CBS News gets exclusive access to a U.S. aircraft carrier in Middle East

The USS George Washington recently replaced the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, quickly becoming the backbone of the U.S. operation against Iran. Tom Hanson gets an exclusive look onboard the aircraft carrier.

A job that changed me: Working the pool kiosk in the summer of ’82, I was excited when older boys came by – but I learned that respect is better than attention

My job made me the envy of the cool girls; it made me visible. Then Johnno, Stevo and Whack paid a visit

In the summer of 1982, at the age of 14, I was hired to work in the ticket office and kiosk at the Sale Memorial Pool in Victoria’s Gippsland region. The cool girls at school, who did not usually acknowledge me, were seething with jealousy. It was a sought-after job in a time before fast-food outlets and chain supermarkets.

I was anxious because I didn’t look like the girls who usually worked at the pool. The Dolly magazine cover-girl types. They were tanned, used raspberry lip gloss and Impulse body spray, and wore stretchy boob tubes over their crocheted bikini tops.

Farage hints that Reform’s £72m donations may not be legal under new elections bill - UK politics live

In an interview about the donations, he said they are compliant with the law ‘today’

Andy Burnham has cancelled engagements today and tomorrow following the death of his father Roy, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s, the Press Association reports.

Burnham has spoken about his father’s illness which meant that he did not know his son had become prime minister.

[We] will continue bringing forward further reforms to strengthen confidence in our democracy.

Following on from the previous minister for democracy’s letter to you of 10 July 2026, we wanted to reiterate the government’s concerns, shared by many members of the public and parliamentarians, about the rise in the volume and concentration of money in UK politics. We have to limit the way financial power can end up dominating political power, to get to a politics that works for all people in all places.

We believe spending limits on parties and candidates are too high, and ought to be reduced.

Trump attacks ‘sick conspiracy’ against AI as tech stocks slide

President hits out after Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX leaders back call to limit ‘reckless’ development

• Business news – live updates

Donald Trump has dismissed calls to increase controls on AI as a “sick conspiracy”, as stocks linked to the technology slumped after appeals from leading developers on the weekend for the industry to slow down.

The US president wrote on social media: “The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the USA has that, in spades!”

Swedish centre-left opposition widens lead to three seats with 95% of votes counted – Europe live

The parliament isn’t set to meet until late September to elect a new speaker, and then prime minister

Jennifer Rankin in Brussels and Charlotte Higgins and Amy Hawkins in Kyiv

Catching up with other news from across Europe, the head of Nato has said a Russian drone attack on a train close to Ukraine’s border with Poland would not deter Kyiv’s western backers.

Clarity Act faces make-or-break Senate vote on Tuesday as crypto industry pushes for bill

Community banks fear customers will withdraw deposits to buy stablecoin crypto assets that could pay higher yields.

Many asylum seekers removed from UK to France arrive injured, charity health service finds

Samusocial de Paris documents signs of violence after detention and transfer under ‘one in one out’ scheme

Multiple injuries including bruising and fractures have been documented by a health service supporting people returned to France under the controversial “one in, one out” scheme.

The pilot scheme involves one asylum seeker who crosses the Channel in a small boat being returned to France in return for another in northern France being legally brought to the UK to claim asylum. The scheme is due to end on 1 October.

Why the election could make Washington's looming next fiscal crisis harder

Some in the GOP are already disavowing raising the debt ceiling absent deep spending cuts as the national debt balloons past $40 trillion.

Trump’s EPA reportedly ⁠poised to axe carbon pollution rules for power plants

Advocates and experts describe the Trump administration’s climate rollbacks as gifts to polluters at expense of planet

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is ⁠poised to formally repeal carbon pollution standards for coal- and gas-fired power plants, according to reports.

The Trump administration’s latest climate rollback is expected to ⁠come as soon as Monday on the sidelines of the G20 energy ministers’ meeting in Houston, ⁠Texas, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.

Sydney Sweeney’s prediction ad is cynical, unhealthy and reveals plenty about modern sports | Jane McManus

The actor’s latest promotion has stirred outrage but will no doubt be good for the prediction markets hoping to lure in young men

Prediction markets are a cynical business.

Many customers will lose money, and the real product may just be the delightful dopamine hit that comes in that brief window between placing a bet and its outcome – which is statistically more likely to be a disappointment than a victory. So the bettor has to think they are buying more than their own fleecing.

How to raise confident, conscious daughters

Dr. Shefali Tsabary joins "CBS Mornings" to discuss her latest book, "Raising Conscious Daughters," where she offers ways to build your child's confidence in a frantic, social media-centric world.

Axios co-founders on simplifying life and work

Axios co-founders Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen join "CBS Mornings" to talk about their new book, "Simplify: Do 50% More with 50% Less," and offer tips for decluttering your work and life.

Trump urges Ukraine to stop ‘knocking out’ Russian oil refineries as U.S. diesel hits record

U.S. diesel prices have surpassed $6 a gallon for the first time ever as the Ukraine and Iran wars drive broader energy supply concerns.

‘The eye-gouging was very, very satisfying’: how we made cave horror classic The Descent

‘The child crawler whose head I crush with my boot was only 11, bless him. It was actually me stamping on a cauliflower’

I was introduced to Christian Colson at Celador Films off the back of [2002 horror film] Dog Soldiers, and I pitched them a project – actually a feature-length version of my student graduation film – about zombies on an oil rig. They liked it but said it was too expensive, so on the train back to Newcastle I was asking myself what would make a really scary horror film that could be contained and so made on a budget. I was thinking of things set in the dark and was like, well … caves. At the back of my mind was a school trip to a lead mine where the guide had said, “OK, everybody, turn your lights off” and, for the first time, I experienced a darkness that I just couldn’t fathom.

US airman recounts Iran rescue in 60 Minutes segment branded propaganda

Critics say segment about airman’s rescue was made to boost public perception of Trump’s unpopular war

A US airman has spoken of climbing a 7,000ft ridge with a broken back, arm and shoulder after he was shot down in Iran – and of being rescued by a team of American special forces as hostile locals closed in on him.

The air force colonel, identified only by his codename Bravo, appeared on camera Sunday night on CBS’s 60 Minutes in a segment some critics have labelled Pentagon propaganda to boost public perception of Donald Trump’s unpopular war.

USA’s Solheim Cup inquest begins amid early celebrations and stats complaints

• Losing captain frustrated by lack of in-play statistics

• Stanford offers warning to Ryder Cup leader Jim Furyk

The latest inquest into failure by an American team on European soil involves slow greens, the perception of a premature celebration and a curious absence of statistical backup. Angela Stanford, whose Solheim Cup team were defeated by Europe in the Netherlands on Sunday, warned Jim Furyk’s Ryder Cup contingent to take note.

Stanford used the numbers-based evidence of Justin Ray to assist with decision-making and Furyk will do likewise at Adare Manor next year. In the aftermath of the 15-13 defeat and assessing Ray’s input, Stanford clearly had an underlying gripe. “I’m wondering how honest to be,” she said.

How a slowdown in AI development would impact markets

Leaders in AI have explicitly warned that a lack of regulation on the industry could have dire consequences. CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger joins to discuss how a slowdown in development could impact stock markets.

The producer of Fleabag and Baby Reindeer's tip for finding a hit? Don't look for one

Theatre producer Francesca Moody has a remarkable record of spotting shows that go on to have wide success. At the Edinburgh Fringe festival, she told NPR about what she looks for in a performance.

Russian strike on passenger train will not deter Ukraine’s backers, Nato chief says

Mark Rutte says attack that narrowly missed Boris Johnson and David Petraeus shows Vladimir Putin’s desperation

• Europe live – latest updates

The head of Nato has said a Russian drone attack on a train close to Ukraine’s border with Poland would not deter Kyiv’s western backers.

Mark Rutte said the strike on a passenger train showed how desperate Vladimir Putin had become. “He thinks that he can stops us from supporting Ukraine and that he can undermine our unity. He is wrong. Our answer is to increase support,” the Nato general secretary said.

U.S. airman shot down in Iran says watching crewman's rescue was "proudest dad moment of my life"

For the season premiere of "60 Minutes," Norah O'Donnell interviewed the U.S. Air Force officer who was stuck in Iran for more than two days after his F-15 was downed. From his vantage point, he witnessed the rescue of his crewmate.

Novo Nordisk rebrands to 'Novo,' unveils corporate changes as it fights for obesity market share

The Danish drugmaker called the changes the beginning of a new chapter for the company, which faces stiff competition from Eli Lilly.

OpenAI boss Sam Altman spells out how and why the AI industry wants to slow down: 'We could lose control'

OpenAI's chief has made comments detailing how AI safety frameworks and a slowdown could work, as the industry unites behind concerns.

Microsoft sets limits for future AI models as industry throttles frontier development

Microsoft wants to be seen as a responsible AI entity as it ramps up model development alongside partners Anthropic and OpenAI.

Kennedy Center leaders say Trump’s name on facade may avoid ‘fiscal collapse’

Center’s Trump-installed leaders also say it is on brink of bankruptcy and could close as early as Tuesday

Leaders of the John F Kennedy Center for ⁠the Performing Arts say it is on the brink of bankruptcy and could ⁠close as early ⁠as ​Tuesday, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.

The center’s Donald Trump-installed leaders argued that putting the president’s name on its facade may be the only way ⁠to avoid imminent and “certain fiscal collapse”, according to the newspaper, ​citing documents it ‌obtained.

Westminster’s time is coming to an end, say first ministers of UK’s Celtic nations

Leaders in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland discuss independence and call for constitutional change at summit

Westminster’s time is coming to an end, the first ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have said at a landmark summit aimed at putting the UK’s Celtic nations on the path to independence referendums.

The Plaid Cymru leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth; the Scottish National party leader, John Swinney; Sinn Féin’s vice-president, Michelle O’Neill, and the president and leader of the opposition in Ireland, Mary Lou McDonald, met in Cardiff on Monday to sign a memorandum of understanding recognising that “the political landscape across these islands is changing”.

A royal cavalry and beating a drum: photos of the day – Monday

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

The drought abides: US men still without a major since 2003 despite Shelton’s heroics

Alexander Zverev was simply too good for the home hope at the US Open on Sunday. Andy Roddick’s record may stand for some time to come

On a Sunday afternoon set up for Ben Shelton to play national hero, the US Open final debutant suffered a four-set defeat to Alexander Zverev, a result that deflated the partisans at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The match compounded Shelton’s miserable head-to-head record against the German, who claimed a second career grand slam title without having to face final bosses Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz. The defeat also extended a long drought – the last win by an American man at a grand slam was Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open, when Shelton was still a month off his first birthday.

After the final, Shelton wore a hangdog expression as he thanked his team and the capacity crowd in New York, tucking the silver runner-up tray under his arm as if shunted off to high school detention. “Disappointed with how today went,” he said in his press conference afterward. “Excited with the progress that I feel that I’ve made. But, yeah, this one stings 100%.”

Satellite images show extent of damage to Saudi Arabia’s oil pipeline that bypasses Strait of Hormuz

Saudi Arabia temporarily shut the roughly 750-mile pipeline as attacks threaten a key alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.

Polanski the first managerial victim of Bundesliga season as Gladbach fail again | Andy Brassell

Departure of head coach after defeat at Freiburg sums up club that could join other fallen giants in second tier

It could not go on. Even at this early stage the sinking feeling was familiar and impossible to shake, and something had to give at Borussia Mönchengladbach. The first Bundesliga coaching change of the season is upon us just three games in, and it is not a major surprise that it is Eugen Polanski departing. Neither is it a shock that Gladbach are involved; after all, it was at exactly this point last season – three games in – that they parted ways with Gerardo Seoane.

A club with more prospects and direction would have chosen to move on from Polanski in the summer, but the reality is that Gladbach have few of either. Saturday afternoon’s humiliation at Freiburg – a club enjoying a 100% record, guided by poise and purpose, having spent the Johan Manzambi money wisely – was no bad day at the office but a season in microcosm. The home side cruised into a 2-0 lead inside the first half-hour before the Gladbach captain, Tim Kleindienst, was sent off for a second yellow card (after an utterly avoidable first one). One former Gladbach player, Yannik Engelhardt, scored twice while another, Matthias Ginter, made two assists. It finished 5-0 and could have been way worse.

The London hospital funded by donors who invested in the slave trade

St Barts is one of many UK institutions whose benefactors were involved in the trafficking of enslaved Africans

Inside the Great Hall of St Bartholomew’s North Wing, alongside stately portraits of the apostle from whom London’s oldest hospital takes its name and King Henry VIII, extravagant commemorative boards adorn the walls.

The Great Hall was a grand, formal space where governors weighed their philanthropic donations and drafted their wills, many while investing in the stock of companies built on the trafficking of enslaved Africans. Today, many of those donors are commemorated in acrylic gold paint on the boards.

Beck: Ride Lonesome review – stunning end to the heartache trilogy of Sea Change and Morning Phase

(Iliad/Capitol)
On his first album in seven years, Beck keeps the quality control extremely high as he surveys mid-50s malaise in the wake of divorce

The last time Beck released an album it was 2019 and the singer-songwriter found himself in a strange and unenviable position. In some quarters, the arrival of Hyperspace was eagerly anticipated precisely because his personal life was in turmoil. Nine months before its release, his 15-year marriage to actor Marissa Ribisi had ended in divorce, an experience he understandably described as heartbreaking. Unfortunately for him, there exists a pervasive argument that Beck’s greatest work is born out of misery.

His beloved 2002 album Sea Change featured a set of disconsolate acoustic songs written in the wake of a break-up with his long-term girlfriend Leigh Limon that Beck had initially thought were too personal for public consumption. They were certainly very different from the knowing, postmodern approach with which he’d made his name, but no matter: Sea Change went on to become a huge critical and commercial success. It wasn’t entirely clear what prompted the gloomy mood of 2014’s Morning Phase, but it very much seemed to be cut from similar musical and lyrical cloth. Some critics suggested it was the best album of his career; it subsequently won three Grammys, including album of the year. Given the circumstances, there was much pre-release speculation that Hyperspace would be a companion piece.

Arsenal demand meeting with Pro Ref over penalty decision at Sunderland

• Explanation wanted after spot-kick given against them

• Arsenal likely to raise penalty not awarded at Aston Villa

Arsenal are seeking an explanation from Pro Ref over the penalty awarded to Sunderland on Saturday that Mikel Arteta described as “unacceptable at this level”. It is understood the Premier League champions contacted Pro Ref on Monday y to request a meeting after Ezri Konsa was penalised during an incident involving Dan Ballard at the Stadium of Light.

David Raya made a brilliant save to deny Enzo Le Fée’s spot-kick before Arsenal went on to win 2-0.

In an age of superhero fatigue, Marvel’s best shot is to think small – and outside the box

Sebastian Stan says he pitched Marvel a mid-budget thriller starring his Winter Soldier character. Perhaps the studio should give it – and other modestly scaled vehicles – the green light

Blink a little and you might think we are back in 2019. The latest Spider-Man film, Brand New Day, has just passed $2.4bn at the global box office, to become the third-highest grossing film of all time behind Avatar and Avengers: Endgame. Meanwhile Avengers: Doomsday is reported to have already earned more than $50m in US ticket presales alone, despite the fact that it doesn’t come out until December. Clearly we are in the middle of a superhero renaissance.

And yet it doesn’t really feel like it, largely because it is something of a turnaround for Marvel, after a pretty disappointing 2025 in which all three of the studio’s releases underperformed. Captain America: Brave New World took $415m worldwide, Thunderbolts* managed $382m and even the well-reviewed The Fantastic Four: First Steps stalled at $521m, against a reported $200m budget. These are hardly Madame Web numbers but they do suggest there is still a problem about what to do with all those superheroes who cannot sustain a $300m multiversal extravaganza.

Andy Burnham cancels engagements as his father’s death is announced

Prime minister had been due to speak at the TUC conference in Brighton

• UK politics live – latest updates

Andy Burnham has cancelled his engagements for Monday and Tuesday after his father, Roy, died.

Among other plans, the prime minister had been due to speak to the TUC conference in Brighton on Tuesday.

Top of the table, empty in the stands: inside the revolt against Lazio’s owner | Nicky Bandini

Despite an impressive start under Gennaro Gattuso, supporters are boycotting the Stadio Olimpico to wage war against Claudio Lotito

Gennaro Gattuso has given some memorable post‑game interviews down the years. Who could forget his “sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit” rant at OFI Crete, or the face of the beleaguered interpreter tasked with translating it? Last year, not long before taking charge of the Italian national team, Gattuso got into a finger‑jabbing, language‑swapping, almost‑nose‑to‑nose shouting match with Josko Jelicic on Croatian television.

And yet there was something more affecting about the soft way he spoke on Saturday, in Calabrian‑accented Italian. Without anger, but with an air of melancholy. “For me, football without fans is shit,” he said. “What do you think? I’d say it’s better to stay home. Better to go for a walk with the dogs.”

Africa’s richest man aiming to make $23bn from continent’s biggest-ever IPO

Public offering of Aliko Dangote’s Nigerian oil refinery business could swell his net wealth by two-thirds

The fortune of Africa’s richest person could swell by two thirds to nearly $60bn (£44bn) after his refinery in Nigeria listed publicly in the continent’s biggest-ever initial public offering.

If Monday’s flotation of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals on the Nigerian exchange goes to plan, then Aliko Dangote will add a further $23bn (£17bn) to his $35bn net worth.

Senate returns today for final legislative sprint ahead of midterms

The Senate is returning to Washington from a five-week recess, with several priorities to address before leaving town next month to take to the campaign trail.

Gulf states postpone strait of Hormuz talks with Iran as Yemen conflict intensifies

Impasse comes amid growing Saudi anger with Tehran over Houthi advances and strikes on airbase and pipeline

• Oil prices rise after drone attacks shut down Saudi Arabia’s east-west pipeline

Gulf states have postponed a critical meeting with Iran on the future of the strait of Hormuz owing to a lack of Arab consensus and growing Saudi Arabian anger with Tehran for helping the Houthis loosen Riyadh’s grip in Yemen.

The stalemate over the vital waterway came as Houthi rebels launched a fresh barrage of missile and drone attacks on Saudi military targets. A Houthi military spokesperson claimed its forces had attacked the King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait, hitting fighter-jet hangars, radar systems, runways and landing strips, ammunition depots and additional targets.

The far right’s march to power in Sweden has been halted, but its influence remains

The Sweden Democrats slipped to third after decades of growth, but their hardline positions have already reshaped the political mainstream

• Swedish centre-left opposition widens lead to three seats with 95% of votes counted – live

Since the party was founded in 1988, the story of the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) has been one of such continuous growth that a triumph in Sunday’s general election seemed inevitable.

In 2022, the party capitalised on electoral gains – and the desperation of right-leaning parties to form a minority administration – and almost made its way into government. A supporting role in prime minister Ulf Kristersson’s Tidö coalition earned the party, which has neo-Nazi roots, huge influence and mainstream acceptance by the political establishment.

Rosie Mackean’s quick and easy recipe for lamb chops with courgettes, walnuts and yoghurt | Quick and easy

Intimidated by the thought of midweek entertaining? Three simple rules make it simple…

Entertaining midweek can feel daunting, but if you employ a couple of tricks, things can very quickly go from mayhem to magic. First, choose a dish that goes perfectly with good bread, so your carb is covered. Second, choose a protein that is quick to cook and great for sharing – little lamb chops are perfect for this, while also being a treat. And, finally, use other ingredients that don’t need much help. Here, the walnuts just get cooked in butter and the lamb juices, the courgettes are simply boiled and dressed, and the yoghurt is, well, yoghurt. Suddenly you’ve conjured up a masterpiece ready for many hands to dig in.

Good Time Cooking: Show-Stopping Menus for Easy Entertaining, by Rosie Mackean, is published by Pavilion Books at £26. To order a copy for £23.40, visit guardianbookshop.com

There’s a surprisingly simple reason for England’s high antidepressant use: lots of people need them | Dean Burnett

The idea that GPs are ignoring guidelines and ‘overprescribing’ doesn’t hold water. Instead, look to our social and economic crises

• Dean Burnett is a doctor of neuroscience

A new NHS report has revealed the highest ever levels of antidepressant use recorded in England, with roughly one in seven people prescribed an antidepressant item in 2025-26. This has resulted in a swathe of media coverage expressing alarm over the increase, with questions about what could, or should, be done to reverse the trend.

Such a high level of antidepressant use should, of course, prompt concern and reflection. But the popular claim that has taken hold is that antidepressant use is too high because of “overprescribing”, as Dr John Read, a professor of clinical psychology, says in the Daily Mail. This is the idea that patients are being prescribed antidepressants when they shouldn’t be, or when better, safer alternatives are available.

Dean Burnett is a doctor of neuroscience and the author of The Idiot Brain and Emotional Ignorance

Barrio Triste review – raw and dynamic portrait of anarchic slum life in 1980s Medellín

Bad Bunny collaborator Stillz’s debut feature shot using Betacam focuses on vibes over plot

Best known as the creative mind behind the music videos of Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny, Stillz has risen to the top of the industry as an in-demand director and photographer. Interestingly, for his feature-film debut, Stillz has turned away from the glitz and glamour of celebrity to fix his lens on the underdog. Shot on Betacam video and set in the crime-ridden neighbourhoods of 1980s Medellín, Barrio Triste opens with an unexpected act of rebellion: having snatched a camera from a television crew, a group of young men head out on an anarchic joyride and film their exploits in the process. Previously rendered invisible by the system, they have inserted themselves into a tool of mainstream media.

There are moments of crisis here and there – the restless band of youths attempt a robbery and even kill a hostage – yet the primary focus seems to be on vibes rather than plot. The ever-roving camera not only channels the agitated psyche of the main characters but also drums up the chaotic pace of Medellín’s underbelly. One particularly memorable sequence moves from the peculiar sight of a punk duo practising on a rooftop to the garbage-strewn streets, during which seemingly benign interactions can quickly escalate into heated altercations. Echoing the handheld cinematography, life in the slums is unmoored and precarious, as if the ground might give way at any second.

Nine EU countries further delay EES border checks

Holiday hotspots including France and Greece plead for more time to implement changes in busy airports

• What are the new EU border checks and how will they affect your holiday?

Nine EU countries, including France, are delaying the introduction of fingerprinting for non-EU citizens as they plead for more time to introduce the new border controls at busy airports in the bloc.

The entry-exit system (EES), which was due to come into force in full on 6 September, has been delayed multiple times to avoid visitor congestion around large events, including the Olympics in 2024.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei: "For too long the industry lied" about AI risks

The head of the artificial intelligence company calls the exponential rate of AI developments a "warning sign," with risks for humanity, and says, "We need to slow down." He talks with "Sunday Morning" about possible steps forward.

Key leaders sound the alarm on AI. And, Iran-Gulf diplomacy hits a setback

Some key leaders at artificial intelligence companies call for a slowdown in AI development. And, Iran-Gulf diplomacy hits a setback as talks in Oman are delayed.

PSG have finally won a game in Ligue 1 – but they were far from convincing

Ferran Torres has been brilliant for his new club but most of his teammates still seem to be on the beach

By Get French Football News

It was just a flicker. Ferran Torres picks the ball up and passes it to João Neves. The Portuguese midfielder plays it into Ousmane Dembélé, who has lured in Raphaël Le Guen and eliminates him with a mesmeric first-time back-heel into the path of Torres. The Brest defence are just cones in a training drill, mere extras in this work of art as the Spaniard glides back into the scene to pass the ball into Egil Selvik’s bottom corner from 25 yards; it happened in slow motion but was too quick for the Norwegian goalkeeper to react.

It is a move that had the slick and elegant fluidity of what we have come to expect from Paris Saint-Germain. Just four minutes in, the champions were ahead, and the Stade Francis Le-Blé anticipated a show of force, a statement from their visitors.

Amazon halts use of 21 Air after plane overshot Miami runway

Amazon says it has decided to suspend its operations with 21 Air after one of the carrier's planes​ overshot a runway in Miami, killing five people.

Scientists find nine new sponge species in glimpse of Alaska’s deep-sea diversity

But their habitat is threatened by bottom trawling in the region and Trump’s plan to expand seafloor mining

Scientists have discovered nine new deep-sea sponge species off Alaska, offering new insights into the region’s largely unexplored marine biodiversity.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) announced the discovery on Thursday, saying the species were found in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The findings bring the total number of known sponge species in Alaska to 232.

Ross Fire still burning, with over 90,000 acres scorched

The wildfire, which has torn through Palo Pinto and Jack counties, forced evacuations, closed roads and disrupted schools.

Zuckerberg says the science isn’t settled. But the harms of short-form video on the brain are starting to show | Caty Enders

Recent social media lawsuits have addressed concerns about mental health. But what about its cognitive effects?

A few years ago, when I’d just started graduate work, I was waiting with a grandmother finishing a questionnaire I’d handed her about her 19-year-old granddaughter who was in the testing room next door. They were participating in a study that used brain imaging to look at adolescent development. The older woman had a soft southern accent and a warm laugh.

“What’s funny?” I asked.

She’s Donald Trump’s least-favorite Fox News host. But Jessica Tarlov remains undeterred

The 42-year-old liberal commentator regularly co-hosts the network’s 5pm talk show, taking flak from her conservative colleagues and harsh insults from the president.

Jessica Tarlov is the left-leaning Fox News host that some of the network’s most conservative viewers, including Donald Trump, love to hate.

The US president regularly bashes Tarlov on his Truth Social platform, in April calling her “one of the Least Attractive and Talented People on all of Television”, and demanding that Fox “GET HER OFF THE AIR.”

Disaster insurance, datacenters, right to repair: meet the midterm candidates running on green policies

Some of the everyday struggles animating voters have a climate link lurking in the background

When Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a law erasing the words “climate change” from state statutes in May 2024 – colloquially known as the “don’t say climate change” law – Democrats were outraged. Just six months later, many liberal politicians began to go quiet on the issue themselves. After Donald Trump won the 2024 election, mentions of the climate crisis started to disappear from Democrats’ rhetoric. As the 2026 midterms approach, that retreat is still shaping how some candidates talk about climate on the campaign trail.

The trend, known as “climate-hushing”, may reflect the limitations of Joe Biden’s climate policies, said Daniel Aldana Cohen, assistant sociology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies climate politics and inequality. Green jobs and housing investments fell short of the climate movement’s desires, consumer incentives disproportionately benefited wealthier households, and Democrats struggled to effectively communicate their accomplishments. The president has since rolled back many Biden-era clean energy incentives and regulations.

This city led the way on reparations for Black people. Trump is trying to stop it

Evanston, Ill., became the first U.S. city to compensate Black people for historical discrimination. The Justice Department is trying to kill its program before other cities follow suit.

Spanish GP plans to change Madring after fierce criticism from F1 drivers

• New track for Spanish GP frustrated drivers and fans

• McLaren’s Stella: ‘It’s impossible to attempt overtaking’

Discussions are already under way to change the layout of Formula One’s newest circuit after driver condemnation of the Madring during its inaugural grand prix. The race in Madrid was won by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, but it was notable for being a procession with overtakes failing to reach double digits over 57 laps. Drivers were left frustrated and disappointed at an opportunity that had been lost, resulting in a chorus of criticism.

“I don’t know how someone looks at this design and goes ‘mint’,” said the defending world champion, Lando Norris, who finished third. “There’s a lot of opportunity. They can make it into a track that’s good for racing and I’m excited to come back here next year if they can make these changes.

The powerful millionaires hiding in plain sight

They own car dealerships, law firms, dental practices, and restaurant chains. Collectively, these overlooked business owners hold far more wealth than the Forbes 400 — and wield considerable political power.

Beijing hits back at Anthropic CEO's call to curb China's AI development

China's Foreign Ministry called the Anthropic CEO's warning about the dangers of Chinese-developed AI "fearmongering," as the Chinese and U.S. leaders prepare to meet in Washington later this month.

The Route to Cappyness review – capybara boosterism is an ode to the internet’s favourite rodent

From a cappy-cafe owner in Japan to an escaped capybara in the UK, this homespun film takes the temperature of an international obsession

One of Midlands-based film-maker Sharon Walia’s previous works was The Keepers of the Pigs, proudly described on her production company’s website as “the first ever documentary about guinea pigs”. So it makes zoological sense that her latest film takes on capybaras, guinea pigs’ ridiculously cute semi-aquatic cousins that are indigenous to Latin America, and relatively recently became ubiquitous on social media in memes and short films alike. As glimpsed here, there was even a capybara in the recent Academy Award-winning animated feature Flow, some pro-cappy boosterism that captured the creatures’ chill vibe and snuffly sweetness.

Walia’s celebration of the species stays on script, rejoicing in the animals’ natural geniality, friendliness to other species in their natural habitat, and their compelling, remunerative charm that seems to have bolstered the fortunes of several animal attractions around the world.

The one change that worked: I was terrified of the dentist - until I found a very special one

After an agonising experience, I avoided checkups for four years. But a practice that assured a stress-free process for scared patients was transformative

I haven’t always been afraid of the dentist. If you had asked me a decade ago whether sitting in the dentist’s chair filled me with dread or made me break out in a cold sweat, I would have laughed and said no – what is there to be afraid of? It was only in 2021, after I had a filling without being properly numbed, that I understood why people are afraid of dental work. Despite telling him I was in excruciating pain, the dentist carried on with the procedure anyway, and I was left with a newfound and deep-seated fear.

At first, this was easily managed. I simply binned the reminders to book checkups, avoided their calls and carried on with my life. After a year, I told myself I’d see the dentist soon – just not yet. I firmly shoved the problem to the back of my mind.

The situation in Iran is dangerously escalating – but whatever you do, don’t call it a war | Arwa Mahdawi

Forget the bombing: the Trump administration keeps insisting this isn’t a war. But it’s not just a matter of semantics

“I will not send you to fight and die in stupid foreign wars that never end,” Donald Trump promised a crowd in Pennsylvania in 2024. While the disastrous conflict in Iran, which has escalated in recent days, may make it seem like the president has reneged on that promise, that’s inaccurate. It would be wrong to say that the president has dragged the US into yet another disastrous forever war in the Middle East because, as government officials keep insisting, what’s happening in Iran isn’t actually a war.

“I wouldn’t call it a war,” JD Vance told reporters early this month, for example, after being asked whether the fighting in Iran might be over by the November midterms. “Right now, there is no active shooting.”

New Carlo Rovelli book challenges science's understanding of reality and the universe

In his latest book, the world-renowned physicist draws on science and philosophy to explore the notion that the university and reality are fully knowable.

Weather tracker: Floods in eastern India and hurricane damage in California

Flooding in West Bengal has led to three deaths, while severe beach erosion has been witnessed in Orange county

Flooding around the city of Malda in the Indian state of West Bengal since Thursday has had a devastating effect. So far, three deaths have been recorded and many areas are still flooded, with numerous villages affected, along with the region of Bhutni. Erosion from the flooding, reported from Khaskol, led to a disruption in river flow which led to a more severe impact in Bhutni. More than 100 boats have been sent out for evacuation.

At East Basudevpur, a 20ft (6-metre) embankment collapsed, reducing the channel from 550ft to under 150ft, which could lead to further flooding unless repaired. This flooding resulted after the Ganges River rose about 75cm above its “extreme danger” level owing to heavy rainfall.

UK ministers urged to act after US flies out diplomat accused of possessing indecent images of children

US officials reportedly raided envoy’s London home and took him to American airbase without warning Met police

• UK politics live – latest updates

British ministers face calls to act after US authorities secretly flew out of the UK a diplomat accused of possessing indecent images of children.

US officials reportedly raided the diplomat’s London flat in August before taking him to an American airbase and flying him out of the country, without warning the Metropolitan police.

Royal Ballet: The McRae/Vassilev Project review – an encounter between two masterful ROH performers

Linbury theatre, London
Directed by Natalie Abrahami and choreographed by Loughlan Prior, this is an evening of many parts that sometimes feels bolted together

It’s an evening of two halves and many, many parts, some that dovetail snugly, others more clunkily bolted together. And perhaps that’s because The McRae/Vassilev Project is just that: a project more than a piece.

Directed by Natalie Abrahami and choreographed by Loughlan Prior, it is essentially an encounter between two masterful performers with long careers at the Royal Opera House, dancer Steven McRae and violinist Vasko Vassilev, entwined with the near mythical figure of another virtuoso artist, Niccolò Paganini.

The first half opens with Vassilev centre stage playing Bach (for some reason); he backs off to cede space for a luxurious pas de deux by McRae and partner Sarah Lamb, all exquisite lines, spins and lifts. From this “front stage” scene, the set switches to a backstage studio, artists McRae, Vassilev, Lamb and pianist Pamela Tan Nicholson entering as if for rehearsal. The rest of this section is a light-touch show-and-tell of McRae and Vassilev’s backstories – one a homespun Australian who happened upon dance as a child, the other a Bulgarian prodigy hothoused within a musical family – illustrated with old photos and videos, supplemented by comments from Lamb and Nicholson, and interspersed with consummate yet seemingly off-the-cuff demonstrations of their skills in music and dance.

The scene is at once charming – personalising the figure of the professional performer – and contrived: even as you warm to the characters you feel the joins in the script (voice acting is not their forte) and the jolts between the attempted naturalism of their conversation and the executed artifices of classical performance.

The second half is a complete change of tack. Everyone returns as devilish Paganinis in tailcoats and cummerbunds, hair dyed dark and tastefully tousled. As well as flourishing a violin bow like a baton, sword or spear, McRae uses his tap dance training in fiendish zapateado and brilliant Cossack spins, sometimes melding his commanding footwork in partnership with Lamb’s airy pointe-work and lean lines. Still, it’s perhaps Vassilev who holds the stage most, simply by putting his body into playing Paganini; the laser focus is spellbinding.

Shame, then, that there are so many distracting effects, from back-projected dancers to billowing smoke and glaring lights, and a busy abstract animation that visualises the musical dynamics. With performers like these, it’s enough for them to just do their thing.

At the Linbury theatre, London, until 19 September.

‘I never pass up a rewatch’: why Valley Girl is my feelgood movie

The latest in our series of writers explaining their most rewatched comfort films brings us back to 1980s LA

As a teenager growing up in the 1990s, I was deeply obsessed with all things 1980s pop culture. Chalk it up to nostalgia for my Care Bears-filled childhood – or a stubborn adolescent desire to separate myself from the Dave Matthews Band-loving, khaki-wearing kids at my high school. (Mission accomplished: it’s safe to say I was the only person I knew rocking a bandana tied around my pants leg or a Wild Boys-era Duran Duran shirt.)

Back then, I was especially drawn to 1980s teen movies. In my own life, I was having zero luck finding a New Romantic Romeo; instead, I pined after artsy, sensitive boys who didn’t know I existed. But throughout these films, even the most awkward characters managed to find a happy ending, with the ultimate examples being Samantha (Molly Ringwald) in Sixteen Candles landing hunky Jake Ryan or Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) linking up with Rat (Brian Backer) in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

NPR looked for ChatGPT's new crisis feature. It's hard to find

Earlier this year, OpenAI launched a feature on ChatGPT meant to help people at risk of suicide connect with someone they trust for support. But its setup may prove challenging to someone in crisis.

Lawmakers home in on midterm messages as Congress returns to session

Congress returns for a short last session ahead of the midterm election with a full plate as lawmakers look for messaging bills they can take back to voters.

‘We’re not going to back down’: tiny Dorset B&B stands up to Airbnb’s legal bid to ‘monopolise’ letters ‘bnb’

Three little letters - bnb-side’s name is a play on the local b-side arts festival, but Silicon Valley colossus sees threat to global brand

In one corner is bnb-side, a six-room bed and breakfast on the Isle of Portland – a tiny wedge of limestone tied by a narrow ribbon of shingle to the Dorset coast – that was created to help secure the future of the rock’s much-loved arts festival, b-side.

On the other is Airbnb, the San Francisco-based booking colossus. The battle between them is over the three little letters they share.

Ludek Miklosko, former West Ham and QPR goalkeeper, dies aged 64

• Miklosko played 373 times for West Ham from 1990

• He won 42 international caps from 1982

The former West Ham and QPR goalkeeper Ludek Miklosko has died at the age of 64. Miklosko, who won caps for Czechoslovakia and Czechia, had cancer.

Miklosko joined West Ham from Baník Ostrava in 1990 for £300,000 after a trial and helped the club win promotion to the top division in his first season. He left in 1998 having made 373 appearances, joining QPR, initially on loan. Miklosko ended his career there in 2001 and returned to West Ham, where he worked as a goalkeeping coach until 2010.

Thames Water redraws mega-reservoir plan amid local opposition

A targeted public consultation has opened on the 150bn-litre above-ground White Horse project in Oxfordshire

Thames Water has amended the blueprint of a planned mega-reservoir in Oxfordshire as the struggling utility tries to convince regulators that construction should go ahead amid warnings of “catastrophic consequences”.

The White Horse reservoir near Abingdon is scheduled to hold 150bn litresof water with a surface area of 6.7 sq km (2.6 sq miles) – almost the same size as Gatwick airport.

Farewell to Eden by Sebastian Faulks review – conflict and compromise, from a veteran of the genre

A returning British soldier is haunted by his time in Palestine in this panoramic epic set after the second world war

Sebastian Faulks’s latest book focuses on the most irreconcilable geopolitical struggle of our age, the Israel-Palestine conflict. While “the sound of mortar and machine gun, the collision of flesh and metal” are integral to Faulks’s best known works, such as Birdsong, in his 17th novel the military presence is a peacekeeping one. It’s 1946 and infantry officer Philip Deval, who saw action in Normandy, is deployed to the Holy Land to take part in maintaining Britain’s mandate in Palestine. Initially Philip is second in command of a battalion overseeing febrile relationships between Jewish and Arab communities. Britain’s profound failures and manipulation in the region, and the imminence of its disastrous departure from the territory, come under scrutiny.

While able to drum up motivation and cheer for the men in his battalions, privately Philip wrestles with inner melancholy. He is “shrouded” in a “loneliness … that insulates him from the world”. Experiences on the battlefield and other, slowly elucidated tragedies have led to his pessimistic bent. Much of what Philip observes in the Middle East, and his “foreboding” sense of its intractable problems, only confirms his despairing sense of human nature. It also underlines his ambivalence towards notions of divine benevolence.

Israel accused of trying to ‘eliminate’ living conditions for Palestinians in West Bank

Report by Israeli human rights group says systematic and broad assault being waged on conditions required for Palestinians’ existence

Israel is working towards the systematic “elimination” of the conditions that sustain Palestinian collective life in the occupied West Bank, according to a major report published by the human rights group B’Tselem.

The Israeli organisation’s hard-hitting report, shared with the Guardian in advance of publication, says Israel is “dramatically intensifying its attacks on every aspect of Palestinian life in the West Bank”, including “the ability to get to work, take children to school or university, receive medical treatment or municipal services, meet family and friends, cultivate land or go on vacation … routine activities that make up human life”.

1,107
Number of Palestinians killed by Israel in the West Bank since October 2023

Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Controversy rules the Manchester derby, Coventry are dunked on and Tottenham still can’t score a goal

The 199th Manchester derby was defined by two refereeing decisions: Phil Foden’s first-half red card for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes, and the intervention by the video assistant referee to award Erling Haaland’s winning goal despite Enzo Fernández appearing to interfere with play from an offside position. In both cases, a healthy dose of common sense might have led to a different outcome and Pro Ref admitted that Haaland’s goal should not have stood. Still, it is tough to argue that the final result was harsh on United. Foden’s dismissal gave the hosts a huge opportunity they failed to take, their best chance falling to Bryan Mbeumo in stoppage time. Michael Carrick began his reign with a 2-0 home derby win against 11 men in January, so this felt like a backward step for the manager, unable to find a way to control the game. Carrick also bemoaned City’s two days of extra rest after Champions League games, but chose to keep Fernandes and others on for 90 minutes in the 4-0 stroll past Sabah. United’s next two league games are away at Fulham and at home to Spurs. Carrick will need to be smarter to stop an early-season wobble becoming something more serious. Niall McVeigh

Match report: Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City

Match report: Coventry 0-5 Brighton

Match report: Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal

Is it true that … having a hot drink will cool you down?

A warm cup of tea can trigger sweating and lower your body temperature, but only if you’re in an airy space

Could a warm cup of tea really be the key to cooling down in hot weather? Or is that just something caffeine fiends tell themselves when they’re still working through a pot of coffee as the temperature hits 30C?

Prof John Tregoning, the author of Live Forever? A Curious Scientist’s Guide to Wellness, Ageing and Death, says it depends on the circumstances. He points to the work of Australian scientist Prof Ollie Jay, who is a world leader in researching heat and how it balances out in your body.

Freedom-loving Britain was at the heart of the 18th century slave trade – and this register proves it | William Pettigrew

Register of British Slave Traders reveals how deeply the trafficking of Africans was embedded in the country’s politics, economy, institutions and culture

Two obstacles have prevented us from appreciating the significance of the slave trade in British history. The first arose from the abolition campaign, which finally overcame opposition in parliament in 1807. The abolitionists promoted the idea that opposition to the slave trade flowed naturally from British values: justice, freedom and Christian benevolence. The success of this strategy obscured the role those same British values had played in supporting the trafficking. Today, Britain’s leaders place abolition in the pantheon of great and definitive national moments.

The second obstacle has been the ingrained tendency of the British to offshore the causes and effects of African chattel slavery to the Americas. According to this view, slavery, and the racial thinking it engendered, was an American, not European concern. But Europeans transported the great majority of enslaved African people to the Americas and reaped huge advantages from doing so. These advantages reshaped European societies.

Indonesia searches for 129 people missing after ferry capsizes in the Java Sea

Indonesian authorities intensified on Monday a search for people missing after a ferry overturned in bad weather in the Java Sea. At least six passengers were killed and 129 people are still missing.

Can you solve it? Do you have the brain of an engineer?

Hacks from the hidden world of test engineering

Today’s puzzles test your engineering smarts.

The cranberries

A great time with Uncle Junior from the Sopranos: best podcasts of the week

Fans of the show will not want to miss this revealing new series with Dominic Chianese and his son. Plus, a political drama that’s as thrilling as a Bourne novel

The Sopranos star Dominic Chianese (95) and his son Dominic Chianese Jr (62) helm this new series – a cosy father-son catchup, and all the better for it. Choice cuts include Chianese Sr’s admission that he thought the show was a spoof at first, playing his first scene as crime boss Junior for laughs. As for “Jimmy” Gandolfini, he was “in the same stratosphere as Al Pacino ... acting with him was so easy because he was so real and so believable”. Hannah J Davies
Widely available, episodes weekly

Pixel 11 Pro Fold review: the foldable with the best triple camera

Big screen folder with slick software and advanced AI is just like a regular Android when closed

Google’s latest folding phone sticks with its tried and tested design of a traditional phone shape when closed and almost square when open, in the face of new competition from Apple’s squat iPhone fold.

The Pixel 11 Pro Fold is Google’s fourth-generation folder and is still one of the only models with a full water and dust resistance rating similar to standard slab phones. It costs from £1,799 (€1,999/$1,899/A$2,799), which is £50 (€100/$100/A$100) more than last year as the pressure of RAMageddon continues to push up prices.

We Are Family: photography from Images Vevey 2026 – picture essay

We visited the idyllic Swiss lakeside town of Vevey for its 10th Biennale of photography. Global head of photography Fiona Shields picks out some of her favourite projects on display

• Discover the 50 artworks on display at the 10th edition of the Biennale Images Vevey, 5-27 September 2026

Every two years, on the shores of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, the town of Vevey transforms its public spaces and buildings with 50 installations of artistic projects from 21 countries, which are free and open to the public. With such a breathtaking natural setting as its backdrop, the photography displayed at Images Vevey has to strike its own particular note of magnificence to hold the gaze.

Rising six storeys high, Sian Davey’s portrait of the renowned photographer Martin Parr, who died at the end of last year, sets the tone for this year’s festival. Taken in a splendid garden that seems to have flourished straight from Eden, the monumental portrait overlooks the town.

Russian drone hits train near Ukraine-Poland border soon after dignitaries passed through

A Russian drone struck a train near the Ukraine-Poland border shortly after senior visiting officials, including the former prime ministers of the U.K. and Sweden, passed through.

Somerset ‘festival of ideas’ to measure whether its talks change people’s outlook

Attenders will be asked to take part in tests to see if they have become more open to views they do not agree with

Festivalgoers sometimes report feeling they have a fresh perspective of the world when they make their weary way home after a stimulating cultural gathering.

A new “festival of ideas” in Somerset is aiming to measure whether the beliefs and ideas of attenders and speakers really are changed by their event.

The royal crown branded on enslaved Africans: Britain’s monarchy and the slave trade

From Elizabeth I’s backing of early voyages to royal investment in trafficking companies, generations of monarchs were central to Britain’s slave trade

Enslaved African people were seared with hot metal brands bearing the royal crown, according to research by historians who have documented the monarchy’s centuries-long involvement in Britain’s slave trade.

The Register of British Slave Traders identifies thousands of people who invested in Britain’s trafficking of enslaved Africans, including kings and queens.

Hot and sour, vegetarian mapo and in spicy sauce: Fuchsia Dunlop’s tofu recipes

Wobblesome, firm or silken, tofu is a star ingredient in Chinese cooking. These dishes show why

In the west, tofu is often viewed as a substitute for meat, which may explain why firmer types that can be cut into chunks and fried or grilled like meat have become so ubiquitous. In China, however, where tofu has been eaten for at least 1,000 years, it isn’t a substitute for anything; it’s simply a protein-rich ingredient that forms part of most people’s diets, can be cooked with meat and fish, and comes in myriad forms, from the tender, wobbly tofu used to make Sichuanese mapo tofu to firm smoked tofu, sheets of tofu “skin” and the silken tofu that can be as soft as creme caramel. Many Chinese tofu recipes are so delicious that habitual meat-eaters will devour them as keenly as vegetarians.

Prima Facie review – fiery one-woman play is flattened into a bland movie

Toronto film festival: Cynthia Erivo takes on the role Jodie Comer made famous for a pointless adaptation of a story about rape and retribution that loses the power it once had

Suzie Miller’s award-winning 2019 play Prima Facie employs a familiar narrative device: a hotshot London barrister finds herself on the other side of the bar, subject to the very legal tactics she once so ruthlessly employed. Not as a defendant, but as the accuser in a rape case.

We’ve seen versions of this before – a powerful figure suddenly caught in a struggle against a system they helped perpetuate – but Miller’s play distinguishes itself by putting the onus on to one actor.

Prima Facie is premiering at the Toronto film festival and is seeking distribution

‘I’ve never been more terrified!’ Carly Rae Jepsen on motherhood, stardom and her horniest album ever

Call Me Maybe made the singer-songwriter famous – but also confused. Who was she? Who was her music for? Fourteen years later, about to release the double album Day and Night, she finally has some answers

Carly Rae Jepsen is as bubbly as ever as she comes down for breakfast at Manhattan’s Hotel Chelsea. She’s one of those pop princesses, like Kylie Minogue, whose voice and demeanour remain unchanged whatever the situation. And she feels at home at this New York landmark where, last year, she married the musician and producer Cole MGN. That a wedding at the Chelsea would need to be kept to about 100 people was an immediate selling point. “I loved that it was smaller,” she says. “It felt big to me! I didn’t even get time with all the people that were there.”

We’re here to talk about her new album, though, which comes out 14 years after the song that made her world-famous. Born and raised in the city of Mission in British Columbia, Jepsen had come third on Canadian Idol in 2007, and then released a low-key folk album called Tug of War in 2008, before dropping Call Me Maybe four years later. It became the bestselling global single of 2012; her second album, Kiss, came out in the same year. Now, at the age of 40, she has six more studio albums under her belt. The latest, Day and Night, is her take on marriage and motherhood. And, in its own way – which is to say, a bit coy, a bit breathy – it might also be Jepsen’s horniest album to date.

The desecration of DC: from a giant arch to a nuke-proof bunker, Trump’s legacy-building blingfest is an architectural atrocity

A bloated ballroom, a six-storey military HQ, a helipad-cum-cocktail patio, a gilded angel on a giant arch honouring himself … our architecture critic deplores the decorator-in-chief’s mutilation of Washington

When you have a developer as US president, you might expect some zhooshing up of the capital. A few buildings renovated, maybe some parks replanted. But when you have a megalomaniac builder in charge, things can get out of hand. A decade ago, when Donald Trump was first elected, I asked what it might mean for the US to be led by a real estate tycoon whose career had left a trail of broken promises, angry buyers and endless lawsuits, with rules flouted, heritage trampled and the world pockmarked by a fleet of aspirational towers clad with a flimsy veneer of luxury. The answer is worse than I could have imagined.

With the air of a nightmarish Hollywood sequel, Trump 2 has seen the president’s true architectural ambitions unleashed: The Blingpire Strikes Back. As America’s self-styled decorator-in-chief, Trump has not only overseen the gilded mutilation of the White House, but embarked on the Mar-a-Lagofication of Washington DC itself, applying his gold paintbrush to statuary, daubing ponds with flaking pool liner, and brewing plans for a colossal triumphal arch – all procured in a blizzard of no-bid contracts. And, in true dodgy salesman style, this programme of bauble-building is turning out to be a high-profile decoy for deeper damage being wrought elsewhere.

We greet the news that AI could extinguish us with a glazed indifference. What is the way out of this nihilism? | Brigid Delaney

There are several answers, and none of them will be provided by tech. One thing we must do is identify the ingredients for human flourishing

Imagining the future as almost entirely bleak has somehow crept into the collective consciousness this year.

Last week I was having coffee with an old friend. He was telling me about what his kids wanted to study when they went to university, when he suddenly broke off, stared into the middle distance and said, “I wish I’d never had children.”

Brigid Delaney is the author of five books, including The Seeker and the Sage

The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd review – Amanda Seyfried compels in wrenching prison drama

Toronto film festival: Tim Blake Nelson writes and directs a challenging, and unsettling, look at empathy and forgiveness that strikes a haunting note

There are troubling questions posed in Tim Blake Nelson’s effectively glum prison drama The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd, a film that will rank among the most overwhelmingly feel-awful experiences of this year’s Toronto film festival. It’s a story told in a disarmingly folksy manner with plucked guitar strings and down south homespun wisdom before it quietly reveals itself to be about something far more serious and startling, elements of an escape thriller but mostly an unsettling moral drama. It’s likely to upset and enrage some but even those who might feel offended will at least feel something, a quality not to be sniffed at during a festival that can often pick politeness over provocation.

It’s the new film from actor turned writer-director Nelson, whose work has often tended to confront and dissect difficult issues. He went to Auschwitz in The Grey Zone, transported Shakespearean tragedy to high school in O, and handled both rape and suicide in his debut Eye of God. It’s a fine line between grimness for the sake of grimness and being unwilling to shy away from grimness, and at times I wondered whether I was being overly prodded, whether certain scenes were bordering on exploitative. I left rattled by what I’d seen and what I was being forced to reckon with, but I think Nelson just about justifies himself and how far he goes partly because he does, in crucial moments, avoid showing more than is needed.

The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd is premiering at the Toronto film festival and is seeking distribution

Peptide user tore oesophagus after using counterfeit product, Australian regulator warns

TGA issues alert after person was hospitalised after believing they were taking experimental weight loss drug retatrutide

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A patient who tore their oesophagus after taking a counterfeit version of an experimental weight loss drug has prompted Australia’s medicines regulator to warn of serious risks of such products.

The concern relates to retatrutide, a type of drug known as a peptide. Retatrutide has not been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) or regulators overseas, and it cannot be legally prescribed or sold in Australia.

Love of Your Life review – Margaret Qualley eats, grieves and loves in Amazon’s transporting saga

Toronto film festival: the actor gives one of her best performances to date in a smoothly made globe-trotting drama of a woman’s life after the loss of her husband

There’s a jump scare about 30 minutes into the glossy romantic drama Love of Your Life that’s about as effective as anything you’ll see in a horror movie this year.

The film is focused on the life and loves of Maya (Margaret Qualley), a twentysomething Boston nurse who meet-cutes with the nerdy and idiosyncratic Charlie (Gabriel Basso) during the purchase of a nightstand. We follow the initial giddy rush of their courting as they progress all the way to an impromptu wedding over the course of a few years, marked by Maya’s change in age announced in text. But just as we’re about to process the unsettling introduction of Charlie using Chekhov’s inhaler, a news report interrupts the sunny tone. Spoiler: it’s March 2020.

Onwards and Sideways review – Rhys Ifans and Laura Linney lift solid Parkinson’s drama

Toronto film festival: Shakespeare in Love director John Madden’s feelgood – and bad – comedy-drama is powered by excellent performances and authenticity

So far at this year’s Toronto film festival, I have seen three films involving someone with dementia and two featuring someone who has Aids. It’s not just a sign that the lineup could perhaps benefit from some more light relief but also that certain conditions and illnesses still tend to be covered more often than others on screen.

Last year’s festival saw Scottish hit I Swear bring an unprecedented level of awareness to people who live with Tourette’s and while there’s perhaps less of an obvious edge to John Madden’s more politely framed comedy-drama Onwards and Sideways, it too acts as both narrative movie and potential educational tool. Our knowledge of Parkinson’s is usually restricted to the celebrities who have it, from Muhammad Ali to Michael J Fox to, most recently, Carly Simon, but for many of us, it’s still seen in an abstract way, a handful of symptoms we know about, but so many more that we don’t.

Police departments work to "change the culture" by building relationships with underprivileged kids

A nonprofit charity, in partnership with police departments, called Do the Right Thing honors the good works of students across the U.S. The Palm Springs chapter awarded 95 scholarships, helping underprivileged students achieve their dreams. Barry Petersen has the story.

Lithuania prepares for war, reinforcing its border against Russian tanks

On the edge of NATO territory in the Baltics, there is growing concern about the threat Russia poses. Aaron MacLean visited the capital of Lithuania to see how they're preparing.

El Niño weather pattern threatening West Coast beaches, homes

Communities across the West Coast braced for big, El Niño-powered storms this weekend. Andrew Kozak has the forecast and Jonathan Vigliotti reports from Dana Point, California, where there's a race to save beaches and homes.

U.S. military on high alert as Iran, allies target energy supply

Tom Hanson reports from the USS George Washington, deployed in the Middle East. All 50,000 U.S. personnel in the region are prepped for battle at any moment.

Trump visits Ireland amid skyrocketing energy prices

Americans are feeling the squeeze from skyrocketing fuel prices, with gas rising 16 cents from a week ago to a nationwide average of $4.31 per gallon. Concerns about oil prices followed President Trump during his trip to Ireland this weekend. Nancy Cordes has more details.

Trump brushes off AI fears: "Whoever wins AI wins"

President Trump brushed off the risks of artificial intelligence and warnings that the technology has gone rogue. The calls for caution were amplified by tech CEOs who say AI is advancing too fast. Ramy Inocencio has more.

GM plans U.S. battery development as Trump's DOT attacks Ford for China ties

Most battery cells currently rely on raw materials from China. GM is seeking to establish domestic supply chains both for EVs and energy storage.

Alexander Zverev wins U.S. Open, beating American Ben Shelton

Germany's Alexander Zverev won his second Grand Slam after finally taking home his first major title earlier this year at the French Open.

Queensland woman falls to her death at Bali cliff popular with tourists

Twenty-nine-year-old Queenslander was visiting Kelingking beach on a holiday, Nusa Penida police say

The death of an Australian woman in a cliff fall at a popular Bali tourist destination has been described as “incredibly sad”.

Police say the 29-year-old Queenslander was found stuck on the side of Kelingking beach cliff on Saturday morning, local time. Emergency services rushed to the scene but she fell further before they could reach her.