Behind the scenes of July Fourth fireworks show to celebrate America 250

The Fourth of July festivities in D.C. will include what's expected to be the largest fireworks show in American history. Pyrotecnico, which has been putting on displays for more than a century, is in charge of the celebration. Rocco Vitale, the company's president, gives a sneak peak at the operation.

View from Freedom 250 Ferris wheel

The Great American State Fair has taken over Washington's National Mall and includes a massive 110-foot-tall Ferris wheel. Ed O'Keefe reports.

Wimbledon 2026: Rinderknech v Djokovic; Safiullin stuns Fonseca; Osaka cruises on – live

All the latest news from Friday’s live action at SW19
SW19 diary: birds stop play | Order of play | Mail Katy

It seems the injury problem for Kalinskaya is to do with her left hamstring, but the treatment seems to have done the trick, because the Russian races to 15-40 on Bencic’s serve, the first break points of the second set. Bencic blocks them both, securing four straight points to hold for 6-4, 4-4.

Safiullin strolls to 0-15, 0-30, 0-40 on Fonseca’s serve; it looks as if the Russian qualifier won’t even have to serve this second set out. Safiullin doesn’t win the first set point but does the second, when he drills deep to Fonseca’s backhand side … and the Brazilian can only net! Safiullin leads 6-3, 6-3. But … Fonseca did come from two sets down to defeat Djokovic a month ago, as the 19-year-old came of age at the French Open, and he’ll be hoping to draw on the spirit of that victory now.

Ukrainian woman suspected of Monaco parcel bombing was ‘disguised as a man’

Suspect seen in Germany after attack apparently targeting tycoon Vadym Iermolaiev

The main suspect in a Monaco bomb attack this week that seriously injured a Ukraine-born business tycoon and two of his family members is a Ukrainian woman living in Germany who disguised herself as a man, authorities have said.

Interpol, the international police organisation, on Friday issued a red notice for Anastasiia Berezovska, aged 39, describing her as German-speaking with dark hair and a tattoo, possibly of a snake, on her right arm from the shoulder to the elbow.

The American innovation that made millions of others possible

From the lightbulb to the airplane, to medical breakthroughs and the internet age, the past 250 years have been defined by America's intrepid intellect.

World Cup 2026: Germany hold Klopp talks after Nagelsmann quits; Portugal to face Spain after VAR drama – live

⚽ All the latest news and reaction from the World Cup
⚽ Player guide | Bracketology | Knockout draw | Email us

Julian Nagelsmann is set to resign as Germany coach, according to reports in the newspaper, Bild.

It was reported ⁠on Friday ​the 38-year-old had agreed to leave following talks with senior German soccer ⁠officials, ⁠a three-hour “secret summit” on Thursday at the German ​Football Association (DFB) headquarters in ‌Frankfurt.

That pundit was Ange Postecoglou, and now, Asia’s No 1 team need him to not just talk the talk but walk the nation to the top level of the global game. The federation in Tokyo should do all they can to get his signature on a lengthy contract as he is going to be in demand this summer.

Flowers, food and a fairytale castle: New York preparations point to giant Taylor Swift wedding

Singer and fiance Travis Kelce have been coy but festivities appear to be getting under way at Madison Square Garden

In her hit song Welcome to New York, Taylor Swift sings: “Like any great love, it keeps you guessing.”

The megastar has certainly done that this week, as preparations began for what appears to be a giant wedding at Madison Square Garden in New York. Vans unloading flowers, food and what looks like the makings of a massive, white fairytale castle, have been seen outside the arena in recent days.

Lewis Hamilton ready to resume Silverstone love affair after finally clicking with Ferrari

Driver has renewed passion and is a force again as he returns to circuit where he has a record nine wins

Smiling and relaxed, Lewis Hamilton cuts the figure of a man savouring being able to do what he does best once more at Silverstone, demonstrating to the naysayers that he remains a force to reckoned with at this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

In the buildup to Sunday’s race Hamilton is as of old at the circuit that is all but his fiefdom. He has nine wins here since his debut in 2007 – a record for any driver at one circuit – which began a love affair for the meeting that he shares with the fans and has never diminished.

Inside look at security operations for July Fourth celebrations in D.C.

Security is heightened around Washington, D.C., as crowds are set to gather to celebrate the nation's 250th birthday. Nicole Sganga reports.

The Tech Download: Amazon’s devices chief Panos Panay on tech giant's AI gadget push

CNBC's Arjun Kharpal sits down Amazon's Panay on the latest episode of The Tech Download podcast.

Mission launched to rescue a falling space telescope

Katalyst Space's LINK spacecraft is designed to capture and boost NASA's Swift observatory back to a safe altitude.

Maps show this July 4th could be hottest ever in parts of U.S.

Extremely dangerous heat, coupled with humidity, could result in heat index readings of 100 to 115 degrees from the Midwest to the East Coast, forecasters said.

Dangerous heat wave impacting much of the U.S. ahead of Fourth of July celebrations

An intense heat wave is sweeping across the East Coast as final preparations are underway for Fourth of July celebrations. Rob Marciano has a look at the forecast and its impact.

The US turns 250 and Taylor Swift gets married. I think we all know which is a bigger deal | Marina Hyde

The cultural phenomenon is beginning her latest era in a castle built inside Madison Square Garden. It’s the perfect celebration for our post-privacy age

It is a cast-iron rule of the comments-section era that there is absolutely no celebrity you can write about without some person dialling in to post a contemptuous: “Who?” Did I say some person? Forgive me: I think I might have meant some guy. Strangely, you never see a “who?” below articles about sport, as though the posters have somehow grasped that ostentatiously announcing that they have precisely no idea about Ousmane Dembélé is not some status-symbol flex, and could secure them quite a painful wedgie.

I am looking forward to catching my first “who?” about Taylor Swift on the occasion of her wedding to Travis Kelce, which is taking place – perhaps you’ve heard? – in New York today. Because of course Miss Americana and her NFL star fiance are getting married over the Fourth of July weekend. And not just any Fourth of July, but the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson. (I know: who?)

Ford achieves quality milestone, as CEO targets flawless new vehicle launches

Ford CEO Jim Farley told CNBC that the automaker has learned from its past quality and recall issues, which have hurt its earnings and stained its reputation.

UK parents warned over posting images of children amid AI sexual abuse fears

Exclusive: National Crime Agency and safety watchdog issue guidance amid rise in explicit material online

• AI prey: why watchdogs are telling parents to protect children from nudification apps

The UK National Crime Agency has recommended parents should not put photos of their children on public display online as part of landmark guidance to tackle the rise of AI-generated sexual abuse material.

Advice issued by the NCA and the child safety watchdog the Internet Watch Foundation suggests parents and guardians make their social media accounts private or share pictures of their children through a “close friends” group.

Cocktail of the week: Society Manchester’s Salford fog – recipe | The good mixer

A refreshing Mancunian twist on two classic British gin-based drinks, infused with elderflower liqueur and earl grey

This is a reimagining of two classic British drinks, the English garden and the London fog, but with a Mancunian twist. It brings together gin, earl grey, elderflower and honey in a refreshing, lightly floral cocktail that’s perfectly suited to drinking in the garden on a hot day. We like to champion local producers, so use Salford Distillery’s gin, but any well-balanced, citrus-forward dry gin will work.

Lucy Bryant, Society, Manchester

‘I saw Herbie Hancock play with D’Angelo, and got my head blown off!’: the festival keeping alive jazz’s golden age

From Miles Davis to Count Basie and Etta James to Prince, Rotterdam’s North Sea jazz festival has hosted the biggest names in music. As the event turns 50, musicians and organisers share their favourite memories from past years – and tell us why jazz isn’t dead

For a weekend in July each year, a vast warehouse complex in the port city of Rotterdam becomes home to the biggest names in jazz. Under the banner of the North Sea jazz festival, the labyrinthine, windowless space has played host to performances from the likes of Miles Davis, free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman, singer Etta James, saxophonist Wayne Shorter and even Prince.

“We’ve had every major figure in jazz play for us over the past five decades,” senior programme manager Sander Grande says. “It’s the place where all the musicians want to hang and where audiences come to see art that is true and beautiful.”

American Express and Chase move luxury lounge wars beyond the airport

Credit card companies are increasingly offering access to lounges and perks at festivals and sporting events, often exclusively for premium cardholders.

July 4th events threatened by heat wave. And, Russia strikes on Ukraine's capital

July 4th events for America's milestone birthday are being threatened by a brutal heat wave. And, Russia has struck Ukraine's capital, killing several people in what it calls retaliatory attacks.

Wildfires rage in parts of France and Spain after record heatwave – video

Numerous wildfires are raging across parts of France and Spain, after record temperatures in Europe caused dry conditions and a worsening drought. Two thousand firefighters battled several wildfires fanned by strong winds along France's Mediterranean coast on Thursday, while Spain’s military emergency unit (UME) said it had deployed more than 100 personnel and about 40 vehicles to support firefighting efforts in the Aragon region

• Weather tracker: Heatwave breaks June temperature records across Europe

‘All those lovely floaty clothes!’ How Penelope Keith supercharged 70s style as Margo Leadbetter

With her kaftans and her headbands and even the odd paper hat, snobbish Margo stole every scene in the sitcom The Good Life. This was what colour TV was made for

Penelope Keith died this week at the age of 86. A formidable actor who came across in real life as grounded, humble and charming, she was known for playing brittle, status-obsessed characters on stage and screen. And none were more memorable than The Good Life’s Margo Leadbetter, whose command of a room depended as much on her diva-level wardrobe as on her pristine home counties vowels. Here was someone who refused to accept the concept of being overdressed, even when answering the hallway telephone. From the moment we first see Margo (in episode two – she is only heard off-screen in episode one), in a screamingly loud chiffon tangerine kaftan, it is obvious that she is the one to watch – first and foremost for her style.

In the 2025 documentary The Good Life: Inside Out, now on Apple TV, celebrating 50 years of the 1970s sitcom, Keith explains that most of the series’ costume budget went on Margo because of her frequent outfit changes: “And people couldn’t wait to see what Margo would wear next.” Keith used to spend Mondays – “my one day off” – in Harrods (“occasionally Harvey Nichols”) trying on pieces: “All those hours in there I spent, trying on those lovely floaty clothes …”. Here are a few of her best looks.

Spain’s conservatives and far-right Vox increase ties with Andalucía coalition

Deal including ‘national priority’ policy brings prospect closer of countrywide agreement between parties

The prospect of a national coalition between Spain’s conservative People’s party (PP) and its far-right Vox party has drawn closer still after the two groupings sealed another deal that will allow the PP to continue ruling the southern region of Andalucía.

The PP, which has governed the former socialist bastion for the past seven years, lost its absolute majority in May’s regional election, forcing it to look to Vox to help it stay in power in Spain’s most populous region.

Norway have finally lived up to World Cup billing – a reunion with Brazil is perfect timing | Lars Sivertsen

Ståle Solbakken’s side have surpassed previous golden generation as they prepare to meet team they beat in 1998

For a country of 5.6 million people, Norway’s list of competitive achievements is remarkable. Our Winter Olympians gobble up medals at a freakish rate, our women’s handball team is all-conquering, we’ve had standout successes in athletics such as the Ingebrigtsen brothers, we’ve had two tournament winners on this season’s PGA tour and, improbably, Norway has also produced the greatest chess player of all time. And while these successes are cherished and celebrated, nothing unites the country quite like football – and no match has stopped the country in its tracks quite like the 2-1 win against Brazil in the final group game of the 1998 World Cup.

The sound of commentator Arne Scheie announcing “Vi har scoret i Marseille!” (“We have scored in Marseille!”) is as firmly etched into our brains as much as anything said by Norwegian poets and politicians in the last 50 years. Scheie was already something of a national treasure, a commentator known for his level-headedness and factual rigour, but when Norway won a late penalty with the score 1-1 he lost the run of himself entirely. He referred to the penalty taker, the Hertha Berlin midfielder Kjetil Rekdal as “Kjetil Reknett, of Werder Bremen” (Reknett is not a surname in Norwegian or, as far as I am aware, any other language).

‘I can only describe it as a war zone’: the rescuers navigating Venezuela’s post-quake hellscape

Thousands of volunteers are joined by overseas teams in the hope of finding more survivors in the rubble, reports Tom Phillips in Caraballeda

When twin earthquakes tore through Venezuela’s northern coast last week, Israel Rivas was at home hundreds of miles away in the industrial city of San Félix. As the scale of the catastrophe became clear, the 24-year-old knew he had to react. A mechanic and budding photographer, Rivas gathered the money he had been saving to buy a new camera lens and jumped on a bus to make the 12-hour journey to La Guaira, the coastal state that has suffered the most damage.

“I couldn’t eat well. I couldn’t sleep well, knowing that my brothers and sisters from this country are dying, so I … came here and I’m doing the best I can,” he said on Wednesday, exactly a week after the disaster, as he stood outside Residencia La Gabarra, a 12-storey block of beachside apartments that had collapsed into a jumble of reinforced concrete and bricks with at least three children inside.

I’m putting creatine in my breakfast - but will it make me stronger, healthier and happier?

I am having the world’s most basic midlife crisis. I have not found God. I have found a fitness supplement that was once the preserve of male bodybuilders

I like to think that I’m not an easily influenced person who chases every trend. But what can I say? It can be hard to resist the power of the almighty algorithm. So let me confess that I find myself in the throes of the world’s most basic midlife crisis. I have not found God (religion is back in fashion, apparently), but I have found creatine.

It’s possible that you too have discovered creatine: the supplement is all the rage right now. For those who haven’t started mainlining it every morning, a quick primer. Creatine is a fitness supplement that used to be the preserve of male bodybuilders looking to build big muscles. Now, however, it’s being touted as a wonder product that can do everything from improving your memory to boosting your mood to controlling your blood sugar.

Just gave birth or are about to? Share your story and questions about costs

The costs of having a baby in the U.S. can be hard to predict and budget for. We want to hear your stories and questions about how to navigate the system.

The best recent poetry – review roundup

Cafés by Holly Pester; The Acrobat by Wisława Szymborska; Volvelle by Rachael Boast; Tree of Knowledge by Victoria Chang; Talk a Blue Streak by Lila Matsumoto

Cafés by Holly Pester (Fitzcarraldo, £12.99)
Beginning with a sequence of prose poems in which the speaker embarks on an anti-epic quest to open her own cafe, Pester’s second collection builds into a meditation on the nature of desire and disappointment. Comic timing remains a strength, as does her linguistic flexibility, wielding language as a weapon in the face of exploitative working conditions, endless monthly direct debits (“Even my egg subscription is a disaster”) and an intensifying cost-of-living crisis. Juggling the demands of caring for an ageing parent, the excited desperation of a love affair, the “fudgy ordeal” of work and the possibility of parenthood, Pester’s speaker discovers solace in the third space of the cafe, both a meeting point and melting pot. “Here begins inspiration, here begins drama,” she suggests. “I order another coffee in honour of circumstantial life.” Ambitious and inviting, this confident collection confirms Fitzcarraldo’s entry in the arena of contemporary poetry.

The Acrobat by Wisława Szymborska, translated by Stanisław Barańczak and Clare Cavanagh (Faber, £12.99)
A slimline selection of Szymborska’s work, showcasing intimate and immediate poems that explore themes of endurance and astonishment. Reflecting the turbulent history of Poland in the 20th century, Szymborska describes life both during and after conflict, documenting the violence of war alongside moments of resilience and poignant domesticity. “After every war / somebody has to tidy up,” she reminds us. “Someone has to shove / the rubble to the roadsides / so the carts loaded with corpses / can get by.” With plainspoken wisdom and deadpan humour, these poems celebrate the ordinary in extraordinary times. Rooted in the pains and joys of everyday human experience, Szymborska’s poetry proves “The commonplace miracle: / that so many common miracles take place.” The book ends with her 1996 Nobel acceptance speech, in which she praises the inexhaustible wonder of the world: “It looks as though poets will always have their work cut out for them.”

Add to playlist: the high-camp Irish trad of SexyTadhg and the week’s best new tracks

The Irish fiddler brings pop exuberance to traditional songs that range from disco to haunting a cappella with a fearless sense of genre fluidity

From Carlow, Ireland
Recommended if you like The Mary Wallopers, Chappell Roan, Anohni
Up next SlutTrad EP out now, UK and Ireland tour starts in October

At a recent London show, SexyTadhg – real name Tadhg Griffin – appeared in a glittering pink corset, channelling high-camp cabaret. And then, they started playing the fiddle.

This is how seriously a patient’s skin colour can affect the quality of medical care they receive | Devi Sridhar

New reporting from the Guardian has shed further light on the ‘ethnicity pain gap’. This is what has to be done to close it

• Read more from the Guardian’s ethnicity pain gap series

I always know someone is going to say something racist when they start a sentence with, “I’m not racist, but …” Nobody likes to think they would ever discriminate against someone based on the colour of their skin – and some people seem increasingly uncomfortable about acknowledging that such discrimination exists at all in the world. Yet we are now seeing a backlash from certain political groups against diversity initiatives, including from Kemi Badenoch who wants to do away with “DEI bureaucracy”, and Nigel Farage who promises to get rid of “woke” council roles such as those involved in increasing diversity, equity and inclusion.

Whatever your political views, no one wants debates to be lost in emotion rather than based on the evidence. So it is helpful to come back to facts about race and how it affects people’s lives. And as new Guardian reporting on racial inequalities in pain relief reveals, when it comes to healthcare, the evidence is overwhelming: race and ethnicity are associated with differences in the quality of care people receive and, ultimately, in their health outcomes. Regardless of whether anyone is being racist, it is clear that some people receive worse healthcare because of their racial or ethnic background.

Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

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.

Former USAID head grieves its closure while hoping for its future

Former USAID administrator reflects on a year since USAID's shutdown and the new direction of US foreign aid.

Family ties and focus: Lamine Yamal carries burden of Spain’s World Cup dream

The 18-year-old is leading a nation’s effort to win a second title – to the delight of his three-year-old brother

No one celebrated Spain’s last-32 win quite like Keyne. As the third goal against Austria went in, cameras caught Lamine Yamal’s younger brother, still only three, raising his arms and shouting: “Come on!” And so a million memes were launched in Los Angeles.

Not long after, 30 metres below ground – Los Angeles Stadium had to be built from beneath the surface because of its proximity to LAX airport – Lamine Yamal stood on a platform before a scrum of cameras, microphones and mobile phones. Someone in there showed him the footage, asked what he thought about this small boy enjoying the childhood he never could, and there was a pause. “I don’t know …” Lamine Yamal said eventually. “It makes me emotional to see my brother happy, and my mum. He is everything to me. It’s like he is my son and I’m in love with him.”

I’m in no mood to ‘celebrate’ America. Our country is broken and needs repair | Jamil Smith

America at 250 is not a finished monument, but a structure still under repair

To call this Saturday the nation’s 250th birthday is to indulge a comfortable fiction. 1776 was a declaration, not a birth certificate – and the founders wrote its claims of human equality while this nation enslaved human beings. A truer account of American freedom runs through 1619 and Juneteenth, when Americans forced the country, at last, to begin making its promises answerable to reality.

So I’m not in the mood to celebrate “America 250”, and I’m not alone. The affection is thin this summer: the Pew Research Center found that 69% of Americans were dissatisfied with the country’s direction early this year. That is not ingratitude. Sometimes a sour mood is simply clear vision.

Jamil Smith is a Guardian US columnist

‘They sing mostly about cows … and peace’: how social media is driving a Maasai music revival

Digital artists from Maa-speaking peoples including the Maasai and Samburu are gaining popularity in Kenya with a blend of traditional and modern sounds

As the sun sets, a goat’s leg sizzles on the fire in Kenya’s Mau Forest, a bumpy three-hour drive from the nearest Tarmac road. “Nowadays, Maasai shoot with cameras, not spears,” the manager says as he watches a Maasai musician looking at himself on a smartphone screen.

Julius Kesier, alias Kamurar Maasai, a musician and influential community mentor, is being filmed at his manyatta settlement. The spear he carries is purely for show.

Got a sunny bed going spare? Tayberries offer great bang for your buck

They are a delightful cross between a raspberry and a blackberry – and fruit abundantly with the right care

This time last year, when my veg patch was feeling chaotic, I decided to make a big and fairly consequential change to my setup – devoting one of my five annual beds to perennial fruit. I figured that it would be less effort, more bang-for-your-buck and, importantly, less water and resource-intensive once the plants were settled in. It felt very daring to give up the sunniest bed in a relatively small space but now that the tayberries are here, I’m seeing that my bold decision has really paid off.

Tayberries are a delightful cross between a raspberry and a blackberry that grows vigorously and fruits abundantly with the right care. I purchased my tayberries as small potted plants, although it tends to be cheaper to buy them as bare root stock in winter. If you’re fortunate enough to know someone who has an established tayberry, plants can be readily propagated through tip layering – rooting long branches when they touch the ground.

What's open and closed on July 3 and July 4? See which stores are operating.

Major retail stores will be open on Friday, although some may have modified hours on Saturday, July 4.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding day arrives with MSG under tight security

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are expected to welcome around 1,000 guests at Madison Square Garden to celebrate their wedding, sources say.

"Vanishingly rare" copy of Declaration of Independence found in U.K.

A volunteer at the National Archives in London found the document among other papers seized from an American ship in 1776.

The Badger, the Professor and the teenager: France’s long wait for a Tour champion | William Fotheringham

The hype around Paul Seixas is fully justified as the 19-year-old bids to end four decades of French disappointment

When you write about the Tour de France for the best part of (deep breath) 40 years, the same themes recur, constantly evolving and mutating. The contorted fortunes of France’s finest cyclists have been a constant narrative since 4 July 1990, when the late Laurent Fignon put foot to tarmac in the feed zone somewhere in the bocage between Avranches and Rouen. It was cold, dank and wet, which given the canicule concerns gripping France at the moment seems like a bit of history in itself.

Fignon had started as one of the favourites, but that was the beginning of the end for “the Professor”. The search for a successor to the five-time winner Bernard Hinault had begun in 1986, the Badger’s retirement year when the ephemeral heir apparent was Jean-François Bernard; 1990 was when the doubts gained pace, intensifying with each passing year and with each potential champion who emerged, went under the spotlight, and eventually crumbled: Richard Virenque, Luc Leblanc, Laurent Jalabert, Romain Bardet, Warren Barguil, Thibaut Pinot.

For allies and adversaries alike, America at 250 is a solid global citizen gone rogue

America has long stood for freedom and prosperity, but under Trump insults, threats and unpredictability have become the new norm. As the US marks its 250th anniversary, Guardian correspondents around the world report on how it is perceived elsewhere

Amy Hawkins in Beijing

Lionel Messi makes his Miami homecoming with Argentina: ‘For us this is a chance to celebrate him’

The Albiceleste’s last-32 match against Cape Verde will see the Inter Miami star’s paths for club and country meet at last

Take a walk around Miami’s Little Buenos Aires neighborhood, and nearly everyone there will tell you a story about meeting Lionel Messi.

There’s the bakery employee, working at the counter, who will tell you about Messi’s visitthere and how much the Inter Miami and Argentina captain enjoyed the medialunas. Down the street, someone at the coffee shop will talk of spotting Messi in traffic, behind the wheel of a luxury SUV. Messi, that person and others will tell you, will flash you a wide smile as he waits for the signal to change, and might even entertain the idea of an autograph.

But first, coffee: The drink that energized the American Revolution

Colonial Americans were drinking coffee long before they dumped tea into Boston Harbor or fought a war for independence. The establishments that served it were already brewing revolutionary ideas.

A hot summer trend in the sharing economy? Rental swimming pools

The Airbnb-style company Swimply said there have been about 275,000 private pool reservations so far this year.

What is Paralives? The creative life simulator game that could rival The Sims

With players leaving EA’s series once life there felt like a grind beset by ethical concerns, this quirky new sim promises a better life elsewhere

For 26 years, the life-sims genre has been dominated by one series: The Sims. Originally designed by Will Wright, creator of Sim City, EA’s virtual dollhouse series has grown into a $5bn [£3.8bn] empire with the constant release of new games, expansion packs, and collaborations cementing its place among the bestselling video game franchises of all time. But things are beginning to change. New contenders are emerging and turning the heads of even loyal players in The Sims community.

The most recent, and promising, of these is Paralives, once the solo project of indie designer Alex Massé, who is now employing a small team of developers. Released on the PC games platform Steam in May 2026 as an early access title (meaning it’s technically unfinished and looking for user feedback), it sold 250,000 copies in just eight hours. On that first day, the concurrent player count hit 78,603 – not far off The Sims 4’s all-time peak of 96,328 in 2022. While Paralives is a small project, this success is understandable. Following the news of EA’s controversial acquisition by a Saudi-backed business consortium, some simmers are looking for what they see as a more ethical alternative. But this is only part of the game’s appeal. The real draw is the game’s focus on creativity over realism: the quirky details that made many fans fall in love with The Sims in the first place.

Georgia Stanway targets trophies after sealing ‘unbelievable’ move to Arsenal

• Stanway back in WSL after stint at Bayern Munich

• ‘This is a massive club’ says England midfielder

Georgia Stanway believes Arsenal is the right place for her to win more trophies and further improve her game after completing her move to the north London club on a free transfer.

Stanway, who helped Bayern Munich win four consecutive Frauen-Bundesliga titles, has moved to Arsenal following the end of her contract with the German club. “It’s an unbelievable feeling and I’m so proud to be joining Arsenal,” said the 27-year-old England midfielder. “This is a massive club that is driving the women’s game forward to new levels and I want to be a part of it.

Morning news brief

Heat threatens U.S. 250th celebrations, Russian advances slow as Ukraine hits back, infighting risks derailing Democrats' House hopes.

Hakeem Jeffries addresses Democratic Party divisions, says Trump is the bigger issue

On the eve of America's 250th birthday, NPR's Michel Martin asks House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York about the Democratic Party's midterm future.

Extreme heat wave threatens U.S. power grids and July 4 travel

The heat wave threatens to overwhelm U.S. grids and may force some to change their plans on one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.

Oman walks a diplomatic tightrope over Strait of Hormuz fees, creating a ‘blind spot’ for markets

Oman is using strategic ambiguity as talks over possible Strait of Hormuz fees raise legal, diplomatic and oil market concerns.

US heatwave threatens 250th anniversary events and World Cup

Weekend’s high temperatures and humidity ‘virtually impossible’ without climate crisis, researchers say

The scorching heat blanketing much of the US this week would have been “virtually impossible” if not for the climate crisis, researchers have found, warning that the high temperatures could threaten Independence Day celebrations and World Cup matches this weekend.

“The climate the country has today is fundamentally different to the one it had when the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence,” said Theodore Keeping, extreme weather and wildfire researcher at Imperial College London, in a press release.

Stokes has left a vacuum – is McCullum really the coach to mould a young England team? | Andy Bull

The New Zealander was the right man to take on the job of persuading a group of jaded senior players to play brilliant cricket, but may not suit a rebuild

Wait, what? Four days on, and nothing about the weekend that’s just gone seems to make much sense. It was England’s seventh defeat in nine Tests, and somehow, at the end of it, they’ve lost the last man anyone really wanted to go. Ben Stokes, his own man all the way to the end, has apparently decided he would rather spend his remaining days in the game playing championship cricket for Durham. A man whose career has been marked by copper-bottomed self-conviction has left English cricket facing a whole lot of questions.

The first of them is whether Brendon McCullum is really the right man to try to rebuild this England team in the years ahead.

Week in wildlife: Neil the seal, a pink grasshopper and condors in love

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

The battle for access to Jamaica’s billion-dollar beaches

In this week’s newsletter: Activists are accusing the government of privatising the coastline to support the country’s thriving tourism industry, at the expense of locals

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Every year, millions of visitors from across the globe visit Jamaica to enjoy its gorgeous beaches, fuelling a multibillion dollar tourism industry. But, in recent years, its picture-perfect coastlines have become a battleground for access after successive governments privatised its shorelines to support the country’s thriving all-inclusive hotel industry.

The complex row, which has seen protesters clashing with police and campaigners tearing down barriers around privatised properties, is now playing out in the country’s courts. We take a closer look at each side’s case, and what’s at stake.

European heatwave is worst ever and impossible without climate crisis, scientists say

A sad inevitability’: after decades of climate warnings, why is Europe so unprepared for rising heat?

‘But we’re just 1% of emissions’: do smaller countries’ climate efforts matter?

On the Mark by Florence Hazrat review – a fascinating history of punctuation

This lavishly researched book shows that dots and dashes are an essential component of style, whether you’re a medieval monk or Donald Trump

How do you feel about exclamation marks? Otherwise known as gaspers, screamers, dog’s cocks, or shrieks. In his Modern English Usage, Fowler said that using too many betrays an “uneducated or unpractised writer”. Martin Amis called them “joke badges”, and Theodor Adorno “soundless cymbal-crashing”. The novelist Elmore Leonard specified that you were allowed only two or three every 100,000 words. He was being generous.

Florence Hazrat notes that the Nazis loved exclamation marks, with Goebbels pencilling in triplets of them into a speech for Hitler. The modern German linguist Konrad Ehlich is described here as believing that “slapping exclamation marks on to the end of statements turns all utterance into shouting, and all thinking into order”. At the same time she derides male scholars who have complained about previous editors inserting exclamation marks into the speech of Beowulf on the grounds that it feminises the hero.

Together with Harry: the wit, flair and fun of Styles’s fans in Polaroids

Gareth Cattermole took a Polaroid camera to one of the singer’s 12 record-breaking Wembley Stadium shows to capture the fans’ creativity, humour and sense of community

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Harry Styles is performing for a record-breaking 12 nights at Wembley Stadium, which follows 10 in Amsterdam. He will go on to do four nights in São Paulo, six in Mexico City and a mammoth 30 nights in New York, ending with four in Melbourne and two in Sydney, Australia.

Ali Khamenei’s six-day funeral expected to draw millions in Iran

Huge scale of funeral for supreme leader across five cities is intended to relay message of resistance to rest of the world

In the small hours of Friday the police roadblocks, stalls, posters and army vans were starting to appear across Tehran as millions of Iranians prepared to attend the long-delayed six-day funeral ceremony for Ali Khamenei’s, Iran’s supreme leader for 36 turbulent years.

Khamenei was killed in the opening salvo of the US-Israeli attack on the country in February, and the funeral is intended to be an epic display of personal mourning, national power, resilience and social cohesion. Small groups of mourners carrying flags were gathering along the roads festooned with the red fist, the symbol of the funeral alongside the slogan “We must rise”. At a ceremony dedicated to the families of martyrs, Khamenei’s coffin was displayed.

‘Ridiculous’ for US to maintain current Nato support, Trump warns ahead of alliance summit

President says Washington’s relationship with Nato is ‘not reciprocal’ and ‘they were not there for us’ in Iran war

Donald Trump has said it is “ridiculous” for the US to continue its “one sided” relationship with Nato, less than a week before a summit of the military alliance in Ankara.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that “They were not there for us!!!” and Washington’s relationship with Nato “is not reciprocal”.

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.

Love story: what to wear to celebrate Taylor Swift’s wedding

As Taylor and Travis tie the knot, lean into the Swiftie mania with a nod (subtly) to red, white and blue, and add bejewelled accessories

Weatherwatch: How thunder is made

Sound of thunder varies depending on distance of listener from lightning as atmosphere muffles and absorbs sound

A bolt of lightning heats the air almost instantly to as high as 30,000C, causing explosive expansion and a supersonic shock wave that becomes thunder. What that thunder sounds like to a listener depends largely on where they are.

Nearby lightning produces a distinctive snap or crack, or a startling explosive boom. Large, complex lightning with multiple segments generates a peal of thunder, a series of booms of different pitches as the sound from each of the segments reaches you in turn.

‘Bigger than football’: Norway fans’ Viking row makes waves at World Cup

From Times Square to the Norwegian parliament and even in fighter jet cockpits, the choreographed row is everywhere

The fans have done it, in their thousands, in the stadiums. The players have done it on the pitch. Pretty much anyone who was there did it in New York’s Times Square. Norwegian MPs did it in parliament.

Prince Sverre Magnus, third in line to the Norwegian throne, rowed in an Oslo subway carriage. Care home residents in their 90s rowed in rural Norway and Norwegian Royal Air Force pilots rowed in their F-35 fighter jets.

‘I feel both thrilled and ruined by this’: Olivia Wilde and Edward Norton on making sex comedy The Invite

Their movie about marital bed death is this summer’s buzziest, funniest film. Its director and her co-star talk self-loathing, psychosexuality and unexpected eruptions

Earlier this week, Edward Norton took a night flight from New York to London and felt so dreadful the next day he decided to get a massage. “I hadn’t had one in such a long time,” he says, “and I almost started crying. You’re like: ‘Oh! Ah!’”

He has heard similar sounds from cinemas screening his new movie, The Invite, which is about the devastating impact of marriage on your sex life. “People are almost tearful. They’re like: ‘I haven’t had a good, adult laugh that made me feel seen in a long time.’”

‘Scavenger’ dolphins increasingly rely on trawlers for food in overfished Adriatic, say scientists

In one area 76% of fishing boats were followed, with baby dolphins learning the technique from their parents

Bottlenose dolphins in the Adriatic are increasingly following trawlers to scavenge for food, with baby dolphins learning the technique from their parents, a study has found.

“These days the easiest way to find [bottlenose dolphins] is to look for trawlers,” said Giovanni Bearzi, a co-author of the study and the president of Dolphin Biology and Conservation in Italy. “Many of them are followed by the dolphins that go to forage and scavenge in their wake.

‘Our little adventure’: Angela Merkel unveils portrait of herself in Berlin

Jérémie Queyras, 28, created painting over months of sessions at his studio where pair struck up unlikely bond

Over months they met secretly in a studio in the government quarter of central Berlin – a young artist and his subject, the former German chancellor Angela Merkel. For hours at a time, while Jérémie Queyras painted her portrait, they bonded, Merkel has said, chatting “about all and sundry”. Sometimes they were silent, or they listened to classical music, taking it in turns to let each other choose the pieces.

The result of what Merkel, 71, called their “little adventure” was unveiled to an invited audience of family, friends and a handful of art critics this week in the neo-baroque Bode-Museum in Berlin.

Details emerge of Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce wedding events at MSG

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding plans include a rehearsal dinner and a late-night celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York City, according to sources familiar with the security planning.

Martínez says there was no ‘lucky call’ after record four goals ruled out in Portugal win

• ‘The balls have a chip in them – it is clear why VAR intervened’

• Croatia manager Dalic says ‘emotions have been literally killed’

Roberto Martínez commended the numerous video assistant referee interventions that helped Portugal past Croatia, and said there was no “lucky call”, after his team narrowly edged an incident-packed match to progress to the last 16 of the World Cup.

For the first time in the history of the tournament four goals were disallowed in the same game, with Croatia seeing three separate efforts chalked off, while Ronaldo also had a goal overturned. The final incident came in the very last seconds when Josko Gvardiol thought he had equalised in the 103rd minute of the match, only to be called offside. A snick-o-meter had detected the slightest of contacts between the ball and a teammate’s head as it crossed the box.

3,000% bonuses but a growing wealth divide: South Korea grapples with its AI chip boom

Powered by chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, South Korea is seeing a surge in wealth, but there are questions over who gets to share in the profits

When South Korea’s most high-profile divorce case returned to court last month, the lawyers were arguing not just about the breakdown of a relationship, but also the exact date at which to value shares in one specific company.

The judges’ decision in Seoul could change the value of business tycoon Chey Tae-won’s assets by billions of dollars. The shares were in the holding company behind SK Hynix, the manufacturer of chips powering AI systems around the world.

Bessent on Trump's crypto earnings: "I don't think there's an appearance problem"

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent touched on the recent disclosure of President Trump's crypto earnings, the latest developments with the tax-deferred Trump Accounts, and the struggles facing the U.S. economy.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce donate $26 million ahead of wedding

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce donated to 20 local and national charities ahead of their wedding Friday.

‘I have successfully defended my personal dignity’: woman wins rare MeToo court victory in China

Former intern and employee awarded 5,000 yuan (£554) in emotional damages after court found former manager had harassed her

A woman in China has won a rare legal victory in a workplace sexual harassment case.

The woman, a former intern and employee at Beijing Grassland Alliance, an environmental NGO, was awarded 5,000 yuan (£554) in emotional damages, to be paid by her former manager, who the court ruled had sexually harassed her. The manager was also ordered to write an apology to her.

FBI investigating legitimacy of Nancy Guthrie ransom notes

The FBI said in a statement Wednesday that some ransom notes in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance have been "deemed to be extortion attempts without legitimacy," and other "demands may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated as such."

What is the U.S. putting in its official America 250 time capsule?

The U.S. is burying hundreds of artifacts in an official America 250 time capsule in Philadelphia. Tony Dokoupil has the details.

‘Give him any award, and he’ll come running’: Narendra Modi racks up honours on overseas trips

Indian prime minister has a habit of collecting awards on his travels, some as their first and only recipient

As Narendra Modi touched down in Seychelles over the weekend, the archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean swiftly bestowed one of its “highest” honours upon the Indian prime minister.

Modi beamed as he accepted the Guardian of the Blue Horizon award from Patrick Herminie, the Seychelles president, complete with a trophy and certificate.

Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce announce $26 million in donations to 20 charities

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced Thursday that they donated $26 million to 20 charities, hours before people began arriving at Madison Square Garden for a 100-person rehearsal dinner. Jo Ling Kent has more.

Folarin Balogun, top scorer for U.S., out for next World Cup match after red card

The U.S. Men's National Team is moving on in the World Cup, but the top scorer will have to watch the next match from the sidelines after video review led to a red card and a lot of boos. Nicole Valdes was inside the stadium for it all.

Nationals’ Cavalli suspended seven games after ‘Sit down, boy’ comment sparks brawl

• Red Sox’s Contreras also given seven-game ban

• Pitcher apologized for remark, racial overtones

• Bench-clearing fracas resulted in four ejections

Major League Baseball suspended Washington Nationals starting pitcher Cade Cavalli and Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras seven games each on Thursday for their ⁠roles in a benches-clearing incident on Tuesday in Boston.

MLB also suspended Nationals right-hander Miles Mikolas for five games and Red Sox outfielder Nate Eaton for three for ⁠their actions during the ⁠incident at Fenway Park. The ​four players each were fined an undisclosed amount as part of the discipline.

Rescue workers save security guard from Venezuela rubble

Search-and-rescue teams have not given up in Venezuela, more than a week after the double earthquakes. On Thursday, a man was pulled out alive after being fed for days through a syringe, the only way to reach him through the rubble. Camilo Montoya-Galvez has the details.

Former Olympian indicted for allegedly tearing up part of Reflecting Pool

Former U.S. Olympian David Hearn was indicted on Thursday on a felony charge for allegedly tearing up roughly two feet of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool last month, amid the algae blooms and political mudslinging around the president's $16 million renovation. Nicole Sganga reports.

Couple who scaled Empire State Building facing multiple criminal charges

The two daredevils who climbed the spire of the Empire State Building in New York on Wednesday are facing a litany of criminal charges. According to prosecutors, the man told police he just wanted to "do something special" for his engagement. But now, Angela Nikolau says police have taken her ring as evidence. Tom Hanson reports.

Heat wave threatens to melt some 4th of July plans

A heat wave is threatening to melt plans for America's 250th birthday, making parades and parties uncomfortable at best and downright dangerous at worst. At least 11 states are expecting temperatures above 100 degrees over the holiday weekend. Kris Van Cleave reports and Rob Marciano has the forecast.

5 takeaways from President Donald Trump's interview with CNBC

The president defended his family's business and said he feels bad that the presidency creates a conflict of interest in any of his children's investments.

Trump administration can remove history and climate info from US parks, court says

In latest legal twist, appeals panel rules US does not have to reinstate signage on climate, immigration and slavery

The Trump administration does not have to reinstate materials related to climate change, immigration and slavery that it has removed from national parks, a US appeals court ruled on Thursday.

It’s the latest twist in a legal battle over how history is remembered at American public monuments.

‘Vanishingly rare’ copy of US Declaration of Independence found by volunteer in UK archives

One of 11 surviving copies of ‘Exeter printing’ and only one known outside US was taken from American privateer ship

For Michael Scurr, a volunteer at the National Archives in Kew, west London, it was “just a boring old Thursday morning” when he sat down in late May to catalogue a collection of documents from the British national collection that had never previously been recorded in detail.

As he opened a volume of 18th-century Royal Navy correspondence, however, Scurr unfolded a document whose opening words he recognised. “In Congress, July 4, 1776. A declaration by the representatives of the United States of America …”

7/2: CBS Evening News

More than 200 million Americans are under heat alerts; the couple who scaled the Empire State Building are faces criminal charges.

McConnell still hospitalized after EMS responded to his home last month

A spokesperson said the Kentucky Republican "continues to improve."

Jack Smith says he's 'very concerned what's going to happen next election' under Trump

Smith said that he could be indicted by the Department of Justice given Trump's animus toward him for prosecuting the president in two criminal cases.

7/2: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Security ramps up for D.C. Fourth of July events; taxes on Trump's $1.4 billion crypto income could total hundreds of millions, sources say.

Tesla stock sinks 7% despite strong deliveries report, posting worst day in nearly a year

Tesla is trying to recover from consecutive annual declines in vehicle sales that were partly caused by a consumer backlash against CEO Elon Musk.

Olympian David Hearn indicted in Reflecting Pool destruction of property case

President Donald Trump has made the renovation of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall a top priority in his second year back in the White House.

Spotify removes streams of No. 1 song after suspicious Kalshi bets

Spotify said the streams tied to Malcolm Todd's "Earrings" were not from genuine listeners after suspicious betting activity emerged on Kalshi.

Amazon has deployed enough satellites to launch Leo service later this year

Leo will compete with SpaceX's Starlink, which had a four-year start over Amazon and has more than 10,000 satellites in its constellation.

Job seekers giving up: Labor force participation rate falls to lowest in 50 years, outside of Covid era

A drop in the unemployment rate helped provide some upside to what was an otherwise downbeat jobs report — but it was for all the wrong reasons.

The Guardian view on xenophobic violence in South Africa: anti-migrant politics can’t fix domestic problems | Editorial

Foreigners are not to blame for unemployment, crime and the state of public services. Leaders should have the courage to say so more clearly

Just over 30 years ago, Nelson Mandela expressed his sadness and anger at the rising hatred of foreigners in South Africa. “We had a legacy of unity and solidarity here,” the president told an African National Congress rally. “We are not victims to the influx of foreign people.”

Since then, xenophobic violence has periodically erupted. In 2008, anti-migrant attacks killed at least 62 people. Now a new wave is sweeping the country. Thousands marched in the streets on Tuesday – the arbitrary “deadline” that campaign groups had set for migrants to leave the country. More than 25,000 people did so in the run-up, with some countries evacuating their nationals and individuals fleeing in fear. Mozambique says five nationals were killed in anti-foreigner violence in May, and Ghana says a citizen was killed on Monday, though South African officials have offered different accounts. Migrants have been systematically blocked from health and other services by the Operation Dudula and March & March movements.

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.

Sandwich chain Jersey Mike's files for IPO, reports 50% same-store sales growth in recent years

Jersey Mike's has nearly 3,300 locations, making it the second-largest hoagie sandwich chain in the U.S. behind Subway.

Premier Lacrosse League plans to bring in team owners by 2028 'or soon thereafter,' co-founder says

Paul Rabil told CNBC he's banking on the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games, where lacrosse will return as an Olympic sport, to shine a spotlight on the PLL.

Ben Jennings on the US’s 250th birthday under Donald Trump – cartoon

FBI orders field offices to send analysts to Atlanta for election probe

The FBI is asking for analysts to help evaluate thousands of records for a "priority" investigation ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel.

Married at First Sight UK cast member arrested on suspicion of rape

Anonymous individual arrested after claims of sexual misconduct on reality TV show and police calls for contact

A cast member from Married at First Sight UK has been arrested on suspicion of rape, after claims of sexual misconduct on the reality TV show.

The individual and the alleged victim are not being named. Alleged victims of rape have the legal protection of anonymity.

‘Truly international’ network of drug-facilitated rape uncovered by UK crime agency

NCA says offenders arrange to sexually assault and film victims via online networks with crimes often taking place in trusting relationships

Criminal investigators in the UK say they have uncovered a “truly international network” of organised drug-facilitated sexual assault in which victims are sedated before being raped and sexually assaulted.

The National Crime Agency [NCA] has said online networks, “many as yet unidentified by law enforcement”, were allowing offenders to arrange to rape and abuse victims or arrange for sexual assaults to be filmed.

The deep sea, the US’s 250 anniversary and a caning: photos of the day – Thursday

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