lady novelists”, as George Eliot sniffily put it back in 1856, is changing. Next year, the British Book Awards will recognise romantic fiction for the first time. The recognition is long overdue.

This welcome news came in the same week as the deaths of two doyennes of the form, Joanna Trollope and, at just 55, Sophie Kinsella, only a couple of months after the loss of national treasure Dame Jilly Cooper. Between them these publishing power houses produced more than 100 books, sold millions of copies, and inspired hit films and TV series, most recently last year’s star-studded adaptation of Cooper’s 1985 Riders.

Scientists push back on Trump plan to break up a critical climate and weather center

The White House plans to break up a key weather and climate research center in Colorado, a move experts say could jeopardize the accuracy of forecasting and prediction systems.

‘They like a good night out’: German darts fans find a (mostly) friendly rivalry at Alexandra Palace

Around a quarter of all tickets for the world championship were sold to visitors from Germany. How did a country with no world-class player get hooked?

They walk among us, sit among us, sing among us. They speak perfect English, hunt in packs, down industrial quantities of Amstel just like everyone else. And yet to the trained eye, to the seasoned Ally Pally veteran, there is just something different to them. A comportment and a vibe. Perhaps the fact they speak perfect English. You can even spot a subtle distinction in the choice of fancy dress; fewer jockeys and 118 118 runners, more woodland animals and flag suits, less postmodern ironic and more Euro-kitsch. They come, mostly, in love and peace. Even so, the divide is real. Enmity? Perhaps a bit strong. Either way: don’t tell them your name, Pike.

Slowly and by degrees, the Germans are coming. At first in small scattered groups and landing parties, then larger expeditions, and then finally the full-scale mass incursion. A battery of tour buses spills the latest recruits up the steps and into the Palace. Package excursions sell out months in advance. Around a quarter of all tickets for this year’s world championship have been sold in Germany, rising to as many as a third for some sessions. Why are they here? What do they want? And how did a country that has never produced a world-class player of its own get so thoroughly hooked on the darts?

Kylie Minogue gets her – and Amazon’s – first Christmas No 1, with Xmas

Exclusive song for online retailer prevents a hat trick of Christmas No 1s for Wham!, as Kylie becomes first woman to secure UK No 1 singles in four different decades

Kylie Minogue has scored her first UK Christmas No 1, and eighth No 1 single overall, with the song Xmas.

She beat competition from Wham!’s mega-streaming Last Christmas, which has been Christmas No 1 for the past two years: it was last week’s chart-topper but drops to No 2. Also in the race was Lullaby from the charity campaign Together for Palestine, which reached No 5.

Gaza no longer in famine but hunger levels remain critical, UN says

Monitor says almost one in eight people face food shortages as flooding and cold exacerbate humanitarian emergency

The famine in Gaza has ended as a result of increased humanitarian aid deliveries into the territory, the UN said on Friday, though it warned that levels of hunger and the humanitarian situation remained critical.

Almost one in eight people in Gaza still faced food shortages, the UN said, adding that persistent hunger had been made worse by winter flooding and the colder weather. Most people in Gaza live in tents or other substandard accommodation as Israel destroyed much of the housing and civilian infrastructure during its two-year war.

Tipster using Reddit was key in cracking Brown University shooting case, police say

Information from a tipster who posted on Reddit about a strange encounter with another man was key in cracking the Brown University and MIT shootings cases, police say.

US legislators say justice department is violating law by not releasing all Epstein files

Todd Blanche, deputy attorney general, says release of files won’t include full set, prompting outrage from lawmakers

• Epstein documents release – live updates

The Department of Justice on Friday released some long-awaited files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but did not release everything in its possession as required by a law Congress passed last month. The partial release drew swift rebukes from Capitol Hill and threats of legal action.

Speaking in an interview on Fox News on Friday morning, the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, said: “I expect we’re going to release several hundred thousand documents today, and those documents will come in all different forms, photographs and other materials associated with all of the investigations into Mr Epstein”.

Kennedy Center Board votes for new name to be Trump-Kennedy Center, White House says

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to change its name.

Why is Truth Social owner Trump Media merging with a fusion energy firm?

What we know about the deal with TAE Technologies so far – from why it is happening to what fusion energy is

Trump Media & Technology Group, owner of Donald Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, announced a merger on Wednesday with a company developing fusion energy technology.

TAE Technologies, an energy company founded in 1998, will join with Trump Media via a $6bn merger that it promises will propel it to build “the world’s first utility-scale fusion power plant” next year.

Your Guardian sport weekend: Premier League, NFL and boxing

Here’s how to follow along with our coverage – the finest writing and up-to-the-minute reports

A Reddit post helped find MIT and Brown shooting suspect. Here's what we know

Details are beginning to emerge about the life of Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, the gunman who killed two and injured nine others in the attack at Brown University last week. He is also believed to have killed an MIT professor on Monday, police said.

Santas and elves rob Montreal grocery store to ‘give food to the needy’

Group called Robins des Ruelles later said in statement stunt was intended to highlight cost of living crisis

Dressed in red suits and backed by masked elves, a group of Santas marched into a Montreal supermarket, loaded their bags with thousands of dollars worth of groceries and disappeared into the night.

The bandit Santas later released a statement saying the food would be distributed to the needy, and saying the Robin Hood-style stunt was intended to highlight the spiralling cost of living crisis that has pushed basic necessities increasingly out of reach for ordinary Canadians.

Are sweet potatoes healthy?

This holiday staple is also one of the world’s oldest crops – here’s what to know about adding sweet potatoes to your diet

Sweet potatoes can be roasted, mashed, fried and pied – you might have eaten them so often that they feel old hat.

In a way, they are – sweet potatoes count among the world’s oldest domesticated crops. Archeological evidence suggests they were cultivated in South America “more than 4,500 years ago”, says Michelle Johnson, a seed historian, journalist and self-described “sweet potato superfan”.

Unaccompanied children being pressed to return to their countries by US border officials

Exclusive: federal document reveals children arriving as undocumented immigrants being threatened with detention

Border officials are pressuring unaccompanied children who arrive in the US as undocumented immigrants to quickly agree to return to their countries of origin, even if they express fear for their safety there – or else face “prolonged” detention and other consequences, a federal government document reveals.

The document, which emerged as an attachment in a court filing made by immigration attorneys, is understood to be presented or read to children within the first few days of them entering the US while they are still in the custody of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), before they can see any relatives in the US.

Alex Ferguson claims Manchester United could be 10 years from winning title

• ‘We will not take that long,’ says Amorim in response

• Amorim criticises sense of ‘entitlement’ at United

Sir Alex Ferguson has stated it could take Manchester United another “10 or 11 years” to win the title, prompting Ruben Amorim to ­publicly ­disagree with the club’s most ­successful manager.

Ferguson won 13 of United’s 20 league titles, the last in 2013, and was asked when a 21st may be added to the trophy cabinet.

November home sales struggle as supply stalls

Existing home sales edged slightly higher as prices continued to rise and supply dropped. The higher end of the market is performing better.

US plan for $1.6m hepatitis B vaccine study in Africa called ‘highly unethical’

Experts decry ‘neocolonialist’ Guinea-Bissau study after Trump administration changed advice for US babies

The Trump administration has indicated that it will fund a $1.6m study on hepatitis B vaccination of newborns in the west African country of Guinea-Bissau, where nearly one in five adults live with the virus – a move that researchers call “highly unethical” and “extremely risky”.

The news follows an official change in recommendations on hepatitis B vaccines at birth from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which called the shots an “individual” decision, despite decades of safe and effective vaccination and no evidence of harm. It is part of sweeping changes to childhood immunizations by the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, which have global repercussions – including cutting funding for programs that bring vaccines to countries around the world.

At least four people killed in mass stabbing in Taipei

Man, 27, from northern Taiwan reported to have fallen to his death in police chase after rampage through capital

At least four people have died in a rare mass stabbing incident in central Taipei after an attacker used smoke grenades to cause chaos as he went on a violent rampage through Taiwan’s capital. Several people were also injured.

The suspected assailant is among the dead after he fell from a building during a police chase through a busy shopping district on Friday evening.

He's the first African musician to get a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

The late, great Fela Kuti is known as the "Black President" for his role as both a musical and a political leader. Now he has become the first African artist to get this Grammy honor.

Brown and MIT prof shooter suspect Neves Valente is found dead, authorities say

The suspected killer, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, was a graduate students in physics at Brown University in the early 2000s.

Move over Bluetooth: wired headphones are back – and suddenly cool again

From celebrity endorsements to digital fatigue, the once-obsolete white wire has become a fashion statement and a quiet act of opting out

With white-wired headphones endorsed by celebrities including Lily-Rose Depp, Paul Mescal, Bella Hadid and Apple Martin, a growing number of people are breaking away from wireless listening.

For inspiration, there is the Instagram account @wireditgirls, or a Balenciaga campaign featuring the model Mona Tougaard reclining bed, wired headphones in place.

‘A black hole’: families and police say tech giants delay investigations in child abuse and drug cases

US law enforcement officers say Meta and Snapchat routinely delay or reject warrants. The companies disagree

Max Osterman was 18 when he connected with a drug dealer on Snapchat who used the handle skyhigh.303. Max would message him whenever he wanted to buy Percocet, and they would meet. After about a year, and just days after their last exchange, Max collapsed. The pills he ordered had been laced with fentanyl. He died from the overdose in February 2021 at his home in Broomfield, Colorado.

The dealer continued selling prescription painkillers until 2023, when he was jailed on two drug distribution convictions. When handing down the sentence, the judge said he was responsible for four deaths, yet he never faced charges for supplying the pills that killed Max.

Independent businesses: have your online sales been affected by the rise of AI?

We’d like to hear from independent retailers about how changes to online searches has affected them. We’d also like to find out from customers about how easy it is to track down independent retailers

We’d like to find out more about how your business has been affected by changes to online searches amid the rise of AI.

Independent businesses have traditionally relied on online advertising for increased visibility and sales, even if they are based on the high street. However, with the introduction of AI mode and AI Overview summaries on Google, and the proliferation of LLMs such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini, people are altering their search habits, which may affect the online visibility of small businesses.

American Airlines stops offering miles for basic economy fares

Members of the carrier's AAdvantage loyalty program no longer earn miles or status points when purchasing a basic ticket.

Noem says Brown suspect got U.S. visa through diversity lottery, pauses program

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem says the Trump administration will pause the diversity visa lottery program, which she said was used by Brown University shooting suspect Claudio Manuel Neves Valente.

Ex-special counsel Jack Smith's lawyers re-up call for him to testify publicly

Jack Smith, who oversaw two investigations into President Trump, appeared before the House Judiciary Committee for a closed-door deposition Wednesday.

‘It’s rather rude’: Truss accused of trying to poach members of rival Tory club

Former prime minister allegedly wandering 5 Hertford Street to find members for her Mayfair club a street away

For Tory grandees licking their wounds and plotting their return after their disastrous 2024 general election performance, the opulent, fire-lit rooms of the exclusive club 5 Hertford Street are a sanctuary.

But in recent weeks, their long lunches have been rudely interrupted by Liz Truss, who has been accused of wandering the premises in search of members to poach for her own rival operation, just one street away, which asks “founding members” for an eye-watering £500,000.

Unicef photo of the year awards 2025

First prize was won by Elise Blanchard, who documented the lives of girls and young women in Afghanistan. Second prize was won by Natalya Saprunova, who captured the how children in Mongolia are affected by air pollution. Third prize was awarded to Sourav Das, who documented childhood in Jharia, home to one of India’s largest coal mines. Honourable mentions went to seven other photo series from Afghanistan, Gaza, South Africa, Ukraine and the UK

• An exhibition of the work will run until the end of January 2026 at the Haus der Bundespressekonferenz in Berlin, and then at the Willy Brandt Haus, also in Berlin, from 30 January to 26 April 2026

Avengers: Doomsday trailer – as the hype builds, has Marvel got lost in the multiverse?

Marvel has put the first official trailer for the new Avengers meetup before random screenings of Avatar: Fire and Ash. Recordings of it have leaked online – but many questions still remain

Is anything real any more? For the last few weeks there have been rumours that Marvel is about to drop the first official footage for its forthcoming superhero epic Avengers: Doomsday, ahead of screenings of Avatar: Fire and Ash. And it makes a sort of sense: the latest instalment of James Cameron’s 3D mega-project about blue aliens and colonial shame is clearly a visual spectacle, so why not lure fans of Captain America and Thor into cinemas by dangling the promise of a Doomsday trailer in front of them? In a world in which everyone expects everything to be online instantly, could the most radical experiment be to put this thing in cinemas?

If it once seemed like a good idea, it increasingly looks less so. There are rumoured to be multiple Doomsday trailers in circulation, to be ushered in ahead of select screenings of Fire and Ash. But several appear to have leaked online already, which means most Avengers superfans are now getting their first glimpse of the new movie through a prism of phone footage and compression artefacts. Audiences at early showings of Cameron’s film, meanwhile, have reported not seeing any Avengers trailer, though some insist they definitely saw something, briefly.

Millions of soon-to-be uninsured Americans are looking for a 'plan B'

In January, millions of Americans will face more costly premiums on their ACA health plans. Some will go without insurance, pay out of pocket to see doctors, and use special prescription drug plans.

And the 2025 Braddies go to … Peter Bradshaw’s film picks of the year

Now the Guardian’s Top 50 countdowns, as voted for by the whole film team, have announced their No 1s, here are our chief critic’s personal choices – in no particular order

• The 50 best films of 2025 in the UK
• The 50 best movies of 2025 in the US

The time has come once more for me to present my “Braddies”, a strictly personal awards list for films on UK release in the year just gone and, as ever, quite distinct from this paper’s collegiate best-of-year countdown. These are my top 10 lists for best film, director, actor and supporting actor, actress and supporting actress, directorial debut, cinematographer, screenplay and film most likely to be overlooked by the boomer mainstream media (or MSM).

As we look back over the last 12 months, there can be no doubt of the villain of 2025: Tilly Norwood, the female AI star. Launched in October, she is a smilingly bland and really very convincing non-human being who will work uncomplainingly and cheaply without ever storming off to her trailer. Like everyone else, I deplored the horrible simulation and opined that she is part of the AI-isation of movies that has been happening for some time now – without AI.

America's new top health diplomat has strong opinions on abortion and gender

Bethany Kozma leads a key global health office at the Department of Health and Human Services. In past experience in the public eye, she's campaigned against abortion and gender-affirming care.

‘Radiator rattling’ earthquake hits Lancashire village for second time in two weeks

People of Silverdale report rattling and shaking as 2.5 magnitude earthquake strikes in probable aftershock

A village in Lancashire has been hit by a “radiator rattling” earthquake for the second time in little over two weeks.

Residents of Silverdale, a small coastal village located five miles south of the Cumbria border, reported the now strangely familiar feeling of rattling and shaking in their homes at 5.03am as a 2.5-magnitude earthquake hit the area with its epicentre 1.6 miles (2.6km) off the coast.

"Fraud tourists" allegedly siphoned millions from Minnesota aid programs

Federal prosecutors in Minnesota filed fraud charges Thursday against six defendants, including two Philadelphia-based men who allegedly traveled to Minneapolis to siphon millions from state programs. CBS News Minnesota's Jonah Kaplan has the story.

I watched Stand By Me with Rob Reiner. Both film and man changed my life

I had watched the coming-of-age weepie over and over growing up so it was an overwhelming experience to sit down with its creator and see it again. It was a magical day and he was just as warm-hearted as his movie

Rob Reiner beams as he greets me. “You’ve seen Stand By Me 100 times?” he asks. I nod sheepishly. “Then you probably know it better than I do.” It’s August 2006, 20 years after Reiner’s coming-of-age weepie was first released, and I’m sitting in his office at Castle Rock Entertainment, the LA-based production company he co-launched in 1987. On the walls hang posters of Reiner’s beloved movies – This Is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride, Misery, A Few Good Men – but our attention is fixed on a modest TV as Stand By Me begins.

I’m here in Beverly Hills to write an anniversary article for a film magazine, but it’s also a pinch-me moment. As a teen, I’d watched Stand By Me on loop, identifying with the four protagonists – fragile, wannabe-writer Gordie (Wil Wheaton), tough-but-sensitive Chris (River Phoenix), wildcard joker Teddy (Corey Feldman) and put-upon Vern (Jerry O’Connell) – as they share their grief, insecurities and mistrust of adults.

Epstein files release expected as mandated by law Trump signed

House Democrats released more photos from Jeffrey Epstein's estate a day before the deadline for the Justice Department to release all the records related to the investigation into the convicted sex offender.

Ukraine attacks Russian ‘shadow’ tanker off Libyan coast

Reportedly critical drone strike is first in Mediterranean since full-scale invasion began as maritime conflict grows

• ‘There are hundreds’: tracking Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ of oil tankers

Ukraine says it has attacked a Russian “shadow fleet” tanker with aerial drones 1,250 miles (2,000km) from its borders, in the first such strike in the Mediterranean Sea since Moscow’s full-scale invasion nearly four years ago.

Friday’s strike off the coast of Libya, which reportedly caused critical damage, took place on the day of Vladimir Putin’s annual end of year press conference in which he said Russia would respond to recent Ukrainian attacks on shadow fleet tankers.

I’m on hunger strike in a British prison. This is why | Amu Gib

Our demands are simple – and they start with stopping the flow of arms to Israel

• Amu Gib is an activist currently being held at HMP Bronzefield

Amu Gib is one of several prisoners on hunger strike who are awaiting trial for alleged offences relating to Palestine Action. Gib is being being held at HMP Bronzefield. Their charges relate to an alleged break-in at RAF Brize Norton this year. This article is based on interviews with Ainle Ó Cairealláin, host of the Rebel Matters podcast, and the writer and researcher ES Wight on days 18 and 33 of the strike.

We began our hunger strike on 2 November: the anniversary of the Balfour declaration, when Britain planted the seeds of the genocide that we are witnessing today.

An HMP Bronzefield spokesperson said: “We cannot provide information about specific individuals; however, we can confirm that all prisoners are managed in line with the policies and procedures governing the entire UK prison estate. This includes specialist multi-agency processes, led by the government, to assess individual risks and security status. However, if any prisoner has specific complaints, we encourage them to raise them directly with the prison, as there are numerous channels available for addressing such concerns.”

Amu Gib is an activist currently being held at HMP Bronzefield

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.

Massive storm sweeps across the U.S. and wreaks havoc

A storm system that has swept from coast to coast has caused massive damage in several states. Rob Marciano has more.

Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, wife and kids killed in fiery plane crash

Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family were among the seven people killed when a small plane crashed while landing at a North Carolina airport. Cristian Benavides reports.

UnitedHealth Group commits to improvements after independent audit, patient backlash

The company said it has adopted 23 ongoing "action plans" to track and implement recommended improvements, all of which will be completed by the end of March.

Woman and secret lover who plotted to kill her husband in Wales jailed

Michelle Mills and Geraint Berry sentenced to 19 years each for conspiring to murder Christopher Mills

A woman who plotted with her secret lover to murder her husband so they could start a new life together has been jailed for 19 years.

Michelle Mills, 46, and Geraint Berry, 47, planned to kill Christopher Mills so they could continue their affair, and Berry recruited Steven Thomas, also 47, to help carry out their attack on 20 September last year.

Cheddar bay biscuits, cheap margs and memories: Readers share their nostalgia for chain restaurants

Americans have deep nostalgia, and love, for America's chain restaurants. Why? We asked and more than 150 readers answered.

Suspect in Brown University shooting, MIT professor's murder found dead after massive manhunt

The man believed to be responsible for carrying out the Brown University shooting and killing an MIT professor was found dead in a storage unit in New Hampshire on Thursday, officials said. Tom Hanson reports.

What we know about the suspect in the Brown and MIT professor shootings

Officials say the same gunman who opened fire at Brown University also killed an MIT professor two days later. Here's what we know about the suspect, who was found dead Thursday night.

Instacart to pay $60 million to settle FTC claims it deceived customers

The federal agency alleged that Instacart used a number of deceptive tactics in its subscription sign-up and "satisfaction guarantee" advertising.

The 50 best albums of 2025

Topped by Rosalía’s multilingual, ultra-ambitious Lux, here are the best albums of the year as voted for by 30 Guardian music writers
• More on the best culture of 2025

***

As a child, our family Christmas photo was an annual trauma. As a parent, I understand it now | Sean Szeps

In our house, the Christmas photo still exists. But it follows a very different set of rules: Keep it quick, keep it casual, and if it’s not funny … what’s the point?

In my family, Christmas isn’t just a holiday … It’s an obsession. And my mother? She’s the matriarch of mistletoe.

Every December, our home transformed into a living snow globe. We didn’t just buy ornaments, we made them. We didn’t watch Christmas movies, we lived them. We’d cut down our own trees, hand-string popcorn garlands and spend full afternoons debating the correct angle of the angel on top of the tree.

What’s the nicest thing a stranger has done for you? This year more than 50 people gave me their answer

While every story has been unique in loveliness, I’ve found that many share a similar pulse

• Read our kindness of strangers series here

Earlier this year, I had a phone call with a woman named Debbie about one of her toughest days as a parent. While she was carting her two sick toddlers to buy medicine, one abruptly vomited across the floor of the local shopping mall. A passing stranger stopped, grabbed a roll of paper towel from the display in front of the chemist, and sopped up the mess – then went inside to pay for what she’d used, insisting on footing the bill. It was a small but lovely act that spoke to the decency of other people.

Working as a journalist often involves speaking to people on, or about, the worst day of their life. But for the past year I have had the tremendous pleasure of interviewing Australians (and the occasional Briton) about something very different – the acts of kindness they’ve received from a total stranger. Guardian Australia asked readers to send in these stories, and we have been publishing them in our weekly Kindness of Strangers column.

Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning

For a prime minister struggling in the wake of Bondi terror, standing up to the gun lobby is smart politics | Tom McIlroy

Restoring a feeling of safety for Australian Jews will take extraordinary effort. As well as stamping out antisemitism, the work should start with a national approach to managing guns

The shock and grief that already hung over Australia this week after the Bondi beach shootings has only been compounded by the funerals for the victims.

Members of Melbourne’s Jewish community gathered on Thursday to mourn Reuven Morrison. The 62-year-old met his wife, Leah, at Bondi after immigrating from the Soviet Union in the 1970s. He died there on Sunday night, having thrown a brick at one of the gunmen, trying to slow the deadly attack on joyful Hanukah celebrations. His unjust death betrays the reason Morrison chose to move across the world.

‘She was like a deer in headlights’: how unskilled radical birthkeepers took hold in Canada

In holistic communities and midwifery deserts, women are turning to the Free Birth Society for information and unlicensed providers

When the holistic practitioner Emma Cardinal, 32, became pregnant in May 2023, she planned to have a home birth with midwives. Cardinal lives in a town in British Columbia with strong counter-cultural roots. “The community that I live in, home birth is something a lot of women prioritise,” she explains.

Then Cardinal stumbled across a podcast from the Free Birth Society (FBS). One episode in particular, she says, made an impact: “Unpacking Ultrasound With Yolande Clark.” In it, the Canadian ex-doula Yolande Norris-Clark falsely links ultrasounds to autism and ADHD and states that “ultrasound damages and modifies and destroys cells”.

The 50 best albums of 2025: No 1 – Rosalía: Lux

On her monumental, maximalist opus, the dazzlingly audacious Spanish singer balanced pop and classical, experimentation and accessibility

• The 50 best albums of 2025
• More on the best culture of 2025

On paper, Lux reads more like a particularly tricky bonus round on University Challenge than the new album by a pop artist whose previous single was a collaboration with Lisa from Blackpink. Split into four distinct movements and sung in 13 languages, Lux is a head-spinning, classical music-adjacent opus exploring feminine mystique, religious transcendence and corporal transformation, often via the prism of various female saints. The dissolution of a relationship – grounded and laid bare on Lily Allen’s West End Girl, 2025’s other dissection of heartbreak – is shot heavenwards here, buffeted by the constant presence of the London Symphony Orchestra and the input of Pulitzer prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw among a scroll-sized list of collaborators. Its audacity alone makes the efforts of Rosalía’s pop peers look pretty laughable.

The fact that Lux manages to transcend scholarly chin-stroking and dry Wiki deep dives is near miraculous, and the credit is solely Rosalía’s. While this isn’t her first album to alchemise the past and present – see 2018’s El Mal Querer and its heady flamenco-R&B hybrid – the stakes are far higher on Lux, and the balancing act more pronounced. What elevates her fourth album, outside its multilayered melodies, rich compositions and engrained drama, is the playfulness at its heart. Like Björk during her 90s peak, there’s a sense of wonderment to Rosalía’s voice that sweeps you up into its tornado. Even when she’s tearing your heart in two, as on La Yugular’s blossoming balladry, or the ascension to heaven on the closing Magnolias, you want to be right there with her.

In this fractured and frightening world, one mantra my parents gave me calls me

All of us belong to different tribes that give us identity and meaning, but this lesson tells us we are more than our different tribes

Last week, a family member passed away. While we came together to celebrate the tremendous impact of his life, death always hurts.

Death also always makes me contemplate three things:

Ford recalls nearly 273,000 vehicles over rollaway risk

Regulators said the parking module in certain Ford vehicles may fail, potentially allowing cars to roll away.

12/18: CBS Evening News

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

Conservative legal group aims to export its rightwing Christian mission beyond US borders

Alliance Defending Freedom has ramped up its global spending on litigation and other campaigns to push its ultra-conservative Christian values

Alliance Defending Freedom, the conservative legal advocacy group behind the overturning of Roe v Wade, has ramped up its global spending on litigation and other campaigns, in what appears to be an attempt to export what critics call its hard-right Christian theocratic values beyond US borders.

ADF and ADF International, a separate legal entity, spent a combined $10.9m on international grants and programs for the year ending June 2024, according to its most up-to-date public tax records, and appears to have increased by 70% year-on-year spending on Europe-related issues.

Indian Christmas and the Nutcracker in Mexico: photos of the day – Friday

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

Fusion deal: Why Trump Media is merging with TAE Technologies

TAE Technologies says the strong balance sheet of TMTG will provide the capital needed to bring its first fusion power plant online in the U.S. by 2031.

EU’s Ukraine loan may have been Plan B, but don’t underestimate its significance to the bloc

This €90bn agreement won out over a plan to use frozen Russian assets, but has been hailed a ‘huge deal for the EU’

The EU’s failure to agree a “reparations loan” to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets was a political blow to the bloc’s big beasts, but the last-gasp alternative it devised will do the job – and marks a potentially significant first.

After a marathon 16 hours of talks, EU leaders early on Friday agreed to fund Ukraine, which risked running out of money by next April, with a much-needed €90bn (£79bn) loan. But the solution they came up with was not the one most had wanted.

Billionaire investor Ron Baron explains how he profits on big spending mistakes in the market

Billionaire fund manager Ron Baron says the market is penalizing many companies for spending to boost their growth, and these are the stocks he wants to own.

The Com: the growing cybercrime network behind recent Pornhub hack

Criminal ecosystem is made up of mostly male native English language speakers aged from 16 to 25

Ransomware hacks, data theft, crypto scams and sextortion cover a broad range of cybercrimes carried out by an equally varied list of assailants.

But there is also an English-speaking criminal ecosystem carrying out these activities that defies conventional categorisation. Nonetheless, it does have a name: the Com.

4 common scams to watch out for this holiday season

Don't get swindled while buying those last-minute gifts. Amy Nofziger, a fraud specialist with AARP, shares top schemes she's been seeing this season — and tips on how to protect yourself.

Cocktail of the week: La Petite Maison’s bikini – recipe | The good mixer

Clementines and cranberries sing Christmas carols in this classy festive premix

This is a home-friendly version of one of the drinks on our new cocktail menu. It’s a batch premix that’s packed with the flavours of Christmas, making it ideal for a festive party. Save the excess cordial for breakfast drinks or for puddings, or for another round of bikinis.

Tibor Krascsenics, group beverage director, La Petite Maison, London W1

No more French ‘fashion police’: Emily in Paris costume designer relishes move to Rome

Costume designer Marylin Fitoussi says Italy understands the show’s wardrobe is ‘about breaking rules and having fun’

Netflix’s famously frothy romcom Emily in Paris has long divided critics and Parisians alike, but as it returns for its fifth season it seems to have won a presidential seal of approval. On Monday, Emmanuel Macron named the series’ creator, Darren Star (best known for Sex and The City), a knight of the legion of honour for boosting France’s cultural prominence and soft power through the show’s global success.

It is a long way from the initial backlash, which partly centred on the brash wardrobe of Emily Cooper, the American in Paris played by Lily Collins. Brightly coloured, print-heavy and over the top, the outre outfits were received as a personal affront by many Parisians, who even objected to her embrace of archetypal French chic.

‘We’re your dream throuple!’ The Night Manager is back – and it’s even steamier

After a decade away, Tom Hiddleston is going undercover again as Jonathan Pine and this time he’s getting into an explosive, sexually fluid power threesome. It’s just what Le Carré would have wanted

For screenwriter David Farr, The Night Manager’s return is a dream come true. Literally. “Having not thought about the show for five years, a vivid image came to me in bed one night,” he says. “I saw a boy in a Colombian monastery, waiting for a black car to come over the hill. For some bizarre reason, I knew who those characters were. Suddenly, I was half-awake and the rest came flying out of me. I wrote it all down in case I forgot. In the morning, I looked at my notes and thought: ‘This is good, actually.’”

He’s not wrong. It’s a special drama that can leave a decade-long gap between series but still be welcomed back with widespread excitement. It’s testament to The Night Manager’s quality that its comeback is the first must-watch show of 2026.

Richard Moth appointed Roman Catholic archbishop of Westminster

Moth, 67, bishop of Arundel and Brighton, becomes leader of 6m Catholics in England and Wales

The new leader of the Roman Catholic church in England and Wales has been named as Bishop Richard Moth.

Moth, 67, was appointed by Pope Leo to replace Cardinal Vincent Nichols as archbishop of Westminster and leader of about 6 million Catholics in England and Wales.

‘Like Maga disciples’: meet the Trump envoys raising eyebrows in Europe

US president has been blatant in his appointment of relatives, close friends and big donors – almost none of whom have diplomatic experience

When your goal is to “help Europe correct its current trajectory” because it is “weak”, “decaying” and facing “civilisational erasure”, your choice of highly trained operatives for the mission is plainly of paramount importance.

In Donald Trump’s case they include: a former burger magnate; his eldest son’s former fiancee; the owner of the Houston Rockets basketball team; a producer of Broadway musicals; PayPal’s co-founder; and a convicted felon who is also his son-in-law’s father.

The 50 best movies of 2025 in the US

From astonishing docs and biopics to madcap adventures and emotional sucker punches – our critics pick the best from a spectacular year on the silver screen

• Read the UK cut of this list
• More on the best culture of 2025

***

Add to playlist: the bullish confidence and versatility of JayaHadADream and the week’s best new tracks

A breakout star of the underground rap scene shows vulnerability and wit in her genre-bending tracks

From Cambridgeshire
Recommended if you like Manga Saint Hilare, Kojey Radical, Little Simz
Up next Happiness from Agony out now

“One of the coldest writers but man don’t say it ’cause I’ve got vagina,” JayaHadADream raps on her recent track Bug, calling out those who underestimate her talent – and laying bare her lyrical confidence. In a fertile underground rap scene, the Jamaican-Irish, Cambridge-via-Nottingham artist has cut through thanks to her command and vulnerability, as well as a sharp eye for bullshit. The track Main Characters (featuring Big Zuu), also from her recent mixtape Happiness from Agony, is a critique of the fake love and hollow posturing that saturates the music industry.

Children and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels

Anointing a new Santa; a child refugee’s tale; a dangerous journey across frozen wastes; a YA roadtrip romance and more

The Great Christmas Tree Race by Naomi Jones, illustrated by James Jones, Ladybird, £7.99
Star always goes on top of the Christmas tree – until new decoration Sparkle kicks off a race. Who will win: Lights, Bauble, Snowflake or Reindeer? A festive picture-book caper with a child-pleasing twist.

The Boy Who Grew Dragons: A Christmas Delivery by Andy Shepherd, illustrated by Sarah Warburton, Templar, £12.99
Tomas, Lolli and the dragons in Grandad’s garden all love Christmas, but when a baby snow dragon hatches, her icy flurries make present-delivering impossible. Children and dragons team up to find a solution in this charming, funny picture-book introduction to the bestselling 5+ series.

From a showstopping pavlova to a £7 sherry: what top chefs bring to Christmas dinner

Looking for a great supermarket champagne? Need an easy recipe to take to a party? Or just some really good cheese… Yotam Ottolenghi, Giorgio Locatelli, Ixta Belfrage and others reveal the best snacks, drinks and desserts to make and buy for the big day

Christmas is a time of overwhelming choice, especially when it comes to food. So, to help you navigate the festive feasting, we asked 16 top chefs and cooks to tell us what they buy or make to give to the people brave enough to invite them over.

Reassuringly, it turns out that even the most decorated chefs love a Ferrero Rocher, a nice glass of sherry, a good mince pie and a decent cheeseboard at this time of year. And everyone is attached to their own traditions, whether that’s the apple tart Matthew Ryle’s family loves in place of Christmas pudding, the hot chocolate-and marshmallow kit Yotam Ottolenghi’s kids can never resist, or Sabrina Ghayour’s favourite truffle-infused cheddar.