FBI shifts immigration agent cases to HSI after recent fatal shootings, sources say

HSI is an arm of ICE, meaning the immigration enforcement agency would effectively be investigating incidents involving its own agents.

World Cup 2026: latest news and reaction after Spain beat Argentina to win trophy – live

⚽ Latest World Cup news as tournament comes to close
⚽ Player guide | Golden Boot | Follow on TikTok | Mail us

Back to the action on the field, or rather slightly adjacent to it. A lacklustre “closing ceremony” in which Tom Cruise was drowned out by the crowd got proceedings under way in New Jersey. A half-time show no one asked for filled the gap in the middle that didn’t need to be plugged. And finally, having kept his physical distance all tournament, US president Donald Trump tried to steal the show just as the curtain was falling.

“I think I heard a match commentator say that the last team that beat Spain was Scotland. Does that mean Scotland have won the World Cup?!” asks Peter Oh.

Andy Burnham to become new prime minister and lay out ‘10-year plan’ for the UK in No 10 speech - UK politics live

Keir Starmer will give his final speech from Downing Street before Burnham arrives and is appointed as new PM

Good morning. Today we are getting a new PM. It is the sixth time this has happened in just over a decade (Theresa May replaced David Cameron on 13 July 2016), and so in some respects there is nothing very new or surprising about this. Yet the process has been unusual. In the past, when parties in power have replaced a PM, generally they have opted for someone popular with their own MPs, but less popular than their predecessor with the public at large (Liz Truss, Theresa May, Gordon Brown), or for someone more popular with the public, but less liked by their own activists (John Major, Rishi Sunak). At the start of the year, anyone looking at polling would have concluded that the logical choice for Labour would have been to replace Keir Starmer with Andy Burnham. Labour is not always noted for taking decisions that will be electorally beneficial, but in this case that is what it has achieved. It has replaced a PM who had become an electoral millstone with one of the most admired politicians in the country, and with someone – for the moment at least – with his whole party behind him.

That may not be the case by the end of the day, after Burnham has named his cabinet. We’ll have to see. Here is Rowena Mason’s overnight story about what to expect today.

This week [Burnham] will tell us of his “ten-year plan for the country”. Perhaps his premiership won’t last that long, he conceded. “I’m not saying that means I’m setting out to say I’m going to be here for ten years … it’s more that we’re not in the right place structurally, we’re not in the right place as a country. I think people can feel that.”

One thing I heard most on the doorsteps in Makerfield was frustration about the personal allowance, frozen at £12,570 … [That complaint] lodged in my mind.

They’re just characterising me as a tax raiser. Well, again, it’s never that simplistic, is it?

Ukraine targets Moscow with drones after huge Russian attack on Kyiv – Europe live

Russian capital targeted by 400 drones overnight a day after one of the war’s biggest ballistic missile attacks on the Ukrainian city

in Kyiv

Ten people were killed in a Russian strike near the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on a merchant ship flying the flag of Guinea-Bissau. The vessel loaded with grain set off on Sunday. On board were 17 crew members – citizens of Syria and India – as well as a local Ukrainian pilot.

Ryanair stock slides 6% as higher fuel costs amid Iran war dent profit

Ryanair's first-quarter profit took a 34% hit as consumers delayed bookings due to the Middle East crisis, while struggling airlines face a "difficult winter."

Shania Twain: Little Miss Twain review – rootsy revival strays from the dirt track to the middle of the road

(Republic Nashville)
The country legend’s seventh album revisits her troubled early life but plays it safe with zany humour and fluffy songs about young love

‘When I was a kid, I started on stages just like this,” Shania Twain told the 200 fans sardined into a London pub back in June, trailing her seventh album Little Miss Twain. A reintroduction to the Canadian country legend, the record mines memories from her Ontario childhood for hints of the arena-filling star she would soon become.

Over wistful Mellotron and pedal steel, the title track marvels at little Eilleen, as she was called back then, escaping the rural north and making it big in Nashville. Yet, somehow, it all feels inevitable – as if Twain’s career was conjured into being by the conviction of her mother, who drove her to those tiny bars in a beaten-up Chevy. And yes, from the vantage point of 2026, it’s difficult to imagine it going any other way. Twain’s icon status is certified by five Grammys and the way her free-spirited hits have become karaoke classics – not to mention the fact that her 1997 album Come on Over remains the highest-selling studio album by any female artist in history.

Top 30: from half a million World Cup photos, why I love these the best

Our picture editor chooses his favourite images from the tournament including Lionel Messi’s cathedral, that delicious diving header from Jude Bellingham and a humbling scene in Gaza

What makes a great World Cup photograph? Now there’s a question with myriad answers. Composition, newsworthiness, emotional resonance, expert timing and luck can all contribute to varying degrees. But one thing they all share is the power to capture attention.

On the Guardian sport picture desk, we have received more than 500,000 World Cup photographs over the past six weeks, with so many classics among them. Here, with much applause to the photographers who created them and a slight bias towards England, are my favourite images of the tournament.

‘Being American feels helpless and scary’: actor Ben Platt on nerves, queer songs and why he couldn’t do it without his husband

The star of Dear Evan Hansen plays a 1960s Greenwich Village crooner in hit queer musical Midnight at the Never Get. It’s the perfect outlet for his anxiety, he says

In performance, Ben Platt is a mellifluous singer and loose-limbed dancer, with a fizzy back-note of neurotic New York. The stage – most famously, as star of Dear Evan Hansen – is his safe space. In person, in a south London rehearsal room, he is sweet, earnest, nervy. He crosses his legs, knots his arms about him. The chat roams widely, the body language is wound tight.

Platt talks frankly about anxiety, like it’s his constant companion. So, how’s that going? “My relationship with my husband is a huge factor in being able to manage anxiety. There’s still highs and lows, but everything’s more in my sights, because I thankfully have him. And having something creative to focus on is a big help.”

Iran vows not a ‘single drop’ of oil or gas will pass strait of Hormuz as US carries out ninth night of strikes – Middle East crisis live

Revolutionary Guard says it targeted US aircraft in Jordan and stopped two tankers in strait while American military says it is ‘holding Iran accountable’

• US launches ninth night of Iran strikes as strait of Hormuz standoff sees oil price pass $90 a barrel

The price of oil jumped in early Asian trade on Monday after the US carried out its latest wave of strikes on Iran and a vessel caught fire in the strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude for September delivery rose 2.72% to $90.50 a barrel by around 0100 GMT, after briefly crossing $91 – its highest price since June.

CENTCOM assets targeted Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks to further diminish Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. military is holding Iran accountable at the Commander in Chief’s direction.

British YouTuber Yung Filly appears in Australian court over rape allegations

Rapper pleads not guilty to six counts of sexually penetrating a 20-year-old woman without consent after a gig in Perth

A British YouTuber and musician bit and slapped a young female fan while he was raping her after a gig in Western Australia, a court has been told.

Yung Filly, 30, has pleaded not guilty to six counts of sexually penetrating a 20-year-old woman without consent in a Perth hotel room in September 2024.

Can you solve it? Do you think like a physicist?

A scorching puzzle about heat

In a summer heatwave, you keep the curtains drawn all day.

It helps keep the room cool.

Changing face of the Peloponnese: backdrop to The Odyssey braces for tourism surge

Tracing a journey across the Peloponnese, taking as its starting point the locations of Christopher Nolan’s new film. As the region faces mounting tourism and development pressures, the environment is becoming ever more fragile under the strain of recurring wildfires and demand for natural resources, particularly water

Voidokilia Bay, in the southwestern Peloponnese, has a crescent-shaped beach framed by two historical headlands: a Mycenaean tomb on one side and a medieval fortress on the other. Last spring, its crystal-clear waters became a highly secured Hollywood set for The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film starring Matt Damon and Zendaya. The region of Messenia, with its Ottoman castles and wild coastlines, was chosen to evoke the epic nature of myth.

View of the Ottoman fortress of Methoni from the Venetian castle

Chris Packham takes on a terrifying crime ring: best podcasts of the week

The popular broadcaster investigates what happened after a large pile of murdered animals were dumped outside a primary school in Hampshire. Plus, Lena Headey tackles an idea from an ‘ethical pornographer’

Mangled pheasants, mutilated foxes, weeping kids: the third series of the multi-award-winning show about environmental crime opens with a huge pile of murdered animals outside a primary school. The investigation leads to revelations about the world of illegal bloodsports and rural organised crime. It even recruits Chris Packham. “It’s low-level terrorism, isn’t it?” he exclaims at one point – and it’s hard not to agree. An essential listen. Alexi Duggins
BBC Sounds, all episodes available

Flavours of Iraq review – vivid childhood memories of 80s Baghdad from writer in Paris exile

Powerful animation portrays experiences of a French-Iraqi journalist Feurat Alani, with anecdotes about his father, a prominent leftist exile

With a title translated a little inelegantly from Le Parfum d’Irak to “flavours of Iraq” when “the perfume of Iraq” might have been simpler and better, this film is a powerful, vivid animation co-directed by Léonard Cohen with its author, French-Iraqi journalist Feurat Alani, robustly narrated in Alani’s first-person by the actor Malik Zidi. The animation style is stylised and expressionist: shapes and forms like silhouette cutouts suggest the piercingly insistent forms of memory.

It is about Alani’s childhood and fractured family experience growing up in Paris in the 80s as the son of a prominent leftist Iraqi exile who was forced out of his native country on account of his opposition to Saddam Hussein. The story itself is told through a loose series of flashbacks occasioned by his father’s funeral, at which mourners, members of Iraq’s 1970s socialist diaspora brought together by his death, start recounting anecdotes. To these, Alani adds his own reminiscences of going back to see his extended family in Iraq at the end of the 80s, and experiencing the madeleines of those flavours and smells of Baghdad and Falluja: the delicious taste of ice-cream and the fragrances of young men’s exotic hair oil.

Andy Burnham says he will go ‘faster’ than Starmer. Why is that so hard?

Is the machinery of state jammed, or is the reason for the slow pace of change more personal than institutional?

Eighteen months into the 24 it turned out he would last in No 10, Keir Starmer was a man in a hurry. The biggest frustration with the job, he told MPs, concerned “speed and the ability to get things done”. The underlying problem, he thought, was that every time something had gone wrong in the past, “successive governments have put in place another procedure or another body or another consultation to try to stop ourselves ever making a mistake again”.

In airing his impatience, if little else, Starmer is in tune with the country he has become too unpopular to lead. Julian Gallie, a pollster at Merlin Strategy, says voters have been “crying out for change for a decade”, even if they have sent inconsistent signs about what sort of change it should be. The Brexit vote, the Corbyn surge of 2017, the Johnson majority of 2019 and the Tory rout of 2024 can all be seen as “a desperate roll of the dice against a status quo” that somehow feels impossible to shift.

Retired UK civil servants failed by pension outsourcing, government says

Chaos of Capita-run scheme has left some people waiting up to a year for payments and in financial hardship

Retired civil servants have been failed by the decision to outsource their pension scheme, the government has admitted, and the maladministration meant some were left waiting up to a year for payments.

Multiple members of the civil service pension scheme, run by the private company Capita since December, have come forward to say they are unable to afford rent and have been forced to use food banks after being left without an income.

‘It’s total devastation’: inside the Amazonian war against illegal gold mining

The Guardian goes on the ground with Brazilian forces fighting to eradicate mining that has destroyed protected areas of Indigenous land

The jerry-built bordello at the foot of Vila Cururu, an illegal gold-mining settlement at the heart of Brazil’s most desecrated Indigenous territory, was a hive of depravity until just a few weeks ago.

Inebriated prospectors huddled around wooden tables, swigging beer and Scotch whisky, and ogling pole-dancing sex workers before going with them to shacks behind the brothel.

Pesto Trapanese, pasta pomodoro and torta caprese: Dara Klein’s favourite Italian recipes

Rustic, authentic and utterly delicious – three dishes that bring the taste of the trattoria straight to your table

Pesto trapanese combines almonds, tomatoes, pecorino and a hint of garlic and basil to create a fresher version than the typical Genovese variety, and I especially love the way the richness of the almonds is lifted by the fresh tomatoes – when they’re pureed together, it creates a wonderful mouthfeel. For me, though, pasta pomodoro symbolises home. My mum’s was a cornerstone of our trattoria, as it is at Italian restaurants around the world, and every family has their own fiercely guarded recipe. I developed this particular method when I started Pasta Princess, which delivered hand-rolled pasta and pomodoro sauce all over London during lockdown. It kept me grounded when I was in between kitchens, and resurfaced at Tiella, where it features regularly on the menu. Finally, torta caprese is a wonderfully rich flourless chocolate cake made with ground almonds. Mum often made a similar cake called torta gianduia, which uses hazelnuts instead of almonds, a recipe that hails from Piedmont, the heart of Italy’s hazelnut production (the Tonda Gentile delle Langhe variety is particularly prized for its incredible quality and flavour, carrying the IGP label to denote regionality and strict production standards). I remember her once buying these special hazelnuts on a trip to Italy, and taking them back home to New Zealand so she could make gianduia. When the cake came out of the oven, the aroma was so incredible that she decided to bring it home rather than putting it on the menu, and shared it with us instead.

Taylor Farms lettuce sample was false positive for cyclospora, FDA says

The FDA said that as of Sunday, it had not found any "confirmed positive sample results for product testing for Cyclospora."

Spain’s system subdues a team built on the irrational magic of Messi’s lone genius | Barney Ronay

The route to this World Cup victory involved beating the other 2022 finalist and then suffocating Argentina as they dried out in the sun

Time to break the staff, bury the book and call time on that rough magic. There was, by the end, an undertone of sadness about Lionel Messi, New Jersey and a World Cup final that brought Spain the glory of an entirely deserved second trophy, and which saw Argentina offer almost nothing beyond a gnarled and gristly sense of resistance.

This is an Argentina team built on faith, devotional energy and a belief in the frankly irrational magic of your lone scurrying 39-year-old genius. Well, sometimes that magic will forsake you. The deus ex machina will refuse to appear. And he is perhaps gone from this stage now for good, a Prospero giving his final address to the crowd from a clanky metal bowl outside New York.

Europe is at risk of creating a human rights black hole with its ‘return hubs’ for migrants | Michael O'Flaherty

Without iron-clad legal safeguards, offshore migration centres can only repeat the worst mistakes of the recent past

Europe has entered a new era of outsourced migration management. After a vote by the European parliament, the EU’s return regulation is nearing adoption – promising “more efficient” returns and “swifter” procedures to deport unwanted migrants. This will give countries the legal runway to set up return hubs – that is, offshore facilities to process people deemed to have no right to stay in the EU.

Despite opposition from countries such as Spain and France – and an outcry from rights groups – many other governments appear anxious to join in. An open letter signed by 19 EU member states just days after the vote at the European parliament, urging the “full use of the new possibilities”, indicates that implementation might be coming soon. Frontrunners like Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands are already on the starting block, poised to establish joint hubs which are likely to become operational in short order.

From Gary Lineker’s revenge to the bizarre tale of a missing cat: the best viral TV moments of the World Cup

A pranked England manager, a bored Beckham, a Viking takeover and an unwise Wayne Rooney wager: here are the TV treasures of the beautiful game’s biggest ever tournament

A stodgy final saw silky Spain deservedly beat cynical Argentina. Football wasn’t coming home after all as England suffered semi-final heartbreak again, before salvaging some pride to finish third – their best World Cup finish since 1966. The Tartan Army drank America’s bars dry as their team went out with a whimper. Cape Verde lasted longer than Germany. It was the end of the road for Ronaldo and Modric, while the phrase “hydration break” entered everyday parlance. But beyond the pitch, it has been an eventful five weeks, too.

Here are 26 viral World Cup moments you might have missed …

A Ruhr treat: can a giant pigeon and a pink basketball revive Germany’s depressed industrial heartland?

The Manifesta biennale is taking over a dozen tiny churches in German towns ravaged by division and decline – and filling them with ball games, bouncy castles and a radical community spirit

After Germany’s Ruhr conurbation – the third-largest urban area in western Europe – was pummelled during the second world war, planners came up with an ingenious idea. About 80% of the sprawl – which incorporates big cities such as Essen and Duisburg, and dozens of smaller towns like Bochum and Gelsenkirchen – had been destroyed. And so, for the reconstruction, a newly formed Diocese of the Ruhr built literally hundreds of closely packed Pantoffelkirchen or “slipper churches”, so named because they were close enough to housing developments for churchgoers to walk to mass in their slippers.

Today, Pantoffelkirchen are declining sharply. Estimates of the amount of disused or derelict churches are as high as 300, and 100 have been sold off in the last year alone. Until October, 12 of them are home to Manifesta, the travelling art biennale. They stand as centrepieces of communities that have been ravaged this time not by war, but by deindustrialisation, mass unemployment and environmental decline.

AI-altered images on birdwatching forums putting research at risk

Experts warn increase in enhanced photos on birding platforms creating fake sightings, threatening credibility of tool used by scientists

For many birdwatchers, recording a species outside its normal range is the holy grail. In the UK, the discoveries often make national headlinesThe western reef heron, for example, usually found in Africa and southern Europe, spotted in a seaside town in north Wales in June, which was widely celebrated on birding forums.

But a new scourge is threatening to disrupt the fun: AI slop.

Huge search operation after passenger ferry sinks off coast of Guyana

Authorities launch criminal investigation after passenger list – showing more than 100 passengers – was found to be inaccurate, complicating rescue efforts

A massive search-and-rescue operation is under way after a ferry sank ⁠off the coast of Guyana in South America ⁠late on Saturday, in what has been described by officials as one of the country’s worst maritime disasters.

Authorities launched a criminal investigation after a government official said the captain and a crew member of the ferry allegedly tested positive for marijuana and the vessel’s passenger manifest was found to be inaccurate.

Spain and Argentina's World Cup trophy count before 2026 final

Spain and Argentina faced off Sunday in the World Cup final, marking just the second meeting between the two sides in the tournament's history, and their first in 60 years.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup schedule and how to watch

With 104 World Cup games being played in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, it's like "a Super Bowl every single day for five weeks," U.S. team captain Tim Ream told CBS News.

‘When I get home, my whole body aches’: extreme heat saps health and wages of India’s poorest workers

Exclusive: Outdoor workers losing up to 9% of income as weather becomes ‘poverty multiplier’, research says

Extreme heat is pushing some of India’s poorest workers further into poverty, with income losses of up to 9% for outdoor workers, new research has found.

Analysis done by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), and shared exclusively with the Guardian, found that extreme heat is acting as a “poverty multiplier” for hundreds of millions of workers in India’s informal sector.

The Odyssey storms global box office with $264m opening

Epic film marks Christopher Nolan’s best opening since 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises when adjusted for inflation

The Odyssey has stormed the global box office, taking US$264m (£196m, A$378m) in its opening weekend, according to studio Universal Pictures.

Starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway and Zendaya, the blockbuster is an adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic poem, which follows Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, as he makes his perilous 10-year journey home after fighting in the Trojan war.

The Hello Girls, America's first women soldiers, finally getting their recognition

Hundreds of women served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War I, connecting calls for the Army in France. The women were called the "Hello Girls" and they were among America's first women soldiers. But it took decades for them to be recognized as veterans. Noel Brennan reports.

The rare "Super Scooper" planes battling wildfires

This past week, Los Angeles County renewed a $41 million contract to keep two aerial water bombers available for fighting wildfires. The so-called "Super Scoopers," of which there are only about 160 in operation, are world-renowned for their decades of fire-fighting. Ian Lee reports.

Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate arrested in Miami

Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate have been arrested by federal authorities Saturday in Miami.

2 U.S. service members killed, 1 missing following Iranian strike on Jordan

U.S. forces launched a new round of airstrikes against Iran Saturday evening at the direction of President Trump following the deaths of two U.S. service members.

Latest details on arrests of Andrew and Tristan Tate

U.S. Marshals arrested social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate in Miami on Saturday due to recent developments in the U.K. Authorities there, who already had a case against the duo, say four more alleged victims of the brothers came forward with accusations including rape, sex trafficking, assault and child pornography. Cristian Benavides reports.

Gas prices on the rise again as Iran war reignites

Gas prices are on their way up again as the U.S. and Iran continue to launch strikes at each other and ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz dries up. Lindsey Reiser has more.

‘We defeated Los Ingleses’: Argentina fans search for consolation as Messi misses out on perfect ending

Fans in Buenos Aires head to Obelisco monument to celebrate a semi-final victory over England and honour what looks like Lionel Messi’s last World Cup

• Spain win the World Cup after Ferran Torres dethrones 10-man Argentina in extra time

• Trump show offers fitting fever-dream end to a World Cup of excess and damage

“What happened?” people outside an empanada shop in downtown Buenos Aires ask, trying to read the groans and gestures of the customers inside whose TV was a minute ahead of theirs.

“Spain scored,” says Julián Escalante, 20, holding up his phone. Spain’s Ferran Torres had delivered the decisive blow in the 106th minute of a final that had gone into extra time, sealing a tense, largely one-sided showdown that ended 1-0.

U.S. soldier killed in Iraq, Trump orders more strikes against Iran

A U.S. service member was killed in Iraq on Saturday, CENTCOM announced. Separately, unidentified remains were found in Jordan at the location where a U.S. service member went missing and two others were killed following an Iranian strike. Taurean Small reports.

Spain wins 2026 FIFA World Cup with grueling 1-0 win over Argentina

Spain dominated the match, outshooting Argentina 20-3, but couldn't manage a goal in regulation.

Spain beats Argentina 1-0 to win World Cup

Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time on Sunday to win their second ever Men's World Cup title and first since 2010. Nicole Valdes reports.

India’s Cockroach party protesters to defy police and march to parliament

Youth-led movement has been galvanised after Delhi police forcibly moved hunger-striking activist Sonam Wangchuk ⁠to hospital

Thousands of protesters in Delhi are set to defy police orders and march at the Indian parliament amid growing calls for prime minister Narendra Modi’s education minister to be sacked over exam paper leaks.

Setting up a possible showdown with students, activists and political groups, police have denied supporters of the youth-led Cockroach Janta party ⁠permission to march on Monday.

Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino booed before US president attempts to crash Spain celebrations

• US president watches Spain v Argentina match

• Match report: Spain beat Argentina in extra-time

Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino were booed as they took to the field for the presentation ceremony before the US president attempted to gatecrash Spain’s victory party.

Trump arrived at the stadium on Marine One, with the president’s helicopter first flying over the stadium about 45 minutes before kick-off. He sat in a glassed-in section of luxury seats for the match, along with Infantino. Other dignitaries and former players sat nearby, including Spain’s king, Felipe VI, Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, and Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum.

Lionel Messi’s World Cup fairytale ends with pitiful Argentina as final villains | Pablo Iglesias Maurer

Game’s greatest player will not see his legacy sullied by defeat to Spain but his team’s display destroyed the game

Playing on the grandest stage in sport for the last time, Lionel Messi seemed almost certain to provide one last memorable moment in this World Cup final.

Yet as the sun ducked behind the west stand of New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday, it became clearer and clearer that Argentina had lost the magic they had carried through this tournament. And as Spain gradually wrested control, one was left to confront reality: Messi, and Argentina, had finally run out of time, having long since given in to their worst instincts in a 1-0 defeat.

U.S. death toll rises again as Iran war escalates over the weekend

Centcom says it hit Iran's coastal surveillance and air defense facilities a day after two U.S. troops were killed in an Iranian strike on Jordan.

JD and Usha Vance welcome baby boy, first child born to sitting VP in 156 years

Vice-president and second lady announced birth of Alec Neel Vance, their fourth child, in social media statement

Vice-President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, on Sunday announced the birth of their fourth child, the first born to a sitting vice-president in more than 150 years.

Born on Sunday, Alec Neel Vance joins older siblings Ewan, nine; Vivek, six; and Mirabel, four.

7/19/2026: Healing Justice; Flight of the Monarchs

First, a report on exonerees and survivors coming together to heal. And, a look at the monarch butterfly migration mystery.

Vice President JD Vance and wife Usha welcome their 4th child

This is the first time in more than 150 years that a vice president's family had a child while in office.

7/19: CBS Weekend News

Spain beats Argentina 1-0 to win World Cup; another American killed in war with Iran.

Five family members found dead after flash flood in Utah canyon, police say

Victims were Provo’s fire captain, his wife and their three sons, who were hiking in Bicknell amid heavy rains

Five family members who had set out for a day of hiking were killed after a flash flood swept through canyons of southern Utah on Friday, law enforcement officials said.

The victims were a captain in the Provo fire department, his wife and their sons, according to fire officials. A daughter who was not on the trip survived.

Spain win World Cup after Ferran Torres breaks 10-man Argentina’s resistance

It was the triumph of an idea, an identity. Of an unshakable and patient faith. And when it was over, Spain’s new generation having emulated the one from the 2010 World Cup, all of those legendary names, there was simply delirium for them.

Spain were the only team that turned up to play this World Cup final, from the first whistle to the last in extra time. Argentina were damned by their lack of ambition even before they had Enzo Fernández sent off towards the end of the regulation time. It was extraordinary to report that they did not have an attempt on goal until the 115th minute.

A cavalcade of international stars headlined the World Cup's first-ever halftime final show

With President Trump in attendance, an all-superstar lineup that included Madonna, BTS, Justin Bieber and Burna Boy felt a little more political than it might have otherwise.

FBI will no longer investigate ICE confrontations, The New York Times reports

The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security have both denied that any change in oversight has taken place.

Russell’s Mercedes problems ‘100% on us’, says Toto Wolff after Belgium blow

• Russell clipped by Hamilton on lap one after power loss

• British driver 50 points behind Antonelli in standings

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes principal, has admitted the team let George Russell down at the Belgian Grand Prix. The British driver failed to score a point after a clash with Lewis Hamilton that Russell attributed to his car’s performance not being up to scratch.

The race was won by Kimi Antonelli, who now leads his teammate Russell by 50 points in the world championship, a serious blow to the latter’s title hopes.

Ryan Fox crowned Open champion as heavyweights wilt under pressure

• USA’s Cameron Young falls short by a single shot

• Rory McIlroy hints at DeChambeau joining Irish Open

What a way to enhance a family dynasty. Ryan Fox, son of a New Zealand rugby legend and grandson of one of the country’s cricket captains, is the Open champion. Three generations, three sports, one Claret Jug. Fox displayed the fortitude of Grant, his old man, to snatch victory from Cameron Young on such a dramatic Open Championship Sunday.

Fox took to the 18th tee level with Young at nine under par. The American had finished more than two hours earlier, his total looking ever-more promising as others took it in turn to wilt under the heat of Royal Birkdale. Fox laughed in the face of adversity. He crashed a drive 330 yards down the fairway, flicked an iron to 11ft and holed out for a birdie three. This will trigger quite the party, including in his homeland. This Open needed something to switch the conversation from Bryson DeChambeau and a rules breach. In Fox, the tournament found a bold and deserving champion.

England take India ODI series after Duckett’s ton and Bethell’s brilliant star turn

• 3rd ODI: England, 387-3, bt India, 360-7, by 27 runs

• Rohit Sharma hits searing century but India fall short

After a cascade of wickets during the much-criticised Test here six weeks ago came a landslide of one-day international runs. In the end, despite a ferocious century from Rohit Sharma that turned Lord’s into his personal playground, England had enough on the board to seal a 2-1 series victory against India.

Harry Brook must have thought it was mission accomplished for his side at the halfway stage, with Ben Duckett’s 141 from 135 balls having powered England to 387 for three. Both were men’s ODI records at Lord’s, with Duckett having surpassed Viv Richards and the unbeaten 138 he made during the World Cup in 1979.

Full transcript of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," July 19, 2026

On this "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" broadcast, Sen. Mark Warner and border czar Tom Homan join Margaret Brennan.

Nine people injured in Arizona shooting; suspect shot by police

Nine people were shot and injured in a shooting in Tucson, Arizona, early Sunday morning, police said. A suspected gunman was shot and wounded by police.

ICE officers to use body cameras during vehicle stops, Trump ‘border czar’ says

Tom Homan’s comments come amid scrutiny over federal immigration agents’ fatal shooting of two men in six days

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will require its officers to record vehicle stops with at least one body camera, said Tom Homan, the Trump administration “border czar”, on Sunday. The action comes as the agency is under renewed scrutiny after ICE officers fatally shot two men earlier this month.

“They exonerate more law enforcement than they convict, and I want officers to wear body cameras because I want the American people to see what the ⁠officers saw when they took that action,” Homan said on the Fox & Friends Weekend program.

Homan says "I think body cameras are the way to go" after ICE shootings

White House border czar Tom Homan said "I think body cameras are the way to go" after fatal shootings by federal immigration officers in Texas and Maine earlier this month.

Ella Baron on the revolving door of Downing Street – cartoon

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Earthquake in Peru leaves at least six dead

More than 30 injured and 300 displaced after buildings collapse near Sicaya

A 5.5-magnitude earthquake shook the Andes region of Peru, killing at least six people, authorities said Sunday. More than 30 people were injured and 300 have been displaced.

The US Geological Survey reported the quake struck on Saturday at 9.24pm, with its epicentre located 2km (1.2 miles) west-south-west of the city of Sicaya in Huancayo province. It was 10km (6.2 miles) deep.

Mark Warner says he'll vote against Trump pick Jay Clayton as DNI

Sen. Mark Warner said he'll vote against Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence, citing disappointment in his testimony at a confirmation hearing last week despite his previous optimism about the nominee.

Feyi-Waboso gives England more bite but there is no ignoring elephant in the room

Returning world-beater has made real difference but Fin Smith laments continuing ill discipline after Argentina win

The most impressive analysis of England’s fluctuating July fortunes, as is so often the case nowadays, came from their fly-half Fin Smith. Where others choose to obfuscate, deflect or shoot the messenger, the admirably clear‑eyed Smith prefers to tell it as it is. And at the end of a long, draining season, his view is that England are still frustratingly short of where they need to be.

Yes, they beat Argentina 31‑24 on Saturday in a turbulent game containing eight tries and the tightest of finishes. It means they have claimed back-to-back Test wins for the first time since November and, in Manny Feyi-Waboso, they have a genuine world-beater. Equally, though, there can be no ignoring the bright yellow elephant in the dressing room. Four more yellow cards has taken England’s tally to 14 in 10 games this year, a habit they still seem unable to break.

The Guardian view on perceptions of superpowers: the world isn’t Chinamaxxing, it’s America-avoidant | Editorial

Startling new research shows that in many countries – including old US allies – the public prefers Beijing to Washington

Earlier this year, a spate of western TikTok and Instagram creators announced that they were at “a very Chinese time in my life” – drinking hot water and wearing slippers around their homes. The Chinamaxxing phenomenon primarily reflected the constant need of influencers for novel content. But social media trends also reflect a growing fascination with China, as the economic historian Adam Tooze has noted.

While it broods over China’s economic, military and technical advance, the Trump administration is accelerating Beijing’s diplomatic progress, as striking new polling by the Pew Research Center shows. For the first time, China and Xi Jinping are seen more favourably than the US and its president in most of the 36 major countries surveyed – including Canada, Mexico and Australia. Only in six countries did people rate the US more highly. While Beijing has seen significant improvements in some places, the slump in Washington’s standing is more dramatic. Across 20 countries, the median percentage with a favourable view of China rose from 32% to 46% between 2023 and this year; for the US, it fell from 58% to 36%. Views of China were much more positive in Latin America, Africa and parts of south and south-east Asia than in wealthier European and east Asian countries.

The Guardian view on pubs: football gave them a boost – now they need another | Editorial

Communal spaces where people can share big moments are a vital part of our shared life

“People can’t get enough of football fever,” a pub landlord, Sam Hale, told the Guardian last week. The World Cup provided the UK’s struggling hospitality industry with a much-needed boost, with pubs benefiting from extended opening hours and one estimate suggesting that an extra 5.5m pints were sold in the group stages alone. The tournament lifted customers’ spirits too – even if it ended in disappointment for England and Scotland fans – as millions of people relished the communal spectacle.

These sociable few weeks could not have come at a better time for pubs, which are closing at a rate of two a day, with about 2,000 gone since 2020. This reflects a long-term trend away from going out, combined with pressures from rising costs including energy bills, business rates, wages and national insurance contributions. The hope in the sector, and among its advocates, is that the temporary uplift of the past few weeks will focus minds on the importance of venues, including pubs, in promoting social cohesion and “watercooler moments”.

Vingegaard crashes out of Tour de France after ‘inhuman’ 2am doping control

• Dane was woken by doping control at 2am on day of stage

• Remco Evenepoel outsprints Pogacar to claim victory

Jonas Vingegaard crashed out of the Tour de France on the first Alpine stage on Sunday, only hours after being woken up in the early hours to undergo doping controls. He will have collarbone surgery in the next few days.

The double Tour winner, who also won the Giro d’Italia this year, climbed gingerly into a race ambulance, his right arm in a sling, after falling as the main peloton exited a roundabout in Bonneville.

US boxer Hannah Rapp struck and killed by driver while cycling, police say

Investigators arrest 31-year-old man identified as Charles Medina in connection with death of Rapp who was 26

US boxer Hannah Rapp, who in June fought for the World Boxing Council (WBC) women’s featherweight championship, was killed on Saturday while she bicycled in Texas after a motorist struck her with his car, according to authorities.

Rapp was 26, and investigators arrested a 31-year-old man identified as Charles Medina in connection with her death, the sheriff’s office of Brazos county, Texas, said in a statement.

Who is Andy Burnham, the U.K.'s new prime minister?

On Monday, former Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham succeeds Keir Starmer as the United Kingdom's prime minister. Burnham's politics have been shaped by England's north-south class divide.

‘He’s a war criminal’: Mamdani exploring whether he can arrest Netanyahu if he visits New York

NYC mayor says in Times interview that’s he’s in ‘active conversation’ with city’s law department about the matter

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he was reviewing whether his administration could arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if as expected the Israeli prime minister visits the city for the UN general assembly in September.

Mamdani’s comments on Saturday’s episode of the New York Times’s the Interview podcast echoed ones he had made to the publication as he successfully ran for mayor last fall.

This week on "Sunday Morning" (July 19)

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

Maps show wildfire smoke forecast, air quality alerts in swath of U.S.

Heavy smoke from several large wildfires blazing in Canada and Minnesota engulfed large swaths of the Midwest and East Coast.

Andrew and Tristan Tate arrested in US on UK rape and sex trafficking charges

Britain seeks extradition over charges including rape, trafficking for sexual exploitation and offences relating to extreme pornography

The controversial influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate have been arrested in the US as part of a UK police investigation into a number of alleged sexual offences.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it was bringing further charges in relation to four further individuals, and had requested the two men’s extradition.

How do Spain and Argentina stack up? World Cup final teams by the numbers.

Forty-eight nations​ competed in the largest FIFA World Cup in history and two are left standing, with Spain in search of its second World Cup title and Argentina shooting for back-to-back​ championships.

How to watch the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup today

Spain will face Argentina in the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup final match on July 19. Here's how and when to watch the soccer game.

The kindness of strangers: After losing my wife and son, I ate alone one Father’s Day – and another diner paid my bill

I went out into the car park to see if I could spot anyone nearby who might have just left the restaurant

• Read more in the kindness of strangers series

I lost my wife in 2020 and my son in 2021. A few years later, I was living alone in a retirement complex when I decided to go out one night for dinner. There was a little Vietnamese restaurant nearby that my wife and I used to frequent, which had excellent food and held many happy memories. It just so happened to be Father’s Day.

I dined alone, ordering my usual rice paper rolls. When I went to settle the bill, the lass behind the counter told me my meal had already been paid for.

I want a place for ritual in my daughter’s life, so together we created one | Jackie Bailey

Ellie wanted a high tea. We picked a sunny afternoon in spring, not long before her 12th birthday

When I was about 12, I had my confirmation. I wore the same lacy white dress my terminally ill sister had worn two years earlier, with a red sash I had screen-printed at my Catholic school with a dove, symbolising the Holy Spirit.

Typically, a child picks a saint’s name as their confirmation name, someone they would most like to emulate. I was permitted to take the name of someone who was still alive, Lúcia of Fátima. Her cousin had been the one to see Mary, mother of God, before dying young and innocent. Lucia, on the other hand, had been condemned to live into old age. I could relate to Lucia. My sister, living with brain cancer, had always been the religious one.

Rise in overseas surrogates ‘increases risk of stateless babies’

Calls grow for global regulation as rising numbers of westerners use surrogates in countries with different laws

• Why Mexico is at the heart of ethical debate over global surrogacy

The rise in the use of surrogates abroad is leaving more babies at risk of becoming stateless, experts have said, amid growing calls for urgent global regulation of the practice.

The warning follows the suspension of a 15-year effort by The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) to establish a global surrogacy convention, which was paused due to divisions among member states.

7/19: Face The Nation

This week on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," as the U.S. struck back at Iran overnight, Sen. Mark Warner joins to discuss the latest in the Middle East. Plus, CBS News contributors Chris Krebs and David Becker discuss election security.

Adam Lambert looks back: ‘I couldn’t pass up on joining Queen – even if the fans were protective of Freddie’

The singer and actor on the edgy artists of his youth, a controversial 2009 kiss, and his relationship with Brian May and Roger Taylor

Born in Indianapolis in 1982, actor and musician Adam Lambert rose to fame in 2009 as runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol. His second album, Trespassing, made history as the first No 1 on the Billboard 200 by an openly gay male artist. He went on to front Queen + Adam Lambert from 2012, made his Broadway debut in 2024 as the Emcee in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, and starred as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl in 2025. His sixth solo album, Adam, is out now. He performs at London’s Roundhouse on 21 July.

This was my first professional headshot. When I was 12 I would spend a lot of time driving from San Diego to Los Angeles for auditions with my mum and my brother, who also wanted to act. That guy in the plaid shirt never booked a single job. My brother did, though. He was a far cuter, more photogenic kid than I was.

The truth about migraines: what causes them – and how to find relief

Over the last decade, the understanding of these devastating headaches has grown enormously, as has the understanding of what can be done to treat them

We’ve been trying to cure migraines – without much success, until relatively recently – for as long as we’ve been able to identify them as a distinct ailment. The Ebers Papyrus, a scroll dating back to 1550BC that mentions a “disease of one half of the head”, suggests anointing the scalp with fried catfish; Galen, the second-century Roman physician whose term “hemicrania” evolved into the modern word, recommended blood-letting (this, to be fair, was his answer to a lot of things). By the 20th century, doctors were suggesting repressed emotions might be at fault, leading to suggestions that women – who suffer from migraines far more than men – were simply too fragile and neurotic. As recently as a couple of decades ago, “vascular theory” – the idea that blood vessels in the brain expanding and contracting were to blame – was still the standard explanation in many medical schools.

Over the last decade, though, our understanding of what causes these neurological disorders, which are technically a sub-category of headache, has progressed enormously, alongside the options for treating them. One of the biggest problems, as in centuries past, is a lack of sympathy for sufferers. The biggest difference, these days, is that we actually understand what is happening, and why.

Going offline is fun. Living offline was not – just ask a child of the 90s | Emma Beddington

The neo-luddites are fighting the good fight. But my life before smartphones felt lonelier and more dangerous

Welcome to the Summer of Ludd. That’s the name of an anti-smartphone festival recently held in New York. It was slightly under the radar for obvious reasons – there was no Instagram, TikTok or website; advertisements were on “wheatpasted monochrome posters”. Those attending followed the rules: “Be present, and absolutely no phones, recording, or photos allowed.”

That’s perhaps why, the Economist reported, “crowds were small” – but they seemed to be having fun, with events including “Google in Real Life” (festival attenders answering questions on their specialist subjects), “flirting rehabilitation” and “hanging out with rats”. I was particularly charmed by the festival’s “media spokespuppet”, Gowanus: more events should be fronted by carpet offcuts with sock arms and button eyes.

7/19: Sunday Morning

Hosted by Lee Cowan. Featured: What's the matter with Congress?; singer Shania Twain; special grass for the World Cup; "Stuart Fails to Save the Universe"; a federal judge discusses working with progressive multiple sclerosis; steel artist Carol Bove; and Ted Danson on aging creatively.

Venice fireworks and a Kate Bush flash mob: photos of the weekend

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

Nigel Farage admits George Cottrell paid for filming and let him use his home

Reform leader says support from fraudster before last election is ‘totally undeclarable in every single way’

Nigel Farage has admitted his close friend the fraudster George Cottrell let him use one of his London homes and paid for social media filming before the last election but insisted it was “totally undeclarable in every single way”.

The Reform UK leader spoke in depth for the first time about his support from Cottrell and the £5m gift from the Thailand-based businessman Christopher Harborne in an interview with the anti-woke Triggernometry podcast.

Brenda Fricker obituary

Actor who was the first Irish woman to win an Oscar for her role in the 1989 film classic My Left Foot

Brenda Fricker, who has died aged 81, was only the second Irish actor – and the first female one – to win an Oscar, for her role as Daniel Day-Lewis’s mother in the 1989 film My Left Foot, after shooting to fame in the original cast of the BBC medical drama Casualty.

As the nurse Megan Roach, she was the Mother Earth of the fictional Holby City hospital’s A&E department for the programme’s first five series (1986-90). “We knew the show had to have compassion,” said Casualty’s first producer, Geraint Morris. “We made Megan the person everyone could talk to.”

Sphinxes, movie stars and 3m books: inside Los Angeles’s beloved art deco library

The showcase library’s centenary was celebrated by thousands who filled the still-relevant public institution

The central library in downtown Los Angeles has seen its fair share of colorful moments.

The architectural gem, which turned 100 this week, has been the backdrop to the epic street battle between Pacino, De Niro et al in Heat, and was where the original Ghostbusters came across their first ghost, a friendly older lady librarian who was anything but. Television shows such as Moonlighting; Murder, She Wrote; and LA Law filmed there too, when characters were researching or investigating a case.

How to make Russian salad – recipe | Felicity CLoake's Masterclass

Cooked vegetables, pickles and good mayonnaise are key components of this traditional but adaptable dish

In much of the world, including Russia itself, this richly satisfying collation is known as salade olivier, after the 19th-century Belgian-born chef credited with its creation. Its wide popularity is testament to its adaptability and essential deliciousness: robust enough for picnics and packed lunches, it also keeps well and is great paired with just about anything, from fish to a simple green salad.

Prep 40 min
Cook 15 min
Serves 4

American Airlines CEO lays out his vision to close a more than $3 billion profit gap

The carrier is working on improving reliability, investing in more premium seats and lounges, and considering Boeing and Airbus for a new wide-body plane order.

Housing costs is the top political issue for young voters, CNBC survey finds

The cost of housing is the top priority for voters ages 18 to 34, besting food and healthcare cost concerns, the CNBC All-America Economic Survey found.

Are money and soft power draining World Cup football of its magic? | Richard Partington

Fifa’s orchestration of incompatible or frankly absurd corporate sponsorship suggests the balance may have tipped too far

It’s almost all over. No more hydration breaks, no more obligatory pans of the TV cameras to Hollywood A-listers, or dread of the crushing inevitability of English disappointment. The Fifa World Cup 2026 is at an end, after another month of planet-straddling drama laced with significance and symbolism, both on and off the pitch.

Before the kick-off between Spain and Argentina on Sunday evening, the result is already clear: football’s greatest prize is more than a sporting event; it is a geopolitically charged economic juggernaut.

‘Liberate the lidos!’ Who will win the war over Italy’s private beaches?

Almost all of the sandy stretches on the country’s 8,000km of coastline are run for profit. Now ‘free beach’ campaigners are fighting back against the mafia, the military and those profiteering from sun loungers and cocktails

Walking along Italian beaches is like strolling through a rainbow. The sand will be subdivided into colours: for 50 metres or so the perfectly spaced parasols and deck chairs will be all red, then they become orange, then yellow, green and so on.

These are the country’s famous bagni (lidos), formally known as concessioni balneari (bathing concessions). They’re simple but stylish. The sand is raked at dawn. The bar plays ambient music and serves negronis or fried squid. There will probably be a table-tennis table, or a beach volleyball area. Some have swimming pools.

The Andy Burnham I’ve met over the past 20 years gives me hope for British politics | John Harris

You hear the word ‘empathy’ a lot when people talk about our next prime minister. I can see why

My contribution to this summer’s modest avalanche of Andy Burnham stories extends to only two. One is about Glastonbury, and the time that he and his wife, Marie-France, came for a three-day stay at the festival, which included his appearance on the Left Field stage, organised by the songwriter and activist Billy Bragg. I help with the bookings and chair some of the debate sessions: Burnham’s was titled State of the Nation: Politics in Crisis.

It was the summer of 2022 – the prologue to Liz Truss’s five minutes in power and (somewhat amazingly) Burnham’s first visit to Glasto. As well as seeing bands – the Irish funsters Fontaines DC were among his favourites – and wandering around the perfumed fields, he had come to make the case for a lot of the stuff he has been talking about in the buildup to him entering Downing Street on Monday: “rewiring” the UK by changing our systems of politics and authority, collaborating on that task with other parties, and taking away as much power as possible from Westminster. Open, self-questioning and a talker rather than a shouter, in front of 1,000 mostly hungover people in a giant tent, he passed with honours; he was even nice to the obligatory disruptive Trotskyists.

John Harris is a Guardian columnist

How Trump and his administration have mired the US in multiple crises

From manufactured election insecurity to an outbreak of ‘explosive’ diarrhea, Americans are bearing the brunt of harmful policies

Between widespread cuts to vital government agencies, various disease and illness outbreaks, and new environmental disaster vulnerabilities, the United States is facing a convergence of crises with widespread repercussions.

Yet the Trump administration has hamstrung the federal government from addressing these crises – and in some cases is actively fanning them. Over the past year, the administration has moved to shrink the federal workforce, roll back environmental protections and policies intended to fight the climate crisis, reduced funding for scientific research and is seeking to advance legislation that would impose new voting restrictions.

Molten salt and human sweat: the weird batteries that could store renewable energy

From Nevada to Manchester, developers are trialling innovative solutions to clean energy’s biggest challenge

In the deserts of the United Arab Emirates a sprawling clean energy project, stretching across an area roughly the size of 12,600 football fields, will play host to a breakthrough allowing solar energy to power the equivalent of half a million homes through the night.

The Gulf state has been steadily combining 5.2GW of solar power capacity with 19GWh of battery storage to create the largest battery scheme in the world.

Violence repeatedly erupts in dementia care despite warnings, inspections show

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities can be fertile ground for violence between residents with dementia, including fatal assaults. Court records and inspecitions how safeguards fall short.

‘White men get to fail’: Graham Platner collapse illuminates toxic double standard in US politics

Expectations that prioritize privileged identities keep women and people of color from even running for office

Since Kamala Harris’s defeat to Donald Trump in 2024, Democrats have chased candidates who exude an ever-elusive “authenticity”. For many on the left, the answer was Graham Platner, a military veteran turned oyster farmer with a gravelly voice and deep hostility toward the political establishment.

Even as controversy after controversy emerged – racist, sexist, homophobic online posts; a tattoo widely recognized as a Nazi symbol, which he later covered up; sexually explicit messages sent to other women while he was married; and allegations from former partners of toxic and threatening behavior, which he denied – Platner’s momentum didn’t slow. It was only after a woman accused Platner of rape – which he denies – that his political support collapsed.

An Israeli paraglider tries to save migrating swifts that nest in the Western Wall

Swifts have nested in Jerusalem's Western Wall since biblical times. Now one Israeli paraglider is trying to save them.

Deadly overnight Russian attack on Ukraine targets the capital

Russia launched 41 missiles and 125 attack drones across Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian air force.

5 clever design tricks to make a small home look bigger

Just because you live in a small place doesn't mean it has to look or feel cramped. Interior designers share creative strategies to create the illusion of space that work for renters and small budgets.

‘We were in danger of running it into the ground’: Brittany Howard on fleeing fame, fighting Trump and the epic return of Alabama Shakes

The soul-rockers achieved worldwide success before surprising everyone by deciding to quit while they were ahead. Now they’re back with a new album railing against the state of contemporary America

In the autumn of 2024, Alabama Shakes showed no sign of ending their indefinite hiatus – and nobody was asking them to. Seven years had passed since the blues-soul-rock band, who exploded out of Athens, Alabama in 2009, had last shared a stage. Their transatlantic Top 10 2012 debut Boys & Girls announced them; the million-selling 2015 follow-up Sound & Color went to No 1 in the US and won them four Grammys. Their fanbase included Bruce Springsteen, Robert Plant and Barack Obama. But by 2017 they were physically and creatively spent, and they stopped. Then, in December 2024, with almost no warning, they played their first show in more than seven years.

“We had a friend in Tuscaloosa who had a brewery, but it wasn’t doing so well after Covid,” explains singer Brittany Howard. “He called me and said he was going to do a fundraiser and asked if I’d like to perform. I said, ‘For sure.’” But then she started reminiscing, remembering how that particular friend had been a huge help to the band, not just her personally. She felt the band owed him something, collectively. “So I called the fellas,” she smiles. “‘Do y’all wanna perform at this thing – like, all of us, together?’ And they instantly said yes.”

‘People say they’ve conceived to my music’: Tricky’s honest playlist

The trip-hop star doesn’t believe in getting jiggy to songs and would choose Cyndi Lauper at karaoke. But which classic reminds him of his mum?

The first song I fell in love with
I was going out with this Jamaican girl when we were about 15, and would listen to Night Nurse by Gregory Isaacs all the time. We had a daughter together when we were 17 – she’s 35 now and works as a social worker in Bristol – so that song has always stayed with me.

The song that makes me cry
Astral Weeks by Van Morrison, because it reminds me of my mum and growing up in Bristol. He sings about his mum dressing him and showing him pictures, and my mum was exactly like that. In every childhood photo I’m in a shirt and tie and looking proper.