Trump says he 'heard' Biden Fed appointments were signed by autopen, tells aide to investigate

Trump's autopen comments came during a speech in Pennsylvania about the economy, aimed at countering Democrats' messaging about the U.S. affordability crisis.

Trump rails on affordability ‘hoax’ and immigrants in rally-style speech

President sought to rehab image after criticism of being out of touch, but speech aimed at midterms took different turn

• Fact-checking Trump’s speech

Donald Trump has sought to reboot his ailing US presidency at a rally-style event with a blitz of false claims about the economy and xenophobic attacks on immigrants and “shithole countries”.

In the wake of Republican election defeats and criticism that he is out of touch with America’s affordability crisis, Trump’s speech at the Mount Pocono casino in north-eastern Pennsylvania on Tuesday was billed as an opportunity to reclaim the economic narrative.

Two US fighter jets circle Gulf of Venezuela in escalation of hostilities

Trump had further said Nicolás Maduro’s ‘days are numbered’ as military has targeted alleged drug boats

Two US fighter jets circled the Gulf of Venezuela on Tuesday, in what appeared to be an escalation of the Trump administration’s ongoing hostilities toward the South American country and its leftist leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuelans and South American media followed the flights in real time using websites like FlightRadar24, which showed a pair of F/A-18 Super Hornets flying together into the narrow Gulf of Venezuela for about 40 minutes. The jets flew just north of Maracaibo, Venezuela’s most populous city.

12/5: CBS Evening News

Shift in decades-long guidance on hepatitis B vaccine; Lowe's employees go above and beyond to find beloved cat that disappeared onto freight truck

12/9: CBS Evening News

2 students shot at Kentucky State University, suspect arrested, officials say; Ricki Lake reunited with family photos found at flea market after wildfire

Social media ban: some platforms still allowing 14-year-olds as Australia’s landmark ruling comes into force

Albanese says commencement of ban a ‘proud day’ for him as prime minister, while eSafety commissioner unconcerned by reports of children bypassing restrictions

• Reader callout: How is Australia’s social media ban affecting you and your family?

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

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

As Australia’s under-16s social media ban got under way on Wednesday, some platforms were still allowing accounts registered for 14-year-olds, while Anthony Albanese described it as a “proud day” to be prime minister.

Of the 10 platforms identified by the eSafety commissioner as needing to comply with the ban, Kick, Threads, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, and X would not allow accounts registered with a birth date of 11 January 2011.

Eileen Higgins becomes Miami’s first Democratic mayor in 30 years

In stunning upset victory, Higgins also becomes first woman in post and first non-Hispanic candidate since 90s

Democrat Eileen Higgins was elected mayor of Miami on Tuesday night in a stunning upset victory that reversed a run of recent Republican successes in Florida.

The election of Higgins, 61, a former county commissioner, also added to a string of Democratic wins across the country that have served to highlight the growing level of resistance to Donald Trump in his second presidential term.

Shooting at Kentucky State University kills 1, officials say

One person is dead and another was critically wounded in a shooting at Kentucky State University, officials said Tuesday.

Albanese is taking away social media for children but hanging out mistletoe for AI. It’s magical thinking | Peter Lewis

The PM won big by convincing us we could avoid the madness of Donald Trump’s new world order but Labor’s feeble AI plan embeds Australia deeply in its orbit

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

I’m blaming Santa. As 2025 reaches its inevitable endgame, I can’t help thinking we have all become gullible children enthralled by the promise of tech cornucopia, refusing to see the folds in our logic because deep down we don’t want to break the magic.

While the federal government prepares to take the toys off the children with its world-first social media ban, it is hanging out the stockings for the self-same tech overlords to fill with new goodies via its light-touch National AI Plan.

What’s behind the Thailand-Cambodia clashes – explained in 30 seconds

Hostilities have flared in the contested border area after a Trump-brokered ceasefire deal has broken down

Stretching across more than 817km (508 miles), the shared land border between Thailand and Cambodia has been marred by conflict for more than a century. Sovereignty has been contested since France, which occupied Cambodia until 1953, first mapped the border in 1907.

However, tensions have worsened significantly in 2025. In May, clashes in the area that killed a Cambodian soldier sparked nationalist sentiment on both sides, and saw both governments retaliate. Thailand imposed harsh border restrictions, while Cambodia banned the broadcast of Thai films, and the import of Thai fruit, vegetables, gas and fuel.

Army gynecologist charged with taking secret videos of 44 patients

Army Maj. Blaine McGraw, an OB-GYN at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood in Texas, was charged Tuesday with 54 specifications for indecent visual recording.

Trump says he's "crushing" inflation as GOP faces affordability concerns

President Trump spoke about affordability and his economic agenda in the Poconos, in northeastern Pennsylvania, Tuesday night.

Font of ‘wasteful’ diversity: Trump’s state department orders return to Times New Roman

A cable from Marco Rubio reportedly said cutting Calibri from official communication would ‘abolish yet another wasteful DEIA program’

US diplomats have been ordered to return to using Times New Roman font in official communications, with secretary of state Marco Rubio calling the Biden administration’s decision to adopt Calibri a “wasteful” diversity move, according to an internal department cable seen by Reuters.

The department under Rubio’s predecessor Antony Blinken switched to Calibri in 2023, claiming the modern sans-serif font was more accessible for people with disabilities because it did not have the decorative angular features and was the default in Microsoft products.

From Llamas to Avocados: Meta's shifting AI strategy is causing internal confusion

Meta’s push to develop its next frontier model, codenamed Avocado, under new AI leadership is creating internal friction as it races rivals OpenAI and Google.

Ricki Lake reunited with family photos found at flea market

Nearly a year after her home burned down in the Palisades wildfire, Ricki Lake is celebrating a surprise discovery. An artist recently found some of the former talk show host's precious family photos at a flea market. Carter Evans has the story.

After mom's ICE arrest, 18-year-old now caring for his sister in fear

Vilma Cruz's arrest came amid Operation Catahoula Crunch,​ a U.S. Department of Homeland Security effort that officials say targets "criminal illegal aliens" in the New Orleans area.

18-year-old caring for his younger sister after his mom was arrested by ICE

What began as a normal Monday morning for 18-year-old Jonathan Escalante quickly changed when his mother, Vilma Cruz, called to tell him that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had pulled up behind her car in Kenner, Louisiana. Omar Villafranca reports.

DOJ faces call for internal probe into legal opinion on Venezuelan boat strikes

A bipartisan group of former ethics officials is asking for an internal Justice Department investigation into the legal opinion justifying strikes against alleged drug boats.

Trump trade rep changes China soybean purchase timeline, cites 'discrepancy'

China for months earlier this year had boycotted purchasing soybeans from U.S. farms because of a trade war began by President Donald Trump.

U.S. fighter jets fly near Venezuela coast as military costs add up for taxpayers

In a new interview with Politico, President Trump warned that he may extend his military campaign against drug traffickers to Mexico and Colombia. Since September, the U.S. military has taken out more than 20 suspected drug boats from Venezuela, killing nearly 90 people. Charlie D'Agata looks at the cost of the military campaign for U.S. taxpayers.

1 student dead, 1 critically injured in shooting at Kentucky State University

Classes and campus activities were canceled for the rest of the week after a shooting that police said left one student dead and another in critical condition. Police said a suspect who is not a KSU student was in custody.

Bodycam video shows police approach Luigi Mangione before arrest

For the first time, newly released police body camera footage shows the moments when Altoona police officers first encountered Luigi Mangione, seen sitting in the back of the McDonald's exactly one year ago. Lilia Luciano has details.

2 students shot at Kentucky State University, suspect arrested, officials say

One person was killed and another was critically wounded in a shooting at Kentucky State University, officials said. Skyler Henry reports.

GoFundMe fundraisers to pay for basic living expenses surged in 2025

Fundraising patterns reflect Americans' mounting affordability challenges, according to GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan.

Are Australian kids breaking the law if they sneak on to social media? – video

Does Australia’s social media ban mean kids aged under 16 will get in legal trouble for circumventing the ban? Will parents get in trouble for letting their kids use banned social media sites? There is a lot of misinformation about how the world-first ban will actually work. So whether you’re a parent of a child, or a child watching this on a VPN, Guardian Australia’s Matilda Boseley is here to clear up what the social media ban means

• Australian social media ban explained: everything you need to know

• How is Australia’s social media ban affecting you and your family?

Jubilant Sykes’ son arrested after Grammy-nominated opera singer stabbed to death

The 71-year-old performer’s son Micah has been arrested on suspicion of murder, Santa Monica police said

Jubilant Sykes, the Grammy-nominated opera and gospel singer, has died aged 71 after being stabbed to death at his home in California.

His 31-year-old son, Micah Sykes, was arrested on suspicion of murder, authorities said on Tuesday.

A vision splendid or eyesore? South Australian court to rule on ‘Blue Blob’ sculpture vandalism charge

If Amelia Vanderhorst is found guilty and penalised for allegedly sticking googly eyes on Mount Gambier landmark, it might be the first time such an act has been punished

On Mount Gambier’s Bay Road, the “Blue Blob” stands like a proud but paunchy echidna, its seamless coating restored to perfection after an alleged googly eye stunt that captured the world’s attention.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 20, from Mount Gambier in South Australia, was charged with damaging the town’s $136,000 Cast in Blue sculpture by sticking large novelty eyes on it on 13 September.

Consuming lots of energy drinks may raise heart disease and stroke risk, say doctors

Study cites case of otherwise fit and healthy man in his 50s who had a stroke after eight-drink-a-day habit

Heavy consumption of energy drinks may raise the risk of heart disease and pose a serious risk of stroke, doctors have warned.

Millions of people worldwide regularly drink the products, which are non-alcoholic and typically contain more than 150mg of caffeine per litre, very high glucose-based sugar content and varying quantities of other chemicals.

Champions League: Koundé double boosts Barcelona, Greenwood lifts Marseille

• Bayern beat Sporting to move level with Arsenal at top

• Atlético come from behind to burst PSV’s bubble

Jules Koundé’s two quickfire headers helped Barcelona to fight back and edge past Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 in the Champions League at Camp Nou on Tuesday, marking a much-needed win for the Catalan side.

After a draw against Club Brugge and a defeat by Chelsea, Barcelona found their stride to climb to 14th in the standings, level on 10 points with several teams, as they aim for a top-eight finish to secure direct qualification for the last 16. Frankfurt are 30th with four points from six matches.

Watch: Trump delivers speech on the economy in Pennsylvania as cost concerns grow

The Pennsylvania trip marks a return to the sort of voter outreach that defined Trump's political campaigns, but has grown rarer during his second term so far.

Hassett likely next Fed chair, but most think Trump should nominate someone else, CNBC Fed survey shows

The December survey shows 84% believe President Trump will tap Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, to head the central bank.

MacKenzie Scott announces she donated $7.1 billion to nonprofits in 2025

The author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott revealed $7.1 billion in donations to nonprofits in 2025 Tuesday, marking a significant increase in her annual giving from recent years.

Man who attacked, then rescued, ex-wife hoped to be her hero

Morgan Metzer survived a violent attack in her Canton, Georgia, home by an assailant she described as dressed in black and sounding like Batman. The only thing more surprising than the attack itself — was the suspect.

Man fakes cancer diagnosis in attempt to win back ex-wife

Rod Metzer tried to gain sympathy from his ex-wife, Morgan Metzer, by pretending he had cancer, going as far as creating a diagnosis letter and a bill for his alleged treatment.

Trump to name DHS official to be ambassador to El Salvador, sources say

President Trump intends to name the deputy homeland security secretary to be the U.S. ambassador to El Salvador, multiple sources told CBS News.

Zelenskyy ‘ready for elections’ after Trump questions Ukrainian democracy

Zelenskyy says he would hold wartime elections within months given help from allies and Ukraine’s parliament

• Trump lambasts ‘weak’ and ‘decaying’ Europe and hints at walking away from Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is ready to hold a wartime election within the next three months, if Ukraine’s parliament and foreign allies will allow it, after Donald Trump accused him of clinging on to power.

Zelenskyy, clearly irritated by Trump’s intervention, said that “this is a question for the people of Ukraine, not people from other states, with all due respect to our partners”.

Szoboszlai steps up in place of Salah to sink Inter as Liverpool fans sing Slot’s name

First the Liverpool hierarchy protected Arne Slot’s authority by axing Mohamed Salah from a daunting Champions League assignment in Milan. The Liverpool team then followed suit by inflicting Inter’s first European home defeat since September 2022. A brooding superstar with a bruised ego watched from afar while Liverpool fans serenaded Slot at San Siro.

Salah might well have taken the decisive 88th-minute penalty had he not talked himself out of the trip to San Siro, another legend of the game that is showing its age. Instead it fell to Dominik Szoboszlai, the friend Salah had in effect argued should not be playing on the right ahead of him, to deliver a precious victory for Slot after Alessandro Bastoni had been penalised for pulling Florian Wirtz’s shirt in the box.

Spurs ease pressure on Frank as Simons rounds off easy win against Slavia Prague

Son Heung-min was back at the club he served with such distinction for 10 years and the former Tottenham captain will perhaps conclude that finding meaning in much the new version of the Champions League has to offer before the knockout stages arrive is far from straightforward.

This was something of a non-event in terms of competitiveness, so much so that it would be a mistake to assume Tottenham are on their way to becoming a winning machine at home. They did not have to extend themselves to see off a moderate challenge from Slavia Prague and although Thomas Frank was pleased to send supporters away happy for the second time in four days he will know not to get carried away given this triumph came against opponents who looked as if they would have been better off in the Europa League.

20-year-old charged with attempted murder over shooting of Jets’ Kris Boyd

• Frederick Green allegedly shot NFL player in abdomen

• Boyd was on night out with Jets teammates

A Bronx man has been charged with attempted murder in the shooting of New York Jets player Kris Boyd, police announced Tuesday.

The New York police department said Frederick Green, 20, was charged late Monday night. Police had revealed Monday that a “person of interest” was in custody but didn’t name them. It was not immediately clear if Green has an attorney. He also faces additional charges of assault and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.

Boyd was shot in the abdomen just after 2am on 16 November in midtown Manhattan. Boyd, his friend and two other Jets’ players, Irvin Charles and Jamien Sherwood, had left a club and were approached by a group of men who made fun of their clothing, police told reporters at a news briefing.

Chelsea’s top-eight hopes hit by Atalanta after De Ketelaere seals comeback win

There were no answers to Chelsea’s search for consistency here. Instead they supplied more evidence that they lack the resilience for a Champions League tilt that may now have to be tackled the hard way. This damaging late defeat completed a grim week on the road and had implications for the longer-term picture. They are staring down the barrel of a February playoff that could stretch Enzo Maresca’s side, active almost year-round, to the very limit.

Atalanta twice punished weak defending and, crucially, preyed on their opponents’ inability to overcome setbacks. It is a problem Chelsea cannot quite shrug off and, at this level, such recidivism comes at a cost. When Charles De Ketelaere, the game’s outstanding player, blasted in a deflected winner after being invited to take aim they could hardly claim not to have been warned.

Beth Mead fires Arsenal past Twente to book place in WCL knockout stage

Arsenal qualified for the Champions League knockout phase after a narrow but industrious victory at Meadow Park, with Beth Mead’s early finish enough to overcome Twente.

Arsenal are guaranteed to come inside the top 12 of the 18-team league phase and may still have a chance to reach the top four and go straight into the quarter-finals depending on results on Wednesday and if they can then win their last game in Belgium against Leuven next week.

Nnena Kalu becomes first artist with a learning disability to win Turner prize

Chair of 2025 judging panel says win ‘begins to erase that border between the neurotypical and neurodiverse artist’

• Nnena Kalu’s embodied, sensuous art makes her a worthy Turner prize winner

Nnena Kalu has won the 2025 Turner prize for her colourful drawings and sculptures made from found fabric and VHS tape, becoming the first artist with a learning disability to take home the £25,000 prize.

Alex Farquharson, chair of the jury and director of Tate Britain, said the win by the British-Nigerian represented a watershed moment for the international art world.

Why fighting inflation may not be the best way to make life more affordable

Beating back inflation is only half the battle in lowering the cost of living — you also have to think about people's pay, economists argue.

Honduras president alleges ‘electoral coup’ under way amid Trump ‘interference’

Xiomara Castro alleges US manipulation and blackmail as preliminary count shows two rightwing candidates closely tied

Honduras’s president, Xiomara Castro, has alleged that an “electoral coup” is under way in the country’s presidential election, which she says has been marked by “interference from the president of the United States, Donald Trump”.

The leftist president also said that “the Honduran people must never accept elections marked by interference, manipulation and blackmail … Sovereignty is not negotiable, democracy is not surrendered.”

Trump's blessing of Nvidia AI chip sales to China gets a chilly reception from GOP

Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping "responded positively" to the proposal to let Nvidia sell H200 AI chips on condition that the U.S. gets 25% of revenue.

Eli Lilly to build $6 billion manufacturing plant in Alabama to help make upcoming obesity pill, other drugs

That added production capacity for Eli Lilly's obesity pill, orforglipron, is crucial as the company races to file for its approval.

Jasmine Crockett announces campaign for Texas Democratic Senate primary

Rep. Jasmine Crockett filed paperwork to run for U.S. Senate just hours before the state's deadline — and hours after fellow Democrat Colin Allred dropped out.

Supreme Court weighs campaign finance limits in GOP-backed challenge

Congress has enacted limits on how much money a political committee can spend in coordination with a federal candidate.

The Fed decision is expected to feature a rate cut and a lot more. Here's what to expect

The central bank is poised to deliver its third straight interest rate cut Wednesday, while firing a warning shot about what's ahead.

Instacart's AI pricing tools drive up the cost of some groceries, study finds

Federal regulators and politicians have scrutinized companies' use of AI tools to set the cost of products or services, often called "surveillance pricing."

Millions of borrowers in Biden's SAVE plan would start paying under new settlement

Legal challenges put SAVE borrowers in limbo for months, a time during which they were not required to make payments on their loans. That would change if the proposed settlement is approved.

Thune says Senate GOP will bring up alternative health care bill for a vote

Majority Leader John Thune announced that the Senate will vote on a Republican-led measure alongside a Democratic bill to extend expiring tax credits.

Starmer urges Europe’s leaders to curb ECHR to halt rise of far right

Exclusive: PM calls for members of European convention on human rights to allow tougher action to protect borders

• We must protect our borders to defend our democracies – here’s how

Keir Starmer has called on European leaders to urgently curb joint human rights laws so that member states can take tougher action to protect their borders and see off the rise of the populist right across the continent.

Before a crucial European summit on Wednesday, the prime minister urged fellow members to “go further” in modernising the interpretation of the European convention on human rights (ECHR) to prevent asylum seekers using it to avoid deportation.

Nnena Kalu’s embodied, sensuous art makes her a worthy Turner prize winner

The closer you get to Kalu’s endless sinewy trails of old VHS tape, the harder it is to know where their forms stop and the space around them begins

• Nnena Kalu becomes first artist with a learning disability to win Turner prize

Nnena Kalu’s forms come at you with their almost alien unknowable presence. They bulge and bifurcate and multiply. The viewer gets caught up in all the roaring, spilling, snaggling details, and you begin to wonder about your own boundaries, the body’s beginnings and its endings. The closer you get to Kalu’s endless sinewy trails of old VHS tape, their spews of filigree plastic webbing, their bound-up, sometimes cable-tied suturings, the harder it is to know where their forms stop and the space around them begins. Their containment is precarious. So full of life and energy, you think they might burst.

Kalu’s art is so embodied, so sensuous, so much a trace of her constant, physical engagement, so much a negotiation between the body that made it and the bodies she creates, it becomes difficult to distinguish between the activity of making and the thing itself. This was true, too, in the figures Giacometti made in his room filled with plaster dust. But Kalu’s art is not reducible to anything we might call a technique, and comparisons with other artists are not much help.

What to expect when the Fed announces next interest rate move this week

The Federal Reserve will announce if they will cut rates again in December's meeting — their last meeting of 2025. The decision will determine whether borrowers get more relief on interest rates.

Instacart's AI-enabled pricing may be bumping up your grocery bill

Shoppers may be unaware they're paying as much as 23% more than others for the same grocery items on Instacart, a new analysis says.

Netflix faces consumer class-action lawsuit over $72bn Warner Bros deal

Lawsuit argues that proposed deal threatens to reduce competition in US subscription video-on-demand market

Netflix has been hit with a consumer lawsuit seeking to block the online video giant’s planned $72bn acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery’s studio and streaming businesses.

The proposed class action was filed on Monday by a subscriber to Warner Bros-owned HBO Max who said the proposed deal threatened to reduce competition in the US subscription video-on-demand market.

NYPD: Gun rights movement 3D2A, 3D printers spark rapid rise in ghost guns

Ghost guns that are 3D-printed are being made from plans readily available online, experts say.

Judge unseals Ghislaine Maxwell grand jury materials, citing Epstein files act

Jeffrey Epstein, a former friend of President Donald Trump, killed himself in jail in August 2019, weeks after being arrested on child sex trafficking charges.

Rising temperatures could have a chilling impact on young children

A study points to a new concern about the effect that heat can have on young children.

DRC fighting forces 200,000 to flee just days after Washington peace deal

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels clash with Congolese army and other groups as they march on strategic eastern town

About 200,000 people have fled their homes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as Rwanda-backed rebels march on a strategic eastern town just days after Donald Trump hosted the Rwandan and Congolese leaders to proclaim peace.

The UN said at least 74 people had been killed, mostly civilians, and 83 admitted to hospital with wounds from escalating clashes in the area in recent days.

China is buying U.S. soybeans again — but falling short of goal set by Trump trade agreement

A trade war begun by President Donald Trump early in his second term led China to halt its purchases of American soybeans.

Brigitte Macron criticised after using sexist slur against feminist protesters

French first lady was filmed calling women who had disrupted Paris theatre show by Ary Abittan ‘sales connes’

French celebrities and politicians on the left have expressed outrage after Brigitte Macron was filmed using a derogatory and sexist slur to describe feminist protesters at a theatre show in Paris.

A video filmed on Sunday showed France’s first lady in discussion backstage at the Folies Bergère theatre in Paris with Ary Abittan, a French actor and comedian previously accused of rape, before a performance he was about to give. The previous night, feminist campaigners had disrupted his show with shouts of: “Abittan, rapist!”

Woltemade makes Germany return with no care about transfer fee critics

£69m forward happy he chose Newcastle before taking on Bayer Leverkusen in Champions League on Wednesday

As Nick Woltemade made his way out of Bayer Leverkusen’s media theatre on Tuesday night he noticed that a series of chairs had been dragged untidily out of position. Most footballers would simply have walked on by but the 6ft 6in Newcastle forward is a little different from the rest and he duly stopped and tucked them all back into position beneath a long desk.

Out on the pitch Woltemade’s highly-technical approach is nothing if not similarly neat and he has returned to his home country on a Champions League mission. Namely to show his compatriots that Eddie Howe has imbued his game with a dangerous new dimension. While the adhesive touches, deft flicks and clever link play that have always distinguished Woltemade’s performances remain, the Newcastle manager’s “physics” have enhanced the mix.

The Guardian view on Trump and Europe: more an abusive relationship than an alliance | Editorial

The White House is aggressively seeking to weaken and dominate the United States’ traditional allies. European leaders must learn to fight back.

Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz have become adept at scrambling to deal with the latest bad news from Washington. Their meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Downing Street on Monday was so hastily arranged that Mr Macron needed to be back in Paris by late afternoon to meet Croatia’s prime minister, while Mr Merz was due on television for an end-of-year Q&A with the German public.

But diplomatic improvisation alone cannot fully answer Donald Trump’s structural threat to European security. The US president and his emissaries are trying to bully Mr Zelenskyy into an unjust peace deal that suits American and Russian interests. In response, the summit helped ramp up support for the use of up to £100bn in frozen Russian assets as collateral for a “reparations loan” to Ukraine. European counter-proposals for a ceasefire will need to be given the kind of financial backing that provides Mr Zelenskyy with leverage at a critical moment.

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.

US puts sanctions on network said to funnel Colombian mercenaries to Sudan

US treasury accuses Colombian nationals and companies of aiding the RSF, which has committed horrific war crimes

The United States has sanctioned four people and four companies accused of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a Sudanese paramilitary group accused by Washington of committing genocide.

Announcing the sanctions on Tuesday, the US treasury said the network was largely composed of Colombian nationals and companies.

Ben Jennings on Australia’s social media ban for under-16s – cartoon

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Believe it or not, this book makes taxes fascinating

The Price of Democracy tells the history of taxation from colonization to the present day. It's essential reading for anyone who cares about preserving democracy.

England’s Ashes approach is scrambling the brains of the next cricketing generation | Mark Ramprakash

This squad aren’t just throwing away the series, they’re messing up the minds of the young cricketers I try to coach

The cracks are starting to show with this England team and with the narrative we’ve been fed for three years after another defeat. Their identity of always taking the aggressive option, of relentlessly putting pressure on their opponents, isn’t holding up to scrutiny. So far in this series they haven’t had the strength needed to achieve it, and they haven’t had the skills either.

I was confident that they could win the Ashes this time, mainly because I thought there was quality in the squad and that they had adapted their game to add intelligence and adaptability to their armoury. It’s becoming clear that neither of those beliefs were completely true. And meanwhile I’m seeing things at home that make me worry that this team aren’t just messing up this series, they’re messing up a whole generation of young cricketers.

Netflix v Paramount: Trump wades into Warner Bros battle | The Latest

The battle to buy Warner Bros Discovery has captured Donald Trump’s attention. The US President has declared he’ll be involved in the decision on the company’s sale, as both Netflix and Paramount fight to take over the entertainment giant. Lucy Hough speaks to Guardian US deputy business editor Callum Jones

‘I’m not going to hide again’: Stakeknife report met with relief by victims’ families

Killings of suspected IRA informers brought shame and fear but relatives have opportunity to step out of shadows

• MI5 impeded inquiry into Stakeknife agent who murdered for IRA, says official report

• Britain’s ‘golden egg’: how IRA agent Freddie Scappaticci was protected to the end

When Freddie Scappaticci’s “nutting squad” murdered suspected IRA informers the dead men’s families entered a singular hell.

To have a father, brother or son dumped by a roadside, bound and hooded, with signs of torture and shot in the head, brought shock and grief.

Donald Trump has finally won a peace prize – from Fifa, no less. Here are five other awards he should win | Arwa Mahdawi

The inaugural award bestowed upon the US president could pave the way for many more colourful accolades. I have some ideas ...

What a privilege it is to be alive in such a peaceful and prosperous time. If you ignore the genocides in Sudan and Gaza, fighting in eastern Congo, continued attacks on Ukraine, military airstrikes in Myanmar, near-daily strikes on Lebanon, “extrajudicial killings” on Venezualan vessels, increased political violence in the US, along with various other inconvenient issues, then I think we can all agree that Donald Trump has ushered in world peace.

Good luck convincing the nasty Norwegians on the Nobel committee of that, though. They’ve doled out peace prizes to many an alleged war criminal but have a weird grudge against Trump. Still, at least Fifa, an organisation renowned for its impeccable ethics, appreciates the president’s efforts. Last Friday, Trump was awarded the inaugural Fifa peace prize in an over-the-top ceremony that would have made a lesser man, one burdened with a smidgen of self-awareness, feel like a prize idiot.

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.

The art of going ‘Instagram official’: how 10 celebrity couples shared their love with the world

Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau are the latest A-listers to announce their relationship status online. But there are many ways to do it - from fancy dress to panicked deletions

As a mark of pure intent, going Instagram official has become a firmly entrenched dating marker. To post a picture of you and your new partner on Instagram – on the grid, mind you, not hiding behind the cowardice of a story – is to not only declare that you are in love, but also that you are confident enough in your future to share it with the world.

As such, Katy Perry’s decision to go Instagram official with Justin Trudeau is a classic of the genre. Long dogged by rumours that they might be together, Perry this week debuted a sanctioned image of them both. They are cheek to cheek. They are smiling, albeit in that slightly strained hurry-up-and-take-it way you do when someone decides to shoot a whole reel of photos. Katy Perry is pulling the exact same face she did when she stared into the camera that time she sort of went into space, which is how you know that it is really serious. Good luck to the pair of them.

Pfizer adds to obesity bet with up to $2.1 billion deal to develop Chinese company's pill 

The deal will help Pfizer beef up and diversify its obesity drug pipeline following its $10 billion acquisition of obesity biotech Metsera last month.

A welcome pit stop: the US university using parking lots to help unhoused students

Long Beach City college’s Safe Parking Program provides a protected space for students who are homeless to live in their car

When Edgar Rosales Jr uses the word “home” he isn’t referring to the house he plans to buy after becoming a nurse or getting a job in public health. Rather, the second-year student at Long Beach City college is talking about the parking lot he slept in every night for more than a year.

With Oprah-esque enthusiasm, Rosales calls the other students who use LBCC’s Safe Parking Program his “roommates” or “neighbors”.

Is it a good idea to have a hot toddy when you’re sick?

Experts weigh in on if the traditional remedy of whisky, honey, lemon and hot water can actually help your cold

The hot toddy has a reputation as a folk remedy for illness. And if you’re sick, a steaming cup of whisky, honey, lemon, and water can sound like a lot more fun than crackers and broth.

But what about the alcohol? Here’s what experts say about hot toddies and colds.

More than 9,000 children in Gaza hospitalised for acute malnutrition in October, UN says

Aid agencies say Israel is still restricting their aid shipments despite ceasefire announced two months ago

Malnutrition continues to take a toll among Gaza’s young despite a ceasefire declared two months ago, with more than 9,000 children hospitalised for acute malnutrition in October alone, according to the latest UN figures.

While the immediate threat of famine has receded for most of the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza after the ceasefire announcement on 10 October, the UN and other aid agencies report continuing Israeli restrictions on their humanitarian aid shipments, which they say fall well below the needs of a population weakened and traumatised by two years of war, homelessness and living in flimsy shelters.

More than 75% of homes across the U.S. are unaffordable, study finds

Homeownership can feel like a luxury when only a sliver of the country's housing market is affordable for most Americans, Bankrate analyst says.

Raul Malo, frontman of band the Mavericks, dies aged 60

The musician, who led the Grammy-winning band, had been receiving treatment for colon cancer

Raul Malo, the soulful tenor and frontman of the genre-defying, Grammy-winning band the Mavericks, has died. He was 60.

Malo died on Monday night, his wife, Betty Malo, posted on his Facebook page. He had been diagnosed with cancer. The frontman of the Mavericks had documented his health journey on social media since he disclosed in June 2024 that he was receiving treatment for colon cancer.

Parasite cleanses: why are so many people obsessed with intestinal worms?

Probably the most disgusting online trend of 2025, this has led to pictures of people’s excrement all over the internet. Please make it stop ...

Name: Parasite cleanses.

Age: The earliest written records of what were probably parasitic infections in humans are from Egyptian medicine, between around 3000 and 400BC.

Jon Stewart on Fifa’s peace prize: ‘An entirely fictitious golden butt plug’

Late-night hosts discussed Fifa’s award to Donald Trump as his administration escalates tensions with Venezuela

Late-night hosts mocked Donald Trump for gleefully accepting the inaugural Fifa peace prize ahead of the World Cup in the US.

Commercial real estate deal volume drops for the first time in nearly two years

Commercial real estate has had a rough year after gaining momentum coming out of the pandemic.

US judge strikes down Trump order blocking wind energy projects

Federal judge declared January executive order unlawful, ruling in favor of a coalition of state attorneys general

A federal judge on Monday struck down Donald Trump’s executive order blocking wind energy projects, saying the effort to halt virtually all leasing of windfarms on federal lands and waters was “arbitrary and capricious” and violated US law.

Judge Patti Saris of the US district court for the district of Massachusetts vacated Trump’s 20 January executive order blocking wind energy projects and declared it unlawful.

He was called one of the most violent prison guards in America. He got promoted

Roderick Gadson showed no remorse after beating a man to death. A new film, The Alabama Solution, shows how the case lays bare a culture of violence the state has long failed to control

The most dramatic moment in the deposition came when Roderick Gadson, an Alabama prison guard, was questioned under oath about an incident in which he and other officers used such devastating force against a prisoner that the man had to be airlifted to hospital to treat his injuries.

Gadson was shown a photograph of the man, Steven Davis. He was lying in an ICU bed breathing through a tube, his cadaverous face bruised and covered with blood, his eyes black and sunken.

Merv review – a dog steals the show in Amazon’s by-the-book Christmas romcom

Charlie Cox and Zooey Deschanel co-parent a depressed dog in a serviceable attempt to appeal to animal lovers during the festive period

It is a truth universally acknowledged, at least in my social circles, that co-parenting a dog is a bad idea. Most will tell you: shared canine custody arrangements prevent exes from moving on. It’s a logistical headache. It causes fights. It’s annoying for all involved (and then some). And apparently, in a revelation worthy of a straight-to-streaming movie, it makes dogs depressed.

Not to minimize the mental health of dogs – I’ve listened to my mother boast about our family chihuahua’s “EQ” enough to know that man’s best friend has the capacity for great emotional sensitivity. (And the ability to convey it on command – for a truly outstanding performance of doggie depression, please see Bing the bereft great dane in 2024’s The Friend.) I have no doubt that a dog like Merv, a wired-hair terrier sort played by Gus the Dog in Merv’s eponymous Amazon movie, would struggle to adjust from life in a single family unit to split homes. Whether or not the ill-advised dog-sharing arrangement can sustain a whole Christmas romcom, however, is a dubious proposition.

Grammy-nominated musician killed by driver with over 100 arrests

Roderick Macleod, 70, was walking his dogs when he was allegedly struck by a driver with dozens of prior arrests.

House Democrats establish AI working group as industry bolsters DC presence

House lawmakers see the commission as a starting point for working with industry on AI policies, issues.

In this age of authoritarians, online abuse of women is soaring – and it’s leading to ‘real-world’ violence | Julie Posetti

Our UN report reveals the link between the online misogyny and offline crimes that are hounding women out of public life

Networked misogyny is now firmly established as a key tactic in the 21st-century authoritarian’s playbook. This is not a new trend – but it is now being supercharged by generative AI tools that make it easier, quicker and cheaper than ever to perpetrate online violence against women in public life – from journalists to human rights defenders, politicians and activists.

The objectives are clear: to help justify the rollback of gender equality and women’s reproductive rights; to chill women’s freedom of expression and their participation in democratic deliberation; to discredit truth-tellers; and to pave the way for the consolidation of authoritarian power.

Dr Julie Posetti is the director of the Information Integrity Initiative at TheNerve, a digital forensics lab founded by Nobel laureate Maria Ressa. She is also a professor of journalism and chair of the Centre for Journalism and Democracy at City St George’s, University of London.

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.

Longevity supplements are sold as helping prevent ageing. But do they have any long-term benefits or increase lifespan? | Antiviral

Much of the enthusiasm for these ‘anti-ageing’ products is based on animal studies, mostly involving rodents

There are many acronyms you might find on the packaging of so-called longevity supplements, promoted by influencers for their ability to “repair DNA” and assist in “anti-ageing”.

NRC (nicotinamide riboside chloride) and NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) are two of them – both precursors or “building blocks” for NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), a naturally occurring molecule in the body. Trimethylglycine (TMG) is another and is sometimes added to “support” other ingredients.

Alice Zaslavsky’s festive vegetable terrine – recipe

Using store-bought deli goods, Alice Zaslavsky builds a vegetarian showstopper for the Christmas table – with minimal cooking

• Check out more Alice Zaslavsky recipes

So you’re hosting a festive shindig in December and there are vegetarians in the crowd – or maybe the vego is you? You want to put on a good centrepiece but you’re not feeling the nut loaf vibes. What to do?

Festive catering for vegetarians is far easier in the northern hemisphere, where you can whack on a big chunk of pumpkin or stuff some peppers, and let them bake away while you roast the chestnuts and mull the wine.

The 50 best albums of 2025

From prog cabaret and joyful jangle-pop to a pop star who will drag you to the club, here are the year’s finest LPs as decided by 30 Guardian music writers
• More on the best culture of 2025

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Shakira fans and an elephant protest: photos of the day – Tuesday

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

Ukraine's last eastern strongholds hang on as Russia fights to take Donbas

Russia is pushing to take over all of eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, where one resident tells NPR that she feels her "life depends on how our guys at the front hold on."

‘I drunkenly hugged him and said I love you, Martin Parr!’ Grayson Perry, Don McCullin and more on Britain’s national photographer

With a sharp eye and saturated colours, Parr’s photographs revealed the world in all its eccentric glory. Here, his friends, peers and collaborators pay tribute to a master

Grayson Perry, artist
I’ve never really been a fanboy, but the first time I saw Martin Parr I ran up and drunkenly hugged him. I said: “I love you Martin Parr!” I couldn’t help it. He was a hero of mine. And over the years he became my best artist friend.

‘After almost destroying the world, our families are friends’: the thrilling podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives

Their relatives might have been on opposite sides of near-nuclear war, but the US and Soviet leader’s descendants have teamed up for an intimate BBC podcast. They talk humanity, hate – and why Trump is a ‘very limited’ man

In October 1962, the world came closer to destruction than at any other point in modern times. After a US surveillance plane discovered that Soviet nuclear missile sites were being built in Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland, President John F Kennedy responded by ordering the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade around the island. Almost two weeks of impossible tension followed.

The threat was clear. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, fired on their enemy, a chain reaction of global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes would have followed, plunging humanity into all-out ruination.

Elon Musk calls for abolition of European Union after X fined $140 million

Musk's comments come as U.S. government officials step up criticism of the European Union

Ukraine at 'critical moment' in war as European allies ramp up pressure on Russia

"We all know that the destiny of this country is the destiny of Europe," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.

Michael van Gerwen: ‘Of course I love darts, but I love my kids much more’

The former world No 1 shares how a traumatic year has shaped him as a darts player and a father and insists he can recapture his glory days at the world championship

“I can be a miserable bastard sometimes,” Michael van Gerwen says with a grin and a shrug as he tries to explain his new burst of optimism after a horribly testing year. “But I can also be quite positive. If you asked me this question a month ago, and we did this interview then, you would find me a bit different to today. But I feel good now even if, 100%, this has been a very tough year for me both on and off the oche.”

Rather than being miserable, the 36-year-old is amiable company – which seems remarkable as in 2025 he has been through a divorce after 17 years with his wife, Daphne, witnessed the devastating effect of cancer on his father, endured intense scrutiny in the Dutch media, and struggled to regain his once imperious form with the arrows.

American Canto by Olivia Nuzzi review – insufferable filler that sidesteps the real issues

The reporter’s alleged affair with Robert F Kennedy Jr raises a whole host of questions, few of which get answers in this pretentious memoir

Did he take me seriously?” Olivia Nuzzi wonders in the midst of her infamous alleged affair with Robert F Kennedy Jr. Nuzzi, then Washington correspondent for New York magazine, has just learned that she and the Politician, as she calls RFK Jr in her new book, may overlap during a visit to Mar-a-Lago. Nuzzi, worried Donald Trump will catch on and start spreading rumours, convenes an emergency meeting with the Politician to strategise. RFK Jr – who has denied having an affair with Nuzzi – doesn’t see the big deal.

So, she agonises “Did he take me seriously?” and reflects that she had “little cause to consider the question before now.”

Trump to address affordability. And, the significance of Indiana's redistricting fight

Trump travels to Pennsylvania to discuss America's affordability. And, Indiana lawmakers to vote on a congressional map that may eliminate the state's last two Democratic seats.