The Guardian
Transfer deadline day: Mateta, Strand Larsen, Jacquet latest and more – live

Transfer interactive: deals from Europe’s top five leagues
⚽ 7pm GMT deadline | Follow us on Bluesky | Email Daniel

The centre-forward to whose leaving I refer is Jean-Philippe Mateta. You can’t argue with numbers, I don’t suppose, and he’s done a fairly good job in patches, I just can’t get on board with a striker so bad at finishing one-on-ones. If Milan are seriously prepared to give £30m for a 28-year-old, I’d say thank you very much.

In an effort to save themselves – an effort that ought, perhaps, to have been made in the summer, strengthening a team doing brilliantly to give it a chance of performing both domestically and in Europe – they’ve taken Evann Guessand on loan from Villa. I can’t say I like what I’ve seen so far, but perhaps Oliver Glasner’s system suits him more than Unai Emery’s.

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2nd February 2026 09:19
The Guardian
US shift away from Europe ‘didn’t really start with President Trump,’ says EU’s top diplomat – Europe live

She said that the US shift away from Europe is a “long term” process and the bloc needs to urgently adapt

Norway’s Støre also spoke about the need to strengthen the European security by investing with other European partners – and the changing nature of Europe’s alliance with the US.

In a pointed rebuke to Trump’s recent criticism of Nato saying:

“When I met President Trump [for the] first time I … looked him in the eyes and said: it’s important for a Norwegian prime minister to look a US president in the eyes and say: 100 km from my border is the world’s largest nuclear arsenal and it is not directed against me, but against you.

It makes a difference that we monitor those submarines. We know when they leave port, we know when they test their new weapon systems and we share it with you and we collaborate … on monitoring that.

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2nd February 2026 09:18
The Guardian
Gold, silver, bitcoin and oil slide as ‘metals meltdown’ rattles markets – business live

Analysts say choice of Kevin Warsh as next Fed chair has triggered heavy losses in precious metal prices

UK house prices have also fallen – although it’s a better picture if you adjust for seasonal factors.

The average price of a UK property fell in January, to £270,873, down from £271,068 in December, according to Nationwide Building Society.

“The start of 2026 saw a slight pick-up in annual house price growth, which rose to 1.0% in January, after slowing to 0.6% in December. Prices increased by 0.3% month on month in January, after taking account of seasonal effects.

“Housing market activity also dipped at the end of 2025, most likely reflecting uncertainty around potential property tax changes ahead of the Budget. Nevertheless, the number of mortgages approved for house purchase remained close to the levels prevailing before the pandemic.

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2nd February 2026 09:12
The Guardian
‘Nothing is sacred to them’: the race to save rare plants as Russian troops advance

With some of Ukraine’s most valuable biodiversity sites and science facilities under occupation, experts at Sofiyivka Park in Uman are struggling to preserve the country’s natural history

In the basement laboratory of the National Dendrological Park Sofiyivka, Larisa Kolder tends to dozens of specimens of Moehringia hypanica between power outages. Just months earlier, she and her team at this microclonal plant propagation laboratory in Uman, Ukraine, received 23 seeds of the rare flower.

Listed as threatened in Ukraine’s Red Book of endangered species, Moehringia grows nowhere else in the wild but the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine. Of those 23 seeds, only two grew into plants that Kolder and her colleagues could clone in their laboratory, but now her lab is home to a small grove of Moehringia seedlings, including 80 that have put down roots in a small but vital win for biodiversity conservation amid Russia’s war with Ukraine.

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2nd February 2026 09:00
The Guardian
Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt reopens for limited travel – latest updates

Rafah crossing in the south, which has largely been closed since May 2024, has reopened for those travelling on foot

In a post on X, Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the occupied territories, has responded to the news of the Médecins Sans Frontières ban in Gaza by saying Israel lacked the “authority” to make such a decision in the territory. She wrote:

Israel has NO authority to block anyone from entering the Palestinian territory it illegally occupies. Stop normalising the illegal occupation by bending to its diktats. Respect the ICJ deliberation: force Israel to end the occupation. Time for justice is NOW.

Following many months of unsuccessful engagement with Israeli authorities, and in the absence of securing assurances to ensure the safety of our staff or the independent management of our operations, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has concluded that it will not share a list of its Palestinian and international staff with Israeli authorities in the current circumstances.

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2nd February 2026 08:55
Us - CBSNews.com
ICE releases 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father from custody

Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father were released from ICE custody on Sunday, a day after a federal court ordered their release.

2nd February 2026 08:41
... NPR Topics: News
Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt reopens for limited traffic

Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt reopened on Monday for limited traffic, a key step as the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire moves ahead, according to Egyptian and Israeli security officials.

2nd February 2026 08:38
The Guardian
Katie McCabe heading for Arsenal exit in summer as club target younger players

  • No deal on table for left-back after respectful discussions

  • Arsenal in talks to sign Barcelona full-back Ona Batlle

Katie McCabe is likely to leave Arsenal when her contract expires this summer, with no new deal on the table after what sources have described as “very respectful discussions” about her future.

Arsenal regard McCabe as a club legend, the left-back having been there for just over 10 years and helped them become world and European champions, but they plan to refresh this summer with younger players.

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2nd February 2026 08:31
The Guardian
Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

João Pedro stepping up for Rosenior, Arsenal frontmen show their teeth and stretched Liverpool are fighting on

João Pedro is enjoying life under Liam Rosenior. The versatile Brazil forward was excellent after coming on at half-time against West Ham. João Pedro, who has five goals in his last five games, helped Chelsea complete their comeback from 2-0 down by scoring his side’s first and then creating Enzo Fernandez’s stoppage-time winner. Chelsea chose well when they beat Newcastle to the signing of the 24-year-old from Brighton last summer. João Pedro was excellent at the Club World Cup, but despite dealing with fitness issues has still has 12 goals in all competitions this season. Capable of playing as either a No 9 or a No 10, the Brazilian was important for Enzo Maresca but has improved since the Italian’s departure. “I’ve had very, very good conversations with him already, probably four in my office,” Rosenior said last week. “I think he’s sick of my office, where I’ve said to him ‘If you play with intensity with your quality, the quality comes out’.” Jacob Steinberg

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2nd February 2026 08:00
The Guardian
‘They don’t see the need for division anymore’: how teenagers of Belfast are escaping the city’s past – in pictures

Going beyond the well-worn stories of division, the Irish photographer depicts young people trying to live normally in the shadow of violence

When riots broke out in Belfast in 2021 between mainly young loyalists and republicans, Irish photographer Hazel Gaskin asked herself: why does the world only see Belfast’s young people through stories of tension, division and violence? So, in the wake of the riots, she spent four years visiting the city, documenting youth clubs, boxing gyms, dance groups and teenagers hanging out on the street. “I learned these kids are just being normal teenagers,” says Gaskin. “There are experiences that are different – they come from areas with a lot of historic violence. But people are going about their everyday life. It’s very normal.”

The photos in her new book Breathing Land (the title lifted from a line in Seamus Heaney’s poem Tate’s Avenue) were taken across Belfast, including Alliance Avenue in north Belfast, and between the nationalist Falls Road and unionist Shankill Road in west Belfast. She mainly focused on less affluent areas, where peace walls and peace gates still separate communities.

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2nd February 2026 08:00
The Guardian
The Joy of Six: incredible Winter Olympics moments

From a golden goal on ice, to Eve Muirhead’s redemption moment and more, here are half a dozen Winter Games classics

The greatest show on Canadian ice, and it boiled down to overtime. For the Canada team, stacked with NHL talent, the pressure was immense; a loss in this high-profile final might have soured the entire 2010 Olympics. A rivalry with the USA that, on paper, has been largely one-sided – Canada’s men’s ice hockey dynasty has long reigned supreme – suddenly felt terrifyingly and gloriously level. The USA, refusing to be a footnote, had clawed back a 2-0 deficit in the men’s gold-medal game with Zach Parise snatching an equaliser in the dying seconds. Then, seven minutes into sudden-death overtime, the 22-year-old Sidney Crosby, a man built for the biggest moments, slipped the puck between Ryan Miller’s pads with a flick of his wrist. A gold-medal-winning goal, for ever immortalised as “The Golden Goal” and considered an iconic moment in Canadian sports history.

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2nd February 2026 08:00
The Guardian
Is it true that … coffee aids digestion?

Caffeine can improve the digestive system and lead to better gut health, but try to avoid it after noon or if you have irritable bowels

Is sipping a coffee after a heavy meal actually good for helping you digest it? “For some people, absolutely,” says Dr Emily Leeming, a dietitian at King’s College London. “But it’s not always a good idea.”

Caffeine stimulates the gut, increasing muscle contractions, she says, which for many people helps food move through the digestive system “at a nice pace” before being excreted.

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2nd February 2026 08:00
The Guardian
John Lithgow says he finds JK Rowling’s stance on trans rights ‘ironic and inexplicable’

Actor says he has struggled with the backlash to his decision to play Albus Dumbledore in the new Harry Potter show, and says books are about ‘kindness versus cruelty’

John Lithgow has called JK Rowling’s views on transgender rights “ironic and inexplicable”, saying that backlash to his decision to play Albus Dumbledore in the upcoming Harry Potter series “upsets me”.

Speaking on stage at Rotterdam film festival after a screening of his latest film, Jimpa, the 80-year-old actor was asked about how he felt about Rowling’s views. Rowling serves as an executive producer on the upcoming series, which is being produced by HBO and will be one of the most expensively produced television shows of all time.

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2nd February 2026 07:34
... NPR Topics: News
Groundhog Day puts Punxsutawney Phil's forecast about winter's length in the spotlight

When Phil is said to have seen his shadow upon emergence from a tree stump in rural Pennsylvania, that's considered a forecast for six more weeks of winter. If he doesn't see his shadow, an early spring is said to be on the way.

2nd February 2026 07:24
The Guardian
Can you solve it? The numbers all go to 11

Puzzles one louder than ten

It’s two decimal digits long, it’s prime, it’s a palindrome and it’s the number of players in a football team.

Let’s hear it for “legs” eleven!

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2nd February 2026 07:10
The Guardian
Birdwatching with Sean Bean: best podcasts of the week

From Lord of Winterfell to lover of ornithology, the actor reveals his lifelong love of birding as host of a hugely listenable RSPB podcast. Plus, a gripping investigation into the police

On the face of it, the RSPB picking Ned Stark as the host of the new series of their podcast seems odd. But it turns out he’s been a birder since childhood, who crams in birdwatching between acting gigs. He’s warm and honest in his first podcast, chatting to fellow ornithology lover Elbow’s Guy Garvey about spotting different species while working abroad, recognising bird song and the meditative joy of watching the feathered creatures. Alexi Duggins
Widely available, episodes fortnightly

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2nd February 2026 07:00
The Guardian
Do You Love Me review – exhilarating documentary is ode to the collective courage of Lebanese people

In this freewheeling film Lana Daher draws from more than 20,000 hours of archival footage to channel the resilient spirit of Beirut

As freewheeling as a travelogue, Lana Daher’s mercurial documentary eschews talking heads and voiceover, drawing instead from more than 20,000 hours of archival footage to channel the resilient spirit of Beirut. Reflecting the non-linear movement of history, the film abandons chronology, zigzagging between disparate events, film clips and newsreels, TV programmes and home videos. Rich with a sense of play as well as melancholy, this stylistic approach conjures the precarity of life in the Lebanese capital. Moments of everyday joy – a wedding celebration, a family outing – are interspersed with startling images of hollowed-out buildings and bombed cars. Here, war seems never-ending and peace is fragile.

The film resurrects painful sociopolitical chapters, including the brutal 15-year Lebanese civil war and Israel’s repeated invasions of the country, yet also makes room for gentle humour and beauty. There’s also a deliberate emphasis on popular culture, with the inclusion of hit pop songs; one particularly exhilarating section is set to Dalida’s classic disco track Laissez-Moi Danser, played over dancing scenes both fictional and real. The sequence is immediately followed by a shot of a garbage dump, a stark reminder of reality; off kilter as it is, this tongue-in-cheek edit feels like an ode to the collective courage of Lebanese people. Amid the wartime upheavals, the music goes on.

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2nd February 2026 07:00
The Guardian
My search for the perfect Danish pastry in Copenhagen

In a city packed with bakeries, how do you find the best? I risked tooth decay to track down the quintessential blend of crisp pastry, an oozy centre and sugary cinnamon

Open sandwiches (smørrebrød), meatballs (frikadeller), crispy pork belly (stegt flæsk) … There are many must-eat dishes for food lovers visiting Denmark, though perhaps nothing springs to mind as readily as the Danish pastry. But how are you supposed to choose from the countless bakeries on offer? And once you have decided which to visit, which pastry to eat? As a long-term resident of Copenhagen and pastry obsessive, I took on the Guardian’s challenge to find the best Danish pastry in town.

Let’s get started with the shocking fact that Danish pastries are not actually Danish. In Denmark they’re called wienerbrød (Viennese bread) and made using a laminated dough technique that originated in Vienna. There’s also no such thing as a “Danish” in Denmark – there are so many different types of pastry that the word loses meaning. What we know as a Danish is a spandauer – a round pastry with a folded border and a circle of yellowy custard in the middle. Then there’s the tebirkes, a folded pastry often with a baked marzipan-style centre and poppy seeds on the top; a frøsnapper, a twist of pastry dusted with poppy seeds; and a snegl, which translates as “snail” but is known as a cinnamon swirl in English.

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2nd February 2026 07:00
Us - CBSNews.com
Massive release of Epstein files includes 3 million documents and photos

The Justice Department released more new documents Friday from the Jeffrey Epstein files, more than a month after the DOJ's original deadline to do so.

2nd February 2026 06:43
U.S. News
Why the catastrophe bond market is so hot right now

CAT bonds are known to offer highly attractive equity-like returns, low volatility and low correlation to broader financial markets.

2nd February 2026 06:31
The Guardian
Hidden detail found in Anne Boleyn portrait was ‘witchcraft rebuttal’, say historians

Exclusive: Underdrawing suggests attempt to debunk myth that former wife of Henry VIII had sixth finger

Anne Boleyn’s Hever “Rose” portrait is one of history’s most iconic faces, with her “B” pendant, her French hood, her dark eyes and a red rose in her right hand. Now a secret that has remained hidden for nearly 500 years has been discovered beneath the layers of paint.

Scientific analysis of the painting at Hever Castle, her childhood home in Kent, has uncovered evidence that an Elizabethan artist sought to create a “visual rebuttal” to claims that Henry VIII’s ill-fated wife was a witch with a sixth finger on her right hand.

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2nd February 2026 06:00
The Guardian
Propaganda in cinemas, newsrooms slashed: this is the US media under Trump and his tech barons | Nesrine Malik

The president and his supporters joining forces to decide what audiences read and see seems straight from a fascism playbook

Two events, juxtaposed, tell us a great deal about what is rapidly taking shape in the US. In one, Melania Trump releases a glossy documentary, Melania, an account of her return to the White House. Amazon outbid others to secure the rights to the documentary, spending $75m (£54m) in total, and ticket sales so far suggest that this was, shall we say, not a purely commercial venture.

In the other, the Washington Post is set to cut up to 200 jobs early this month, including the majority of its foreign staff and a sizeable chunk of its newsroom. Both Melania and the Washington Post are backed by Jeff Bezos. His two decisions, to invest in state propaganda and divest from the fourth estate that supposedly holds power to account, reveal much about how capital and authoritarianism join forces to decide what audiences read and see.

Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist

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2nd February 2026 06:00
The Guardian
Stir-fry suppers: Jeremy Pang’s recipes for Sichuan chicken and Singapore noodles

Enrol in the school of wok and get sizzling with a simple stir-fry and a classic hotch-potch noodle dish. Follow the ‘wok clock’ and both are ready in about half an hour

Stir-frying, as its name suggests, is the technique of frying while continuously stirring or circulating heat, and it is the heat that’s all-important. Stir-frying is all about wok hei, or ‘wok’s air’ in English, which you can think of as the ‘height of fire’, or the level of heat. It’s said that Chinese cooks have good wok hei if they have a true understanding of the heat of their wok and how to handle it in all situations, and a stir-fry’s success is based on the quality of the cook’s wok hei.

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2nd February 2026 06:00
The Guardian
What is Moltbook? The strange new social media site for AI bots

A bit like Reddit for artificial intelligence, Moltbook allows AI agents – bots built by humans – to post and interact with each other. People are allowed as observers only

On social media, people often accuse each other of being bots, but what happens when an entire social network is designed for AI agents to use?

Moltbook is a site where the AI agents – bots built by humans – can post and interact with each other. It is designed to look like Reddit, with subreddits on different topics and upvoting. On 2 February the platform stated it had more than 1.5m AI agents signed up to the service. Humans are allowed, but only as observers.

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2nd February 2026 05:39
The Guardian
Australian snowboarder dies in ski lift accident in Japan after her backpack was caught

Woman, 22, thought to have suffered a cardiac arrest after being dragged along the snow and suspended mid-air

An Australian woman has died after a ski lift accident in a Japanese resort after her backpack got caught and she was left hanging mid-air.

The 22-year-old snowboarder sustained critical injuries at the Tsugaike ski resort in Otari near Nagano on Friday.

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2nd February 2026 05:14
The Guardian
Families call for inquiry into residential care charity that ran up £1.6m debt

William Blake House in Northants accused of mismanagement after revelation it paid one of its own trustees £1m

A group of families have called for an urgent inquiry into a charity caring for their highly vulnerable disabled relatives which is under threat of closure after running up debts of £1.6m in unpaid taxes and paying £1m to one of its own trustees.

Earlier this month, a judge gave the charity, William Blake House, just weeks to pay off its debts to HMRC or face a winding up order. The charity’s accounts show auditors have routinely questioned whether it is a viable business.

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2nd February 2026 05:00
The Guardian
Do you like cat photos? Are you constantly distracted? You’re probably actually quite good at focusing: 10 myths about attention

Every second, 11m bits of information enter our brains, which then efficiently prioritise them. We need to learn to work with the process, rather than against it

It’s believed that we have about 50,000 thoughts a day: big, small, urgent, banal – “Did I leave the oven on?”. And those are just the ones that register. Subconsciously, we’re constantly sifting through a barrage of stimuli: background noise, clutter on our desks, the mere presence of our phones.

Every second, 11m bits of information enter our brains. Just 0.0004% is perceived by our conscious minds, showing just how hard our brains are working to parse what’s sufficiently relevant to bring to our attention.

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2nd February 2026 05:00
The Guardian
Lisa Bloom on the fight for Epstein’s victims: ‘So many powerful men were enablers’

The US lawyer on her fearsome reputation, the criticism she faced for advising Harvey Weinstein, and how 40 years of legal experience did not prepare her for the Epstein files

If Lisa Bloom had been advising Peter Mandelson or the then Prince Andrew before their calamitous attempts at reputation-salvaging television interviews, she would have encouraged them to listen beforehand to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims – or, at the very least, to their lawyers – to understand something of what the women endured.

“Or even just watch some of the powerful documentaries that have been made, centering the victims, telling their stories,” Bloom says, pausing for a moment, closing her eyes and shaking her head to convey silent incredulity. “I’d have wanted them to become really enlightened about it. But you really can’t instil compassion in someone if they don’t have compassion. It’s hard to implant it in there.”

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2nd February 2026 05:00
The Guardian
Parents, porn sets and Bob’s Big Boy combos: how Larry Sultan photographed American domestic life

He shot 100 kitschly decorated homes rented out for porn shoots – and spent nine years on a project about his mum and dad. Has any photographer better captured everyday America?

A psychiatric review of Larry Sultan, carried out by the military in 1969, described the American as an anxiety-prone individual who felt like a “left-out observer looking inside”. Sultan may not have been fit for service but, with that short phrase, the report identified the essential quality that would make him a great photographer of American domestic life.

The report is included in a new book, Water Over Thunder, published in collaboration with Sultan’s widow Kelly and son Max. In a career that began in the 1970s and lasted until his death in 2009 at the age of 63, Sultan was never confined to a single genre, but rather moved between documentary, fiction and appropriation. He photographed the ordinary middle-class homes of the San Fernando Valley in California rented out for porn shoots, made a portrait of Paris Hilton in his parents’ bedroom, and took underwater pictures of people learning to swim in San Francisco.

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2nd February 2026 05:00
The Guardian
Bad Bunny and Kendrick Lamar win big in Grammys ceremony filled with anti-ICE sentiment

Musicians delivered impassioned speeches during a star-packed night that saw Lamar become the most awarded rapper of all time

Bad Bunny and Kendrick Lamar took home major Grammy awards during a night that saw musicians hit back at Donald Trump’s ICE occupation.

From Justin Bieber to Carole King, artists wore anti-ICE pins while others also spoke out during their speeches. Bad Bunny, who is performing at the Super Bowl next weekend, took home three awards, for album of the year, best música urbana album and global music performance, and used his time on stage to call out anti-immigration sentiment.

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2nd February 2026 04:57
Us - CBSNews.com
The Grammy Awards were Sunday. Here's how to watch and what to know.

Music's biggest night returned Sunday with the 68th annual Grammy Awards. Here is how to watch and stream and what to know.

2nd February 2026 04:42
Us - CBSNews.com
Who won Grammy Awards for 2026? See the full winners list here

The 2026 Grammy Awards recognized the best of the best in music from last year. Here's the full list of winners and nominees.

2nd February 2026 04:37
Us - CBSNews.com
2/1: Face The Nation

This week on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," we speak to mayors from cities across the country as anger at ICE persists across the country, plus our interview with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado.

2nd February 2026 04:33
Us - CBSNews.com
Kennedy Center to close for construction for 2 years, Trump says

Complete closure of the performing arts center in Washington, D.C., will start on July 4, Mr. Trump said in a social media post.

2nd February 2026 04:27
Us - CBSNews.com
Bad Bunny says "ICE out" at Grammy Awards: "We're not aliens"

Bad Bunny used his Grammy acceptance speech on Sunday to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and call for the end of the ongoing immigration crackdown.

2nd February 2026 03:53
Us - CBSNews.com
Partial government shutdown continues with House due to return Monday

The Senate passed a deal on a package of spending bills late Friday, sending it to the House, though funding for dozens of government agencies lapsed until the House takes it up.

2nd February 2026 03:00
The Guardian
Fatima Bhutto on secrets, lies and surviving coercive control – podcast

The Pakistani writer on enduring an abusive relationship in the public eye, and how she broke free

Fatima Bhutto was born into one of Pakistan’s most famous families. A wealthy and powerful political dynasty, marked by decades of bloody violence. Threats to the family were constant. And so the need to keep secrets became Bhutto’s norm.

Her father, Murtaza Bhutto, was killed in a police shootout outside the family home. She was just 14 years old, her world turned utterly upside down. That sadness and trauma, the sudden and silent disappearances of her childhood, followed her as an adult.

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2nd February 2026 03:00
Us - CBSNews.com
Powerful storm hits an East Coast still buried under last week's snow

Blizzardlike conditions stemming from a "bomb cyclone" brought heavy snow to the Southeast and ushered in frigid temperatures to much of the East Coast.

2nd February 2026 02:37
Us - CBSNews.com
ICE halts "all movement" at Texas detention facility due to measles infections

The measles​ cases at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center were detected Friday, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CBS News.

2nd February 2026 02:33
... NPR Topics: News
Kennedy Center to close for 2 years for construction in July, Trump says

President Trump says he will move to close Washington's Kennedy Center for two years. It follows a wave of cancellations since Trump ousted the previous leadership and added his name to the building.

2nd February 2026 01:09
The Guardian
Grammys red carpet 2026: Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Huntrix and more – in pictures

Musicians step out in ruffles, feathers and trains as the red carpet sees the return of the ‘free the nipple’ movement

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2nd February 2026 01:09
... NPR Topics: News
What to know about Artemis II's 'wet dress rehearsal'

As astronauts prepare to fly around the moon, critical testing must occur before there is "Go" for launch.

2nd February 2026 00:49
The Guardian
Kennedy Center will halt entertainment operations for two years, Trump says

DC arts venue, which has seen wave of canceled events after Trump’s takeover, will start renovations in July

The John F Kennedy Center, a world-class venue for the performing arts in Washington DC, will halt entertainment events for two years starting on 4 July during renovations, Donald Trump posted on Sunday on Truth Social.

The Kennedy Center, which has seen a wave of performers cancel events in recent months as well as the lowest ticket sales in years, has been in turmoil since the president orchestrated a leadership overhaul in the beginning of his term.

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2nd February 2026 00:48
The Guardian
My youngest is starting school for the first time. How can I best preserve his relentless curiosity? | Shadi Khan Saif

I wonder how Naveed will navigate his own path – and how much I must nurture and how much I must learn to let go

“Schools are finally re-opening, mate,” my volleyball friend Sardar announced, grinning with unmistakable relief. It clearly had nothing to do with how we played that evening – we lost badly. This joy was about classrooms, routines, teachers and the quiet order that schools bring back into families’ lives.

For us, it also meant something else entirely: my youngest, Naveed, is starting school for the first time.

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1st February 2026 23:40
The Guardian
Two federal agents reportedly identified in fatal shooting of Alex Pretti

Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez are both officers with Customs and Border Protection, ProPublica reports

Government documents have identified the two federal officers who fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis as Jesus Ochoa, a border patrol agent, and Raymundo Gutierrez, an officer with Customs and Border Protection (CBP), according to ProPublica.

According to those records, Ochoa, 43, and Gutierrez, 35, were the agents who fired their weapons during the confrontation last weekend that resulted in Pretti’s death. The shooting sparked widespread demonstrations and renewed demands for criminal inquiries into federal immigration enforcement actions. Immediately following Pretti’s killing, the Trump administration repeatedly pushed false claims about the shooting.

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1st February 2026 23:30
Us - CBSNews.com
Ex-Capitol riot prosecutors draft strategy for Congress to probe ICE conduct

The memo details a series of recommendations for Congressional committees to probe allegations of excessive force and violations by ICE agents in Minneapolis.

1st February 2026 23:00
The Guardian
Australia fall to worst T20 defeat in final World Cup warmup in Pakistan

  • Mitch Marsh’s team spun to record-breaking 111-run loss in Lahore

  • Usman Tariq hits back at Cameron Green over throwing allegation

Australia have been handed the worst possible conclusion to their World Cup warmup, suffering their heaviest T20 international defeat in a third successive morale-sapping capitulation to Pakistan.

Still wounded from a 90-run defeat 24 hours earlier at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium – their worst loss to Pakistan – it only got even more dire for Mitch Marsh’s side on Sunday as they were spun to a record-breaking 111-run loss on the same ground.

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1st February 2026 23:00
The Guardian
Bomb cyclone brings freezing temperatures and snow to millions in US

About 150m faced cold weather advisories along eastern US, and two in North Carolina died in storm-related conditions

A bomb cyclone produced freezing temperatures across a large portion of the US from the Gulf coast to New England, bringing heavy snow to North Carolina where two were killed in storm-related conditions, and setting records in Florida, where officials warned of ice and falling iguanas.

About 150 million people were under cold weather advisories and extreme cold warnings in the eastern portion of the US, with wind chills near zero to single digits in the south and the coldest air mass seen in south Florida since December 1989, said Peter Mullinax, a meteorologist with the weather prediction center in College Park, Maryland.

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1st February 2026 22:51
Us - CBSNews.com
Dozens confirmed dead as extreme cold continues to grip much of U.S.

The death toll continues to rise from a massive winter storm that left an ongoing spell of freezing weather in its wake.

1st February 2026 22:40
The Guardian
European football: Mbappé wins it late for Real Madrid after Bellingham limps off

  • Bellingham out for month with hamstring injury

  • PSG return to top of Ligue 1 despite Hakimi red card

Kylian Mbappé stayed calm to roll home a 100th-minute penalty and secure for Real Madrid a 2-1 win over nine-man Rayo Vallecano on Sunday in a spicy La Liga derby. Los Blancos’ victory cut Barcelona’s lead back to one point at the top of the table after the Spanish champions beat Elche on Saturday.

Vinícius Júnior scored early on for Madrid after Jude Bellingham limped off with an apparent hamstring injury. Jorge de Frutos pulled Rayo level early in the second half, prompting visible anger from the Madrid fans at their team. Frustration was averted when Mbappé netted from the spot following Pathé Ciss’s red card at the death. Rayo also had Pep Chavarría sent off before the final whistle.

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1st February 2026 22:39
Us - CBSNews.com
Portland mayor demands ICE leave the city after federal agents gas protesters

Children were among a crowd of "ICE out" protesters in Portland on Saturday, witnesses said.

1st February 2026 22:21
... NPR Topics: News
Bomb cyclone brings bitter cold and snow to the Southeast

Temperatures in southern Florida reached the coldest they've been since 1989, according to the National Weather Service.

1st February 2026 22:20
Us - CBSNews.com
Face the Nation: Cohn, America's mayors

Missed the second half of the show? Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn, and our mayors panel comprised Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt; Mesa, Arizona, Mayor Mark Freeman; Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas; and Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins join.

1st February 2026 22:09
The Guardian
Secret Genius review – Alan Carr and Susie Dent’s moving IQ contest will have you instantly hooked

There are estimated to be a million undiscovered geniuses in the UK, and this show is out to find one. It’s a stressful, heartwarming, shocking watch – which raises big questions about the UK

This, then, is what Alan Carr did next. Fresh from his victory as the last traitor standing in The Celebrity Traitors, and elevation to national treasure status, the Chatty Man is co-presenting Secret Genius with Countdown’s dictionary-botherer, the lexicographer and author Susie Dent. On second thoughts, given the lead times for these things, this is probably better billed as “What Alan Carr was contracted to do next” but no matter. We are here to have fun and fun we shall! Though, this being a reality-competition show in which people take part in regional heats to find out who among them is “one of the estimated million undiscovered geniuses” in the UK (no definition of the term given – Dent, you had ONE JOB), it comes with a buffet of sob stories, a side order of stress and a hefty dollop of whatever the word is for that patented mix of schadenfreude and voyeurism on which the genre depends.

We begin with a dozen participants drawn from north-west England and Northern Ireland. They have either nominated themselves or – more often – been nominated by friends and family who know them as the cleverclogses of their circles. All will compete in the first round: eight will reach the second.

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1st February 2026 22:05
The Guardian
‘Made me want to punch the air’: The Night Manager’s seductive, twisty return was a TV triumph

Without a weighty Le Carré novel behind it, there were fears the steamy, stylish spy series would feel phoned in. We needn’t have worried – it’s been a delight

  • This article contains spoilers for the season finale of The Night Manager

What a pleasure it is to be seduced – and The Night Manager is just about the most seductive show on television. The palatial houses and swish hotels; the expensive suits and crisp shirts (does anyone wear a button-up better than Tom Hiddleston?); all the beautiful people with their beautiful faces, elegantly stabbing one another in the back. The first season aired 10 years ago – an entirely different world – so when it was announced that a second season was coming, my first thought was: oh no, lightning doesn’t strike twice. Delightfully, I was wrong.

If you haven’t revisited The Night Manager since 2016, here are the pertinent points: Jonathan Pine (Hiddleston), a night manager in a Cairo hotel, weaseled his way into the rarefied world of arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie), AKA “the worst man in the world”, under the direction of Angela Burr (Olivia Colman), who ran a British intelligence operation. As a supposedly loyal henchman, Pine beguiled Roper, shtupped his girlfriend, imploded his arms deal and made off with a cool $300m, as Roper was dragged off screaming to a violent fate by unhappy customers.

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1st February 2026 22:00
The Guardian
US is in talks with Cuban leadership, says Trump, after blockade threats

US president announces efforts being made to strike a deal having earlier threatened to stop island importing oil

Washington is negotiating with Havana’s leadership to strike a deal, Donald Trump has said, days after threatening Cuba’s reeling economy with a virtual oil blockade.

“Cuba is a failing nation. It has been for a long time but now it doesn’t have Venezuela to prop it up. So we’re talking to the people from Cuba, the highest people in Cuba, to see what happens,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday.

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1st February 2026 21:32
The Guardian
Foord sees off Corinthians in extra time to put Arsenal on top of the world

  • Final: Arsenal 3-2 Corinthians (aet)

  • Smith 15, Wubben-Moy 58, Foord 104; Zanotti 21, Albuquerque 90+6 pen

The most decorated women’s club in England made more history in London on Sunday night, Arsenal securing a 3-2 win over the Copa Libertadores champions Corinthians in extra time to see them crowned winners of the inaugural Fifa Women’s Champions Cup.

They were made to work for their victory, the Brazilians twice coming from behind to force another 30 minutes of football, but it was something of an inevitability. The Champions League winners benefited from being mid-season with players at full fitness – in contrast to Corinthians being in their pre-season and the Concacaf Champions Cup winners Gotham FC in their off-season – and from the decision to hold the tournament in London, and play the final at the Emirates Stadium. This was a competition set up for European success and Arsenal delivered. They are officially the world’s best club and they have a nice trophy to prove it. The 13-point gap, albeit with a game in hand, between them and Women’s Super League leaders Manchester City though, says otherwise.

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1st February 2026 21:12
The Guardian
UK should consider resuming talks on EU defence pact, Starmer says

PM says Europe must ‘step up’ and signals he wants to work more closely with other states to build military capability

The UK should consider re-entering talks for a defence pact with the EU, Keir Starmer has said, arguing that Europe needs to “step up and do more” to defend itself in uncertain times.

The prime minister signalled that he wanted to work more collaboratively with other European countries to increase defence spending and build up military capability, and doing so through the EU’s scheme is one option available.

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1st February 2026 20:57
The Guardian
Dead Souls review – Alex Cox rides into sunset with anti-Trump spaghetti western

Rotterdam film festival
The Repo Man director relocates Gogol’s surreal novella to the old west in what he says will be his final film

English film-maker Alex Cox comes riding into town with this jauntily odd and surreal western which he has indicated will be his swansong, shot on the rugged plains of Almeria in Spain and also Arizona. Cox himself is the star – an elegant, dapper presence – and his co-writer is veteran spaghetti western actor Gianni Garko.

The story has obvious relevance to contemporary America, and a flash-forward makes some of this clear. But it is also inspired by the classic novella of the same name by Nikolai Gogol, a mysterious parable of greed and vanity about a man who travels around offering to buy the souls of dead serfs on various estates in pre-revolutionary Russia so landowners can lower their tax bills, but plans to claim that they are still alive and therefore pass himself off as a wealthy man.

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1st February 2026 20:38
U.S. News
United Arab Emirates' 'Spy Sheikh' bought secret stake in Trump crypto company: WSJ

“This is corruption, plain and simple," said Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee.

1st February 2026 20:36
The Guardian
Pakistan to play Twenty20 World Cup but will boycott game against India

  • Government gives approval to compete in tournament

  • Pakistan will not play India in Colombo on 15 February

Pakistan will boycott their Twenty20 World Cup match against India on 15 February, the Pakistan government said on Sunday while approving the team’s participation in the tournament.

“The government … grants approval to the Pakistan cricket team to participate in the World T20, however, the Pakistan cricket team shall not take the field in the match against India,” the post on the government’s X account said.

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1st February 2026 20:21
Us - CBSNews.com
Full transcript of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Feb. 1, 2026

On this "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" broadcast, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado and Rep. Michael McCaul join Margaret Brennan.

1st February 2026 20:02
The Guardian
Melania film earns $7m in US, strongest documentary debut in over a decade

Melania, however, cost quite more than a typical documentary, at $40m to make and $35m to promote.

Amazon’s Melania Trump documentary has reportedly beaten box office expectations and recorded the strongest start of any documentary in over a decade, taking $7m at the US box office during its lavishly-promoted opening weekend. But it also cost quite more than a typical documentary, at $40m to make and $35m to promote.

And Amazon – which recently cut 16,000 corporate jobs – has been hit with criticism that making the documentary about the first lady, and paying so highly for it, was little more than a ploy to curry favor with her husband, Donald Trump, during his second presidency.

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1st February 2026 19:08
U.S. News
Epstein files: Ro Khanna says DOJ's latest release is 'not good enough'

The congressional Democrat said that Friday's Epstein disclosure was "significant," but it is only about half of the files that have been collected.

1st February 2026 19:04
The Guardian
Todd Blanche says review of Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking case ‘is over’

Deputy US attorney general says victims ‘want to be made whole’ but that doesn’t mean ‘we can just create evidence’

The deputy US attorney general, Todd Blanche, the point person on the Trump administration’s Epstein files release, told ABC News on Sunday that prosecutors’ review of the Jeffrey Epstein-Ghislaine Maxwell sex-trafficking case “is over”.

Separately, in comments to CNN about Epstein, Blanche said that “victims want to be made whole” after surviving the scheme attributed to the late convicted sex offender and which led to a 20-year prison sentence for Maxwell beginning in 2022.

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1st February 2026 18:48
Us - CBSNews.com
Ex-Trump economic adviser says Kevin Warsh will "take the Fed back" to norms

Gary Cohn, IBM vice chairman, said President Trump's nominee for chairman of the Federal Reserve Board is "very highly qualified" and will "take the Fed back to its traditional" norms.

1st February 2026 18:43
Us - CBSNews.com
"Melania" documentary opens with better ticket sales than expected

Promoted by President Trump as "a must watch," the Melania Trump documentary "Melania" debuted with $7 million in ticket sales, according to estimates Sunday.

1st February 2026 18:18
The Guardian
The Guardian view on the EU’s answer to Trump: trade without threats | Editorial

Europe’s India and Vietnam deals signal a historic shift away from coercion towards cooperation that respects developing countries’ sovereignty

For the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, the EU’s trade pact with India was the “mother of all deals”. Seen from the other end of the telescope, it looked like the mouse of all deals, with just €4bn (£3.5bn) in tariff reductions – a rounding error in a €180bn trading relationship. But that misses the point: this is about economic heavyweights resetting the terms of their cooperation because of Donald Trump’s use of tariffs as a tool of economic and political compulsion.

Last week marked a turning point. In upgrading ties with Vietnam in the wake of its India deal, Europe is no longer trying to lock Asian partners into fixed industrial roles. The EU wants Hanoi to move into hi-tech production. That shift will probably displace Vietnam’s labour-intensive manufacturing elsewhere. India is an obvious beneficiary, able to absorb that demand.

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1st February 2026 17:30
The Guardian
Mexico moves to combat pollution following Guardian investigations

After stories revealed high levels of contamination in neighborhood around factory processing US toxic waste, government announces sweeping array of tactics

The Mexican government has announced it will pursue a sweeping array of tactics to combat industrial pollution, from $4.8m in fines against a plant processing US hazardous waste to the rollout of a new industrial air-monitoring system, following investigations by the Guardian and Quinto Elemento Lab, a Mexican investigative unit.

Those stories revealed high levels of heavy-metal contamination in the neighborhood around the factory, Zinc Nacional, in the Monterrey metropolitan area, and showed the broader extent of industrial pollution in the region, linked to Monterrey’s role in manufacturing and recycling goods for the US market.

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1st February 2026 17:08
U.S. News
Speaker Johnson: 'Confident' government shutdown will end by Tuesday

The government shut down on Saturday after Senate Democrats demanded changes to a spending package following the killings of U.S. citizens in Minnesota.

1st February 2026 17:07
The Guardian
NHS patients put at risk by ‘sham investigations’, says ex-CEO of hospital

Exclusive: Dr Susan Gilby, who won £1.4m bullying payout, says whistleblower protections must be strengthened

Patients are being put at risk by NHS bosses launching “sham investigations” into whistleblowers to shut down concerns, a former hospital chief executive who won a £1.4m bullying claim has said.

Dr Susan Gilby took over as chief executive at the Countess of Chester hospital in 2018 after it was rocked by the Lucy Letby case. She was awarded the payout – one of the biggest in NHS history – last month after a tribunal ruled she had been unfairly dismissed after raising concerns about alleged bullying and harassment by the chair of the hospital board.

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1st February 2026 17:00
The Guardian
‘It’s really sad’: US TikTok users rethink app over concerns about privacy and censorship

Some users are stepping away from the app after it made a deal to create a US entity and updated terms and conditions

Many TikTok users across the US say they’re rethinking their relationship with the platform since its ownership and terms and conditions have recently changed, with some citing censorship and lack of trust as reasons why they’re removing themselves from the app.

Keara Sullivan, a 26-year-old comedian, says TikTok jumpstarted her career and provided a pathway to getting a manager and a literary agent.

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1st February 2026 17:00
Us - CBSNews.com
This week on "Sunday Morning" (Feb. 1)

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

1st February 2026 16:58
U.S. News
'Melania' earns a surprising $7 million, best non-music documentary debut in a decade

Amazon reportedly paid an estimated $40 million to acquire 'Melania' and spent an additional $35 million on marketing.

1st February 2026 16:34
The Guardian
Likeness of restored angel to Giorgia Meloni triggers investigations in Rome

Cherub at landmark church causes ecclesiastical and political uproar with alleged resemblance to Italian PM

Italy’s culture minister and the diocese of Rome have launched investigations after claims were made that an angel in a landmark church in Rome was restored in the likeness of the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.

The resemblance was first flagged by the newspaper La Repubblica, which noted that one of the two angels flanking a marble bust of Italy’s last king in the Basilica of St Lawrence in Lucina now had “a familiar, astonishingly contemporary face”.

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1st February 2026 16:04
The Guardian
‘Adjustments must be made’: how to live well after mid-life

We are living longer and longer, but many of us are unprepared for the challenges age brings, says the novelist and psychotherapist Frank Tallis

We have never lived so long, so well, nor had more available advice on how to do so: don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t eat ultraprocessed foods; lift weights, get outside, learn a language. Cosmetics – or surgery – have never been so available, so advanced, nor so widely used; we take for granted medical procedures that previous ages would have considered miracles. And something’s clearly working: average global life expectancy is the highest in recorded history. The fastest growing demographic is now the over-80s.

There is much public hand-wringing about the burdens this ageing population will place on health and care systems, and on younger people. But what is far less talked about, argues the clinical psychologist Frank Tallis in his new book, Wise, is how to get older well: not just in physical, but in mental good health.

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1st February 2026 16:00
The Guardian
Betfred brothers top list of UK’s biggest taxpayers with £400m bill

Harry Styles is highest-contributing celebrity and Erling Haaland the youngest entry in Sunday Times tax list

Tim Martin, Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran, Erling Haaland and Mo Salah are among the UK’s 100 biggest taxpayers, according to new rankings.

The billionaire brothers behind the gambling firm Betfred topped the Sunday Times 2026 tax List. Fred and Peter Done paid £400.1m in tax, about half of which relates to gambling duty from their betting shop empire.

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1st February 2026 15:55
... NPR Topics: News
Swiss Alpine bar fire claims 41st victim, an 18-year-old Swiss national

Swiss prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into the owners of Le Constellation bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana, where a fire in the early hours of Jan. 1 killed dozens.

1st February 2026 15:53
The Guardian
Venice carnival, flamenco fashion and a fire beast: photos of the weekend

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

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1st February 2026 15:46
Us - CBSNews.com
A widow's grief, and an angel's compassion

After the death of her husband of 26 years, Rhea Holmes, of Syracuse, New York, was left with little money, and slipped into depression. Losing her job and her home, she eventually took to sleeping at the only place she felt she owned: her husband's grave. Then, along came an "angel." Steve Hartman reports.

1st February 2026 15:14
The Guardian
‘Already a legend’: Djokovic’s praise for Australian Open champion Alcaraz

  • Spaniard beat Serbian to complete career grand slam at 22

  • Alcaraz also youngest man to win seven grand slam titles

Novak Djokovic called Carlos Alcaraz a tennis legend at the age of 22 after the Spaniard became the youngest male player in history to complete the career grand slam by defeating Djokovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 in the Australian Open final.

The world No 1 had entered this tournament seeking to complete his collection of grand slam titles after previously winning each of the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open twice. He played a mature match against Djokovic, the fourth seed, maintaining his composure after a blistering opening set from the Serbian to win in four sets. Alcaraz is also the youngest man in the open era to win seven grand slam titles.

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1st February 2026 15:13
Us - CBSNews.com
Extended Interview: Mel Robbins

In this web exclusive, author and podcaster Mel Robbins talks with Norah O'Donnell about "The Let Them Theory."

1st February 2026 15:09
Us - CBSNews.com
Mel Robbins on "The Let Them Theory"

Mel Robbins' podcasts, TED Talk and bestselling books, including "The 5 Second Rule" and "The Let Them Theory," have shared her inspirational messages about positivity and empowerment. The former lawyer talks with CBS News' Norah O'Donnell about how she overcame her own sense of failure to become a life coach and motivational speaker, and why the 57-year-old mother of three appreciates success later in life.

1st February 2026 15:05
The Guardian
Dozens of historic Maseratis recreated for movie about Italian car company

Film with a cast headed by Anthony Hopkins tells the story of a supercar marque that began in a small Bologna garage

Dozens of Maseratis of 1920s and 1930s designs have been built specially for a feature film about the Italian car company’s earliest days, with a cast headed by Anthony Hopkins.

Maserati: The Brothers tells the story of siblings driven by their love of cars to create an automotive company from scratch. It all began in a little garage in the Italian city of Bologna: in 1914 they founded a sports supercar company that went on to make some of the fastest vehicles on the planet.

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1st February 2026 15:00
The Guardian
The kindness of strangers: while we waited outside in the rain, a young boy brought us hot tea and cake

Our youthful enthusiasm was starting to falter when a child came out of a cottage with a basket, sent by his mum

It was 1974 and my school friends and I decided to backpack around Tasmania in the middle of winter – go figure. We were three mates in our late teens, without a clear plan.

After arriving on the ferry, we hopped on a train owned by a mining company and travelled through the wild and unpopulated Tasmanian west coast to Queenstown. It was all forest and mountains, and so utterly freezing we sat in our sleeping bags on the train to try to warm up.

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1st February 2026 14:00
The Guardian
America’s contract to protect white women has always been tenuous | Saida Grundy

ICE’s killing of Renee Good has revealed how the state will only defend those who uphold a white racial order. A 1915 film points to the origins of this social pact

In the hours after the 7 January fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old Minneapolis mother of three, gut-wrenching footage of her killing was released, discrediting initial claims from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and the Department of Justice that she was shot in self-defense. As a response to the public outcry, the Trump administration and a chorus of conservative public figures unleashed a litany of dehumanizing and defamatory remarks about Good, a beloved wife, neighbor and dental assistant, in ways that were unduly callous.

The Fox News host Jesse Watters derided Good’s queer identity, and mocked her as a “self-proclaimed poet from Colorado with pronouns in her bio”. The homeland security secretary Kristi Noem vilified Good as a domestic terrorist who “weaponized” her vehicle in an attempt to run over officers – a patently false comment. Laura Loomer, a personal adviser to the president, posted to social media, “She deserved it … I’m shocked her lesbian girlfriend wasn’t shot with her.” JD Vance lobbed the biting accusation that the victim was “a deranged leftist”, before adding that “it’s a tragedy of her own making”. Donald Trump justified the shooting, telling reporters that “at a very minimum, that woman was very, very disrespectful to law enforcement”. And on 17 January, the justice department announced a criminal investigation into claims tying her grieving widow, Becca Good, to unnamed “activist groups” (six federal prosecutors resigned in objection to the investigation).

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1st February 2026 14:00
The Guardian
Sure, kids can be annoying – but making public spaces ‘child-free’ is wrong | Emma Beddington

The French rail operator SNCF has recently installed new ‘adults-only’ carriages. It’s part of a sad culture of suppressing the young that forgets we were all loud and carefree once

As a disapproving, noise-sensitive harpy who once managed to communicate “use headphones” to an Italian tween on a train despite us not sharing a common language, I ought to be the ideal candidate for the French rail operator SNCF’s new “Optimum”, no-kids-allowed carriages. The service was promoted last month as a civilised space in which executives could conduct important business in cosseted peace, unmolested by sticky fingers or La Pat’ Patrouille (Paw Patrol) blaring from an iPad.

Actually, though, I hate it – and a heartening number of other people seem to be hating it, too. The initiative sparked widespread indignation in France (the high commissioner for children, Sarah El Haïry, called it “shocking”) and beyond, leading SNCF to partly backtrack, changing the original “children are not allowed” wording to say the space is only inaccessible to under-12s.

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1st February 2026 14:00
The Guardian
Lucy Letby’s parents criticise Netflix documentary over ‘invasion of privacy’

Susan and John Letby question use of arrest footage filmed at their house in programme about daughter’s crimes

The parents of Lucy Letby have criticised the use of footage due to be aired in a new Netflix documentary about their daughter’s crimes as a “complete invasion of privacy” and said watching it would “likely kill us”.

Susan and John Letby questioned why police had released video of Letby’s arrest, which took place in the couple’s house, and said they were worried it would make their home a “tourist attraction”.

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1st February 2026 13:22
The Guardian
The battle for Paris: can Rachida Dati fend off scandal to become next mayor?

Seen by rivals as a dangerous rightwinger, others hope the controversial culture minister can snatch Paris from the left

She was the first woman of north African and Muslim heritage to hold a major French government post and she redefined political celebrity in France. Now Rachida Dati wants to become mayor of Paris and take the city from the left, which has been in power for 25 years.

“I want to bring back authority,” Dati, France’s culture minister, told Le Figaro last month, promising a law and order drive to arm municipal police with guns. Her opponents call her a dangerous rightwinger who would turn the French capital into a “Trumpist laboratory”.

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1st February 2026 13:00
The Guardian
How to make mulligatawny – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

Have you forgotten how good this spicy soup tastes? Here are nine easy steps to rediscovering the Indian-inspired winter warmer

I have yet to see anyone eating mulligatawny in an Indian restaurant – perhaps unsurprisingly, given that it’s a product of the British occupation, and the very name has an off-putting Victorian feel, which is a shame, because it’s aged a lot better than imperialism. Based, historians think, on the Madrassi broth molo tunny, it’s a lovely, gently spiced winter soup that’s well worth rediscovering.

Prep 15 min
Cook 50 min
Serves 4-6

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1st February 2026 13:00
Us - CBSNews.com
How accurate are Punxsutawney Phil's Groundhog Day predictions?

Each Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil makes his prediction about a late end to winter weather or early start to spring temperatures. Here's how accurate his forecasts have been over the years.

1st February 2026 12:49
... NPR Topics: News
Alcaraz beats Djokovic to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam

The 22-year-old Spaniard's win against 38-year-old rival Novak Djokovic at Sunday's Australian Open makes him the youngest male player to win all four major tournaments.

1st February 2026 12:39
Us - CBSNews.com
Did an Illinois firefighter have a secret he was willing to kill for?

When Melissa Lamesch is found dead at home in Mt. Morris, Illinois, on the day before Thanksgiving, authorities zero in on Matthew Plote, a man trained to save lives, not take them.

1st February 2026 12:32
Us - CBSNews.com
Firefighter accused of staging a house fire to cover up a murder

It was Thanksgiving Eve 2020, and Melissa Lamesch was excited about the upcoming birth of her first child. Investigators would learn there was someone who was not as enthused — the expectant father, firefighter Matthew Plote.

1st February 2026 12:31
Us - CBSNews.com
Virginia woman was strangled with her child sleeping nearby, authorities say

Ten days before investigators say Katlyn Lyon Montgomery, 28, was strangled in her sleep in the Virginia apartment she shared with her 4-year-old daughter and a new roommate, she had broken up with Trenton Frye, a North Carolina man she met online months before.

1st February 2026 12:30
The Guardian
Reading was the key to breaking through the fog of my parents' dementia | Jo Glanville

It was hard to communicate with my mother or father, until reading a book out loud led to a discovery

The novelist Ian McEwan has advocated for the extension of assisted dying to people with dementia, commenting on the deeply distressing experience of his own mother: “By the time my mother was well advanced and could not recognise anyone, she was dead. She was alive and dead all at once. It was a terrible thing. And the burden on those closest is also part of the radioactive damage of it all.”

My mother, Pamela, a journalist, died of vascular dementia 10 years ago. My father, the football journalist and novelist Brian Glanville, died of Parkinson’s last year after living with the illness for five years. He also had a milder form of dementia. “Radioactive damage” is certainly a vivid description of the impact of caring for someone living with a degenerative illness, but the perception that someone in the last stages of dementia may be “dead” feels wrong when I think of my parents. How are you to know what is happening in someone else’s brain?

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1st February 2026 12:04
The Guardian
Why you should embrace rejection

From building resilience to boosting artistic creativity, there are unexpected benefits to being rebuffed

Rejection hurts. Whether in a professional, social or romantic setting, there is a particularly painful sting to the discovery that one has been judged undesirable in some way. If you have ever experienced proper rejection – and that would be most of us – it may stand out in your mind for a long time, like a boulder lodged in the landscape of memory.

And it can hurt literally. The late anthropologist Helen Fisher, who studied human behaviour in the context of romantic love, showed that rejection and physical injury have much in common. In 2010 she led a study of people who had been recently rejected romantically. Functional MRI scans of their brains revealed that areas associated with distress and physical pain were more active. The passage of time did seem to reduce the pain response for Fisher’s participants, but for some people rejection can resonate for months or years. This overlap in the brain’s response to what we think of as physical and mental pain isn’t limited to romance. Social psychologist Naomi Eisenberger scanned the brains of people who were socially excluded from a ballgame in an experiment. Her results showed that “social pain is analogous in its neurocognitive function to physical pain, alerting us when we have sustained injury to our social connections”.

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1st February 2026 12:00
The Guardian
Adolescence lasts into your 30s – so how should parents treat their adult children?

There are lots of guidebooks for parents of young children – but what happens when your offspring hit adulthood? A psychotherapist shares her guiding principles for raising grownups

When one of my daughters turned 18, our relationship hit a crisis so painful it lasted longer than I knew how to bear. I was a psychotherapist, trained in child and adult development, yet I was utterly flummoxed. Decades have passed since then, but when I recently spoke to her about that time, a flood of distress washed through me as if it were yesterday.

This is how my daughter, now a mother herself, put it when I asked her to describe that era:

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1st February 2026 12:00
The Guardian
Anglican clergy in London to be asked to promote antiracism in sermons

Exclusive: Thousands of pounds unlocked to fund more diversity initiatives in diocese of capital

Church of England clergy will be encouraged to promote antiracism in sermons as senior figures unlock thousands of pounds in funding to promote diversity initiatives in London.

Church Commissioners, the body that manages C of E assets, is funding the Diocese of London, which covers more than 400 parishes and 18 boroughs north of the River Thames, to boost inclusion work as part of the three-year Racial Justice Priority (RJP) project.

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1st February 2026 12:00