New indictment alleges Nick Reiner was lying in wait before killing his parents

A grand jury has indicted Nick Reiner on murder charges in the killings of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, and adds the allegation that he was lying in wait before attacking them.

Australia v Bangladesh: first men’s Test, day one – live

• Updates as the Test match gets under way in Darwin

• Any thoughts? Email Geoff

5th over: Australia 18-0 (Head 7, Weatherald 4) Taskin with more late movement, jagging a ball back into Weatherald’s knee roll, a keen appeal but it was going over and Umpire Dharmasena is rightly unmoved. The bowler goes full, trying to get through Weatherald in a similar way to how England had some success against him in the Ashes - with him falling over to the off side - but the radar is awry and it slides away for four byes.

4th over: Australia 13-0 (Head 7, Weatherald 4) Hasan Mahmud nearly pockets Head as a meaty leading edge loops over the bowler but short of mid off. The bowler then beats Weatherald all ends up with a ripper that seams back and looks like it skimmed the off bail. Weatherald aims a booming drive at the final ball but connects only with hot and humid Darwin air.

Millions crowd cities to see Spain's first total solar eclipse in over a century

As the sky darkened, gradually at first and then quickly, people broke into applause and cheered. It was the Spain's first total solar eclipse in more than a century.

‘Living proof damaged landscapes can recover’: exploring a vast restored forest in southern Sweden

Söderåsen national park is one of Europe’s largest protected broadleaf woods, offering wild swimming, spectacular hiking trails and an inspiring story of regeneration

From the bus window, the ridge looks like a giant slumbering beast stretched deep green across the flat farmland. “It feels alive,” I say to the woman beside me. “Yes,” she answers. “It is where you would run for safety, don’t you think?”

I am in southern Sweden to explore Söderåsen national park, established in 2001 to protect more than 1,600 hectares (4,000 acres) of the larger Söderåsen ridgeline. Shaped over millennia by immense geological collisions, fractures, volcanic eruptions and ice ages, today it is one of northern Europe’s largest continuous protected broadleaf forests, and only 90 minutes by car from Copenhagen or, in my case, two hours by public transport.

Sailors, shadows and a dog in a dress: heroes of the street – in pictures

From dazzling shifts in perspective to astounding tricks using shade, reflections and rain, these winning images from the Pure Street Photography awards all capture ‘marvellous moments of fleeting serendipity’

Can Nothing Save Us? by Irvine Welsh review – US family saga is a late-career triumph

The Scottish author focuses on gun culture and generational conflict in this darkly satirical tale about a great power in decline

“Why expect unconditional love from somebody you’ve brought into a fucked, dying planet, who then has to sit around and watch you screw it up even more?” So muses twentysomething college dropout Luke Ayrton on his parental lineage as he works the Las Vegas Strip, “comping girls for clubs” in Sin City. His job is to trawl the “plankton” of bacherlorette parties in order to lure the “whales” – rich men willing to spend to try to impress young women.

“In this game your sociology skills sharpened,” it’s observed, but beyond the seedy side hustle lie weightier concerns: the matter of his family legacy. Electronic dance music aficionado and aspiring writer Luke is estranged from his Maga-positive Mom and Dad, and now lives with grandparents George and Molly, affluent boomers with a countercultural past.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: the top dog of folding Androids

With great software and battery for two days, the pricey svelte folder strikes best balance between phone and tablet

Samsung’s top folding phone for 2026 is its first to carry the “Ultra” moniker in its name, packing a much bigger battery and better cameras into the thin and light body of a book-style foldable.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra continues from where the exquisite Z Fold 7 left off last year. With its svelte chocolate bar dimensions opening into a square tablet, the Ultra sits above the new passport-shaped Z Fold 8 as Samsung’s top model. Costing £1,899 (€2,199/$2,099.99/A$2,999), it is a lot of money to pay for a phone, regardless of how many other devices it can theoretically replace in your pocket.

3 men set for lethal injection on same day in Tennessee, Alabama and Oklahoma

Three men in Tennessee, Alabama and Oklahoma are scheduled for lethal injection Thursday in a rare convergence of executions on the same day in the U.S.

Japan bans military cosplay at key war shrine ahead of second world war anniversary

Ban at Yasukuni shrine comes amid increasing visits by nationalist groups appearing in military style dress

Tokyo’s controversial Yasukuni shrine is banning military cosplay on its grounds, after the site become a focal point for displays by ultra-nationalist groups, often dressed in replica army uniforms or military-style dress.

The clothing ban comes in the lead-up to the anniversary this weekend of the defeat of Japan in the second world war, also known as VJ Day, although the shrine has said the ban applies year round.

Manila river clogged with rubbish after Typhoon Dolphin floods – in pictures

Days of rain has caused widespread flooding across the Philippines capital, Manila, and filled the city’s waterways with debris. A massive cleanup operation involving teams of workers and heavy machinery is under way

Taiwan says it was hit by ‘abnormal’ AI-assisted cyber-attack

Taiwan’s statement comes a day after reports that suspected China-linked hackers had carried out a first-of-a-kind breach

Taiwan says it detected AI-assisted cyber-attacks on government agencies that came from overseas last month, a new kind of threat that has been reported as “first-of-a-kind breach”.

The Ministry of Digital Affairs (MDA) said its cybersecurity monitoring units ‌detected the “abnormal attack” targeting government agencies, which began on 20 July. The National Institute of Cyber Security issued a series of warning alerts while it investigated.

Thursday news quiz: A speeding car, a police faux pas and an app that’s gone too far?

Test yourself on topical news trivia, pop culture and general knowledge every Thursday. How will you fare?

On this day in 1888, the mechanical mastermind John Logie Baird was born in Dunbartonshire. He was the pioneering inventor who first beamed a recognisable image across a room, giving the world the very first working television. Without his early experiments with biscuit tins, darning needles and bicycle lenses, half of the questions the Thursday quiz has asked would never have been possible. So tune in, turn up your mental brightness, and test your frequency with these 15 questions. Allons-y!

The Thursday news quiz, No 260

Rachel Roddy’s recipe for figs with raspberry cream and cat tongue biscuits | A kitchen in Rome

Combine these simple Italian baked treats with chilled fruit and thick cream for a playful summer pudding

In his exquisite The French Menu Cookbook, Richard Olney has clear ideas and strong opinions about everything, including dessert. He believed that rich desserts should follow only the simplest of meals, whereas with most menus (meaning all the sophisticated menus in his book), something light, airy and playful is best. His suggestions read like a summer fruit poem: peach melba, apple mousse with peaches, apricot fritters dusted with icing sugar, strawberries in sweetened orange juice, strawberries in beaujolais, strawberry mousse with raspberry puree, iced cherries and fresh almonds. One of his late summer/early autumn menus also suggests fresh figs with raspberry cream (figues à la crème framboise), which is both fun to make (the red puree streaking through the cream for a raspberry ripple) and to eat.

An airy and playful pudding calls for an airy and playful biscuit. What better than lingue di gatto, or cat tongues, so called because of their flat, elongated shape. Made from butter, sugar, flour, and egg whites, lingue di gatto are not complicated to make, but do require a piping bag, which can be mimicked by a zip-lock bag – just remember to scrape the mixture into the bag first, and only snip the end off when you are ready to pipe.

Jason Arday is now the stick the right will use to beat back racial equality. Don’t let that happen | Afua Hirsch

The UK is far from equality in academia or society. You don’t need a Cambridge degree to see that Arday’s story is being used to stop any progress in its tracks

In 1987, a college at the University of Cambridge considered offering a prestigious position to a black man in what would be the first appointment of its kind. Not only did the man not have a degree, but he had left school at the age of 13, struggling with dyslexia and – at the time – unable to read or write. That he would later to go on to accumulate 20 honorary doctorates and become a professor of creative writing is only one way, and in my view not the best one, of measuring his talent.

The man was the late, great poet Benjamin Zephaniah. And he had been nothing but transparent about his lack of credentials. In fact it was his background that made him eligible for this fellowship, which was designed to reach out to somebody in the community who didn’t have a degree, to give them the opportunity to have a connection with the university.

I got married in the Vegas of Europe. It was the most romantic 20 minutes of my life | Jules Darmanin

Post-Brexit visa rules and faceless pen-pushers were keeping me and my partner apart. But love finds a way

Consider your ideal wedding. You may picture religious pageantry, majestic domes and the auspicious light of the Divine beaming on a white dress. Maybe you see friends dancing on a pub’s veranda, cheering for you in front of a town hall, or anywhere really – the people you love are there, and it’s all that matters.

What you are probably not picturing is a meet-up with Chris and Mitch, two complete strangers waiting for you and your future spouse by a nondescript fountain in the middle of Copenhagen. Judging by my soon-to-be-wife’s bewildered laugh throughout the entire 20 minutes of our wedding, this is not what she was picturing either. Should I add that neither of us is Danish, or lives in Denmark?

Jules Darmanin is a French journalist

‘I’ve been on plenty of dates – but nothing happened’: are we looking at the death of the kiss?

Call it a crisis, call it a decline, call it a recession: the long, lusty snog is in trouble, harder to experience in real life or even watch on screen. But why? And what’s it like to think you may never lock lips with another?

Spencer’s last kiss was two years ago, on a first date. It started off promisingly: after matching on Tinder, they met for a walk, then got drinks and ice-cream, before having dinner at her place. Finally, they kissed. “I didn’t like it,” says Spencer. He still struggles to identify why. “I found her attractive. There was chemistry, but something was lacking. There was nothing behind the kiss – it felt like a mechanical thing to do.”

That wasn’t just Spencer’s most recent kiss – it was his first ever, at the age of 29. Now 31, he says a second kiss in some ways feels less possible than having sex: “The jump feels way bigger.”

India fuels worldwide jump in planned coal production

Rise in new mine proposals, mainly in states of Odisha and Jharkhand, comes despite plateau in global demand

Enough new coalmining projects were proposed last year to increase global supplies by 2.5bn tonnes a year, an increase of 11% from the year before, even as demand for coal plateaus, according to a new report.

Global Energy Monitor, an NGO, found that India ignited a rise in new coalmine proposals in 2025 despite a global slowdown in the number of mine openings because of falling demand for the fossil fuel.

An Amputation Obsession: the Monster and the Surgeon review – an engrossing story, if you can stomach it

This documentary follows the shocking case of Neil Hopper, a top surgeon who had his own legs removed due to a fetish.

No fetish or obsession is unique, and the internet can always connect you with others whose minds work the same way. It’s one of the great blessings and curses of the digital age, and central to An Amputation Obsession: the Monster and the Surgeon, a two-part documentary on which the “contains material some viewers may find disturbing” disclaimer is no exaggeration.

We begin at the Royal Cornwall hospital, known locally as Treliske, in Truro, Cornwall. It used to have a man on its staff who was a minor medical superstar: Neil Hopper, a vascular surgeon, was well known for his clinical expertise and comforting bedside manner, particularly when advising on and performing amputations. He acquired full hero status in 2019, when he was diagnosed with sepsis and had both legs amputated below the knee but miraculously returned to work within six months, astonishing physiotherapists and other medical professionals with how well he adapted to disability.

An Amputation Obsession: the Monster and the Surgeon is on Prime Video

Surrogate mother who fled to Texas gives birth to baby with severe heart defect

McKenna West initially agreed to an abortion after diagnosis, but then fled to state where abortion is illegal and broke contact with biological parents, attorney alleges

A surrogate mother who traveled to Texas, where abortion is illegal, claiming she was pressured to end the pregnancy after the discovery of a severe heart defect, gave birth on Wednesday to a baby boy.

The child’s biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed of California, confirmed the birth through their lawyer, while denying they forced McKenna West, who is from Alaska, to undergo an abortion, the Texas Tribune reported.

The 21 million women and girls the world forgot – podcast

Five years after the Taliban retook power, women inside the country explain how they have been silenced, while the Afghan journalist Zahra Joya asks why the world has looked away

In August 2021, the Afghan journalist Zahra Joya was in Kabul, where she and her family lived.

Over the previous 10 days, Joya had witnessed what would have once seemed impossible: Taliban militants advancing through Afghanistan at astonishing speed, taking control of her country province by province.

Failure not an option as Ange Postecoglou gears up for biggest challenge yet alongside Ronaldo | John Duerden

The Australian has become Al-Nassr’s 12th coach of the 2020s and while taking over a star-studded squad may seem a comfortable gig, it will be anything but in the Saudi Pro League

When Ange Postecoglou left Nottingham Forest in October, few would have predicted his next port of call would be Riyadh, but taking over Al-Nassr is likely to be one of the biggest challenges of his varied career. This is a coach who always wins something in his second season but there is little chance of a second season if there is no trophy in the first. The fact that he is the club’s 12th coach in the 2020s alone is a stark reminder that failure is not an option, and the financial issues that have meant a quiet summer in the transfer market won’t be accepted as an excuse.

In May, Cristiano Ronaldo lifted the Saudi Pro League title and soon after Al-Nassr head coach Jorge Jesus, the septuagenarian who has won something in the first season of his last two Saudi spells, left to take the Portugal job. Taking over the Saudi Arabian champions and their star-studded squad may seem like a fairly comfortable gig but this will be anything but.

ICE plans to give officers gloves that can deliver electric shocks

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers may soon be outfitted with gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks that are intended to gain compliance from combative individuals.

Photos: See the best photos from the solar eclipse

Millions of people in Europe stepped outside this evening to watch a spectacular sunset with a solar eclipse. The path of totality passed through portions of Greenland, Iceland and Spain,

Ukraine war briefing: ‘With precision, as planned’ – Kyiv outlines battlefield gains

Zelenskyy announces recapture of 745 sq km in Oleksandrivskyi sector; plea from stranded Ukrainian frontline troops. What we know on day 1,632

With Hollywood struggling in China, can the Odyssey draw a crowd?

Christopher Nolan’s epic will be released on Friday across most of the country’s 800 Imax screens, at a time when western films have been struggling

The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s summer blockbuster juggernaut, has overcome an onslaught of attacks from the world’s richest man and stared down criticism from a classicist who translated the poem, to become one of the year’s most celebrated and highest-grossing films.

But this week, the film faces one of its biggest challenges yet.

Surrogate gives birth to baby at center of multistate legal battle

Surrogate McKenna West declined to get an abortion requested by the intended parents after the baby she was carrying was diagnosed with a severe but treatable heart defect.

Travis Kelce says wedding to Taylor Swift was 'the best night of my life' in first official comments

Kelce’s remarks on his marriage to Swift at Madison Square Garden comes weeks after the event, which remains shrouded in mystery

American football star Travis Kelce has described his secretive early July wedding to pop sensation Taylor Swift as “the best night of my life.”

“I appreciate everybody who came out and celebrated and, you know, had fun with us,” the Kansas City Chiefs player told a briefing.

The comeback story of baby elephant after her mother rejected her

Linh Mai, a baby elephant born at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., was rejected by her mother. But after the zoo's elephant caretaker and a dozen others stepped in to help her, she has bonded with other elephants. Tony Dokoupil has the story.

Texas steps in as surrogate delivers baby, despite intended parents seeking abortion

California parents wanted to end a surrogate pregnancy when doctors diagnosed the baby with a severe heart defect at 20 weeks. The surrogate refused and went to Texas, where the state has now stepped in. The baby was born on Wednesday. Jason Allen reports.

Cerebras stock plunges 14% after second earnings report following IPO

Cerebras Systems reported better-than-expected second-quarter revenue and raised its full-year guidance.

What is credit card skimming, and how can you protect yourself?

A form of credit card theft known as skimming is on the rise as thieves install their own card readers to steal your information and money. It's a particular threat to users of EBT cards. Carter Evans reports on how to spot them and protect yourself.

Potatoes ‘boil’ in the ground as record heatwave sweeps across swathes of Asia

South Korean farmers are suffering in record heat, as Hong Kong reports its highest ever temperature and Japan swelters through newly designated ‘cruelly hot’ days

In a potato field in Yanggu county, 80 miles (130km) north-east of Seoul, Lee Sang-hyuk dug into the soil and found nothing worth saving.

A week earlier the crop, located in Gangwon province, had looked fine. Now the potatoes came up soft and collapsing, “like boiled potatoes”, spoiled by heat that had turned the ground into something closer to an oven.

Lindsay Clancy sobs in court as medical examiner describes children's injuries before they died

Lindsay Clancy had an emotional day in court on Wednesday in the trial for killing her three children. She's fighting murder charges, saying she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and overmedication. Shanelle Kaul reports.

Miraculous rescue gives moment of hope in Colombia after devastating earthquake

48 hours after the devastating earthquake in Colombia, its president said the death toll jumped to 181 people, and thousands were still reported missing. Lilia Luciano reports on a rescue effort in a hard-hit city.

11 charged for alleged sham marriages to help Chinese nationals get green cards

The DOJ unveiled criminal charges alleging 11 people participated in a scheme that involved more than 1,000 "sham marriages" between Chinese nationals and U.S. citizens.

2 killed as Apache helicopter from Fort Hood crashes in Salado, Texas

Two soldiers aboard an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter based out of Fort Hood were killed in a crash on Wednesday, according to local authorities and the Army.

Army Apache helicopter crashes, killing 2 crew members

An AH-64 Army Apache helicopter crashed on Wednesday, killing both crew members on board. Charlie D'Agata reports.

Flash flood emergency hits Midwestern states

Illinois and Ohio were hit with a flash flood emergency this week as a long line of storms dumped heavy rain on the Midwest. Boats had to travel down what should be roadways for rescue efforts. Meg Oliver reports and Lonnie Quinn has the forecast.

Maps and charts show record number of measles cases in U.S. this year

CBS News has been tracking a record number of measles cases and outbreaks around the country. The majority of cases are among those who haven't been vaccinated.

Premier League 2026-27 preview No 7: Coventry

After 25 years away, can Coventry make their return to the top division stick under Frank Lampard?

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 18th (NB: this is not necessarily Ben Fisher’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 1st (Championship)

Whole Foods recalls some jalapeño products over salmonella risk

Certain salsas, guacamole, pico de gallo and prepared jalapeño products at Whole Foods are among the products recalled over possible salmonella risk.

Cisco's stock drops despite earnings, revenue beat

Even though Cisco's quarterly results topped estimates, they weren't good enough to satisfy Wall Street.

Doué seals Super Cup glory for PSG after Madjo makes history for Aston Villa

• Uefa Super Cup: Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Aston Villa

• Kvaratskhelia 20, Doué 62; Madjo 45

Luis Enrique says it doesn’t matter which sport he is playing – football, tennis, padel or parchis, a board game – he wants to win all of the time. In Paris Saint-Germain, he has built a winning machine, the back-to-back Champions League victors maintaining a useful habit by conquering Aston Villa in an absorbing Super Cup contest in Salzburg. For PSG, after the joy of Munich and Budapest, three months ago, does a three-peat in Madrid in May beckon?

Aston Villa more than played their part in an enthralling showpiece, Brian Madjo becoming the competition’s youngest scorer after the 17-year-old cancelled out Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s opener. They could have taken the game to a penalty shootout, Warren Zaïre-Emery’s extraordinary block preventing João Gomes a near-certain debut goal and Emi Buendía heading wide in stoppage time.

8/12: CBS Evening News

Heavy rain triggers flash flood emergencies; two killed in military helicopter crash.

Karoline Leavitt: six key takeaways from 20 months as Trump’s press secretary

Trump’s most prominent spokesperson won regular plaudits from her boss for her unflinching defense of his agenda

Donald Trump’s most prominent spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, is leaving the White House. The US president announced on Wednesday that his press secretary would depart at the end of the month.

Leavitt, who has served in the role since Trump’s returned to power in January 2025, won regular plaudits from her boss for her unflinching defense of his agenda, but faced frequent criticism for amplifying misinformation and curbing press freedom.

ICE plans to outfit officers with electric shock gloves

The company that makes the gloves, Compliant Technologies, says they're a nonlethal tool to make individuals compliant during arrests.

Trump says Karoline Leavitt resigning as White House press secretary

Leavitt, the youngest White House press secretary ever, gave birth in May to a girl, her second child.

Eli Lilly takes aim at illicit market for its experimental weight-loss drug

The pharmaceutical company is filing lawsuits against six outlets selling versions of its promising but unapproved weight-loss drug, retatrutide.

Israeli militants besiege two Palestinian families in their West Bank homes

Settlers and soldiers cut off water and electricity to homes, and block medical care in campaign of terror

Israeli militants have besieged two Palestinian families in their homes since the weekend, aiming to take over their properties in the West Bank village of Qusra through a campaign of terror.

A group of settlers and soldiers set up a tent outside the home of Yousef Hassan on Sunday afternoon, trapping him inside with his wife and two young daughters.

Wendy's stock jumps on report of potential takeover bid from Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management

Peltz's relationship with Wendy's dates back to an activist campaign he led more than two decades ago.

Hudson-Smith dazzles home fans as he surges to golden European 400m hat-trick

• Becomes first man to win three European 400m titles

• Hudson-Smith: ‘Nobody is going to beat me on this track’

Stand … and deliver. On a balmy night in Birmingham, Matt Hudson-Smith powered past the stand ­bearing his name at the Alexander Stadium and into history by becoming the first man to win three European ­Championship 400m titles.

And afterwards, as the ­adrenaline flooded his body and he posed ­wearing a crown in front of the Matthew Hudson-Smith Stand, the 31-year-old made it clear just how much it meant. “Nobody is going to beat me on this track,” he said. “This is my home. I have been here since I was nine. I know this track like the back of my hand.”

8/12: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Key takeaways from Tuesday's primaries in six states; Karoline Leavitt leaving role as White House press secretary.

Karoline Leavitt exiting as White House press secretary

President Trump said Karoline Leavitt will be leaving her role to focus on her young family.

Trump sued over service selling faster access to Truth Social posts

The federal lawsuit alleges that the service from the president's media company violates the Constitution. Meanwhile, Trump Media executives say they have signed up more than 10 customers.

Jack Draper: ‘When you reach rock bottom like that you can come back up again’

Former world No 4 reflects on emotional reaction in Canada and rebuilding after the most difficult period of his career

Those painful images have relentlessly spread to all corners of the internet. Deep in the final set of the first-round match at the Canadian Open against Térence Atmane just over a week ago, 15 months of pent up emotion erupted. Two games from defeat, Draper spent the entire changeover in tears.

This was a devastating and alarming sight. Injuries had already defined so much of Draper’s career, but the uncertainty of trying to recover from a bone bruise injury to his left arm over the past year has been more challenging than anything he has experienced. All of his efforts since last July have been focused on trying to find a way to compete consistently at the highest level again, to no avail.

Triple-double king Russell Westbrook calls time on 18-year NBA career

• 2017 MVP announces retirement after 18 seasons

• Westbrook holds NBA record with 209 triple-doubles

• Guard spent first 11 seasons with Oklahoma City

Russell Westbrook, the NBA’s career leader in triple-doubles and the 2017 MVP, announced Wednesday he’s retiring after 18 seasons during which he was selected to the league’s 75th anniversary team.

The two-time scoring champion shared his decision on social media in a post featuring a video narrated by actor Michael B Jordan in which the Westbrook stays silent.

Controversial group wins $158M-contract to represent unaccompanied immigrant children

Utah-based Our Rescue was founded by activist Tim Ballard. It was previously known as Operation Underground Railroad and it says it helps law enforcement perform sting operations and rescues human trafficking survivors.

Nick Reiner indicted for murders of parents Rob and Michele Reiner

Reiner, 32, charged with first-degree murder in deaths of Hollywood towering figures Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner

A grand jury has indicted Nick Reiner with first-degree murder in the deaths of his parents, the renowned director and actor Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner, the Los Angeles county district attorney’s office announced on Wednesday.

Prosecutors accuse Reiner, 32, of stabbing the couple to death in December in their Brentwood home, before fleeing the scene. He was arrested shortly after and charged with murder. Reiner has since been held in custody without bail.

U.S. indicts former SPLC executive for her role in alleged fraud scheme

Prosecutors have accused the Southern Poverty Law Center of telling donors and banks it was dismantling white supremacist and extremist groups, while funneling payments to confidential informants in the groups.

White House press secretary leaving

Karoline Leavitt will continue to be an outside adviser, Trump said

CoreWeave gains 19%, Nebius surges 34% in post-earnings neocloud rally

AI cloud giant CoreWeave jumped in premarket trading after reporting that its second-quarter revenue doubled on surging AI demand from hyperscalers.

EJ Swift wins the 2026 Arthur C Clarke award for science fiction

The writer – who was also shortlisted in 2023 – has won the prize for her book When There Are Wolves Again, a speculative work of eco-fiction set in near-future Britain

A novel about rewilding and climate activism in Britain has been named this year’s winner of the Arthur C Clarke award for science fiction.

When There Are Wolves Again by EJ Swift is an “ambitious study in the power of long-term hope in the face of climate breakdown”, said the award’s director, Tom Hunter.

Cruise ships, quiet towns and an all-day festival: millions flock to eclipse viewing spots across Europe

Beginning in Russia’s remote Arctic north, the eclipse traced an arc over much of western Europe – with the best views in Spain, Iceland and Greenland

It was a moment of awe shared by millions across Europe: an eclipse that blocked out the sun, plunging parts of the continent into a daytime darkness in which temperatures dropped and birds suddenly went quiet.

Wednesday’s eclipse began in Russia’s remote Arctic north, going on to trace an arc over much of western Europe. From the UK to northern Italy, tens of millions of people turned to the sky as the light of the setting sun was almost completely blocked out.

Double murderer and rapist Simon Levy sentenced to whole-life tariff

Errors by police and prosecutors after first murder had left serial sex offender free to kill again

Simon Levy, the prolific sexual predator left free by police and prosecution errors to murder two women, will never leave prison after being sentenced to a rare whole-life tariff.

Judge Lucraft KC said Levy, 40, “ruthlessly” exploited women for his sexual pleasure, and had a proven history of sexual offending dating back to 2018.

U.S. budget deficit surged in July to highest level since March 2021

Beyond the big single-month jump, the collective red ink over the 10 months of the fiscal year rose to nearly $1.8 trillion, surpassing the same period in 2025.

Former Mexican governor charged in case of 43 students who vanished in 2014

Ángel Aguirre indicted in case that rocked Mexico and became symbol of its brutal cartel violence

The former governor of Guerrero state in Mexico has been formally charged over his alleged involvement in the disappearance of 43 students in 2014, a case that has become a symbol of the country’s brutal cartel violence and government impunity.

Ángel Aguirre, who was arrested last week, is accused of forced disappearance and obstruction of justice for ordering the destruction of surveillance tapes that may have shed light on what happened to the students from the Ayotzinapa teacher training college on the night of 26 September 2014.

How the Secret Service is cracking down on card-skimming scams

A Secret Service analyst told CBS News a single skimming device can net a scammer up to $1 million.

How much time does AI save at work? New Census Bureau data breaks it down.

New Census data shows how much faster workers can complete tasks when they enlist artificial intelligence for help.

Has the U.S. lost its dominance to China?

Beijing may be benefiting from the war in Iran and Trump's tariffs and has an edge in the competition for tech supremacy. The New Yorker's Evan Osnos discusses his story "The Future, Made in China."

Countries in ‘armed conflict’ barred from hosting Eurovision

Organisers says new rule will ensure contest provides ‘safe and welcoming environment’ for participants

Broadcasters will no longer be eligible to host the Eurovision song contest if their state is involved in an “armed conflict” or “sensitive geopolitical situation”.

Eurovision is traditionally hosted by the previous year’s winner’s broadcaster, with next year’s show due to take place in Bulgaria after the singer Dara’s victory for the country in May.

CPI report shows inflation eased in July to a 3.4% annual pace

The CPI report was in line with economists' expectations, marking the second consecutive month with cooler price pressures.

Trump administration pulls support for annual Arctic environmental report

Move by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is latest government rollback of climate science activity

The Trump administration has pulled its support for an annual report on the environmental changes across the Arctic, a region that is already heating up four times faster than the global average due to the climate crisis.

On Tuesday, Kim Doster, the communications director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), said the federal agency was withdrawing its support for the Arctic Report Card, which has provided environmental updates on the region to scientists and the public since 2006.

Trump Media sells $100,000 Truth Social data access, drawing scrutiny

Customers are paying up to $100,000 a month for faster access to Truth Social posts from President Trump and other top users of the social media platform.

Greenland forces Trump-linked US oil firm to delay drilling

US envoy had claimed Americans could be extracting crude by as early as next year

Greenland authorities have forced a US oil company connected to Donald Trump to postpone drilling wells in the Arctic territory, defying claims by the US president’s envoy that Americans could be extracting crude by next year.

Amid Trump’s imperialist threats, tensions have been rising on Greenland’s eastern coast after the oil company brought drilling equipment ashore in July without permission, drawing a “strong warning” from the government.

Perez Hilton’s mother files for temporary custody of his three children

Celebrity blogger was hospitalized for a mental health crisis after he harmed himself during live stream

The mother of the celebrity blogger Perez Hilton is seeking temporary custody of his three children after he was hospitalized during a mental health crisis at his south Florida home last week.

Court documents filed in Miami-Dade county and seen by multiple news outlets, including Miami’s NBC 6, show the request for custody was made by 48-year-old Hilton’s mother.

Top Trump officials heading to Iowa to help GOP campaigns, sources say

The upcoming Iowa State Fair is a pivotal window of opportunity for candidates on the campaign trail.

Farm linked to cyclosporaisis outbreak went years without FDA inspection

The FDA has long fallen short of legally required inspection targets, and foreign inspections fell further last year amid agency layoffs.

The Guardian view on Japan’s yen: Trump wants to keep the easy-money machine running | Editorial

A cheap currency helps finance the US tech boom. Washington is intervening because allies matter only when they are useful

Japan’s yen has slid back towards 160 to the dollar, despite last month’s extraordinary US-Japanese intervention. Traders are betting that its role as a cheap funding pipeline for global finance will continue. Earlier this month the Trump administration stepped in to help Tokyo stabilise its currency. “Japan’s been very good to us, with the exception, of course, of Pearl Harbor,” Donald Trump explained. More help is likely to be on its way.

But this is less a rescue of the yen than an attempt by Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, to preserve a cash spigot that benefits the US. Japan’s ultra-cheap money has become a global funding utility: bankers borrow yen, sell them for dollars and buy higher-returning US assets, notably tech shares. Rising American stock markets support collateral and investment. Japan’s “carry trade” is one of the reasons Wall Street can lever hundreds of billions into AI. Research suggests AI sucks up more than 1% of US GDP.

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.

Here are five key takeaways from the July CPI inflation report

Readings for July on the prices consumers pay for goods and services came in pretty much on target.

Bob Iger, Joshua Kushner buy Los Angeles Lakers at a $12.5 billion valuation, source says

Venture capital founder Joshua Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger acquire Mark Walter's stake in Los Angeles Lakers at valuation of more than $12 billion.

Zhu Rongji obituary

Premier of the People’s Republic of China regarded as an economic reformer who declared that the country had become ‘the factory of the world’

Zhu Rongji, who has died aged 97, was the fifth premier of the People’s Republic of China and one of its most effective administrators and economic reformers following its foundation in 1949.

In 1991, Zhu was summoned to Beijing, in the footsteps of the then president and party secretary Jiang Zemin, and in the aftermath of the 1989 uprisings in Beijing and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Wrong Girls review – Kristen Stewart fumbles through forgettable stoner comedy

First time director Dylan Meyer’s female twist on the genre is let down by silly stereotypes and jokes that land with a thud

Want to feel old? Superbad turns 20 next year. It’s been decades since the stoner comedy ruled the box office. In fact, the genre’s best theatrically released film of recent years – the hilarious buddy movie One of Them Days – didn’t feature any weed smoking at all despite hitting all the usual outlandish beats of a stoner flick. If the streaming success of Hulu’s recent R-rated bong-ripper Pizza Movie is anything to go by, audiences would rather watch this particular strain of movie on the couch where they can spark up in peace.

The Wrong Girls aims to reverse that trend with a nationwide US theatrical rollout by Neon, the arty distributor which propelled Parasite and Anora to Oscar glory. Best friends Molly (Alia Shawkat) and Frankie (Kristen Stewart) live in a PeeWee’s Playhouse-coded stoner cave with macrame decor, a life-size cutout of Céline Dion, multiple cat towers and a contraption called the bong-o-tron – a complex rig of tubes and bubbling conical flasks – that fills the entirety of their coffee table. Being high all the time gives them a daffy kind of magical thinking, as they drive around town belting out power ballads and imagine that they are under the ocean with all manner of friendly sea creatures.

Astronomers discover a new kind of cosmic object – a black hole ‘star’

The body is the size of the entire solar system and glows with a brilliant red light billions of light years from Earth

Astronomers claim to have discovered a new kind of cosmic object, a black hole “star”, which is the size of the entire solar system and glows with a brilliant red light.

The international team made the breakthrough after focusing their attention on a mysterious red spot in images of the early solar system captured by Nasa’s James Webb space telescope.

USS Abraham Lincoln sailors tried to jump overboard amid extended deployment – reports

Aircraft carrier’s crew in ninth month at sea and has spent record 250 days consecutively without making land

Military families and Congress members are sounding the alarm about an intensifying mental health crisis onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, as its 5,000 sailors and marines endure a record-breaking deployment at sea tied to the war with Iran.

Two leading specialist military papers, the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes, are reporting that there have been multiple attempts by sailors to jump overboard as poor conditions and mental stresses on the Lincoln reach the breaking point. The crew is in its ninth month at sea, and has spent 250 days consecutively without making land – a record for an aircraft carrier in modern times.

CoreWeave stock pops 14% as revenue doubles on accelerating AI infrastructure demand

CoreWeave's revenue is surging as the AI boom continues, but the company is also sitting on $35 billion in debt.

GM reaches up to $4.5 billion parts deal designed to avoid supply chain troubles

The deal follows years of global automotive supply chain issues for GM and other companies.

Emiko Davies’ Japanese curry rice (kare raisu) – recipe

The Australian-born cook and author shares her recipe for a thick, fragrant Japanese curry – with one secret ingredient

Japanese curry – kare raisu in Japanese – is unlike any “curry” you might know from south Asian countries. That is partly because of the nature of yoshoku (western-influenced) cuisine but also because it made a roundabout route to Japan, via the British Royal Navy during the Meiji Restoration, a period when India was under British colonial rule. It arrived in the form of British “C&B” curry powder, so it was considered western food, not Indian. Curry became a staple in the Japanese naval and army kitchens at the turn of the century and this in turn brought curry into homes and even into school lunches. Today, it is considered a national dish.

Japanese curry needed to be thick enough so that it could be easily eaten with rice, with the help of a spoon. This can be achieved with a French-style roux base of butter, flour and liquid, or it can be thickened in a more Japanese style using a potato starchy slurry right at the end of cooking, which is my preference. Then there is the spice mix. Today, Japanese S&B curry powder is one of the best known, which contains 17 spices such as turmeric, coriander, fenugreek, cumin, cinnamon, fennel, ginger and star anise.

My Brilliant Career review – Netflix’s take on this Australian classic is sassy and steamy – but a tad syrupy

Philippa Northeast is entertaining as Sybylla Melvyn in this adaptation of Miles Franklin’s 1901 novel that has more erotica and a more pronounced love triangle

It’s difficult to believe that Miles Franklin’s wonderfully lively and rebellious novel My Brilliant Career is 125 years old: its prose crackles with life and energy, and the words leap off the page. Notwithstanding some inevitably dated turns of phrase (though I, for one, feel it’s time to return “what the deuce!” to daily conversations), the book feels like it could have been written yesterday. The story is centred around Sybylla Melvyn, a bullheaded author determined to write her own story – literally and otherwise – in a deeply patriarchal world that would prefer her to settle down, shut up and take a man’s hand in marriage.

Whereas Gillian Armstrong’s 1979 film adaptation is a class act, elegant and stately, Netflix’s new six-part series is, perhaps predictably, steamier and more juiced up, with at times Mills & Boon-ish vibes. There’s more erotica, a wilder tone and a more pronounced love triangle for Sybylla, played by Philippa Northeast. Unfortunately, it’s also a tad syrupy and wishy-washy, particularly towards the end (this review encompasses every episode) – the show even deploys one of those cloying photo album-like montages of key moments: the visual equivalent of Green Day’s Good Riddance.

‘Always cracking jokes’: questions raised over Jason Arday’s claim he was non-verbal as a child

Fellow pupils at his primary school have challenged Cambridge academic’s story, though others support it

The story of Jason Arday’s extraordinary rise to becoming the youngest black professor in the history of the University of Cambridge is all the more remarkable for one claim: that he did not learn to speak until just shy of his 12th birthday.

This claim was mentioned in a letter announcing his resignation last week, which came amid mounting questions about his academic work and statements he had made about his past.

Canadian airline WestJet agrees to settle flight attendants’ sexual harassment class action

Female staff alleged company failed to maintain safe workplace, after allegations of sexual assault against pilot

The Canadian airline WestJet has agreed to pay C$4.5m (£2.4m) to settle a decade-long sexual harassment class action lawsuit levelled by its female flight attendants, who alleged the company failed to maintain a safe workplace.

The suit followed allegations by Mandalena Lewis, a former flight attendant, that a pilot had sexually assaulted her and a colleague, but that WestJet kept the pilot flying, thereby putting other employees at risk.

What’s a wedding without a dirtbike doughnut? Hark1karan’s best photograph

‘On the day the youngest brother got married, they were out doing doughnuts and burnouts at eight in the morning’

As a Londoner with Punjabi roots, I’d say one of the best places to experience Punjabi culture is Southall, in west London, which has one of the UK’s largest Punjabi communities. This was taken there back in March 2021, when I was looking for people to feature in my short documentary, Zimmers of Southall. I like to capture everyday people doing something a little different, like these two brothers who fix cars. I had popped by to meet one of them and explain what I do, and take a few portraits for my broader work.

Rav, one of the brothers, had a dirt bike at the time and we were trying to photograph him doing a wheelie. The second brother, Inderjit, then joined and showed me his quad bike that he uses for off-road riding. Their father was at home and explained how his passion for bikes and cars was passed down to the boys. Their mother offered me tea and snacks, as often happens when visiting a Punjabi family home. It’s at that moment I suggested we get the whole family involved in a group photo – I knew it would make for something unique. Unfortunately, the third brother was not around, but their dad wheeled out his own bike to complete a beautiful family portrait. It felt natural and not forced at all – the energy was warm and welcoming. Ever since that day, I’ve stayed in touch with the family and try to visit when possible.

Mortgage rates finally stop rising, causing demand to trickle back

Mortgage rates finally eased a tiny bit, but it was enough to bring some demand back to a very beleaguered mortgage market.

Consumer prices rose 0.1% in July, as expected, putting the annual rate at 3.4%

The consumer price index was expected to increase 0.1% in July, with an annual rate of 3.4%.

Meta and Nvidia plant 'very firm flag' in open-weight AI race led by Chinese Labs

With China way ahead in the market for open-weight models, Meta and Nvidia are both doing what they can to put the U.S. on the map.

In Venice, it’s not politics as usual as film-makers aim to recapture our attention

As social media shrinks and distorts the EU’s crises, the Venice film festival is delivering politically forthright epics from directors such as Sergei Loznitsa and Alex Gibney

• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up here

Europe is in an economic crisis that, unlike the eurozone downturn at the beginning of the millennium, cannot be measured in ratings downgrades and borrowing costs. For metrics, try engagement depth and consumer trust instead.

The unedifying spectacle of the European Union’s falling out over the Ceuta crisis looks like the latest symptom of Europe’s shrinking attention economy. When more than 70,000 people crossed over from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta at the start of the month, Rome hastily reintroduced air and sea border checks with Spain for one month; Madrid retaliated with spot-checks on travellers to Italy.

‘Nightmare fodder’: Roku’s AI slop channel is even worse than expected

Fairground TV is a 24/7 channel devoted to low-quality AI content for viewers sick of watching real people move in ways that won’t haunt you

The appeal of Roku is that, whatever you happen to want to watch, there will almost certainly be a live channel for it. Just want to watch Little House on the Prairie? There’s a channel for it. Just want to watch Duck Dynasty? There’s a channel for that too. Purely want to watch nothing but local news from Wisconsin? Guess what: there’s a channel for that too.

But despite this wealth, a section of the population was still to see its needs fulfilled. What about people who hate plot and vision and the sight of people speaking convincing dialogue that synchronises perfectly with the movement of their lips? What about the people who just want to watch an unyielding torrent of eerily weightless nightmare fodder? Well, good news. Roku has finally caught up.

An inflation report Wednesday should be a big deal for the Fed. Here's what to expect

The consumer price index is expected to show only a modest increase for July.

Why we’re going back to the games of our youth

As millennials return to the games of their youth, remakes of Star Fox and Halo suggest there is still plenty to learn from the past

• Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here

As much as some people more or less cease to listen to new music in their 30s, I have noticed a retreat to safe, familiar gaming territory among some of my fellow millennial gamers.

Retro collections are started, or resumed; jewel-cases of PS1 classics or cardboard boxes with SNES or Mega Drive games have started to colonise the living-room shelves. People are replaying things from their university days, or sticking to comfort games such as Stardew Valley. Many of the friends I used to game with never bothered to pick up a PlayStation 5 at its launch, and now that current-generation consoles are becoming prohibitively expensive, they see no need. With thousands of great older games, why bother playing something new?

Inflation eases in July as gasoline and grocery prices fall

Consumer prices in July were up 3.4% from a year ago — a smaller annual increase than in May or June. The news makes it less likely the Fed will feel the need to raise interest rates in September.

Solar eclipse drives Europe hotel prices to over $1,000 a night

Eclipse demand pushed some Spain and Iceland stays above $1,000 a night, while Iceland hotels cut prices sharply closer to Aug. 12.