Organization aims to honor veterans after death with live "Taps" renditions

Americans might hear a bugle playing a piece called taps each Memorial Day. Tony Dokoupil has the story about an effort to guarantee that all veterans, when they die, are properly honored with it.

NASCAR star Kyle Busch dies at 41 after a severe illness, his family says

Kyle Busch's family earlier Thursday announced he had been hospitalized with a "severe illness."

SpaceX scrubs test flight of massive Starship rocket, will retry Friday

SpaceX's attempted Starship launch follows the company's release of its IPO prospectus, which set the stage for what's likely to be a record offering.

New weight-loss drug Retatrutide showing stronger results than current options

A new weight-loss drug, so new it is not on the market yet, is showing promising results in trials, doing much more than what current medications can. Dr. Jon LaPook breaks it down.

SpaceX aiming to launch more powerful Super Heavy-Starship

The new rocket features a host of upgrades intended to improve safety and performance of the world's most powerful rocket.

CBS Radio, an American institution, will sign off for the last time

Over the decades, radio's listeners drifted to television, podcasts and streaming. On Friday, CBS Radio will sign off for the last time. Mark Strassmann takes a look back at the institution.

Todd Blanche tries to sell Republicans on "anti-weaponization fund"

The Justice Department has a new $1.776 billion fund, designated to pay people who allege that politics played a role in their prosecutions under the Biden administration. It's a settlement without precedent, drawn up by the president's own appointees after he sued the government. Weijia Jiang has more details.

Stormy week for travelers heading into Memorial Day weekend

A record-breaking 45-million Americans are expected to be on the move this holiday weekend, and it could get messy, especially in the East, across the South, and into Texas. Rob Marciano is tracking the forecast.

U.S. steps up Ebola prevention efforts at airports

The U.S. is stepping up efforts to prevent Ebola from entering the country through its airports, with one flight diverted to Canada on Wednesday evening. Ian Lee reports from Detroit.

NASCAR driver Kyle Busch dies at 41 after "severe illness," his family says

One of the greatest NASCAR racers of all time, Kyle Busch, died on Thursday at 41. His family earlier in the day had said he "experienced a severe illness resulting in hospitalization and was undergoing treatment." Tom Hanson reports.

Why did Kouri Richins want her husband dead?

Kouri Richins published a children's book to help her sons cope with the loss of their father – then she was convicted of Eric Richins' murder.

Melanoma skin cancer cases in UK hit record level, analysis finds

Cancer Research UK figures show number diagnosed with most serious form of skin cancer has risen above 20,000 for first time

The number of cases from the most serious form of skin cancer have reached a record high across the UK, according to analysis by a leading cancer charity.

Melanoma cases in the UK have risen above 20,000 for the first time ever, with 20,980 people being diagnosed with the form of cancer in 2022, according to analysis of the latest figures by Cancer Research UK.

Premier League: 10 things to look out for on the final day of the season

Arsenal’s party heading south, fights for Europe – and survival – and Londoners cheering on West Ham

• Premier League top scorers: the latest standings

Last week’s costly defeat to Leeds means Brighton must overcome Manchester United on the final day to ensure they secure a place in Europe for the second time in their history. The good news is that Michael Carrick’s side have nothing to play for and United have a wretched record at the Amex, losing in three of their past four visits in the Premier League including a 4-0 drubbing back in 2022. Danny Welbeck could be key against his former club having enjoyed his most prolific season with 13 league goals. The veteran striker still has a chance of finishing as the highest scoring English player in the division if he can find the net on Sunday, with World Cup rival Ollie Watkins leading the way on 14 as it stands. Ed Aarons

Brighton v Manchester United (all games Sunday 4pm BST)

Burnley v Wolves

Crystal Palace v Arsenal

Fulham v Newcastle

Liverpool v Brentford

Guardian journalists win across categories at Press Awards in London

Political editor Pippa Crerar and features writer Simon Hattenstone top major categories and Malak A Tantesh wins for Gaza reporting

The Guardian’s political editor, a prominent features writer and a brave young Palestinian reporter are among those to have been honoured at the Press Awards in London.

The awards celebrate the best journalism across all news media publishers distributing in the UK.

NASCAR superstar Kyle Busch dies at 41 after hospitalization with 'severe illness'

Kyle Busch, who won more races than anyone across NASCAR's three national series, has died at 41. A joint statement from the Busch Family, Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR said he died after being hospitalized.

Feeding Our Future fraud ringleader Aimee Bock sentenced to 41+ years

Aimee Bock, the convicted ringleader of the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme in Minnesota, was sentenced to more than 40 years in prison on Thursday.

McConnell calls DOJ Trump fund 'utterly stupid, morally wrong' after Blanche meeting

Critics of the "Anti-Weaponization Fund" fear it will give money to Trump supporters who attacked police defending the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Kyle Busch, two-time Nascar champion, dies aged 41

Nascar says it is ‘heartbroken’ to share news of Busch’s death after he was hospitalized with a severe illness

Two-time Nascar Cup Series champion Kyle Busch has died at 41 after being hospitalized with a severe illness, Nascar said in a Thursday statement.

“We are saddened and heartbroken to share the news of the passing of Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup champion and one of our sport’s greatest and fiercest drivers. He was 41 years old,” the racing organization wrote on social media. “We extend our deepest condolences to the Busch family, Richard Childress Racing and the entire motorsports community.”

NASCAR star Kyle Busch hospitalized with severe illness, family says

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch has been hospitalized with a severe illness and won't compete at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend, his family said.

Workday jumps 14% as it bumps up margin forecast on AI strength

Workday's CEO says the company is seeing success in artificial intelligence.

Meta settles major social media addiction lawsuit with school district

Kentucky is one of about 1,200 school districts across the US that have each sued Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube

Meta agreed to settle a major lawsuit on Thursday with a school district in Kentucky over claims that its social networks are designed to be addictive, leading to harm in children. The settlement comes less than three weeks before the case was scheduled to go to trial in federal court in California.

About 1,200 school districts from across the US came together to each sue Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube for allegedly fueling a mental health crisis in children. TikTok, Snap and YouTube settled their suits with Kentucky over the past couple of weeks.

Why Google's Gemini Spark AI agent could be a game changer

AI tools that autonomously perform tasks for users mark a major step forward from chatbots, according to tech experts.

Trump postponing AI executive order "because I didn't like what I was seeing"

President Trump said he doesn't want to "do anything that's going to get in the way" of leading the world on the technology.

Epstein island trespasser says he was hog-tied, thrown into "dungeon"

Little St. James in the Virgin Islands has attracted seekers lured by tales of Jeffrey Epstein's private island.

Andy Robertson: ‘It was easy to fall in love with Liverpool – I’m fortunate Liverpool fell in love with me’

As he prepares to say farewell to the club, the veteran left-back considers the highs – and tragic lows – of a stellar career at Anfield

There was the Barcelona comeback on the night he ruffled Lionel Messi’s hair, the Champions League triumph in Madrid, winning Liverpool’s first league title in 30 years and pressing five Manchester City players in one career-defining run at Anfield when 4-1 up. But the best feeling Andy Robertson experienced at Liverpool was “climbing the mountain” with Jürgen Klopp’s all-conquering team. Nobody climbed higher or harder.

The boy who was rejected by Celtic at 15 and tweeted: “Life at this age is rubbish with no money” after his debut for Queen’s Park aged 18 became the man many consider to be Liverpool’s finest left-back, and arguably the best in the world at his peak. With 377 fiercely committed appearances in a Liverpool shirt behind him, Robertson will say goodbye on Sunday. The 32-year-old Scotland captain leaves “with no regrets, no bitterness” and “glad that one of our Egyptian friends might take a bit more of the limelight. I can just sneak underneath that.”

Zelenskyy confirmed his most famous quote. I got pushback for reporting it.

Whether Zelenskyy had in fact uttered the line "I need ammunition — not a ride" was disputed by the Biden administration when I reported it. Now, the Ukrainian leader has confirmed he said it.

Trump's towering arch clears another federal hurdle, despite public pushback

The Commission of Fine Arts gave the arch design its final approval, even though it's missing some visual components. The president said Thursday that he doesn't need approval from Congress.

House bill would ban use of federal money for DOJ's "anti-weaponization" fund

GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi introduced a bill to ban the use of federal money for paying out claims under the Justice Department's new "anti-weaponization" fund.

All 24 "Survivor 50" castaways reflect on eliminations, historic season

Throughout the airing of "Survivor 50," castaways joined "CBS Mornings" to discuss their time on the show. In this marathon, relive the twists and turns and hear from all 24 contestants about what it was like to be a part of the 50th season.

Tennessee stops execution after failing to find vein for lethal drugs

Tennessee called off the planned execution of Tony Carruthers on Thursday, his attorney said.

Consumers are still spending, but cracks are starting to show

Shoppers continue to open their pocketbooks, boosting retailers like Walmart, even as inflation jumps to its highest level in three years.

Spotify and Universal Music agree deal to let subscribers create AI remixes

Licensing agreement will allow listeners to use AI to create content on streaming platform for first time

Spotify and Universal Music Group have agreed on a deal that will allow subscribers to generate song covers and remixes using artificial intelligence.

The licensing agreement is the first time the Swedish streaming company will allow listeners to use AI to create content through its platform.

American passenger feels 'betrayed' by federal order to stay in hantavirus quarantine

Two passengers from the cruise ship that had a hantavirus outbreak were blocked by the federal government from leaving the quarantine unit. One says she is being detained against her will.

Spygate commission accuses Southampton of ‘determined plan from the top down’

• Commission gives reasons behind playoff expulsion

• Tonda Eckert ‘specifically authorised’ spying on rivals

The independent disciplinary commission investigating the spygate affair found that Southampton had formed a “contrived and determined plan from the top down” to obtain illicit information for sporting advantage, as they explained their decision to kick the club out of the Championship playoffs.

In a strongly worded assessment of the disciplinary process, the commission also revealed that Southampton had initially denied filming Middlesbrough in training before their playoff semi-final, before ultimately accepting the charges, and that the Saints manager, Tonda Eckert, had “specifically authorised” the spying on three occasions during the season.

Phantom Days by Angela O’Keeffe review – a rich, lyrical story told through the ‘eyes’ of a book

Though O’Keeffe’s third novel is partly narrated by a seemingly sentient object, the result is wonderfully human

How do we deal with the loss of a life never lived? As with her first two novels, Night Blue and The Sitter, Angela O’Keeffe’s latest book uses an unconventional narrator to tell a beautifully layered story about human creativity, connection and longing.

At the centre of Phantom Days is Isabel, a woman in her mid-30s. She’s child-free, single, unambitious and working the same arts job she’s had for a decade. She has a few close friends and a loving but complex relationship with her mother, Maggie, who is recovering from chemotherapy. Though her mother thinks she’s going nowhere, Isabel is outwardly content with her life. But something is missing. “If I were to create a thing outside of myself, what would it be?” she asks herself.

Lupita Nyong’o responds to rightwing criticism of The Odyssey: ‘Our cast is representative of the world’

The Oscar-winning actor’s role in the mythical drama has been attacked by Elon Musk and others on the far right

Oscar-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o has responded to far-right criticism of her role in Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey.

In the big-budget film, out in July, the star plays Helen of Troy alongside cast members including Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland and Zendaya.

Anthropic, Microsoft in talks for AI chip deal after $5 billion investment

Microsoft has not made the Maia 200 chips available to customers, but they are used in the company's data centers, offering better efficiency than other silicon.

Trump 'slush fund' a flashpoint as Senate heads home without funding DHS

GOP tensions over President Donald Trump's DOJ fund derail Senate attempt to pass immigration enforcement funding package.

Tim Henman steps in to grand slam pay row to deter player protests at Wimbledon

• Players have demanded bigger prize pots at top events

• Henman has secured meeting with players at Roland Garros

Wimbledon will offer to create a new player council in a meeting with leading player representatives scheduled for Roland Garros next week, with Tim Henman having intervened in the ongoing row over grand slam prize money.

The Guardian has learned the former British No 1 and All England Club Board member held talks with several top players, including representatives of the WTA Players’ Council at the Italian Open in Rome earlier this month. A formal meeting between Wimbledon officials and player agents at the French Open will follow.

‘We’re the good ones. I really believe that’: meet the German billionaire behind the Enhanced Games

Having unearthed the world’s largest triceratops head, Christian Angermayer knows where to find treasure among the dirt. Step forward Sunday’s inaugural ‘Steroid Olympics’ promoting PEDs to the masses

Before we get to doping and psychedelics, arguably the most controversial man in sport is discussing how he came to own the largest triceratops skull ever discovered. And how he plans to install it in his London apartment.

So how much did you pay for it, I ask Christian Angermayer, the German billionaire who has made fortunes from biotech, bitcoin and psychedelics and now intends to do the same again using – and many believe abusing – sport. “Not a lot, because I find them.”

Alec Segaert’s attack plan pays off as Afonso Eulálio stretches overall Giro d’Italia lead

• Belgian ‘always planned’ late attack that sealed stage 12

• Jonas Vingegaard now 33 seconds off the pink jersey

Alec Segaert stole a march to win stage 12 of the Giro d’Italia on Thursday and his Bahrain Victorious teammate Afonso Eulálio snatched bonus seconds in the intermediate sprint to extend his overall lead.

The 175-km ride from Imperia to Novi Ligure looked to be headed for a sprint finish before the Belgian rider Segaert made his telling move 3km from the line and held off the chasing pack to take the win on his Giro debut.

Republicans stall votes on partisan ICE funding amid party infighting

Republicans planned to vote on a major funding bill for Immigration and Customs Enforcement this week but plans collapsed amid GOP rancor over Trump's policy demands.

"Arc de Trump" design plan approved, without lions on the base

The commissioners, all appointed by Trump, acted despite overwhelming public opposition to the 250-foot arch.

Palestinians drop bid for a senior U.N. role after U.S. pressure

The Palestinian delegation to the United Nations has dropped its bid to secure a top U.N. job after the U.S. threatens to revoke their visas.

Democrats wanted answers for what went wrong in 2024. Now, there are more questions

The Democratic Party wanted a review of the 2024 election. Then, the DNC learned the report was incomplete and unverifiable, party chairman Ken Martin said Thursday, releasing an annotated version.

The Black Ball review – the complicated secrets of gay sexuality in Spain are brilliantly told

Cannes film festival: Threading together three stories from distinct eras of Spanish life, this narrative triptych is superlatively acted and beautifully shot

The Black Ball is a narrative triptych about the lives of three different Spanish men at various times: a meditation derived from Lorca about the secret history of gay men’s sexuality, which has been erased, excluded or denied – sexuality transfigured into a mysterious, restorative poetry of the soul. In Lorca’s words, “only mystery keeps us alive” and in fact the small regret I have about this superlatively acted and beautifully shot film is that once the connection between the three narrative strands is explained, some of the mystery and poetry is lost.

In 1932, Carlos (Milo Quifes) is a young man of a good family in Granada, who applies for membership of the elite “Casino” club but is turned down on the grounds of his rumoured homosexuality, blackballed in an oppressively elaborate ceremony presided over by politicians and clergymen, in which the white and black balls are solemnly rolled down a special chute. In 1939, Sebastián (played by the actor and musician Álvaro Lafuente Calvo) finds himself chaotically enlisted into the pro-Franco nationalist army during the civil war and falls in love with the wounded Republican prisoner-of-war that he is supposed to be guarding. This is Rafael (Miguel Bernardeau), an actor and footballer with Atlético Madrid, an impossibly handsome, captivatingly vulnerable man whose bandages ooze blood like the tears of a miraculous statue.

Foden, Palmer and Maguire left out of England World Cup squad but Toney is in

• Mainoo picked but no place for Wharton or Gibbs-White

• Ivan Toney makes shock return despite year out of squad

Thomas Tuchel has made a series of shock calls with England’s squad for the World Cup, finding no space for Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, leaving out a “shocked and gutted” Harry Maguire and handing a surprise recall to Ivan Toney.

Tuchel is set to name his 26-man party for this summer’s finals at Wembley on Friday morning and he spent much of Thursday evening calling players to let them know if they were in his plans.

Stellantis unveils $70 billion turnaround plan, targets positive cash flow by 2027

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa unveiled a new five-year strategic plan Thursday worth 60 billion euros ($69.7 billion).

Democrats belatedly publish 2024 election autopsy report: ‘It won’t meet your standards’

DNC chair Ken Martin apologizes for initial bid to block release of report on party’s disastrous election defeat

The Democratic party has belatedly published a postmortem on its disastrous 2024 election defeat, after an initial decision to withhold the document triggered an angry backlash.

Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), released the report – which fails to mention Gaza or Joe Biden’s age – accompanied by an apology to party members angered by his initial decision to keep the analysis of Kamala Harris’s loss to Donald Trump and defeat in both houses of Congress under wraps.

DOJ charges ex-prosecutor with stealing Trump documents case report prepared by Jack Smith

Carmen Mercedes Lineberger allegedy emailed herself a copy of Volume II of special counsel Jack Smith's report on Trump's criminal case.

Colbert hosts "The Late Show" one last time tonight as franchise ends

"The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert is marking the end of an iconic late-night franchise on CBS.

Risk of snakebites increasing as reptiles adapt to changing world, says study

Research led by WHO predicts hotter climate will lead to more contact between humans and venomous snakes

The risk of snakebites is increasing across the world as reptiles shift their habitats to cope with rising temperatures and growing human pressures, a study of venomous snakes has found.

Spitting cobras in Africa, vipers in Europe and South America, cottonmouth moccasins in North America and kraits in Asia are coming into greater contact with people as a result of climate disruption and landscape change, according to the research, which was led by the World Health Organization.

Italian police stop party attended by Mick Jagger over music ban

Music is banned on Wednesdays on island of Stromboli where Rolling Stones frontman was celebrating wrapping a film

Police on an Italian island stopped a party attended by Mick Jagger – because music is banned on Wednesdays.

The Rolling Stones frontman was on Stromboli, the volcanic island among Sicily’s Aeolian archipelago, for the production of Three Incestuous Sisters, a film by the Italian director Alice Rohrwacher in which he stars.

‘I refuse to be a second-class citizen in my own land’: Taiwanese International Booker winner Yáng Shuāng-zǐ

The author of historical novel Taiwan Travelogue, and its translator Lin King, discuss the threat from Beijing, LGBTQ+ rights and the island’s culinary delicacies

As Yáng Shuāng-zǐ accepted the 2026 International Booker prize at the Tate Modern on Tuesday night for Taiwan Travelogue, alongside her translator Lin King, she used her speech to speak frankly about the political questions at the centre of her novel, set in 1930s Japan-occupied Taiwan. “Some people believe that art and literature must be kept far from politics,” Yáng told the audience. “But I believe that literature cannot be separated from the soil in which it has grown.”

When we speak the following morning, the 41-year-old writer returns quickly to the same theme. “Taiwanese people are suffering from an identity crisis,” she tells me. “Some of us believe ourselves to be Chinese and then others believe that we are Taiwanese, and I wanted to express that somehow through my book. As Taiwanese people, we need to ask ourselves now – do we want to go back to being colonised? Do we want to have to live like that again? Be second-class citizens in our own land? I refuse.”

Ebola: US ban on travellers from DRC, Uganda or South Sudan ‘not the solution’

Africa CDC says restrictions could increase public health risks and highlight ‘deeper structural injustice’ in global health

A US travel ban for people coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in response to the Ebola outbreak could make the situation worse, critics have said.

The outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday and continues to spread, with a new case reported in the DRC’s South Kivu province, an area under the control of armed rebel groups.

Turkish court ruling removes head of main opposition party

Ruling annuls 2023 CHP leadership contest and deposes Özgür Özel, the face of opposition to Erdoğan

A Turkish court has issued a ruling that removes the head of the main opposition party, in the latest blow to challengers of the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The ruling, issued by an appeals court in Ankara on Thursday, annulled a 2023 leadership contest within the Republican People’s party (CHP), deposing the party’s leader, Özgür Özel.

Jeffrey Epstein assistant fiercely denies she was an accomplice and claims he abused her

Sarah Kellen tells lawmakers that convicted sex offender ‘sexually and psychologically abused me … and gaslit me’

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One of Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime assistants has fiercely denied she was an accomplice of the convicted sex offender, claiming in a congressional interview she was “sexually and psychologically abused” by the late financier.

“I am here today to answer your questions, to dispel rumors and conspiracies, and to tell you the truth,” Sarah Kellen told lawmakers on the House of Representatives oversight and reform committee on Thursday morning, as part of its review of the federal investigation into Epstein.

Abortion pills "just in case"? Planned Parenthood will offer them in two states

In Washington state and Hawaii, residents can now get mifepristone and misoprostol from Planned Parenthood to keep in their cabinets in case they need to end a pregnancy at a later time.

The Guardian view on the Mountbatten-Windsor papers: they expose the collapse of Britain’s 'good chap' state | Editorial

New papers matter less for royal gossip than for what they reveal about the UK’s fragile constitutional culture of trust, prestige and informal power

The most shocking revelation in files released on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as Britain’s trade envoy isn’t that he loves golf or prefers ballet over theatre. It is that no one asked the obvious question: how risky would it be for a headline-grabbing prince with no business experience to front the UK’s commercial diplomacy without formal vetting? The 11 documents that were released on Thursday show that having experience and being an expert weren’t as important as being a member of the royal family. After the Epstein scandal, those assumptions no longer look merely anachronistic. They look dangerous.

The late Queen pushed, wrongly as it turned out, for her son to inherit the role from the Duke of Kent, according to the papers released through a humble address motion. David Wright, then head of British Trade International, wrote that it was her wish for the then Duke of York to assume a “prominent role in the promotion of national interests”. In 2000, royalty was not peripheral to Britain’s commercial diplomacy. It was central to it.

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 Grenfell prosecutions: court dates cannot come soon enough | Editorial

Survivors are right to be angry at the nine years taken to reach this point. Those to blame for the fire must face justice

Relief at this week’s news that police are sending files to the Crown Prosecution Service, recommending charges against 77 individuals and organisations for their roles in the Grenfell Tower fire, is mixed with grief and anger. On 14 June the disaster’s survivors and their supporters will gather for the ninth annual silent walk around the west London neighbourhood in which the ruined tower stands. Next year marks a decade since the fire.

The public inquiry into the disaster pointed the finger at multiple public and private bodies, decisions and individuals. Three construction firms, Arconic, Kingspan and Celotex, were found to have been deliberately dishonest about their products. Poor regulation of building safety was the fault of central government. Kensington and Chelsea council, and its tenant management organisation, were strongly criticised for poor fire safety and other lapses. So were the architects and contractors commissioned to oversee the block’s refurbishment. The London fire brigade was culpable for its dangerous “stay put” policy, which should have been changed following previous cladding fires, including the one that killed six people in Lakanal House, south London, in 2009.

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.

U.S.-bound flight diverted over passenger from Congo amid Ebola restrictions

An Air France flight from Paris to Detroit was forced to divert to Montreal due to U.S. flight restrictions linked to the Ebola outbreak.

Jason White on the UK’s prime ministerial merry-go-round – cartoon

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DNC releases 2024 election autopsy, party chair slams it

A disclaimer sits at the top of each page saying: "This document reflects the views of the author, not the DNC."

Forecasters expect slightly fewer hurricanes than usual this year, but the risk of destructive storms is still high

Forecasters expect 8 to 14 storms will form in the Atlantic between June 1 and November 30. But the danger is more serious than the numbers suggest.

Stellantis targets 35% North American sales increase, led by Ram Trucks and Chrysler revival

Stellantis said at an investor day Thursday that it plans to increase its North American sales by 35% by 2030.

Israel deports foreign Gaza-bound flotilla activists after global outcry

Move comes amid condemnation of Itamar Ben-Gvir after video posted showing detained protesters being taunted

Israel has said it has deported all the foreign activists it seized from a Gaza-bound flotilla, after a global outcry over their treatment in custody that led the UK to join other countries in summoning Israeli diplomats for a formal dressing down.

More than 430 activists from countries around the world had been placed in detention in Israel after they were intercepted at sea on Monday while making the latest in a string of attempts to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.

New weight-loss shot appears to outperform other obesity drugs on market

Eli Lilly says participants in a sizable trial of retatrutide lost much more weight compared to other weight-loss drugs

A new weight-loss drug has helped participants in a sizable trial lose much more weight than other obesity drugs already on the market – up to an average of 28% of their body weight – Eli Lilly announced on Thursday.

The Indiana-based pharmaceutical company in a press statement said that retatrutide, a once-weekly triple hormone receptor agonist, led to an average weight loss of 70.3lb (28.3%) over 80 weeks among participants receiving the 12mg dose, with 45.3% achieving at least 30% weight loss.

Bullying, hazing and the making of a ‘soccer president’: Donald Trump’s forgotten career on the pitch

The US president will have a prominent role at this summer’s World Cup, but his involvement with the sport started in military school

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Drive north from New York City and into the Hudson valley. Take Exit 17 and follow Route 7 as it heads south along the river, past the abandoned shipyard and the aptly named Cadet Motel. Hang a left after a few miles, wind up a long driveway and you’ll arrive at New York Military Academy.

It’s open, barely. Hundreds of students used to attend this place, but that number has dwindled to a few dozen; most of the 50 or so buildings on campus have fallen into disrepair and many seem entirely abandoned. Come here after dark and you’ll start to feel a little uneasy.

Atlantic hurricane season is coming up. Here's what NOAA predicts.

The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season is quickly approaching, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is releasing its forecast for what to expect.

Cubans outraged at US charges against Raúl Castro as fears of military strikes grow

It’s a nerve-racking time for Havana neighbours of top Cuban officials as fears of US attack mount

A new question in being asked in Havana as people digest the news that the US has brought criminal charges against Cuba’s 94-year-old former president, Raúl Castro: who’s your neighbour?

If you happen to live near a senior figure in Cuba’s government or armed forces, others suck their teeth in an expression of concerned sympathy. For the first time, US military strikes on the island are being considered a serious possibility.

After the sirens: Lebanon's first responders swing between duty and grief

Nearly 3,000 people have been killed and nearly 1 million have been displaced the war in southern Lebanon began in March. Nearly 400 have been killed since a ceasefire began in April.

Oil markets nearing ‘red zone’ as Iran crisis continues, warns IEA chief

Surging demand, low reserves and reduced Middle East exports predicted to cause global crunch by August

Oil markets will enter the “red zone” by July and August as stocks dwindle before the summer travel season amid a shortage of fresh oil exports from the Middle East, the executive director of the International Energy Agency warned on Thursday.

Fatih Birol added that the most important solution to the Iran war energy shock was a full and unconditional reopening of the strait of Hormuz.

Passenger review – generic jumpscare horror offers bumpy journey to nowhere

A demonic entity attaches itself to travellers on the road in this competently directed but hopelessly indistinctive scare-free misfire

As Obsession, a micro-budget horror made by a YouTuber, continues to overperform with critics and audiences, and as another twentysomething content creator prepares to break a potential record with the release of Backrooms, here comes a stodgy by-the-book Paramount horror that feels like someone’s embarrassing dad just gatecrashed a college party. While others might be trying to innovate, those involved with Paramount’s generic schedule-filler Passenger are perfectly content to keep things lazily trucking along as they always have. Even if it wasn’t stuck in an unfortunate gen Z genre sandwich, it would still be a struggle to see why anyone would want to hitch a ride with this one.

Like February’s cursed misfire Psycho Killer, another junky on-the-road studio horror, Passenger plays like something that would have gone straight to unrated DVD back in the 2000s. It’s marginally better but similarly baffling that with all of the unproduced horror scripts stacking up on desks in Hollywood, this would not only make it to production but be warranted a wide release on a prime May weekend. I kept waiting to understand what might have nudged this one to the top of the pile, but left without clarity.

Congress has strongest path to stop Trump DOJ’s $1.8 billion compensation fund, attorneys say

The Department of Justice has set up a $1.8 billion fund that will purportedly compensate victims of prosecutorial overreach under the Biden administration.

‘Per my last email’: how email incivility can affect us at work

Although it might seem like a minor irritant, the consequences of email incivility can be far-reaching

Received a rude email at work? You’re not alone.

When I was weighing a move from full-time to freelance work, a terse email from a colleague – demanding I redo a task from scratch over a technicality – settled the matter instantly. I quit on the spot. Around the same time, thousands of US government workers received an email requiring them to justify their employment “with approx 5 bullets of what you accomplished this week” – or resign.

Clarissa Brincat is a freelance health and science journalist

A trillion dollar question: Will SpaceX's Starship launch go well?

Ahead of a much anticipated IPO, SpaceX is carrying out a critical test of its giant, stainless steel rocket. Investors will be watching closely.

Bloom Energy rises 12% after partnering with European AI infrastructure upstart in $2.6 billion deal

Nebius said Wednesday that it would deploy Bloom's fuel-cell technology to generate electricity faster and more quickly at its data centers.

No evidence of formal security vetting when Andrew became UK trade envoy, minister says

Documents released by government also show late queen was ‘very keen’ for her son to have prominent role

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Formal security vetting and due diligence appear not to have been carried out before the appointment of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as a trade envoy, the government has said, as it emerged that the late queen was “very keen” for her son to take a prominent role in promoting Britain’s interests.

The first batch of documents relating to the appointment of the then prince as trade envoy by Tony Blair in 2001 includes a memo dated 25 February 2000 and addressed to Robin Cook, the then foreign secretary, in which the then chief executive of British Trade International (BTI), David Wright, said Queen Elizabeth II’s “wish” had been for Mountbatten-Windsor to take on the role.

Big science and uncanny prescience: Laurie Anderson’s greatest songs – ranked!

Forty years since her pioneering concert film Home of the Brave, and ahead of a European tour, we count down the best of a surprisingly poppy avant garde catalogue

From a compilation released by William Burroughs associate John Giorno – fellow contributors included Patti Smith, Philip Glass and the Fugs – comes the fledgling sound of Laurie Anderson’s breakthrough Big Science: spoken word, electronically manipulated voices, violin. It doesn’t quite work, but it’s worth hearing, not least for the distinctly country-ish slant to her violin playing.

I’m 21 and anxious about the future. How do I take care of myself without living in a bubble? | Leading questions

Retreating from reality is a brittle way to feel better, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Find people who feel as you do and then face these problems together

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I’m 21, and all my life I’ve been anxious about the future. It’s not getting better. There are a lot of things that worry me – no job prospects even with a degree under my belt; I won’t be able to find a partner who will respect me; I’ll never own a house. And outside these, of course, I’m worried about climate change and global politics.

The advice I have been offered is to “not think about it” or “focus on what I personally can control”. But I have dreams and aspirations; I want to be a writer and an artist and I am working harder than ever to make those things happen, even if AI might make those fields even more competitive. So my question is: How do I balance my dreams and aspirations practically, and take care of myself, without living in a bubble?

Feeling the dance of age, I join a pottery class. It isn’t until I let go of expectations that I truly begin to learn how to create | Nova Weetman

It has become less about the finished product and more about the process itself

Years ago, my son and I took a pottery class one Saturday afternoon. I agreed to take him – he wanted to try the wheel but was too young to go alone. I had no real expectations of the class, but as soon as I gripped the lump of clay and tried to centre it on to the plate, I was hooked. There was something primal about having my hands and clothes covered in smears of white. It brought me back to making mud pies as a child.

My son seemed to understand the properties of working with clay in a way that I didn’t but I still managed to cobble together some small pieces and left them to be fired, my name carved in the bottom. When I collected the glazed pieces , I laughed with the studio technician at how neat my son’s bowls were compared with my wonky ones. She suggested enrolling in a longer course but regular classes weren’t possible at that point in my life, so I shoved my indelicate pots to the back of my cupboard and forgot about pottery for a while.

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Jimmy Kimmel on CBS after the end of Stephen Colbert’s Late Show: ‘Don’t ever watch it again’

Late-night hosts spoke about the end of the iconic long-running show and Trump’s latest grift

Late-night hosts discussed the end of The Late Show and Stephen Colbert’s tenure as well as the latest product from Donald Trump.

Hungary to limit PMs to eight years in office, warding off any Orbán comeback

Péter Magyar’s draft amendment would prevent his predecessor from returning to the role

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Hungary’s new government, led by Péter Magyar, has put forward a constitutional amendment that would limit prime ministers to a maximum of eight years in office, in effect barring Viktor Orbán from returning to the role.

The draft amendment was submitted on Wednesday, just over a week after the new government took office. It marked Magyar and his Tisza party’s first step in dismantling a constitution that was unilaterally rewritten and amended more than a dozen times as Orbán and his Fidesz party worked to turn Hungary into what they called a “petri dish for illiberalism”.

‘Really entertaining in a horrible way’: the indestructible appeal of Tosca

With its screams, sex, bells and bloodshed Puccini’s opera was initially derided as a noisy disaster. Ahead of Glyndebourne’s first ever production, we look the ‘shabby little shocker’ that’s become one of opera’s most bankable masterpieces

Gustav Mahler hated it. Its publisher was convinced it would be a commercial disaster. Critics complained it was mostly just “noise” and predicted that it would quickly be forgotten. But more than 125 years since Tosca’s premiere in January 1900, Giacomo Puccini’s fifth opera remains one of the most bankable in the business.

We love a hard-won success story in classical music. Think of the tales of woe that still swirl around Beethoven’s life and works, with their implied happy ending in our own Beethoven centrism. Or there’s Wagner’s Tannhäuser being booed off the stage in 1861, before finding its way into the operatic pantheon. Or the riot supposedly provoked by Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring at its 1913 premiere, before everyone calmed down and the score was acclaimed a masterpiece.

Arrest made in Connecticut 40 years after woman's murder in Virginia

The body of 22-year-old Roberta Walls was found in a field in Virginia Beach on the morning of May 15, 1986.

Parody Cockroach Janta political party’s rise reflects youth anger in India

Satirical project is viral sensation and outlet for protest on social media as it taps into young people’s frustration

It began as a satirical online project after India’s chief justice compared unemployed young people to cockroaches. Now millions of young Indians are flocking to it as an outlet for their frustration.

A parody political party with the insect as its symbol has exploded across India’s social media by turning absurdist humour into protest. Memes and short videos mocking corruption, joblessness and political dysfunction have flooded social media sites, where millions of users are embracing the cockroach – an insect known for its ability to survive harsh conditions – as a tongue-in-cheek symbol of endurance.

SpaceX to explore "the true nature of the universe" as it plans IPO

Elon Musk's SpaceX is moving ahead with plans to go public in what some expect will be the biggest IPO ever.

SpaceX is heavily reliant on Starlink for growth and profit as it marches toward Nasdaq listing

SpaceX's IPO prospectus underscores the importance of Starlink to the company's operations.

Kingfisher by Rozie Kelly audiobook review – smart reflections on love, desire and power

This heartfelt story of attraction and friendship, shortlisted for the Women’s prize for fiction, is sensitively read by Dan Bottomley

The debut novel from Rozie Kelly – shortlisted for this year’s Women’s prize for fiction – charts an unusual relationship between two writers. The story is told through the eyes of an unnamed man who works as a creative writing academic. He becomes infatuated with an Irish woman, whom he calls “the poet”, 17 years older than him and a celebrated author. The pair begin meeting for lunch on a bench by a river where they talk and watch the wildlife (she specialises in stories about birds). He observes how this woman “smells like jasmine. No, not exactly. She smelled like the earth beneath a jasmine pot on a hot day.”

Our protagonist pursues her – his early thoughts about her are wilfully crude – despite being in a long-term relationship with Michael, a gym owner with whom he has little in common. He longs to achieve the success that the poet has attained, observing: “She was in high demand. I was a beggar. I knew she had a purse full of gold, if only I could get close enough to cut the strings.”

Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen album review – Luisi has a keen sense of the operatic architecture

Dallas Symphony Orchestra/Luisi/Lindstrom/Delavan /Johansson
(Delos)
Captured live in concert performances, Fabio Luisi’s clear-sighted command and strong orchestral playing make this Wagner set frequently impressive, with Mark Delavan an authorative Wotan

Concert performances of opera can provide ideal conditions for live recordings. This ambitious release of Wagner’s Ring Cycle on 13 CDs, captured in 2024 with the Dallas Symphony under music director Fabio Luisi, is a fine example.

The Italian maestro has a strong record, having stepped in at the Metropolitan Opera in 2011 when James Levine had to withdraw from Siegfried due to illness. With his clearheaded approach, a keen sense of Wagner’s operatic architecture, and a supple way with phrasing, he is perhaps the most compelling reason for acquiring this frequently impressive set.

Torrential rain and floods kill at least 25 people in southern and central China – video report

Tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes, with heavy rain expected to continue across southern and central parts of the country – including Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan provinces – with a high risk of further landslides and flash floods

Passenger from Congo boards flight ‘in error’, prompting diversion to Canada amid Ebola outbreak

Air France flight en route to Detroit, Michigan, landed in Montreal after virus-related travel restrictions

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An Air France flight headed to Detroit, Michigan, was redirected to Canada on Wednesday after it was determined that a passenger from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had boarded “in error” amid new Ebola-related travel restrictions, officials with the US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) said.

“Due to entry restrictions put in place to reduce the risk of the Ebola virus, the passenger should not have boarded the plane,” a CBP spokesperson said in a statement.

Eli Lilly says next-generation weight loss drug clears crucial obesity trial

The results bring Lilly one step closer to filing for approval of the injection, retatrutide, which works differently from existing injections and pills.

Inflatable bridge and a hot couple: photos of the day – Thursday

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

‘I have a lot of rage inside me’: Bob Odenkirk on Saul, satire and his heart attack

He made his name as a conman, but now Bob Odenkirk is on the right side of the law in Normal. He answers your questions about Henry Winkler, Bruce Dern and Shakespeare

You recently agreed in an interview that “life is a meaningless farce”. How come? benpendrey
Oh, I don’t know. You need to talk to God about that. I don’t know why he made it so ridiculous, but it is. I’m not done asking questions and trying to figure things out, but I do think we’re going to end up where Douglas Adams did.

Is biting satire more powerful than political hogwash? Twist27
I sure wish it was, but no. I do think political satire is helpful, but it is not as important as we all wished it was. I’m afraid political satire pales in comparison to political hogwash, as we’re witnessing in my country.

More than 100 young care leavers in England died in past year, data shows

Labour has launched an urgent review into the deaths, which one expert describes as ‘unspeakably tragic’

More than 100 young people have died after leaving the care of social services in England in the past year, according to data released by the government.

In the year to April 2026 there were 106 reported deaths of care leavers. In the 12 months before there were 91. Most of those who died were aged 16 to 21.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

‘LA is not film friendly’: how Hollywood’s woes became a political cudgel in mayoral race

Troubled Baywatch reboot production echoes film-making woes in a city best known for its movie and TV industry

The fight for the future of Los Angeles, America’s second-largest city, usually plays out in the grand art deco offices and committee rooms of city hall. But in an election year full of surprises, the most consequential battle may in fact have begun on a beach.

And not just any beach: we’re talking about the fantasy sandbox inhabited by buff gym rats and sun-kissed bikini babes on Baywatch and its multiple spin-offs. In February, Los Angeles welcomed the latest incarnation of the hit TV show back to southern California after a long hiatus, including detours to Hawaii and Georgia. City officials heralded its return as a sign of better times for local film and television production following years of decline and tens of thousands of job losses in the heart of Hollywood.

Air France and Airbus guilty of corporate manslaughter for 2009 plane crash

Firms given maximum fine of €225,000 each and are expected to appeal after lower court had cleared them

A Paris appeals court has found Airbus and Air France guilty of corporate manslaughter over the 2009 Rio-Paris plane crash that killed 228 passengers and crew.

The verdict is the latest milestone in a legal marathon involving two of France’s most emblematic companies and families of the mainly French, Brazilian and German victims of France’s worst air disaster.

‘It’s broken English’: MP’s attempt to speak Jamaican in parliament sparks language row

Parliamentary rule that only English is allowed has reignited debate about language, legitimacy and postcolonial identity

When the Jamaican MP Nekeisha Burchell stood up to give her maiden speech, she was keenly aware of how much her country’s parliament mirrored the Westminster version thousands of miles away in London.

As in the UK, the session on 12 May had started with the arrival of the ceremonial mace – a 1.7-metre ornamented silver staff representing the British monarch’s authority over parliament – which now rested on a table between the government and the opposition. Despite the heat outside, debate was presided over by the speaker dressed in a ceremonial robe.

Oil market could enter ‘red zone’ by July as stocks dwindle ahead of summer travel season, IEA chief says

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said the single most important solution to the Iran war energy shock is the unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.