Iran, Oman deal on Strait of Hormuz getting close, Tehran says

Iran and Oman are close to agreeing on new arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz, but not for a full reopening of the vital waterway, Iran's state news agency says.

Meta ordered to pay $567 million into abatement fund as remedy to child harms case in New Mexico

A judge in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $567 million into an abatement fund after a jury ruled the company violated the state’s unfair practices act.

Court orders Meta and Instagram to pay $567M to address kids' mental health

A New Mexico court has ordered Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta to pay $567 million to address harms to young people from its platforms.

New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $567m over harms to children’s mental health

Judge’s ruling comes after landmark trial in March that found social media company enabled harm against users

A New Mexico court has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to pay $567m for mental health harm to children from its platforms.

Judge Bryan Biedscheid said the bulk of the money – $420m – would be used for treatment services for young people. The rest will go toward awareness and prevention, screening services and other costs over the next five years.

Senate committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress

The Senate Homeland Security Committee voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress over his refusal to answer questions during testimony before the committee last week.

Trump issues new executive orders aimed at birthright citizenship

The Supreme Court in June struck down President Trump's earlier executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship.

Privacy groups raise red flags over police misuse of Flock cameras

Privacy groups are expressing concerns over Flock cameras, the devices that capture license plates and are often used in criminal investigations. They argue that police may be using them for improper reasons. Mark Strassman reports.

Now, Autonomy by Max Easton review – a sardonic yet compassionate take on millennial apathy

The author’s third novel to chronicle life in Sydney’s west follows a group of flawed friends trying to sustain meaning amid an ‘erosion in the world’

If any part of Australia can lay claim to being the country’s literary nexus, it is western Sydney. The wide wing of suburbia is both home to and the subject of granular attention for an ever-growing list of acclaimed writers: Yumna Kassab, Peter Polites, Luke Carman, Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Felicity Castagna – to name just a few. Each of them reflects a culturally diverse landscape in which social class and suburban identity are forever intersecting, animating the lives of those often neglected in the margins of Australia’s projected self-image.

A key figure in this discourse is Max Easton, whose latest novel – Now, Autonomy – is the third instalment of his multi-decade series that chronicles working-class struggle and its subcultural undercurrents in Sydney’s west. Beginning with the Miles Franklin-longlisted The Magpie Wing in 2021, and followed by Paradise Estate in 2023, this ambitious, compelling quasi-trilogy – each title can be read and appreciated on its own – depicts people navigating Australia’s class hierarchies, hyper-gentrification, rental housing pressures and ever-diminishing spaces for community and collective activism.

FAA orders inspections of 737 Max jets after cracks found in older planes

The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered inspections of hundreds of Boeing 737 Max jets after cracks were found in parts of some older model Boeing planes.

Trump again rebukes Jeanine Pirro over reflecting pool ‘vandalism’ case

President attacks ‘terrible mistake’ of US attorney, who said in court filing damage stemmed from botched renovation

Donald Trump has doubled down on his criticism of Jeanine Pirro after the US attorney for the District of Columbia publicly challenged his claims that vandals had damaged the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.

“She said there was no vandalism. There was tremendous vandalism,” Trump told NBC News on Thursday. “So, she made a terrible mistake. I don’t understand why she did such a stupid thing.”

Spokane arson suspect had planned devastating wildfire for weeks, police say

Police said a man charged with starting a wildfire confessed to the crime, describing how he planned it for weeks and created a device to ignite a blaze that destroyed hundreds of buildings.

Trump signs new orders targeting birthright citizenship

Orders come after supreme court rejected president’s first bid to restrict guarantee enshrined in US constitution

Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday to restrict eligibility for birthright citizenship and ban “birth tourism”, just over a month after the US supreme court rejected his first attempt to curtail the guarantee of birthright citizenship enshrined in the constitution.

“We had a very unfortunate decision in the supreme court concerning birthright,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “It was close, but a very, very unfortunate decision. So we’re making adjustments because it’s very unfair.”

Arsenal hopes dashed after Vinícius Júnior extends Real Madrid contract to 2032

• Brazil international has agreed a new six-year deal

• ‘Eight years at the Bernabéu are too few,’ says Vinícius

Vinícius Júnior has ended summer speculation over his future by agreeing a new six-year contract with Real Madrid. Arsenal had been heavily linked with a move for the Brazil international, who had entered the final 12 months of his deal at the Bernabéu.

A tumultuous 2025-26 campaign in which Real failed to win a trophy and initial uncertainty after the arrival of José Mourinho in Madrid alerted the Premier League champions, but Vinícius has now committed his long-term future to the Spanish club.

Stevens says of El-Sayed: "Differences were aired out"

Though Rep. Haley Stevens stressed a unified front moving forward, she was evasive on whether she would appear with El-Sayed on the campaign trail.

GAO finds Elon Musk's DOGE inflated claims of $110 billion in savings for federal government

The nonpartisan watchdog found Elon Musk's DOGE didn't cut as much federal spending as it claimed and that it fell far short of its promised $2 trillion.

Trump signs 2 immigration actions to curb 'birth tourism,' limit birthright citizenship

Additional details weren't provided, but Trump said he thought his latest actions would be constitutional.

Airbnb stock soars 9% on earnings and revenue beat, strong guidance for third quarter

Airbnb said it's seeing strong demand "across all regions," contributing to the company's better-than-expected forecast.

Flesh-eating bacteria has killed 5 in Louisiana this year, officials say

A flesh-eating bacteria found in warm coastal waters is responsible for at least five deaths so far this year in Louisiana, state health officials reported Thursday.

Judge finds probable cause that Mike Lindell's pillow handouts violated campaign law

A case against Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Lindell will continue after a judge decided Thursday there is probable cause to believe he violated campaign laws by giving away pillows promoting his candidacy at a July Fourth parade.

America's water systems are getting hacked amid security gaps, experts say

The nation's 152,000 public water systems often lack defenses against malicious actors, cybersecurity experts said. Here's what to know.

AMD buys chip startup that hardwires AI models into its silicon

Taalas' current chip runs a small version of Meta's Llama 3.1, though the company is working on chips for bigger and more advanced models.

Sweetgreen cuts full-year outlook as cyclospora fears weigh on sales

The salad chain has not been implicated in the ongoing cyclospora outbreak.

US Pacific north-west blanketed in thick smoke as firefighters push back blazes

Cities in Washington and Oregon seeing some of world’s worst air quality indices as smoke from fires cloaks region

Wildfires raging in the US Pacific north-west are blanketing the region with thick smoke, delivering some of the world’s worst air quality even as firefighters made progress against larger blazes in Washington state.

As of Thursday afternoon, Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, hovered at the top of Swiss company IQAir’s list ranking the most polluted cities globally.

Europe hit by wildfires and severe drought – video

Wildfires and low water levels have affected Europe in July and August. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed and residents evacuated as firefighters across the continent battle the flames. Reservoirs and rivers are facing low water levels amid a prolonged drought

Entrepreneurship is booming in the U.S. Gen Zers are leading the way.

Young Americans, tired of working for others and boosted by AI, are driving a surge in new businesses.

Possession review – a nightmarish plantation drama with a divisive paranormal twist

Gugu Mbatha-Raw is a lawyer sent to Jamaica to get to the bottom of a mystery about an inheritance. What unfolds is an evocative story packed with horrors, past injustices – and a supernatural element that you will rate or hate

What do you do when a client worth £50m – thanks to family ownership of a Jamaican sugar plantation upon which a modern fortune was built – pops his clogs and is unexpectedly revealed to have cut his only child out of his will, leaving the lot to a hitherto unknown “African national” called Cudjoe East? Why, you call in your firm’s (likely only) biracial lawyer, Claudia (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), to go over to Kingston, find him and discredit him as soon as possible. “Sounds like a job for a partner, really,” replies Claudia and, promotion thus secured, duly heads out for her mother’s homeland. She may wish, before we are very far in, that she had gone for senior partnership instead.

The planter’s house is one that has been appearing to her in recent nightmares that have been full of fires, terrified figures and strange symbols. But! She is a woman of the law, not superstition, so she sets the screaming Afro-gothic warnings aside and gets on with searching the house for anything that could suggest the pro-Cudjoe will is invalid and questioning the locals for any clue as to where Cudjoe himself might be. Her late client’s driver Angelo (Jeff Crossley) tells her that he introduced the pair about six months ago when his boss wanted to learn more about local history. Angelo assures her that she will not be able to talk Cudjoe into giving up his legacy.

Possession aired on Sky Atlantic and is available on Now.

8/6: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Rep. Haley Stevens discusses her primary loss to Abdul El-Sayed; President Trump denies reports of U.S. munitions shortages.

Iran aims to ban U.S. and Israeli ships from Strait of Hormuz and charge others a toll

Iran's parliament is reviewing a plan to ban ships linked to the U.S., Israel and other "hostile countries" from transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The Trump administration has rejected the plan.

Airbnb stock soars 12% on earnings and revenue beat, strong guidance for third quarter

Airbnb said it's seeing strong demand "across all regions", contributing to the company's better-than-expected forecast.

Sen. Mitch McConnell says he's left rehab, will work from home

"On the advice of my doctors, I'll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period," the 84-year-old McConnell said.

American Airlines will stop upgrading elite flyers to business from coach on long domestic flights

American Airlines will no longer give elite frequent flyers free upgrades from economy class to business on some of its longest domestic routes

The July jobs numbers are due out Friday. Here's what to expect

Nonfarm payrolls are expected to post a gain of just 83,000 with an unchanged unemployment rate at 4.2%.

Australia’s best sustainable architecture for 2026 – in pictures

This year’s finalists for the National Architecture awards’ sustainability category include a compact Canberra housing development and the largest commercial use of hempcrete in the country.

Architecture ‘holds a mirror up to who we are as a society – what we value, what we’re willing to invest in, what we want to leave behind,’ says Adam Haddow, the chair of the jury for the awards. ‘The architects on this list … [have] designed buildings built to last, not just physically, but in the way they’ll continue to serve people long after the ribbon is cut’

• Australia’s best apartment designs for 2026 – in pictures

Mitch McConnell announces discharge from rehabilitation center

Republican, 84, absent from Senate after fall that led to hospital stay, says he will continue recovery at home

• US politics live – latest updates

The Republican US senator Mitch McConnell has been discharged from a rehabilitation center following the fall that left him hospitalized, he announced on Thursday.

McConnell, 84, whose weeks‑long absence from Capitol Hill fueled mounting speculation about his health, said he will continue his recovery at home.

Analysis: Trump treats Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh as an ally. That creates economic risks

Trump's reported phone calls to the Fed chairman will complicate his efforts to prove he will act independently on inflation and interest rates.

Kerolin failed to report for pre-season at Manchester City before Barcelona switch

• City taken aback by forward’s absence from training

• WSL champions wait two days before mentioning deal

The Brazil forward Kerolin failed to report back for pre-season training at Manchester City in July before her transfer to Barcelona had been agreed.

Barcelona announced their signing of the 26-year-old on Tuesday but it was not until Thursday evening when Manchester City first made any reference to the transfer, eventually confirming they had received a WSL record fee for a sale more than 48 hours later.

Millions of children could lose free school meals this fall, experts say

Some families could face an additional $2,200 in food costs this year if their kids lose access to free school meals, according to one estimate.

The rise and fall of Jason Arday: a full rundown of the questions being asked

From accusations of plagiarism to queries over his charity work, we list all the allegations against the academic

The rise and fall of Prof Jason Arday has been one of the most dramatic in the history of British academia. Diagnosed as autistic as a child, he says he was non-verbal until he was 11 and only learned to read and write at the age of 18. Less than 20 years later he was appointed the youngest black professor in Cambridge University’s history.

His resignation on Wednesday followed two weeks of intense scrutiny. He has been accused of plagiarism in his academic work and questions have been raised about a long line of claims about his backstory, from endurance running, footballing exploits and charity fundraising to academic positions, qualifications and authorship.

Sticky or slippery? Snails can change their slime to meet the moment

Snails are slimy. But there's more to that goo of theirs than meets the eye. It's a fact that may help inspire the creation of new materials.

Trump administration to pay German firm $1.22bn to cut offshore wind leases

Agreement with RWE is fifth deal Trump team has made with energy companies, offering payouts to give up projects

The German energy company RWE has reached a $1.22bn deal with the US government to relinquish its offshore wind leases and instead redirect funds towards fossil fuel investments.

The agreement marks the fifth deal the Donald Trump administration has struck with energy companies, offering payouts in exchange for abandoning renewable energy projects and redirecting investment towards fossil fuels.

The park service says Trump's arch would obstruct historic sites. Could it be moved?

President Trump's proposed arch in Memorial Circle would intrude on dozens of nearby sites, says the National Park Service. But there's been minimal discussion of alternate locations.

Senate eyes deal to leave for recess as agenda items pile up

The Senate is searching for a deal to speed up consideration of a number of priorities, including a measure to fund the government and Todd Blanche's confirmation as attorney general.

TikTok creator Sydney Towle, who shared cancer journey, dies aged 26

The creator documented her battle with rare bile duct cancer, inspiring more than a million followers online

Sydney Towle, a TikTok creator who shared her battle with stage 4 cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer, with over a million online followers, has died at age 26, her family announced on Thursday.

Towle gained fame for her posts about her life as a spirited young woman who encouraged her TikTok followers to rethink how a cancer patient might look and live.

Tour de France Femmes: Reusser stays ahead as Le Court savours stage win

• Mauritian rider outsprints Kerbaol and Pieterse

• ‘Winning a stage in a Tour de France is very special’

Marlen Reusser retained the overall lead in the Tour de France Femmes from rival Demi Vollering after another broiling stage through central France saw Kim Le Court take the second Tour stage win of her career in Tournon-sur-Rhone.

The Mauritian rider Le Court recovered from a mechanical problem earlier in the stage on the climb of the Col de Lalouvesc to join the day’s breakaway group and outsprint Cédrine Kerbaol of France, and Queen of the Mountains classification leader, Puck Pieterse.

Puerto Rico to begin water rationing amid record drought in San Juan

Residents of San Juan and neighboring communities have been without reliable water for more than 100 days.

Matt Gutman tells his own scam story amid a recent uptick

Online scams have ramped up in the last few years, with more advanced artificial intelligence playing a big role. CBS News correspondent Matt Gutman shares his own story about how he nearly fell for a scam.

The Guardian view on Italy’s new far-right party: the rise of a rogue general | Editorial

The early success of Roberto Vannacci’s National Future sends an ominous signal as extreme politics become normalised

When a serving Italian general published a far-right tract in 2023 entitled The World Turned Upside Down, a disciplinary inquiry swiftly followed. Roberto Vannacci’s text was a sustained exercise in bile and bigotry, attacking among other things the “normalisation” of homosexuality, and questioning whether a high-profile black volleyball star could really be considered Italian. The controversy sent the book into the bestseller charts, and its author was suspended for bringing the army into disrepute.

A year out from Italy’s next general election, Mr Vannacci is a problem not for the military but for the country’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. Now a member of the European parliament, in February he exploited his notoriety to found National Future, a political party which argues that Ms Meloni’s coalition government has sold out its far-right supporters through not being extreme enough. The “true right”, according to the former paratrooper – who once served as a military attache in Moscow – should be pro-Putin and anti-Ukraine, anti-EU, and committed to restoring the “cultural homogeneity” of Italy through the expulsion of immigrants and their descendants.

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.

Trump denies US low on key munitions in war with Iran after reports of shortages

President’s comment come after report he had demanded answers from Pete Hegseth over alleged shortages

• Middle East crisis live – latest updates

Donald Trump has lashed out at reports that the US is running short of key munitions in its war with Iran, threatening long prison sentences for officials who leak information about the military’s weapons stocks.

The US president claimed on Thursday that the US had “massive amounts” of ammunition and said more was being manufactured and shipped to the region, as his frustration over the conflict spilled into a public attack on the media.

US federal judge halts order for Trump to turn over financial records to BBC

Judge issues temporary pause while he considers Trump’s request to revise his libel lawsuit against BBC

A federal judge has temporarily halted an order requiring Donald Trump to turn over detailed financial information about his business empire to the BBC as part of an ongoing libel lawsuit.

US district judge Roy Altman issued the temporary pause while he considers Trump’s request to revise and narrow parts of his lawsuit against the BBC over a 2024 documentary that aired in the UK.

Rep. Jim Jordan, House Republicans raise alarms over new South Korean 'fake news' law

GOP members of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday sent a letter to South Korean regulators raising concerns about a law they say will lead to censorship.

European nations say World Cup boycott is still on, keeping FIFA's Infantino in limbo

A continued boycott of the World Cup poses a big threat to FIFA, keeping President Gianni Infantino under intense pressure to resign.

A new flu vaccine geared to older people is coming soon

The first mRNA-based flu shot to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration will be ready for the upcoming flu season. Moderna, the vaccine's maker

Fox won't renegotiate NFL media rights before current deal expires, CEO Lachlan Murdoch says

Fox has decided not to renegotiate its current TV deal with the NFL until the expiration of the league's opt-out clause in 2030, said CEO Lachlan Murdoch.

Barcelona step up Rodri interest after Real Madrid talks with Manchester City star stall

• Barça ready to hijack rivals’ plans to sign Spain captain

• Manchester City will allow midfielder to go for £60m

Barcelona have stepped up their attempts to hijack Real Madrid’s move to sign Rodri from Manchester City.

While City have not given up hope that Spain’s World Cup-winning captain will sign a new contract after he entered the final year of his deal, they are thought to be willing to allow him to leave for about £60m. Despite weeks of talks with Rodri and his representatives, Real have yet to reach an agreement and Barcelona are hoping to take advantage.

The divide between Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk is widening after their latest earnings

As Lilly widens its lead in the obesity race, Novo is still racing to win back market share and restore investor confidence in its pipeline.

Rebecca Hendin on Donald Trump’s pursuit of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the BBC – cartoon

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Ebola virus behind massive outbreak in DRC could be mutating, officials say

Cases have passed 4,000 and health watchdog plans to go door to door to find patients in major response escalation

The virus causing a massive outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could be mutating, health officials fear, as confirmed cases pass 4,000.

Africa’s public health watchdog said the time for incremental action was over as they announced plans to scale up every aspect of the response and go “door to door” looking for patients.

Restaurant Brands International earnings beat as Burger King's U.S. business soars

Burger King's U.S. business reported same-store sales growth of 8.5%.

DOGE's "wall of receipts" riddled with inaccuracies, GAO says

The Government Accountability Office found that DOGE overestimated its savings, among other issues.

Perez Hilton ‘able to communicate’ after hospitalization following live stream

Family says celebrity blogger remains under medical care after viewers raised alarm over disturbing TikTok broadcast

Perez Hilton is “able to communicate”, according to a new statement released by his family, one day after the celebrity blogger appeared to self-harm during a disturbing TikTok livestream that prompted his hospitalization.

In a message posted to Hilton’s blog on Wednesday evening, his family thanked supporters for the outpouring of concern.

Job cuts plunge to a 2-year low despite AI fears, economic shocks

Layoffs have plunged this year. "Recently laid-off workers are finding jobs as fast as the economy is creating new ones," one economist said.

SpaceX stock could face further pressure as first batch of shares unlock since IPO

With the first tranche of SpaceX shares held by insiders unlocking, the stock could see downward pressure.

US Senate panel votes to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress over Covid hearing

Anthony Fauci’s lawyer condemned the vote from the Republican-controlled committee as a ‘crude political stunt’

• US politics live – latest updates

A Republican-controlled US Senate committee voted to hold Dr Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after the veteran public health official repeatedly pleaded the fifth amendment to parry a hostile inquisition into his stewardship of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fauci, the former director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Niaid), who led the agency for 38 years before retiring in 2022, gave the same response to dozens of questions while refusing to give clarifying answers during a tense hearing last week, citing his constitutional protections.

Where the Trump administration's lawsuits seeking voter data stand

The Justice Department has filed lawsuits against 30 states and the District of Columbia in an effort to force them to hand over their unredacted voter rolls containing voters' sensitive information.

Leipzig drone bomb was found near Ukrainian plane carrying ammunition, say police

Germany investigating whether foreign state involved as minister says ‘ripped’ detonator stopped device going off

• Europe live – latest updates

A catastrophe with multiple casualties was possibly narrowly averted by the discovery of a drone carrying explosives at Leipzig airport, German officials said, as they examined whether a foreign state could be behind the plot.

One of the Ukrainian aircraft next to where the bomb drone was found was loaded with military ammunition, according to a classified police report quoted by the public broadcasters WDR and NDR and the Süddeutsche newspaper.

Tech barons dream of human colonies on Mars – but I can’t think of a worse place to die | Jordan Prosser

Humans love to do stupid things to reach far-off places – but even the wildest frontiers on Earth have at least the possibility of a return home

Like hoverboards, teleportation or smart glasses that don’t make you look like an absolute twat, space colonisation is a technological advent long-promised but as yet undelivered. Before Neil Armstrong even set foot on the moon, the US military was envisaging a long-term lunar outpost. The cost proved prohibitive and the Apollo missions came and went, amid ever-decreasing television ratings. By the mid-1970s, the general consensus was that we’d been there, done that and bought the commemorative ashtray.

Besides, why shoot for the moon when you can travel an extra 228m kilometres and colonise Mars instead?

BBC hires 26-year-old entrepreneur to help reach younger audiences

Brandon Relph, who founded first company at 13, joins strategy team in ‘much-needed step’ for the broadcaster

A 26-year-old business prodigy and self-styled gen Z whisperer has been drafted in by the BBC as it battles to reach young audiences increasingly choosing content creators on YouTube and TikTok over traditional broadcasters.

Brandon Relph, who founded his first company aged 13, and has been praised by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, has joined the BBC’s strategy team to help counter the existential threat of falling audiences among young people.

E-scooters far more dangerous than motorbikes or cycles, analysis suggests

Study of accidents in England and Wales shows e-scooter riders three times more likely to suffer traumatic brain injury than bikers

Electric scooter riders are three times more likely to suffer traumatic brain injuries than motorcyclists, according to an analysis of accidents in England and Wales – which found women were particularly at risk of serious harm.

Brain injuries accounted for more than a third of adult injuries on e-scooters, but riders also sustained more internal organ and blood vessel damage than did motorcyclists or pedal cyclists, the study found.

By day five of my labour, I didn’t want an ‘ideal birth’. I only wanted to survive | Natalie Morris

Yvette Cooper’s maternity reforms must change a system that too often fails women when they’re at their most vulnerable

On the third day of being in labour with my first child, I entered a new state of being. It was time to dig deep. This is what I had learned in all the childbirth classes. As long as I remained calm, breathed as instructed, moaned through the pain, things would happen as they were meant to. My body knew what it was doing. Only, it didn’t.

On the fourth day, I started to beg. This wasn’t right. Despite contraction after relentless contraction, I wasn’t dilating. I hadn’t slept, I couldn’t even sit down. I needed help. And still, they waited. For what, I never understood.

Natalie Morris is the author of Mixed/Other: Explorations of Multiraciality in Modern Britain

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.

‘I have an ego that needs to be put in check’: ex-Gawker editor AJ Daulerio on life after addiction

After his fall from grace, media’s former enfant terrible is now sober and helping others with his addiction recovery newsletter and podcast, The Small Bow

Every other Tuesday, AJ Daulerio wakes up at 5.30am and meditates for five to 20 minutes before beginning his multistep daily journaling protocol: reading a selection from a poetry anthology, then a passage from one of his daily wisdom readers (his go-to is a heavily annotated copy of Leo Tolstoy’s A Calendar of Wisdom); writing his Fear of the Day and gratitude list, then sharing his spiritual takeaway in a note to his three kids.

After a banana and coffee, Daulerio trains Brazilian jujitsu before hitting a 9.45am meditation at Besant Lodge – a community center just below the Hollywood sign that once served as a meeting place for mid-century mystics – immediately followed by him leading a recovery meeting of his own through Zoom.

Springboks and All Blacks flex financial muscles with ‘Greatest Rivalry’ tour

Throwback series rekindles memories of the past, but the focus is very much on realities of the modern game

Just in case you were unaware that the series between South Africa and New Zealand, styled as Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR), is a “tour like no other”, the Springboks have just unveiled a jersey to prove it. “A jersey like no other” to be worn four times and then consigned to history.

The RGR, though, kicks off with a looming legal battle in South Africa in the background over the series’ commercial identity and the unauthorised use of its branding. And you thought sporting romance was dead.

Uefa maintains World Cup boycott still stands despite Fifa’s backing for Infantino

• European body says Fifa statement ‘changes nothing’

• Fifpro condemns ‘profound abuse of presidential power’

Uefa has doubled down on its threat to boycott Fifa-run competitions and reiterated its loss of confidence in Gianni Infantino’s presidency.

The latest damning intervention from European football’s governing body came as criticism of Infantino continued to rain in from several angles. The global players’ union, Fifpro, condemned “a profound abuse of presidential power” while the South American confederation, Conmebol, usually a strong Infantino ally, was moved to chastise “repeated unilateral actions taken without resorting to dialogue”.

FDA approves Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine after initial pushback

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new seasonal flu vaccine from Moderna that uses mRNA technology, the drugmaker announced.

More adults are living with their parents now than during the pandemic. Here's why.

A record number of U.S. adults are moving back in with their parents. Dr. Gail Saltz, a psychiatrist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill-Cornell Medical College, and CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger explain what's behind the trend, and how to make it work.

‘James Dean has got nothing on that kid’: River Phoenix films – ranked!

As Stand By Me is re-released for its 40th anniversary, we look at the late actor’s most intense, enduring roles – from a goofball boffin to a narcoleptic hustler

Issue-of-the-week TV movie about elder abuse, with Tuesday Weld as a harried mum taking out her frustrations on her own ageing mother. Phoenix slaps on the hair gel as the essentially decent son who blasts his music too loud, lets his rowdy if unusually spiffy pals put their feet on the furniture and resents the new house guest: “Grandma is really getting on my nerves!”

India-Bangladesh relations hit new low over exiled PM’s speech to press in Delhi

Dhaka accuses India of giving platform to a ‘convicted genocider’ by allowing Sheikh Hasina to address journalists

Bangladesh has lashed out at India for allowing the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to address journalists in New Delhi, plunging already strained bilateral relations to a fresh low.

Dhaka accused India of giving a platform to a fugitive it labelled a “convicted genocider” and of undermining efforts to repair ties, after Hasina vowed to return to Bangladesh in December despite facing a death sentence on charges of “crimes against humanity”.

‘We crafted it from our hearts’: the Womack Sisters on continuing a great soul music dynasty

Their parents were Womack & Womack, Uncle Bobby was a superstar and so was their grandfather, Sam Cooke. The trio explain how, after driving Ubers and being told soul was dead, they joined the family business

Backstage at a London festival, on a Sunday afternoon, the Womack Sisters are assembling themselves on a sofa, still clad in the clothes they were wearing on stage a few minutes ago. They look very stylish in their black dresses, tights and high heels, but they are not, it has to be said, dressed appropriately for the weather, which is sweltering. “You don’t feel anything on stage,” says Zeimani with a shrug. “You just feel amazing, like you’re floating.”

“And we’re committed,” nods her sister BG. “You know, we were taught by professionals.”

Greetings from a wildlife park in central Sri Lanka that's a haven for elephants

At a time of increased conflict between elephants and humans, as elephant habitats are converted to intensive agriculture, the Hurulu Eco Park is a place where the animals can graze unimpeded.

At least 12 states report cyberattacks on water systems possibly linked to Iran

Cyberattacks on U.S. water systems that officials suspect may be linked to Iran-backed hackers have been reported in at least a dozen states, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.

Why do Latinos work for ICE?

Half of border agents are Latino, and they are part of a long history of Hispanic support for – and enforcement of – harsh immigration policies

Since Trump’s return to power, more than 60 people have died at the hands of or in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including two Latino immigrants in one week: Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine. Many Latinos have come to feel that their brown skin makes them targets, and they are not wrong.

But there is another dimension of this story that we often fail to consider: many of those in charge of anti-immigrant operations also have brown skin, Hispanic names and links to the communities they terrorize. When the identities of the agents who killed Alex Pretti in January were revealed as those of two Hispanic men, many people reacted with shock. The irony seemed obvious, but it reflected a mistaken assumption: that Latinos are naturally opposed to restrictionist immigration policies. History suggests otherwise.

Throwing Muses frontwoman Kristin Hersh: ‘I was compelled to make music after cracking my skull open’

The alt-rock veteran answers your questions on Buddhist time travel techniques, duetting with Michael Stipe, and her autobiographical new album

Do you think Throwing Muses would have sounded different were it not for your bicycle accident? [Hersh was struck by a car when she was 16, resulting in a concussion that changed the way she heard sound.] Bhafc99
Yes. I think people might have liked us more, but we would have been more forgettable. Our songs were not very marketable. They came from a place of such utter honesty that it was difficult for us to become a band with an image, ambition or direction, which plays well on a human level, but not on a corporate one. Some people hate our music; they can’t deal with it because it’s triggering [emotionally], which I get.

I was compelled to make music after cracking my skull open and then my life was very upsetting. But at the same time, I had real listeners. If you happen to come across a song that resonates with you, then it’s yours – you can ignore the musician who played it, because they were just the messenger.

Thirst by John Robins audiobook review – an ex-drinker’s darkly funny journey

The comedian and broadcaster narrates the heartfelt and at times self-lacerating account of his relationship with alcohol

A memoir chronicling the comic and broadcaster John Robins’s life in alcohol and his subsequent path to sobriety, Thirst is structured around the drinks that changed his life. There’s the bottle of Jacob’s Creek wine left out on a kitchen worktop which he helped himself to at the age of seven, secreting it into his orange juice, and the beer given to him at scout camp which he drank alone. There’s also his stomach-churning recreation, while on a comedy tour of Australia, of the white russians drunk by the Dude in The Big Lebowski using a gallon of milk, a litre of vodka and a bottle of Kahlua.

As an adult, Robins, who is best known for his shows on Radio X and on BBC5 Live, romanticised pubs, which he saw as places of peacefulness and refuge. He even co-hosted the podcast The Moon Under Water where he invited guests to describe their ideal pub. Robins reveals that what kept him drinking for so long was the lie that he was in control. That he could, on occasion, get through a Dry January convinced him he couldn’t be an addict, although he got a wakeup call when a GP told him to “sort your fucking life out”.

London to face Rome, Munich and Nairobi after confirming 2029 World Athletics bid

• Bid team reach agreement with West Ham to use stadium

• Host city for event to be announced in September

London has submitted its bid for the 2029 World Athletics ­Championships after reaching an agreement with West Ham to allow it to host the event that September.

World Athletics is yet to announce the other candidate cities, but Rome, Munich and Nairobi have also ­submitted applications for 2029.

Chipotle removes jalapeños linked to Minnesota salmonella outbreak

The restaurant chain said it pulled the peppers and replaced them with product from another grower amid a food-poisoning probe.

Miss North Carolina USA stripped of title after alleged racist posts resurface

First runner-up, Myla Hadley, will represent the state at the Miss USA pageant after Brittany Boltinhouse’s removal

A pageant queen recently crowned Miss North Carolina USA has been stripped of her title after a string of alleged racist posts resurfaced.

Brittany Boltinhouse, 27, was formally dethroned on Wednesday by pageant organizers A Blaize Productions after what it said was “a thorough review of recently surfaced information”.

Trump voter pleads for fiancée's release after ICE arrest: "They're destroying families"

"They are picking up law-abiding citizens. They're destroying families, jobs," said a Texas man who regrets his vote for President Trump after his fiancée, an immigrant from Venezuela, was detained by ICE.

Trump administration moves to deregulate Head Start, opening door for sweeping change

It would slim regulation of the 60-year-old anti-poverty program and aim to save money. Advocates worry the changes could undermine the early education program's mission.

Jason Arday claimed he was paid ‘1.4 million’ by publisher for memoir

Simon & Schuster still plans to publish book by Cambridge academic who resigned this week amid plagiarism claims

Jason Arday, the former Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism and embellishment, claimed he was paid “1.4 million” for his forthcoming memoir detailing his extraordinary backstory.

Arday was dogged by a growing series of questions over his academic work and credentials before he resigned on Wednesday night, saying the “relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love”.

This country is the latest to hit the elusive 95/95/95 HIV target

The United Nations has set a goal for near universal HIV diagnosis and treatment for all by 2030. No country in Asia has hit the mark — until this year.

Bombs, heists and big cats: TV’s 25 best true-crime shows ever

From mind-boggling murder investigations to decade-long scams, there’s no shortage of documentaries about real-life awfulness. We list the most incredible

Since the true-crime explosion a decade ago – kickstarted by Netflix’s Making a Murderer – audiences have been fed a steady small-screen diet of cold-case killings, catfishing scams and creepy cults. And, after years of varying results, Netflix’s latest show, A Toxic Love Story – which recounts how a California couple framed an innocent woman for stalking, intimidation and recruiting men from Craigslist to rape her ex’s new wife – is being billed as a return to true-crime form. But when it comes to similar shows worth your viewing time, what else is up there?

Here’s a selection of the genre’s 25 standout shows and where to watch them – which, let’s face it, is mainly Netflix. Let the boggle-eyed bingeing begin.

Woman, 47, charged after four men stabbed in Covent Garden

Stella Gollovena accused of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after assaults in central London

A 47-year-old woman has been charged after four men were stabbed in central London.

Stella Gollovena, of no fixed address, was charged with four counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and one count of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, the Metropolitan police said.

Nigerian security forces free more than 300 hostages in ‘largest single-day recovery’

President hails operation to rescue captives held in dense forests of Kainji Lake national park in north-central region

Nigerian security forces have rescued more than 300 abducted people in what the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, hailed as the largest single-day hostage recovery in the country’s history.

The release was announced on Wednesday after a joint operation, conducted by the military, police and counter-terrorism units, freed victims held captive in the dense forests of the Kainji Lake national park in the north-central region.

Arlene Smith obituary

Singer with one of the first ‘girl groups’, the Chantels, whose 1950s hit Maybe sold more than a million copies

Almost before the five Bronx schoolgirls who called themselves the Chantels had finished their unaccompanied delivery of a song called The Plea in his office on Broadway one day in 1957, the record label owner George Goldner was fishing in his desk for a contract they could take home and show their parents. Within months the group were high in the charts with a ballad called Maybe, featuring the powerful lead voice of the 16-year-old Arlene Smith.

The Chantels set the pattern for the success of such “girl groups”, as they became known, as the Shirelles, the Crystals, the Chiffons, the Ronettes, and many more.

Côtes Catalanes: the wine with the renegade spirit

From a wild corner of southern France, these crisp, minerally whites and silky red blends are unforgettable wines

We all have our coming-of-age story: a transition to adulthood defined by emotional growth. I’ll let my friends be the judge of whether mine’s happened, but in wine terms, I can pinpoint my coming of age to the day I first tasted a white from Côtes Catalanes IGP. What was this nectar? I’d spent a lifetime chugging things I liked (from Um Bongo to supermarket Macon), but this was not a chugger. The bottle was Domaine Gauby’s Les Calcinaires Blanc 2010, a blend of muscat, chardonnay, macabeu and vermentino from the eastern foothills of the Pyrenees in French Catalonia. I had to take my time over something this good, and that felt very grown up indeed.

The Côtes Catalanes IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée) sits within a nook of Languedoc-Roussillon in the very south of France. As an IGP, it is a less prestigious designation than AOP (Appellation d’Origine Protégée), but one that gives winemakers greater freedom to flex their muscles. Where wines from Côtes de Roussillon AOC have to be particular blends with particular proportions, winemakers in the Côtes Catalanes can produce single-varietal wines with a greater range of grapes; many are organic or biodynamic. They have a renegade spirit I’m sure you can taste in wines that are mineral, full of complex fruit and often have notes of garrigue – Mediterranean scrubby herbs such as thyme and rosemary.

An Israeli professor lost a prestigious US job offer after speaking out on Gaza. Now the university is paying him $250,000

The University of Minnesota withdrew an offer for Raz Segal to lead its Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies after an organized campaign against his hiring

When the University of Minnesota (UMN) extended an offer to historian Raz Segal to lead its Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies in June 2024, it did so upon the near-unanimous recommendation of a committee of academics after a rigorous search process. The scholars had enthusiastically praised Segal, with one committee member describing a presentation he gave as “breathtaking”.

But five days after making the offer, the university abruptly withdrew it, citing “perspective” it had received from members of the community. The reversal followed backlash over Segal’s criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, which he called “a textbook case of genocide” in an October 2023 op-ed published in Jewish Currents. Segal’s critics condemned the piece, published just days after the 7 October attacks in Israel, accusing him of justifying Hamas crimes – an assertion that Segal rejected and the article does not sustain.

Practical Magic review – Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock’s 90s witchy fantasy still enchants

Preceding a long-awaited sequel, Griffin Dunne’s supernatural suburban romance gets a big-screen rerelease. With its romcom quirk, buttery cinematography and stabs of black comedy, it remains a zany gem

With a sequel shortly to make an appearance – Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest (but not Evan Rachel Wood) all reprising their roles – the original Practical Magic from 1998 is now getting a rerelease. This is Griffin Dunne’s smalltown supernatural goof-fest, adapted from a bestseller by Alice Hoffman; the sequel is based on her own follow-up, The Book of Magic. A zanier adventure in occult romance can hardly be imagined, and the elements of grown up noir violence only make it weirder – it is as if The Witches of Eastwick took on something of Thelma & Louise with a decaffeinated David Lynch. Meanwhile, cinematographer Andrew Dunn bathes the daytime scenes in a golden, buttery light.

In a suburban American anytown, buttoned-up residents and frowning soccer moms are disapprovingly obsessed with the fact that the local Owens family womenfolk are witches. There is an amusing “prelude” scene showing a Salem-style public hanging of one of their ancestors; a stark stab of black comedy. In the present day, the Owens sisters Sally and Gillian, played by Bullock and Kidman, are intensely aware of their magical inheritance, as personified by naughty maiden aunts Frances and Bridget, played by Channing and Wiest.

Danish pupils will have to orally defend essays in attempt to combat AI cheating

Government introduces several measures, including monitoring of computers, for pupils aged 16 to 19

• Europe live – latest updates

Danish teenagers will have to make an oral defence of their written essays to combat AI cheating, the government has announced.

Pupils aged 16 to 19 at upper secondary school (known in Denmark as gymnasiet) will also be encouraged to do written assignments at school under controlled conditions, including monitoring of their computer screens, rather than at home.

Light, sweet and easy to eat – why melons and other cool fruits rule August

The Mediterranean’s best beach ritual, plus melons, cucumbers and cold soups to keep us cool this summer

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Everyone who grew up by the Mediterranean Sea knows that a lazy day on the beach requires a certain level of planning. You should pack everything you’ll need, or may need, and get there early to secure a good spot. But the first thing you need to do when you get there – even before you spread out your blankets and put that sunscreen on – is to drop a watermelon in the sea, so that, by noon, when it’s so hot your skin feels as if it’s about to blister, it is ready for you, all cool and sweet. It’s just about the only thing capable of quenching your thirst and your hunger, while also cooling you down and giving you the sugar you need.

The other important bit about the watermelon – the part that separates wisdom from wishful thinking – is that you also need to tie a piece of string around it, complete with an empty plastic bottle at the other end, so that it bobs above the waves and marks the spot. This is something you learn the hard way – or at least we did. There is a very particular kind of disappointment that comes from standing waist-deep in the sea, staring into the blue, convinced that a whole watermelon cannot simply disappear. We searched. We dived. We accused passing currents. We briefly entertained the idea that another family had found it and were, at that very moment, enjoying our perfectly chilled watermelon. Then again, perhaps it is still out there somewhere, floating towards Sicily …

El-Sayed wins Michigan's primary. And, Fauci faces contempt of Congress vote

Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan's Democratic Senate primary and will face Republican Congressman Mike Rogers in the midterms. And, today, Dr. Anthony Fauci faces a contempt of Congress vote.

Carlos Acosta: Myths and Modern Masters review – superstar returns with style, the Stones and his daughter

Royal Opera House, London
Mixing contemporary, Cuban and classical works, Acosta has charisma to burn and is accompanied by an impressive cohort

It’s a bit of a stretch to call this undoubtedly enjoyable programme Myths and Modern Masters but granted, it sounds better than Miscellany. Carlos Acosta – superstar dancer, now director of Birmingham Royal Ballet and Cuban company Acosta Danza – has picked and mixed dancers from both companies to offer a very eclectic spread of dance, and added himself into the mix.

At 53, Acosta may not have the physical prowess of his youth, but he brings great presence and depth – and some great dancing, too. That serves very well in José Limón’s landmark 1949 work The Moor’s Pavane, a distillation of Shakespeare’s Othello which boils down the story to four characters – Othello (Acosta), Desdemona (Beatrice Parma), Iago (Max Maslen) and Emilia (Miki Mizutani) – and contains their drama of deception, jealousy and revenge within a stately composition of measured steps and stylised gestures, set to courtly music by Purcell.