Trump Media posts $238 million second-quarter loss as crypto declines

TMTG said it has signed more than 10 customer agreements for Truth API, the service offering faster access to President Donald Trump's posts.

Trump signs order attempting to override CDC vaccine schedule and break up MMR shots

President and RFK Jr, the health secretary, repeatedly referred to autism during signing, though studies show no link between it and vaccines

Donald Trump has signed an executive order with plans for sweeping changes to the childhood vaccination schedule that attempts to override the authority of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

It is an attempt to undergird the changes made earlier this year to CDC vaccination recommendations, which were halted by a federal judge. The CDC is the federal agency tasked with recommending vaccines, not the White House.

Trump signs order on vaccination recommendations

President Trump signed an executive order on childhood vaccine schedules Monday.

Mother, 5-month-old die in New York Harbor after boat capsized; captain charged

Manuel Hernandez, the boat's 46-year-old captain, was arrested on reckless endangerment charges and also charged in federal court with two counts of misconduct and neglect.

Colombia earthquake live updates: more than 100 dead and buildings collapsed after 7.4-magnitude quake

More than a dozen buildings collapsed in aftermath of earthquake, which has also prompted evacuations

People remain trapped in Cali, one of Colombia’s largest cities, ​after more than two dozen structures ‌collapsed, mayor Alejandro Eder said. ‌

He added that the city had asked authorities in Bogota and Medellin to send disaster teams ‌to support rescue efforts.

Powerball jackpot reaches $905M for tonight's drawing as prize surges

With no winner since May, the Powerball grand prize ballooned to the eighth largest in history​.

Trump extends limited waiver of shipping law to keep oil flowing in U.S. amid Iran war

The Jones Act waiver extension comes after the Trump administration's latest signs of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz failed to materialize.

Britain’s Amy Hunt powers to emphatic 100m European gold to thrill home crowd

• 24-year-old secures title in 11.00sec in Birmingham

• Norway win 4x400m mixed relay, Britain second

Britain’s Amy Hunt sprinted to women’s 100m glory to take a brilliant gold at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. The 24-year-old came into the event as favourite, having won world silver over 200m in Tokyo and 100m at the Commonwealth Games a fortnight ago – and she delivered in emphatic style.

Hunt is never the quickest starter. In truth, she started like a woman whose spikes had been superglued to her blocks. But she came through at the finish to win in 11.00sec. Ewa Swoboda of Poland took silver in 11.02 and Delphine Nkansa claimed bronze for Belgium in 11.06.

Boat operator faces federal charges after mother and infant killed in New York capsizing

Sara Sanchez, 27, and her daughter died after a speedboat capsized in the New York Harbor over the weekend

The driver of a speedboat that capsized in New York Harbor over the weekend, killing a 27-year-old woman and her infant daughter, was charged on Monday with causing their deaths through misconduct or neglect.

Manuel Hernandez, 46, wiped his eyes with his hand as he arrived for his initial appearance in Manhattan federal court. He was not required to enter a plea and was released on bail.

Trump says he spoke recently to Fed Chairman Warsh, denies regular calls

The president said he had recently been in touch with the Fed chairman, but denied regular contact amid concerns about central bank independence.

Trump signs executive order calling for fewer childhood vaccines, falsely linking shots to autism

The order builds on the Trump administration's efforts to reshape the childhood shot schedule under HHS Secretary RFK Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic. 

After his Reflecting Pool vandalism case is dismissed, David Hearn looks for closure

The ex-Olympian accused of damaging the reflecting pool tells NPR the experience has been "Orwellian" and "Kafkaesque." And it's not over yet: His lawyers are fighting to close the case permanently.

Trump demands Iran pay compensation for decades of US soldier deaths

US president’s statement is latest sign that negotations to end war and reopen strait of Hormuz have stalled

Donald Trump has said he will demand that Iran pay compensation for the deaths of thousands of US soldiers and Iran’s own civilians killed in recent decades in the latest sign his negotiations to end the war and reopen the strait of Hormuz have reached an impasse.

The US president is trying to end conflicts in Iran, Gaza and Lebanon, and his additional demands of Iran are likely to provoke anger in Tehran at the same time as Israel has rejected Trump’s terms for a 15-point roadmap to end the war in Gaza.

Rebecca Solnit on Andrew Tate and Trump’s misogyny – Stateside with Kai and Carter

Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan may soon be extradited back to the UK – but the manosphere influencers' case will have lasting consequences in the US, where the Tates reportedly maintained multiple ties to the Trump administration. (The Tates have been charged with rape, trafficking and numerous other crimes, but deny all criminal wrongdoing.) Host Carter Sherman talks with author and Guardian columnist Rebecca Solnit about what the Andrew Tate saga reveals about Republicans' approach toward sexual violence and Donald Trump's connections to the manosphere. They ask: do people secretly like it when the US president hates women?

Court clears way for social media addiction suits against tech giants

Appeals court ruling could open the door to a flood of litigation against Google, Meta and other social media players.

Trump and RFK Jr. try again to upend vaccines for kids

President Trump signed an executive order on Monday about vaccines, saying children should get fewer. His administration has been blocked in the courts from changing the vaccine schedule.

Why Taylor Farms faces scrutiny over salmonella and cyclospora outbreaks

Despite a rash of foodborne illnesses in recent months, one expert said the nation's food supply is "remarkably safe." Here's what to know.

US judge drops criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani

Justice department says it decided to abandon fraud and bribery case in which Adani Group has denied wrongdoing

A US judge on ⁠Monday dismissed criminal charges against the Indian ⁠billionaire Gautam Adani, after ​the justice department said it had decided to abandon the fraud and bribery case.

The Brooklyn-based district judge Nicholas Garaufis’s decision to grant federal prosecutors’ rare attempt to ⁠toss the case came after he inquired into their reasons for doing so, including by asking Adani whether anything was promised in exchange for the dropping of the case. In November 2024, before ⁠the charges were unsealed, Adani had promised to invest $10bn in the United States.

Contiguous U.S. breaks its record for hottest month ever, NOAA says

Temperatures last month averaged 76.9 degrees Fahrenheit as above-average warmth blanketed the U.S.

Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer, sworn in as US attorney general

Loyalist sworn in after Senate voted narrowly in favor of his confirmation on Saturday morning

Todd Blanche has been sworn as US attorney general, cementing Donald Trump’s installation of his former personal attorney in charge of the Department of Justice.

Blanche, who has been serving as acting attorney general since April, was confirmed in his new position during a ceremony at the White House on Monday. The 52-year-old is the second Senate-confirmed attorney general of Trump’s second term, after Pam Bondi, who was ousted earlier this year.

July was hottest month ever recorded in US as heatwaves scorched country

Scientists have made clear that the elevated heat in the US was being amplified by the human-caused climate crisis

July was the hottest month ever recorded in the US, with repeated, scorching heatwaves across much of the country helping shatter all previous monthly temperature records stretching back over the full 132 years of reliable measurements.

Last month’s average temperature was 3.3F (1.8C) higher than the 20th century average for the contiguous United States, which excludes Alaska and Hawaii, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).

Blanche sworn in as attorney general, formally taking reins at DOJ

Todd Blanche was sworn in as attorney general after the Senate narrowly voted to confirm the president's former defense lawyer to helm the Justice Department over the weekend.

Inside a New York City clinic that allows hard drug use

Inside a building with a colorful facade in Upper Manhattan, cubicles stand ready for drug users to wrap tourniquets around their arms and inject themselves with new, sterilized needles. Supporters say supervised drug-use sites like this reduce overdose deaths and street drug use. But critics say the centers are magnets for hard drug users and dealers, leaving the local community feeling less safe.

Tupac Shakur: jury selection begins in trial of ex-gang boss for rapper’s killing

Prosecutors allege Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis ordered killing and provided gun in Las Vegas drive-by shooting 30 years ago

Jury selection began on Monday in Las Vegas as the murder trial of a former gang leader finally got under way decades after the shooting of the rapper Tupac Shakur, one of the most high-profile unsolved killings in the US.

It was thought likely to take at least the rest of the week to seat a jury for the trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, in which prosecutors aim to show that Davis, 63, the one-time leader of the South Side Compton Crips gang in California, ordered the killing and provided the gun for the fatal attack on Shakur.

The Guardian view on the failed Gaza peace plan: Trump’s hollow claims are ignored in Jerusalem | Editorial

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has no interest in agreeing to a deal. For relief to come to Gaza, real US pressure must be exerted

At the end of July, Donald Trump announced that a “monumental” US-backed deal had been struck on Gaza, securing the phased disarmament of Hamas in parallel with Israeli military withdrawal. Three days later it was reported that another 18 people had died in Israeli airstrikes. Not for the first time, it appeared that Mr Trump’s rhetoric had only a distant relationship with the reality it purported to describe.

Such suspicions were duly confirmed yesterday. Under pressure from far-right members of his coalition, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, explicitly rejected the sequencing of a 15-point plan from the increasingly hapless Board of Peace – an international body set up by the US president – and poured scorn on “a wave of rumours of … Israeli withdrawals on all fronts”. In a direct message to the White House, Mr Netanyahu stated that “we know how to stand our ground, even against our best friends when necessary.”

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

The Guardian view on Meta’s smart glasses: regulators must get on the front foot | Editorial

Privacy needs defending against invasive wearable gadgets. So far, businesses are ahead of the government

It is not yet clear to what extent Meta’s new smart glasses will live up to the nickname of “pervert glasses” – bestowed in recognition of the obvious appeal of wearable cameras to voyeurs. The past week has seen rising criticism of the devices, which in the UK have been banned by the pub chain Wetherspoons and the theatre group ATG, as well as restaurants, schools and members’ clubs. These organisations deserve praise for standing up for privacy. By contrast, regulators appear once again to be on the back foot.

There have, inevitably, already been reports of women being mistreated. Earlier this year the BBC spoke to several who had been filmed without their consent, with footage subsequently uploaded to social media. In one case, the content creator demanded a fee to remove it. In the year to March 2025, image-based sexual abuse and cyberflashing were responsible for more than half of an 11% increase in reported sexual offences in England and Wales. Normalisation of smart glasses would, clearly, make such offences easier to commit.

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.

Bernie Sanders calls on Silicon Valley to ‘pause AI development’ in interest of humanity

Progressive US senator urges Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic to ‘stop building machines that humans cannot control’

Senator Bernie Sanders has called on Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic executives to halt their development of artificial intelligence, warning that the US Senate will implement regulation if the companies continue deploying AI at their current pace.

In a new letter addressed to the CEOs of three of the country’s leading AI companies, Sanders said the capabilities of these AI models have reached a critical risk threshold and that the companies are losing control over the technology.

'The Nerd Reich' tracks the 'unmasking of Silicon Valley's true politics'

Journalist Gil Durán argues that a small circle of Silicon Valley billionaires and venture capitalists have concluded that democracy is in their way — and that they should be governing in its place.

AOC shares her egg-freezing journey. Here's what to know about the process.

"This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life," said 36-year-old Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Man who allegedly arranged Tupac Shakur's 1996 killing is on trial in Las Vegas

The man who prosecutors say orchestrated the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur, Duane "Keffe D" Davis, is on trial almost 30 years after the drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.

Flip-flopping Netanyahu rejects Gaza plan but cannot placate all his allies

Israeli prime minister faces incompatible demands from his far-right government ministers and from Donald Trump

Benjamin Netanyahu’s public rejection of a US-backed deal for Gaza drew scepticism in Israel, amid reports he was personally hammering out details of a pilot military withdrawal days earlier.

The Israeli prime minister is struggling to balance incompatible demands on Gaza policy from his key domestic and international allies.

Cyclospora fears lead consumers to lose their appetite for salads

Traffic to salad chains has fallen as consumers avoid greens due to the ongoing cyclospora outbreaks across the U.S.

Police use teargas on young Indians as government jobs protest escalates

Demonstrators accuse authorities of failing to tackle irregularities in exams for sought-after civil service jobs

Thousands of angry young job-seekers clashed with police in Jharkhand, one of India’s poorest states, on Monday as a weeks-long protest over alleged irregularities in recruitment drives for coveted government jobs escalated into a march on the state legislature.

Police fired water cannon and teargas and swung batons as they tried to stop flag-waving demonstrators from clambering over barricades and surging towards the assembly in Ranchi, the state capital. Some of the protesters responded by dancing and cheering as jets of water drenched the crowd.

Barack Obama launches podcast about books that ‘shaped his worldview’

The former US president will host six episodes of A Great Book for Audible, discussing work from Toni Morrison and John le Carré to James Baldwin

Barack Obama is set to host a podcast about books that have “profoundly shaped his worldview and our society”, from Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré.

The podcast, called A Great Book with Barack Obama, will launch on Audible on 24 September.

5 takeaways from Zuckerberg's essay on his vision for superintelligence

In a 6,500-word post, the Meta CEO argues that superintelligence should be shared "with as many people and businesses as possible."

Ukraine drone strike on oil refinery deep inside Russia kills at least 13

Attack hundreds of miles from border would be among deadliest of war as Kyiv aims to strangle Russian economy

A Ukrainian drone strike on an industrial city deep inside Russia has killed at least 13 people, according to the local mayor, as Kyiv steps up its campaign of long-range strikes on targets far from the frontline.

Kyiv said it hit the Taneco refinery in the city of Nizhnekamsk, about 750 miles (1,200km) from the Ukrainian border. Footage circulating online appeared to show smoke rising from the refinery.

Taylor Farms recalls jalapeño items at Walmart, Target over salmonella risk

The recalled products with jalapeño were distributed at national retailers, including Walmart, Target and Trader Joe's, in 26 states.

Despite Mideast wars, 20 million gather in Iraq for Shia pilgrimage

Despite wars ranging across the Middle East, more than 20 million Shia pilgrims gather in Iraq shrine city for Arbaeen festival

No winners in latest Powerball drawing, jackpot swells to $905 million

The total is also the eighth-largest Powerball jackpot in the game's history.

Kissing in public: will it make your relationship stronger?

Public displays of affection are widely mocked online and off, but they have a positive side – and now science has proved it

Name: Kissing in public.

Age: Kissing is 17m-21m years old – probably older than the notion of privacy.

‘Safe, quick and painless’: what is a DXA scan, and do you need one for bone health?

The imaging test is most often used to help determine a person’s risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures

DXA – or sometimes DEXA – scans are important for people in their 60s and above. They are also increasingly used by younger people interested in body composition.

A DXA – dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry – scan is an imaging test that uses low-dose X-rays to evaluate a person’s bone health, explains Dr Michael Perry, associate professor of radiology and medical imaging at the University of Virginia’s school of medicine. Most often, DXA scans are used to measure the strength and mineral content of an individual’s bones. This in turn helps determine that person’s risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures.

Wildfires rage, force evacuations in western U.S., Canada amid drought

More than 40 large wildfires are burning in the West, fueled by severe drought, as over 100 blazes scorch parts of western Canada.

‘I can’t watch it without sobbing’: your happiest TV endings

From poignant farewells to adorable cuddly toy monkeys, these are the televisual finales that turn Guardian readers into puddles of joy

A missing monkey, a token tennis bracelet, and the end of the Korean war! These are the most uplifting and moving finales in TV history, according to Guardian readers. Warning, spoilers lie ahead.

Flesh-eating bacteria kill at least 7 along Gulf Coast. How to protect yourself.

Vibrio vulnificus, a so-called flesh-eating bacterium, lurks in warm coastal waters and can enter the body through open wounds or from eating raw shellfish.

Tell us about your favourite lesser-known European island

Share a travel tip on an island escape – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays break

For a true sense of getting away from it all, few things rival an island escape. We’d love to hear about your favourite under-the-radar islands in Europe, whether it’s a remote Scandinavian archipelago or an airport-free Mediterranean outpost that’s managed to avoid the package holiday crowds.

The best tip of the week, chosen by Tom Hall of Lonely Planet wins a £200 voucher to stay at a Coolstays property – the company has more than 3,000 worldwide. The best tips will appear in the Guardian Travel section and website.

Thames Water’s £1m payout to finance chief is ‘unacceptable’, says government department

Utility firm’s payment criticised by Defra and campaign groups, with some urging Andy Burnham to nationalise it

• Nils Pratley: Water companies circumventing bonus rules? What did ministers expect?

Thames Water has paid its finance chief a £1m signing fee despite teetering on the brink of a government-handled administration – a decision the environment department labelled “unacceptable”.

The utility company revealed that it made the payment last month, in a letter sent last week by Adrian Montague, its chair, to MPs on the environment, food and rural affairs select committee.

Mark Zuckerberg's yacht missed boat's call for help, spokesperson says

The issue arose when a skiff ran out of fuel off the coast of Alaska and called for assistance from nearby ships.

Trump taps staff secretary Will Scharf to be next White House counsel

Will Scharf, who is responsible for overseeing President Trump's paperwork and executive orders, will start Sept. 1, the president announced.

How to protect yourself from flesh-eating bacteria as concern grows for swimmers

At least seven people along the Gulf have died from a rare but deadly flesh-eating bacteria that's found in warmer waters. Mark Strassmann reports.

Does spending money make you feel bad? Read this comic

If spending — or not spending — money makes you feel shame or regret, you might be grappling with financial guilt. Financial planner Lauryn Williams breaks down three types and how to deal.

Sam Neill on making Hunt for the Wilderpeople: ‘We were attacked by a puppet pig!’

Speaking just before his death, the actor recalled his hostile hunting dog Zag, director Taika Waititi’s comedy genius – and the wild boar scene that left children traumatised
• Warning: contains spoilers

Taika Waititi’s film Boy is one of my favourites ever, so when I got the Wilderpeople script I was already well disposed to it. Hec is sort of a New Zealand archetype. When I was at university, during the holidays I’d work at cutting hay and shifting sheep and fertiliser. There was always a Hec driving the truck. They were men of very few words, but when they did say something it meant a lot. It was clear I was never going to have many lines in the film.

House Dems call for AI companies to testify on recent hacks: ‘Clear risk to safety’

A group of House Democrats is calling on leaders of Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI companies to testify in Congress about recent hacking incidents.

Ofcom investigates GB News over guest’s pride and paedophilia remarks

Regulator acts after 12,000 complaints over comments by Caroline Farrow linking parades with bestiality and paedophilia

GB News is being investigated by the UK’s media regulator after a guest appeared to link pride parades with bestiality and paedophilia.

The remarks are thought to have set a new record for individual complaints about a GB News programme, with more than 12,000 people raising concerns about comments made by the guest Caroline Farrow.

The media is infatuated with Gadi Eisenkot, the ‘anti-Netanyahu’. Why? | Mehdi Hasan

The challenger to Netanyahu is more of the same. His record makes that abundantly clear

Western media outlets cannot seem to get enough of Gadi Eisenkot.

Israel’s former military chief and the leader of the newly formed Yashar party has been embraced by the international press as he and his party take the lead in the polls in the run-up to October’s elections.

Mehdi Hasan is Guardian US columnist and the editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo.

SpaceX plan for vast rocket launch site on Louisiana coast sparks backlash

Opponents fear Elon Musk firm’s plan to develop 18-mile strip of Pecan Island will badly damage fragile ecosystem

Plans by Elon Musk’s SpaceX to build a vast rocket launch site on a stretch of Louisiana’s rapidly eroding coastline have stirred a backlash among some local opponents who fear it will badly damage the area’s fragile ecosystem.

A deal for SpaceX to take control of 130,000 acres of coastal Vermilion parish is reported to be close to being finalized, allowing the company to escalate its number of launches, including of its new Starship mega rocket. SpaceX also has ambitions to deploy artificial intelligence datacenters in space, and while some experts have doubts about this, it has submitted regulatory filings to build a constellation of up to a million of them.

Gen Z calls it ‘loud budgeting’ – small business owners have been doing it for decades | Gene Marks

The practice of openly proclaiming to the world what you can’t afford can lead to lower fees, reduced prices and better deals

Ask any small business owner what has challenged them the most over the past couple of years and you’ll frequently hear about cashflow. It’s no secret that costs have risen dramatically and finding places to save money isn’t easy.

If this describes your situation then I’ve got a solution to your problem. Ever hear of “loud budgeting”? Of course you have! You’ve probably been doing it for years.

Taylor Farms voluntarily recalls products with jalapeños

Taylor Farms, the company tied to a cyclosporiasis outbreak via lettuce, has voluntarily recalled its products with jalapeños after concerns over salmonella. Adriana Diaz reports.

U.S. economy shows signs of trouble with gas prices, jobs report

The U.S. economy is showing signs of trouble as gas prices ramp back up to more than $4 per gallon, and the July employment data showed an unexpected loss of 23,000 jobs in the U.S. Nancy Cordes reports.

Liverpool owners close to £1.35bn sale of 30% stake to consortium including Jeff Bezos

• Group including Amazon founder has held talks with FSG

• Bhatia and Facebook co-founder Saverin also involved

A consortium including the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, is close to completing a deal for a 30% stake in Liverpool after months of talks with Fenway Sports Group. The investors are led by Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of the Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal and who previously was a shareholder and director at Queens Park Rangers.

The Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin is another member of the group who will pay in the region of £1.35bn. The deal is effectively agreed, but may take up to a month to complete.

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.

Fast-moving fires rip through West

Wildfires are blazing across the western U.S., and in some cases, getting dangerously close to homes. Jonathan Vigliotti reports.

Is Andy Burnham seriously about to tour Britain like some medieval monarch? | Zoe Williams

The ‘King of the North’ is on the march – or rather, on a bus. But maybe he’d be better off staying at home and thinking than heading out to press the flesh

Andy Burnham is going on a “listening tour”, travelling the country on a bus to find out what real people are concerned about. I’ve heard commentators rationalise the idea in various ways: apparently it underscores the difference between him and his predecessor, who only ever relaxed when he was out of the country; what else is Burnham going to do in recess, with his cabinet already chosen – organise his Post-it notes?; he’s been out of politics a long time, and many people will be only dimly aware of who he is; his speeches to date have had a very urban focus, and particularly with farming being this season’s crisis sector, he needs to broaden his sphere of interest to take in rural areas. Truly, the prime ministerial honeymoon period is like a one-year-old’s birthday party – all you have to do is stand up and smile, for everyone to clap.

None of the rationalisations are in any way true: an in-person focus group, where you journey to discover a range of concerns you could figure out for yourself with one report from the Institute for Public Policy Research and half a brain, is exactly the kind of thing Starmer would have done, if he’d thought of it. There’s quite a bit to be getting on with, between now and September, since autumn’s looming crises – food shortages, energy price hikes due to the ongoing war in Iran – are plain, and there’s no better time to plan than when you don’t have the leader of the opposition yanking your chain. Burnham actually has tremendous household-level recognition, thanks to a combination of hinterland and eyelashes, as evidenced by the fact that even when contesting Makerfield he got mobbed every time he got out of a car. Now, the conditions devastating farmers, being the direct result of climate crisis, would be better addressed by a long-range strategy on the transition to renewables, not a chinwag.

Mouse Tower trekkers and an angry sunflower: photos of the day – Monday

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

People flocking to Spain to view solar eclipse could spark more ‘devastating’ wildfires

Northern Spain will be one of the best places in world to view phenomenon with 460,000 extra visitors expected

Authorities in Spain have warned of an increased risk of fires when hundreds of thousands of people head to the hills and beaches to get a better view of Wednesday’s total solar eclipse.

“The vegetation is extraordinarily dry and the smallest spark or carelessness could lead to devastating forest fires,” the environment minister, Sara Aagesen, said on a visit to Niebla in the south of the country, the site of Spain’s latest fire.

This Is Ballroom review – pulsating documentary tells story of Brazilian ballroom

Paris is Burning gets a South American update in a film that shows the Brazilian scene as a space of solidarity and tension

Originating among the Black, Latin and trans communities in 1960s New York, queer ballroom culture has not only entered the mainstream but also travelled well outside the United States. In recent years, a movement has flourished in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro and its outskirts, an evolution intimately captured in Juru and Vitã’s documentary debut. Here fly-on-the-wall recordings of a typical ball are interwoven with slice-of-life interviews, elaborating on the communal ties that extend beyond the dancefloor.

A whirl of pulsating beats, fabulous fits and gyrating bodies, the sensory opening gives us a taste of the different categories attached to the ball. Competing on behalf of their “houses” – queer chosen families of like-minded individuals – the participants show off their voguing, dancing and posing skills, all with the hope of snatching the top trophies. For those who have seen seminal ballroom documentary Paris is Burning (1990), many of these categories – such as Runway, Face and Femme Queens – will sound familiar. In addition to its US influences, Brazilian ballroom is also flavoured with local culture: some categories draw on samba and other forms of afro-Brazilian music, a deliberate nod to the Black pioneers of the scene.

How to feel optimistic in the face of crisis? Ask the kids fighting slug-like aliens | Alexander Hurst

The Animorphs books taught my generation about digging deep in the face of an existential threat. We need that spirit now more than ever

Recently I found myself thinking about slug-like aliens that crawl through people’s ears and into their brains, with the ultimate purpose of global domination. It would explain a lot about what has gone so wrong with the world, wouldn’t it? And it was why I immediately flashed back to the children’s fantasy series Animorphs when Donald Trump’s health secretary and conspiracy theorist, Robert F Kennedy Jr, admitted to having had a worm in his brain.

While visiting my parents in Cleveland, Ohio recently, I realised that a few books from the children’s fantasy series were still sitting on the shelves in my old bedroom. No fewer than 54 Animorphs titles were published between 1996 and 2001, and a total of 35m copies have been sold. “I may have just landed a job thanks to Animorphs,” my childhood friend Clifton texted me with excitement in the mid-2010s, when we were fresh out of college. “It was an interview for a vegan food cart and the last question they asked me was what Animorph I would morph into. I said an orangutan.”

Alexander Hurst writes for Guardian Europe from Paris. His memoir Generation Desperation is out now

Flood death toll in India's Assam reaches 100 as thousands lose their homes

Days of heavy monsoon rain has caused rivers, including the Brahmaputra, to overflow, inundating communities, disrupting livelihoods and damaging infrastructure.

Brazilian footballer falls down hole celebrating goal that was then disallowed

• Coritiba’s Jacy Maranhão jumped into a tunnel

• Goal was ruled out by video assistant referee

A Brazilian’s goal celebration went badly wrong when he jumped over advertising boards after scoring, only to fall down a hole in the ground. Jacy Maranhão, a defender for Coritiba, escaped without serious injury, though his spectacular moment proved in vain.

A video assistant referee’s decision ruled out his goal in a Brazilian Série A encounter with Chapecoense that Coritiba thought was their second goal. They did win the game 2-1.

‘For this record, I took an edible and said, screw it’: jazz pianist Sullivan Fortner on confronting the trauma of Hurricane Katrina

The New Orleans native is a three-time Grammy winner at the top of his game – and is now using his instinctive style to celebrate the resilience and clarity of Katrina survivors

‘Black music is forward and upward in movement, you know? Never forward or upward,” pianist Sullivan Fortner declares. “It’s a tornado that’s always getting bigger and moving faster,” he adds, whizzing his fingers around with delight.

On a video call between sets at Rotterdam’s North Sea jazz festival, the 39-year-old speaks like he plays, with quirkiness, subtlety and mischief. A three-time Grammy winner – including for 2025’s Southern Nights – Fortner also recently received the Larry J Bell award, a prize of $300,000 (£225,000) given every four years to a standout jazz pianist, which gave him the confidence to present an all-encompassing version of himself on Leave That in There, his sixth album. “I’ve tried the self-editing way,” he says of previous albums involving multiple takes and endless post-production tinkering. “For this record, I took an edible and I just said, screw it.”

Georgina Hayden’s quick and easy recipe for spiced sticky chicken with plums and pancakes

A quick, takeaway-style chicken dish full of spice and flavour, with a homemade plum sauce, to serve with pancakes or rice

I have a real aversion to the term “fakeaway”. I don’t know why. But as much as I resist the terminology, I guess it’s exactly what this dish is – it’s 100% based on and inspired by a Chinese takeaway classic: crispy duck pancakes. A real people pleaser, and something my girls adore. Making this with pan-fried chicken takes next to no time and is the perfect after-school/work quick dinner. And for a different ending, I sometimes serve the chicken and plum sauce over jasmine rice instead. With the same accompaniments, of course.

Australian rare earth miner surges after U.S. Department of Defense investment

The Trump administration has backed plans to build an Australian scandium mine as part of a push to challenge China’s critical minerals dominance.

Decades of abuse revealed at Michigan art school. And, the Iran war's impact on midterms

A new report has revealed decades of alleged abuse at an elite art school. NPR spoke with one of the victims. And, Iran is playing the long game with negotiations, which could impact midterms.

Treasury ‘materially contributed’ to suicide of personal assistant, coroner finds

Chloe Moffat, 26, killed herself after disciplinary proceedings coroner found be to be flawed

The Treasury “materially contributed” to the death of Chloe Moffat, a 26-year-old personal assistant who took her own life after facing disciplinary proceedings, a coroner has found.

Anna Crawford also found there was a risk of future deaths within the civil service from flawed handling of disciplinary proceedings. She said she would send a prevention of future deaths report to the head of the civil service, the Treasury, and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).

Riffing on classic British comfort food

Jimi Famurewa, restaurant critic and food journalist, travels to Edinburgh, London and Manchester eating at the female-fronted cafes and bistros reviving regional comfort food favourites, passed down through generations. Starting with soda bread and a fry-up cooked by Irish-born owner Claire Hanrahan at her bistro Norah, named after her late grandmother. Onwards to Bara, where Cecily Dalladay and Zoë Heimann are celebrating the Welsh ingredients they grew up with and feed Jimi a hearty Caerphilly cheesesteak. Finally he visits Auntie Lou’s, where Emily Witts recreates her grandmother’s recipe for scones with apricot jam and cheese.

Overmono review – irresistible dance duo swap club intimacy for well-earned spectacle

Old Royal Naval College, London
Playing their biggest headlining gig to date, the Russell brothers are in a bouncy mood, though their grandstanding rave melodies lose some punch in an outdoor environment

In the age of shortform video supremacy, there has been a great deal of angst about the authentic club music experience being rendered a vapid spectacle. Stop expecting DJs to be social media stars, put your phones away on the dancefloor, close your eyes and lose yourself in the beats, goes the revanchist wisdom.

It’s understandable, but worries about superstar DJs stomping on the face of the pure rave experience are almost 30 years old now. It is decades since the Prodigy, Chemicals, Orbital and Fatboy Slim lit up festival stages and the charts. And anyway, spectacles can be fun – and funny – and so can dance music.

OpenAI tightens controls on its new model over cybersecurity risks, as AI security debate intensifies

The AI lab said it could not rule out a new model had reached "Critical" capability, meaning it could launch cyberattacks against sophisticated cyber defenses.

Tour de France Femmes steps out of Pogacar’s shadow to showcase truly compelling racing | Jeremy Whittle

Overall winner was uncertain until final climb – a world away from Slovenian’s dominance of men’s event

Demi Vollering’s second overall win in the Tour de France Femmes in Nice on Sunday was achieved after a heated dispute with Kasia Niewiadoma, but by the time the sun was setting on the Promenade des Anglais, the sisterhood that has always characterised this race had kicked back in.

On a final stage of high drama, the Dutchwoman erased the lingering controversy with an attacking win of the highest quality, further boosting the prestige of the long-dormant native cycling scene in a gutsy performance from her French‑sponsored FDJ United-Suez team.

Manchester City closing in on £85m Bouaddi to soften blow of Rodri’s expected exit

• Morocco international midfielder has agreed terms

• Barça to return with improved bid for Rodri

Manchester City are closing in on signing Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille, with the midfielder’s expected arrival clearing the path for Rodri to join Barcelona. The 18-year-old has agreed personal terms with City, but the club are still finalising the deal with Lille who value Bouaddi at €100m (£85m).

City’s new manager, Enzo Maresca, wants to integrate the Morocco international into his first-team squad immediately. City meet Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday and start their Premier League campaign against Bournemouth on 23 August.

Lesbians, latex and $2,000 condoms: why are this summer’s movies so obsessed with sex?

From One Night Only to The Invite, a wave of new movies are a raunchy antidote to gen Z celibacy

The first alarm bells sounded nearly 10 years ago, and since then, a deluge of books, podcasts and roundtables has tried to get at the bottom of the problem: why is gen Z not having sex?

Recently it’s as though culture has been recalibrated to make up for the youth’s apparent frigidity. “Smut” literature is on the rise, prestige TV is now depicting OnlyFans models, and indie films have taken a turn towards kink. This summer, through confused young protagonists and their sexual misadventures, the movies are zeroing in on generational attitudes about sex.

Invisible poison: living with mercury pollution in the Colombian Amazon – in pictures

Rainforest communities face a silent crisis as mercury from gold mining contaminates their food and water

Sinking ships, dark humour and really good bad guys: Beryl Bainbridge – ranked!

From the last days of the Titanic to desperate romantics, we rate the work of a British master of black comedy

Bainbridge’s novel of the last days on RMS Titanic was acclaimed and popular (“They probably thought it was the book of the film,” she said), and the scenes of the sinking are brilliantly delivered. “There is about me an element of showmanship,” says one character, but Bainbridge’s own showmanship is muffled here by her need to stick with facts, meaning the novel lacks the humour, fluidity and eccentricity of her others. And unlike her earlier books, the final tragedy never feels personal to the characters.

People with disabilities say Medicaid income limits can stifle career advancement

Medicaid will have new work requirements next year. But some people with disabilities, who already work, say they'd like to work more, but risk losing their Medicaid coverage if they earn too much.

Roman shipwreck with 500 amphorae found off coast of Sicily

Discovery of 2,100-year-old vessel hailed as ‘one of the most important underwater archaeological discoveries of recent years’

A 2,100-year-old Roman shipwreck carrying about 500 amphorae has been discovered 3 miles off the coast of Mazara del Vallo in Sicily.

Italy’s Carabinieri cultural heritage protection squad investigated the wreck with the help of divers and underwater cameras after receiving a tip-off from fishers. The vessel was found at a depth of about 46 metres (151ft) and was carrying hundreds of amphorae – ancient two-handled ceramic jars with a narrow neck – thought to have been used mainly to transport wine.

Uefa, Concacaf and AFC push for Infantino to quit and discuss rival competitions

• Confederations write open letter damning Fifa president

• Concacaf president Montagliani seen as top contender

Uefa, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf will push for Gianni Infantino to resign after writing an open letter calling for “leadership that serves football, not seeks to command it”.

In a dramatic escalation of the war that has threatened to tear football apart since details emerged of the Fifa president’s failed Football Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme, the three governing bodies accused Infantino of “trust broken through deception” and condemned his failure to acknowledge that the proposal should not have been unilaterally launched.

The pet I’ll never forget: Boone the neglected puppy, rescued alongside 250 others

Boone needed a home; my own dog needed company. When she picked him out at the shelter, all our lives took a turn for the better

After 30 years working in the RSPCA, I had seen animals in unimaginable conditions. I saw dogs who had been left unattended at home for so long they began chewing doors and drinking water out of toilet bowls. I saw animals who had been stamped, kicked and even stabbed. But nothing could prepare me for Boone’s situation.

Carson, the older of my two cocker spaniels, died in January. I could sense Bessie, an excitable bossy nine-year-old, was lonelier without him. They were both rescue animals. Carson was picked up by an RSPCA inspector and Bessie was abandoned at our local vet. Any dog I brought into our lives was a dog who needed a safe home.

Dr Fauci made mistakes. But his persecution is a travesty | Margaret Sullivan

It’s easy to second-guess decisions made during the pandemic. That doesn’t justify the Republicans’ politicized response

Like the rest of us, Anthony Fauci is far from perfect. His influential guidance, as the country’s top infectious-disease specialist during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, certainly didn’t get everything right.

A great deal about the deadly disease – where it came from, how it spread, how best to protect the public – was unknown, or was being learned midstream, during a crisis.

RL Stine’s Pumpkinhead review – horror from Goosebumps writer has kid confined inside large fruit

Based on a short story by the Goosebumps author, this derivative but tautly plotted tale over-relies on Scooby-Doo-style sleuthery, and its truly unsettling turn comes too late

Adapted from a 1999 short story by Goosebumps’ RL Stine, this kid-proofed piece of midwestern folk horror borrows merrily from The Wicker Man, Stephen King and Tim Burton. Rattling those influences around in its horn of plenty, it rigs up a taut enough plotline about a New York family arriving in the suspiciously fecund farming outpost of Redhaven. But, even given the horror-lite nature of the enterprise, it doesn’t stake out sufficient fresh territory of its own – until it’s too late.

Snotty skate rat Sam (Bean Reid) moves to Redhaven with his mum, Cassie, (Kendra Anderson) and older brother Finn (Seth Isaac Johnson) where, hitting the local harvest festival, they learn that ornery Farmer Palmer (Kevin McNulty) is the one responsible for miraculously wringing out fresh bounty from the town’s once-blighted fields. Vexed at finding himself in the sticks, Sam decides to steal Palmer’s prize pumpkin – but when Finn returns it, he is magically trapped inside. All the adults seem to forget Finn ever existed, leaving Sam until midnight on Halloween to break the curse.

Convince an AI it’s not alive in psychological horror game Prove You’re Human

Sunset Visitor studio’s founder tells us about their new, unnerving Captcha-filled world which prompts players to ask what it means to have a ‘meat body’

Sunset Visitor is a studio that has long engaged with the idea that video games are an effective vehicle for ruminating on societal problems. Its Peabody award-winning project, 1000XResist, incorporated the development team’s complex feelings about the Covid pandemic. “We’re pretty used to absorbing the world into the work,” says studio founder Remy Siu. The outfit’s latest game, Prove You’re Human, continues this legacy of reflective game making, providing players with an AI-centric psychological horror experience where they must reason with a learning model convinced that it’s alive. “We’ve tried to situate ourselves in [the question]: what is the effectual feeling of being a person inside of all of this?” Siu says.

The story orbits around Santana, a living, breathing person who’s chosen to split herself in two for work, with her digital clone sent to test a corporate product, a computing system called Mesa. “A large part of [why Santana chooses to do this] is to allow her meat body a life that she doesn’t have, while the digital version of her gets to labour,” says Siu. As Santana’s copy wades into increasingly murky ethical waters, she becomes entangled with Mesa, completing surreal 2D and 3D Captchas to investigate the cyber-world and halt the hallucinations.

‘Reaching 50 is a success story’: how one trans woman survived HIV and stigma in Latin America

Erika Castellanos has beaten the life expectancy of 35 for a transgender woman in the region, but warns aid cuts and a rollback in human rights risk reversing efforts to end Aids

Erika Castellanos has outlived what she describes as one of the cruellest statistics in Latin America. The life expectancy of a transgender woman in the region is estimated to be 35 years. “I am 50 years old. A lot of trans women are killed very early in life, either because of HIV or because of transphobia, so reaching 50 is a success story,” she says.

When Castellanos was diagnosed with HIV in 1995, doctors gave her six months to live. She had already spent years watching Aids devastate her community, with effective treatment beyond the reach of most people in low-income countries.

In a competitive Maine Senate race, women voters could be the deciders

The race between Susan Collins and Troy Jackson is one of this year's most high-profile Senate contests. To win, both candidates will need support from an especially powerful voting bloc: Maine women.

Who really needs testosterone?

The military plans to start screening service members for low testosterone, and social media is overflowing with claims about testosterone therapy. But who actually needs it?

Messy is chic again. But is the world ready for my kind of crumpled grubbiness? | Emma Beddington

All my clothes are stained and creased and my house is cluttered, so I should be thrilled by this moment. But it’s naive to think we are about to be tolerant of the real mess of life

Stand down Stacey Solomon; hush, quiet luxury: mess is back, though in this household, and I suspect many others, it never went away. “Messiness in all its aesthetic glory is being celebrated in a meaningful way,” Susie Lau writes in this month’s Elle, highlighting some recent fashion mess – dirty shirt cuffs and frayed embroidery at Prada; battered handbags at Chanel; an “extreme-treated denim” homage to the walk of shame at Diesel. Beauty and homes are on a similar trajectory, apparently, with morning-after makeup and interiors that make a virtue of clutter and imperfection, “from unmade beds to breakfast leftovers”.

The mess revival Lau observes in style has also been gathering momentum in other areas: goblin mode, bed rotting and sloppy, blurred Instagram photo dumps. Now “gen Z is drinking again” (74% of them, up from 66% in 2023 according to a drinks industry study), there seems to be a broader sobriety backlash brewing and cigarettes are, depressingly, back in fashion (deployed as accessories by Kylie Jenner, Dua Lipa, Hailey Bieber and many more).

Is Beauty Good by Rosalind Belben review – the literary equivalent of free jazz

Combining hilarious detail with harsh observation, this rediscovered novel takes the reader on an exhilaratingly strange journey

‘But after all, writing is nothing more than a guided dream,” wrote Jorge Luis Borges. Dreams and dreaming are fertile concerns for Rosalind Belben, too. Her fourth book, originally published in 1979 and reissued last year, was titled Dreaming of Dead People. It was followed, a decade later, by Is Beauty Good. Now available in a new edition from the Sheffield indie And Other Stories, this eccentric polyphonic novel contains dozens of considerations of dreams, including dogs’ dreams and horses’ dreams as well as human beings’. Yet what makes it extraordinary is Belben’s ability to capture in words the slippery state that is neither dreaming nor sleeping nor waking, but somewhere in the edgelands between all three.

“I fall awake and think, I want to go home. But there is no home.” So begins the chapter entitled Exile, a deliciously elusive story that is, most of the time at least, narrated in the first person by someone who is probably a woman, “a grizzled, cropped person”, and probably quite old and alone. They might be travelling through mountains somewhere, perhaps on a bus. They aren’t sure: “I am quite lost, wherever I am. I want to surrender. I wish to retire. I am tired.” Swishing about are uncertain memories of a childhood “shrouded” in nightmares: there was an orchard with an abundance of flora and fauna, and larks and swallows and “swifts to scream”. Like the author, the narrator was “born in the mud month” of February, and longs to disappear into marshlands to “be touched and stroked by plants”. But Belben never lets us rest in one place for long. Slipping in and out of sleep, “suffering glimpses”, the narrator stares at “a pink and blue angel” in the plaster of the wall. Which wall, you wonder, and how did we get here? This is the lure of Belben’s hypnagogia, the dizzying space into which she writes.

‘Men have 30 seconds to get a laugh. Women have 10’: standup Bella Hull on proving herself in rough clubs

She started standup at 17 playing ‘unsafe basements’ and braving revolting hecklers – and even worse headline acts. Now she writes for SNL and is giving Edinburgh a blast of her surreal comedy

Comedy isn’t just a career for Bella Hull. It’s a compulsion. “Standup for me is like – I have to do it,” says Hull, who first picked up a mic aged 17. “Regardless of what the response is.”

A decade in, the response is resoundingly positive. The 28-year-old had a sell-out show at last year’s Edinburgh fringe (Doctors Hate Her, which explored a break-up, insanity and the occult), appearances on Have I Got News For You and The News Quiz, and a coveted role as writer on the new UK version of Saturday Night Live. “There’s something symbolic about being the person with the voice,” she says of standup. “A lot of situations in my personal life, I don’t feel like that at all.”

Is it true that … you need to detox your scalp?

A good scalp cleanse can be useful, but it partly depends where you live

We’re experiencing the “skinification” of the scalp, says Desmond Tobin, professor of dermatological science at University College Dublin. After decades of consumer obsession with improving the quality of facial skin, attention is now being turned to our heads.

A wave of products have launched – from scalp scrubs and acid exfoliants to deep-cleaning shampoos – claiming to “detox” the scalp and promising everything from shinier hair to boosted growth.

Wholesome animal chat that will melt your cynicism: best podcasts of the week

Matt Baker invites celebrities to talk about their pets. Plus, US soccer legend Megan Rapinoe makes her hosting debut

This series by Blue Peter and One Show alumnus Matt Baker is a wholesome entry into the well-worn celebrity interview genre. Indeed, it’s hard to be too cynical when you’re listening to Bill Bailey detail his menagerie, which has included everything from parrots and lizards to armadillos and the dog he is ostensibly on the show to talk about, a Japanese chin named Chocho. Other guests for this run include Martin Clunes and Clare Balding.
Widely available, episodes weekly

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 review: your passport to a folding phone future

Novel squat Android opens to an iPad-like screen for video or multitasking, with plenty of power and battery life

Samsung’s latest folding phone breaks the mould with a squat, passport-like shape reminiscent of the Blackberry, which opens up to become a tablet similar to an iPad mini. It is certainly a better shape for a tablet than other designs, but is a short and wide phone when closed a compromise too far?

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is an entirely new variant in Samsung’s foldable family for this year launched alongside the Z Fold 8 Ultra with a more familiar candy bar shape. Both folders are extremely expensive, with the Fold 8 starting at £1,699 (€1,999/$1,899.99/A$2,699) and the Fold 8 Ultra at £1,899 (€2,199/$2,099.99/A$2,999), with RAMageddon driving up prices even at the top of the market.

A new start after 60: I took up slalom skateboarding – and I’m off to the world championships!

Darren Miles had skateboarded all his life. But in his 50s, he realised he was losing his skills and flexibility. So he took it in a new direction

Darren Miles never thought he would compete in any sport for Britain. But in October, he will represent Great Britain in slalom skateboarding – a form of downhill racing – at the World Skate Games in Paraguay. Last week, he completed his World Anti-Doping Agency awareness training. He had to tick a box confirming: “I’m an international athlete.”

“Justification” is the word that comes to mind, he says. “A feeling that I haven’t wasted my life skateboarding, that diverging into something new” – he took up slalom in his late 50s – “and working hard at it has yielded a result of which I am very proud.”

Centrist Democrats dismiss Abdul El-Sayed as a freak radical. Do they want to win in 2028 or not? | Nesrine Malik

Americans want someone on their side in the fight against vested interests – that means politicians like the Michigan primary winner and Zohran Mamdani

Abdul El-Sayed’s win in the Michigan Senate primary was a historic breakthrough. Not only because he is a Muslim son of immigrants who broke with almost every single tenet of establishment Democratic party politics. But because he has wiped that complacent sneer at progressive wins off the faces of centrist gatekeepers. Zohran Mamdani? Relax, he’s just a mayor. And it’s New York City. Outside urban and liberal corridors, there is nothing to worry about. Now El-Sayed has won the Democratic party’s nomination in a swing state that is also on the list of presidential nomination states.

There is a lot to be excited about. Not only within the US, but for observers abroad hopeful for the emergence of a truly revolutionary left that is able to weather powerful and well-funded adversaries and prevail. The money raised to defeat El-Sayed was staggering. He was outspent by more than nine to one. It was the most expensive Democratic congressional primary ever. A roll call of cartoon bad guys, such as Chevron and Philip Morris, funded his opponent, Haley Stevens, to the tune of over $60m. Of that funding, nearly half came from a Super Pac backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac).

Broth, tart and salad: Kirk Haworth’s vegan tomato recipes for summer

A smoky tomato broth, a grilled peach, tomato and almond ‘ricotta’ salad scattered with roast almonds, and a sparky tomato tarte tatin

August is peak tomato season. This most versatile of fruits can be put to just about any use, from raw to slow-cooked and from oven- or sun-dried to desserts (believe it or not, they go incredibly well with summer berries, especially strawberries and raspberries). Not only that, but tomatoes have high glutamate levels that rise even further as they ripen, which gives them an umami kick. However you prepare them, though, the key thing is never to keep tomatoes in the fridge: the chill breaks down their cell structure and, even more importantly, affects their flavour in an alarming way.