Scotland v Ireland: Women’s T20 World Cup – live

T20 World Cup from 10.30am BST at Old Trafford
Team-by-team guide | Mail Tim

3rd over: Scotland 21-0 (Carter 12, Fraser 6) Now it’s medium pace from both ends as Ava Canning replaces Maguire. Carter keeps swinging, chopping over the covers, pulling over midwicket, keeping every fielder interested but picking up two twos. With a pair of singles and a wide, the scoreboard is ticking over nicely.

2nd over: Scotland 13-0 (Carter 7, Fraser 4) It’s seam from the other end, from Arlene Kelly, though Hunter stays up to the stumps. Fraser picks up two with a tuck and a single with a pull. Kelly keeps Carter quiet and beats the bat outside off, but then Carter slogs to leg and again comes close to being caught in the deep.

World Cup 2026: USA light up LA; England’s boots stolen; Scotland’s big return – live

⚽️ Latest news and discussion as tournament continues
⚽️ USA 4-1 Paraguay | Scotland become faithfuls or traitors
⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Wallchart | Mail Will

Looking for some extra reading? Jacob Steinberg and David Hytner have delved into the making of Declan Rice, England’s midfield powerhouse, whose performances could feasibly be the difference between success and failure at this tournament.

An optimistic prediction for Scotland here. While Haiti thrashing New Zealand 4-0 raised a few worried eyebrows, it should be noted that they lost 2-1 to Peru three days later. It’s always hard to judge a team by their warm-up matches given the wholesale changes, and Haiti do have some danger men like Duckens Nazon and Sunderland’s Wilson Isidor, but Steve Clarke’s side are still favourites.

Three teenagers arrested over death of man in Essex

Boy, 14, among three people held after 21-year-old was found critically injured in Central Park, Chelmsford

Three teenagers, including a 14-year-old boy, have been arrested on suspicion of murdering a 21-year-old man in a park in Essex.

Emergency services attended Central Park in Chelmsford at about 7pm on Friday, where the victim was found with critical injuries.

Workers begin removing Trump's name from Kennedy Center

A federal appellate court denied a last-minute attempt by the Trump administration to stop the removal of President Trump's name from the Kennedy Center on Friday.

The Knicks’ hedonistic NBA finals run has been a relief from the exhaustion of US politics

Immersed in the daily churn of Washington DC, I found an unexpected source of hope in the Knicks’ improbable season

When it comes to the length of my relationship with the New York Knicks, I’m more Taylor Swift than Timothée Chalamet.

But it was inevitable. For months, Knicks fever was slowly drawing me in. A close friend said the team was singularly healing her from a breakup. Another from depression. I had inadvertently been subjected to playoff games through friends, or the daily turmoil of them, through colleagues.

‘It reminds me of the love I felt for my faithful companion’: Tony Hertz’s best phone picture

Shadows glimpsed on a wall at sunset inspired this evocative portrait of the photographer and his dog, Lolly

Lolly – a chow-chow-cocker spaniel mix – was Tony Hertz’s dog for 15 years. “She had long black hair with a little white on her mouth, ears, eyebrows and feet, and a partially marbled tongue. She was quite cute,” Hertz says.

Hertz and Lolly were living in Pismo Beach, California, when he took this shot. At the time he was working on a photography series and book based around shadows, and he had taken her along on one of his regular sunset walks. Over a career spanning three decades, Hertz has photographed queens, popes and a president, but this was an attempt at something more personal. The photo was taken on a grassy area next to a Walmart. As Hertz sat down on a bench for a breather, he noticed in their shadows that Lolly was looking directly at him. “I positioned my phone so it couldn’t be seen in the shadow, composed the shot and then looked toward Lolly so that our profiles would be turned to each other,” he says. Hertz often wears his brimmed hats when seeking out new elements for his series, “to make them consistent with a little noir look”.

Pipers and dreams: World Cup fever grips Scotland again after 28 years

The country is ready to blow away decades of dashed hopes and celebrate, with marching bands and all-night parties

Scotland is leaning into one its most treasured traditions: embracing the hope and anxiety of a football World Cup, with a healthy dose of self-deprecating style.

There are brash new tartans, an Edinburgh bar offering free Irn-Bru-infused “fiery ginger” beers for patrons with red hair, a collaboration between Scottish whisky firms and a Brazilian distiller, and all-night parties in nightclubs repurposed as fanzones.

COMIC: How excessive heat kills and how to stay safe

Human bodies have a natural cooling system, but it can do only so much in high temperatures and humidity. Here's the science behind how heat kills. And how to protect yourself.

See the full U.S. men's soccer schedule for the 2026 World Cup

The U.S. men's national soccer team kicked off its 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium on Friday.

David Beckham joins Hollywood Walk of Fame as World Cup comes to LA

• Beckham enjoys ‘surreal’ occasion with Tom Cruise

• Celebrities cheer on USA at their opening match

David Beckham has been honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on a day when soccer and showbiz intermingled at the 2026 World Cup.

Beckham called the ceremony “surreal” as his wife, Victoria, and his friend Tom Cruise praised him at the ceremony. Cruise lauded Beckham’s journey, saying it was “a Hollywood story” of hard work, determination and global influence on sport and culture.

Toby Stephens: ‘I lost my dad to cirrhosis. The only difference between us was that, tragically, he couldn’t stop drinking’

The actor on missing his late mother, Maggie Smith, being mistaken for Damian Lewis, and looking ‘like a fridge’

Born in London, Toby Stephens, 57, is the son of actors Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens. He trained at Lamda and, in 1992, made his film debut in Orlando. In 2002 he played the Bond villain in Die Another Day. His television work includes One Day, The Split and Black Sails. On stage he has performed for the RSC and the National Theatre, and he is currently starring in Equus at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory, until 4 July, and then Theatre Royal Bath, from 14-25 July. He is married to the actor Anna‑Louise Plowman, with whom he has three children, and lives in London.

What is your greatest fear?
To be completely alone.

‘We eat and drink risk’: higher costs bring curtain down on more UK music festivals

Plans for new event at the Secret Garden Party site and Womad Glasgow are dashed, but others remain optimistic

Hosting Scotland’s first Womad festival seemed like an easy sell for Glasgow, the country’s gig capital and self-proclaimed “dynamic global hub for music lovers”.

However, last week the internationally renowned event celebrating performance from around the world, successfully staged in 30 countries since being co-founded by former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel in 1982, was cancelled due to low ticket sales.

‘A movie for everyone, not just Drag Race fans’: stars of drag comedy Stop! That! Train! on making the summer’s funniest film

Director Adam Shankman and drag queen actors explain putting a brilliantly madcap twist on Airplane! style parody

Drag queens are never more striking than when they’re set against an everyday background. “Kristen Stewart is a buoy … ” the Laotian American beauty Jujubee muttered spacily to herself in the hallway of Bleecker Street Media’s New York office, reading out the tag-line of a framed poster for the 2024 sci-fi/romance Love Me. The former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant and star of the new disaster-comedy Stop! That! Train! was lingering outside an office cubicle in a structured blazer and fishnets as an attentive PR took her order for lunch. By that point she’d been in full wardrobe and make-up all day fielding press, including a mid-morning stop with her castmates at NBC’s Today with Jenna & Sheinelle.

I’d heard Jujubee and her co-star Ginger Minj before I saw them, laughing like glamorous hyenas from another room. When they made an entrance, they did so in coordinated cheetah print looks, greeting me with the kind of mega-watt smiles that told me I was now their audience. I was impressed by how “on” they were, but could imagine it was taxing to keep up. How had the whirlwind of press been for them? “It’s been a lot of work but it doesn’t feel like it,” Ginger admitted. “The tour has absolutely mimicked the making of the movie.” “We have to schedule our sleep,” Jujubee added as she slowly began to peel off some cumbersome press-on nails. “But I’m so high on life and all of us have been able to stay in the moment, and live in this stormaganza of press.” They immediately started cackling again.

Drug diversion schemes cut reoffending rates more than prosecution, study says

Exclusive: Research in England shows people a third less likely to reoffend under decriminalisation-style schemes

Drug diversion schemes led by police that steer people away from the criminal justice system and into treatment and education services are significantly more effective in reducing reoffending than prosecution, according to a new analysis.

Researchers examined outcomes across 13 English police forces and more than 62,000 criminal incidents over the past four years, finding that people whose cases were dealt with through decriminalisation-style diversion schemes were a third less likely to reoffend than similar individuals prosecuted for drug possession.

What to read this summer by Mark Haddon, Samantha Harvey, Zadie Smith and more

Leading authors including Sarah Waters, William Dalrymple, Bernardine Evaristo and Anne Enright reveal their perfect holiday reading

• Read our selection of 70 brilliant books for the summer

Zadie Smith
Margaret Busby’s Part of the Story: Writings from Half a Century is the record of one woman’s lifelong passion for the literature and life of Africa and its diaspora, wherever she finds it. A beautiful collection. The funniest and smartest novel I’ve read in a while is Black Bag by Luke Kennard.

Mark Haddon
Can I recommend some metaphorical summer travel? Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated by Lin King, won the International Booker prize so you’re legally obliged to read it. But there are three other books on the shortlist I would strongly urge you to get your hands on. The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Benjamin, brilliantly fictionalises the story of the film director WG Pabst who fled Germany before the outbreak of the second world war, felt ignored in Hollywood and made the foolish decision to return home. On Earth As It Is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia, translated by Padma Viswanathan, is a short, sharp cleaver-blow of political horror set in a Brazilian prison camp. And She Who Remains by Rene Karabash, translated by Izidora Angel, is the story of Bekija/Matija who escapes an arranged marriage in Albania’s Accursed Mountains by becoming a “sworn virgin” under the ancient laws of the Kanun and living her life as a man.

USA blast out of the blocks and Canada get first ever point | World Cup Daily

On the podcast today: the USA … might actually be very good? They blew Paraguay away in their opening game in LA. Christian Pulisic, we owe you a huge apology. Elsewhere; Canada come back to draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina, an inspired triple substitution from Jesse Marsch turning things around, and if not for some brilliant Bosnian blocks they should have won it. Plus, a preview of the next batch of games including Haiti v Scotland, the developing domestic bliss between Max and Barry, and your questions answered.

Former Tesla board member says SpaceX needs to achieve 2 of its 3 moonshots to keep its valuation

SpaceX has achieved its goal of becoming the largest IPO on record.

‘The present is all you have’: Lewis Moody on living with MND and joining the fight to find a cure

Rugby World Cup winner says he feels like he is picking up the fundraising baton from people such as Doddie Weir and Rob Burrow

Sunshine streams into Lewis Moody’s conservatory near Bath as we share a sofa with his dog, Ziggy, who has swapped his usual cheerful bounciness for a peaceful snooze. Moody has already explained how Ziggy licked away the tears rolling down his face, and the face of his wife, Annie, when they told their teenage sons that he has motor neurone disease. And now he says something extraordinary with a certainty that feels far stronger and more enduring than the mid-afternoon sunlight.

“It is a gift and a privilege,” Moody says of the lesson he has gleaned from the terrible diagnosis he received last October. “I’m not sure if privilege is the right word but MND helps you really understand what you love and what makes you happy. So you learn to apply your time in that direction and, invariably, being happy is about doing things that feel purposeful and spending time with the people you love and doing things that help others.”

It’s a Trumpian World Cup for racism and cynicism – why don’t those who condemned Qatar 2022 say so? | Jeremy Corbyn

We must highlight the awful stance of the White House towards so many competing nations, but also the hypocrisy of leaders who acquiesce

Omar Artan was to be the first Somali to referee at the World Cup finals. A Fifa-certified referee since 2018, Artan officiated at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2023 and was named the 2025 Confederation of African Football men’s referee of the year. Last weekend, as we know, Artan was denied entry to the United States at Miami international airport.

The US has not officially given a reason for Artan’s ban, but we know that Somalia is one of the countries on Donald Trump’s travel ban list. After the news reverberated around the world, an administration source, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed the move came about because Artan had possible links to possible terrorists. But that claim, in the face of a furore, merits widespread scepticism. There is a word for this: racism.

Jeremy Corbyn is the MP for Islington North and parliamentary leader of Your Party. He was leader of the Labour party from 2015 to 2020

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.

‘We can do much’: how feeling for family helped end Haiti’s long World Cup absence

Haiti are on football’s grandest stage for first time since 1974 and squad drawn from far and wide are ‘hungry’ for success

Tamy Michel grew up watching her father run a football club through prison, political upheaval and the endless uncertainties of life in Haiti.

Solange Michel spent 18 years leading Baltimore SC, one of the country’s most storied clubs. In the 1990s, he was jailed amid the turmoil that engulfed Haitian politics but the club survived. Later, Tamy Michel’s aunt, Simone Devuleux, took over. The family have been stewards of Haitian football since 1974.

‘Stop pretending we don’t exist’: Seoul fills its streets with Pride colour

‘This is the one time of year people feel they can truly show who they are,’ says one festival attendee

Tens of thousands of people have poured into central Seoul to celebrate the city’s annual queer culture festival, filling the streets with rainbow flags and drumming troupes in one of Asia’s largest Pride gatherings.

“I only tell friends who I think can accept it,” said Lee Seo-hee, a university student from Seoul who identifies as bisexual. “It doesn’t feel like a completely safe society.”

Los Angeles conjures up irresistible spectacle as USA sparkle in opening act | Barney Ronay

Every World Cup needs its hosts to start well, more so this one, and Mauricio Pochettino’s team delivered on a fun day on the Pacific coast

The ball is magic, remember. Just keep watching the ball. On a lovely soft powder blue night in Los Angeles the World Cup produced an opening act on its US front that might have been conjured by the whirling hands of Gianni Infantino himself, a Fifa president who increasingly has the air and the mannerisms of an elite celebrity stage magician. Or at the very least, of a man who appreciates the power of the show.

It turns out California really does know how to put on one of those. There was even a moment before kick-off that seemed to capture the cosmically strange nature of the entire Fifa multiverse. A little later the headline act Katy Perry would appear in a silver bustle and perform on a podium alongside a 10-year-old TikToker.

‘He outlived four of his doctors’: David Hockney’s lifelong love of smoking – and the 2,000 cigarettes he kept at home ‘for emergencies’

His passion got him into scraps with the Paris Metro and numerous other bodies. Was it a social crutch? A Freudian response to his father? And why did he take such delight in writing to the Guardian about it all?
• David Hockney – a life in pictures
• David Hockney’s genius for fashion

David Hockney’s last self-portrait that went on show while he lived, in 2025’s Paris retrospective, has a Droste effect: the figure holds a picture in which the figure holds a picture. Between the fingers of one hand, a paintbrush; of the other, a cigarette. He could have been smoking and smoking and smoking into infinity. That’s the elemental truth of the work, and even while that turned out not to be literally true – he died this week, aged 88 – he gave it his best shot.

The painting is titled Play within a Play within a Play and Me with a Cigarette, and it got him into a scrap with the authorities of the Paris Metro, who said a photo of it couldn’t be used to advertise the show, since it contravened regulations – it is a pretty common rule that you’re not allowed to glamorise smoking lest you influence the young. “The bossiness of those in charge of our lives knows no limits,” he said at the time. “Art has always been a path to free expression and this is a dismal [decision].”

Lena Dunham’s romcom Too Much convinced me to propose on the spot

I had always dreamt of a grand fairytale wedding, but my boyfriend hated being the centre of attention. Watching a couple negotiate their differences on TV convinced me we could carry it off

I have been with my partner Martin for 10 years, and he has always told me that he doesn’t want to get married. He thinks that the institution of marriage is a way for the state to control us. He also thinks that marriage is inherently patriarchal – and, honestly, I can’t argue with him about any of this.

But the truth is that I’ve had my whole wedding day mapped out in my head since I was seven. As a child I loved daydreaming about adulthood, and a huge wedding was the most adult thing I could possibly imagine. When other children were playing Pokémon, I was thinking about precisely how many tiki torches I wanted to light the way to the blessing ceremony. I didn’t really visualise the groom; he was a kind of blurry Ken-doll figure. My visions mainly centred around myself.

Public control of water and energy at heart of Burnham agenda, sources say

Exclusive: Greater Manchester mayor ‘serious’ about taking over ‘essentials of life’ if he becomes PM, a move critics say could cost taxpayer billions

A decade-long project to bring water and energy into public control will lie at the heart of Andy Burnham’s agenda should he become prime minister, according to sources close to the Greater Manchester mayor.

Several close allies of Burnham have said he wants to take over broad swathes of UK utilities in an effort to improve performance and potentially reduce bills for consumers.

Which song features nine times in the film Groundhog Day? The Saturday quiz

From Brinsworth House and Denville Hall to Goliath, Timperley Early and Valentine, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz

1 Which African capital city and its river are anagrams of each other?
2 In the UK, which bird of prey has gone from near extinction to about 4,500 breeding pairs?
3 Which 1956 play was written on a deckchair on Morecambe Pier?
4 Which song features nine times in the film Groundhog Day?
5 Who was the only crowned heir apparent to the English throne?
6 Denville Hall and Brinsworth House are retirement homes for whom?
7 What is England’s largest forest?
8 What volcanic glass is named after a Roman traveller?
What links:
9 CND chair; 9-57 v South Africa; Happy Valley star; RAF philanthropist?
10 Benfica, 2026 and 1978; Galatasaray, 1986; Perugia, 1979; Red Star, 2008?
11 Coal Miner’s Daughter; I Saw the Light; Sweet Dreams; Walk the Line?
12 Champagne; Fulton’s Strawberry Surprise; Goliath; Timperley Early; Valentine?
13 Isabella Bird; Nellie Bly; Ida Pfeiffer; Freya Stark?
14 Sunshine Desserts (Barron); LA beaches (Anderson); White House (Janney)?
15 Eddy; Falstaff; Junior; Lily; Lin; Lucy; Oscar?

What is the difference between an asteroid and a meteorite? The kids’ quiz

Five multiple-choice questions – set by children – to test your knowledge, and a chance to submit your own junior brainteasers for future quizzes

• ​Submit a question

Molly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun, a podcast answering children’s questions. Do check out her books, Everything Under the Sun and Everything Under the Sun: Quiz Book, as well as her new title, Everything Under the Sun: All Around the World.

G’wed: this underrated gem of a comedy is filthy, heartwarming and packed with ideas

Now on its third season, the Scouse sitcom doesn’t shy away from huge topics such as class, anoxeria and neurodiversity. But also, you’re never too far from a joke about ‘ye ma’

How had I not heard of this show? Had I heard of it, then forgotten? Questions plagued me as I caught up on two series of this week’s underrated gem. In my defence, G’wed is an esoteric title. I assumed it was the name of a person, place or ancient story, possibly borrowed from Celtic mythology. Turns out it’s scouse for “go ahead”.

Reviewers that saw previous series of the adolescent comedy noted its similarities to The Inbetweeners. A middle-class boy, Christopher, is forced to “slum it” with working-class lads, including his nemesis neighbour, Reece, at a new secondary school in Liverpool. Immature antics ensue, alongside merciless teasing and finally acceptance. Hearts are warmed, knob jokes hammered. The difference was, this show kept talking about grief, and had more to say about class than does your average fish-out-of-water premise.

Journey into the midnight sun: my solo road trip to the top of Norway

I found cinematic landscapes, wild freedom and thousands of miles of perfect solitude on my campervan adventure through the Nordic countries

It’s midnight, in June. Powder pink and dark grey clouds drift across a pallid sky, the palette reflecting in the motionless water of Lake Inari. Islets of pine and just-budding birch create pools of distorted shade close to the horizon of this 420 sq mile (1,080 sq km) lake in Lapland, northern Finland. There is not a sound. It’s so silent, I barely breathe to avoid disturbance. Only me, the lake and a moonbeam-coloured moth, whose wingbeat is inaudible.

I am sat beside my car-sized campervan, with mesmerised reverence for the rose-tinged panorama. I do not wish to go to bed and miss this moment. And I am loving the wild freedom and deliciousness of being entirely alone, with nobody in the world knowing my exact whereabouts. Ordinarily, I would be long asleep by midnight, exhausted after a day of work and family life. But I have left my husband and (adult) children at home in England for an eight-week solo camping adventure through Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway, with the singular aim of reaching Nordkapp (North Cape) and Knivskjellodden, Europe’s northernmost point at the top of Norway, in time for midsummer.

Tim Dowling: I’m all for ‘letting the outdoors in’ – but I draw the line at pigeons

Opening up the back doors means we have a few uninvited guests in the house, giving my wife the opportunity to practise her tea towel bird-catching technique

Our kitchen extension is typical of the area: a single-storey box with a big skylight, a picture window and glass double doors leading to the garden. It’s the sort of arrangement that advocates say brings the outdoors indoors. What they don’t say is: birds will get in.

It’s largely a summer problem, when the double doors are flung open and the sunlight through the glass creates the illusion that kitchen and garden are one. Sometimes a magpie will stroll in off the lawn, glance around in confusion and walk back out, as if he were looking for sporting equipment and mistakenly found himself in housewares. But it’s not usually that straightforward.

Excusemaxxing – inventing names for my worst traits: the Becky Barnicoat cartoon

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‘Fast-track’ regulation could expose Britons to harmful chemicals, say campaigners

Exclusive: Fighting Dirty taking legal action against government over proposal it says could import weaker standards

An environmental campaign group is taking legal action against the government over proposals that it claims could fast-track chemical hazard classifications from other countries with lower standards into UK law.

Fighting Dirty claims proposals to change the classification and labelling of potentially hazardous chemicals could result in the UK weakening standards on cancer-causing substances.

Jessie J’s triumphant return puts lucrative Chinese market in spotlight

Other western acts have attempted to crack country’s music scene since singer’s breakout success in 2018

One week after announcing she was “cancer free”, the British pop star Jessie J did what any recovering patient would do and travelled thousands of miles around the world to perform for an audience of more than a billion people.

On 29 May, the singer-songwriter, whose real name is Jessica Cornish, belted out a stage-rattling rendition of Frank Sinatra’s My Way on the stage of Singer, a hugely popular Chinese singing competition similar to The Voice. She also performed her new song, California, briefly adapting the lyrics to change California to Changsha, the Chinese city where Singer is hosted.

Riots and racism: why is the UK burning?

Claims of two-tier policing and uncontrolled immigration may not be borne out by the facts, but that has not stopped them being played up for political ends

As the people of Glengormley, on the northern edge of Belfast, tidied up and prepared for more violence in the midst of what has been described as a modern-day pogrom, a court 500 miles away in Southampton, on the south coast of England, started to deal with its own outbreak of thuggery.

The trigger for this week’s riots in the Northern Irish capital had been the image of a black assailant who appeared to be stabbing and slashing his supine white victim in the face and neck while shouting in Arabic. The suspect was later revealed to be a refugee from Sudan.

Country diary: It’s a painted lady summer, the stuff of lepidopterists’ legend | Phil Gates

Wolsingham, Weardale: These stunning butterflies are here in incredible numbers this year, yet what’s most remarkable is their multigenerational migration

There’s a painted lady basking on the footpath. Her orange, black-tipped, white-spotted wings, a little worn after her long journey, blend with shadows and sun-flecks on heatwave-baked mud, so she’s almost under our feet before she takes flight. And here’s another, nectaring on a dandelion; and another; then several more. I can’t recall ever seeing so many so early in the year.

Waiting for the arrival of these migrant butterflies is akin to anticipating the first swallow. Tantalising mid-April sightings from Wales and Cumbria were reported on social media, but we waited until mid-May before finding our first in Weardale.

Pope Leo XIV's flight home from Spain was grounded so the king came to his aid

Leo's Iberia charter, due to take him back to Rome after a weeklong visit to Spain, was grounded by a technical problem Friday, prompting Spain's king to offer his private jet instead.

‘I thought – gosh, he’s going to be some player’: the making of England’s Declan Rice

Rejected by Chelsea, honed by West Ham and a league winner at Arsenal, the midfielder has plenty from his footballing journey wishing him well at the World Cup

Three years ago Declan Rice was the star guest at a Soho House event about the power of effective leadership. Tickets were in hot demand and Rice, who was due to play a European semi-final for West Ham two days later, could not understand why so many people were interested in what he had to say.

The audience was packed with marketing directors and CEOs, all eager to hear the England midfielder speak. To Rice, though, it just seemed weird. Why him? What made him so special? The answer lay in his everyman appeal. It was because of his ability to form connections with everyone he comes across. It was because Rice, who goes into the World Cup fresh from winning the Premier League with Arsenal, would be a leader in any setting. More than anything, it was because England’s new vice-captain is authentic, genuine and always ready to charm, no matter if the 27-year-old is speaking to a room of high-powered executives or heading back to his old school to spend an afternoon with a group of awestruck kids.

Dutch far-right party pays damages to court artist after changing image with AI

Geert Wilders’ PVV altered sketch of jailed Syrian brothers to make them look more menacing

A Dutch court artist has received damages after an MP for the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) used one of her drawings without permission and manipulated it with AI to make the subjects look more menacing.

Petra Urban, a court artist for 19 years, was shocked to discover a drawing she had made last year of two Syrian brothers jailed for the murder of their sister had been reworked and used in a video on Instagram and Facebook by the party’s Noord-Brabant region.

Trees may store less planet-heating carbon than hoped, study suggests

Photosynthesis does not always result in wood growth, a key factor in carbon dioxide sequestration

Trees may not be able to store as much planet-heating carbon as hoped, a study suggests, with researchers finding photosynthesis does not always lead to wood growth.

Scientists studied 137 sites across the US and found trees stopped growing months before the point in the year at which photosynthesis stopped.

Trump says U.S. military strike killed leader of Tren de Aragua gang

President Trump said Friday that a U.S. strike has killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, whom he called "the infamous leader" of the Tren de Aragua gang in Venezuela.

Trump says U.S. killed Tren de Aragua leader in airstrike in Venezuela

The U.S. military has killed Niño Guerrero, the alleged leader of Venezuela-based gang Tren de Aragua, President Trump announced Friday.

U.S. cruises past Paraguay 4-1 in World Cup opener

The U.S. men's national soccer team made easy work of Paraguay in its World Cup opener Friday, defeating the South American side 4-1 at SoFi Stadium.

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.

Judge continues to block DOJ's $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund

A federal judge continued to block the Justice Department's $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund, expressing skepticism with the administration's claims that the program is not moving forward.

1 killed, 22 injured in Virginia church tent collapse

The incident occurred Friday night during an outdoor service at East Lake Community Church in Moneta, Virginia.

Woman in critical condition after shark attack at Coogee beach

A woman in her 30s has been transported to hospital with arm and leg injuries and beaches in Sydney’s east have been closed after the attack

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A woman in her 30s is in a critical condition after being bitten by a large shark at Coogee beach on Saturday, with a witness describing the scene at the popular Sydney beach as “shocking”.

A spokesperson for New South Wales Ambulance said the woman suffered arm and leg injuries and had been taken by road to St Vincent’s hospital.

Manchester United lead chase for West Ham’s £80m-rated Mateus Fernandes

• Real Madrid also among midfielder’s potential suitors

• Castellanos an option for Everton amid likely exits

Manchester United are leading the race to sign Mateus Fernandes from West Ham. The midfielder also has interest from Arsenal, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, but the strongest early moves have come from United as they look to boost Michael Carrick’s squad.

West Ham hope to receive £80m for Fernandes, although they may face financial pressure to drop their asking price after their relegation from the Premier League. The club lost £104.2m last year and need to raise more than £100m in transfer sales this summer.

Gene Shalit, longtime 'Today' show movie critic, dies at 100

Known for his puffy hair, oversized handlebar mustache and a love for puns, Gene Shalit joined Today in 1970 and became arts editor in 1973. He was a middle-of-the-road critic, known for his wit and intelligence.

Workers begin removing Trump's name from the Kennedy Center

Workers began removing President Trump's name from the facade of the Kennedy Center early Saturday, hours after a court-ordered Friday deadline to remove references to Trump from the building.

Gene Shalit, longtime Today show movie critic, dies at 100

Beloved movie critic and arts reporter was known for bushy hair and mustache and affection for groan-inducing puns

Gene Shalit, a movie critic and arts reporter for the Today show over four decades who was known for his puffy hair, oversized handlebar mustache and affection for groan-inducing puns, has died. He was 100.

Shalit’s family announced the death Friday to NBC News, saying in a statement that he “passed away peacefully today after 100 years of an amazing life”.

Court denies emergency appeal to retain Trump’s name on Kennedy Center

Justice department lawyers had appealed to stay a judge’s order to remove Trump’s name from facade

An appeals court in Washington DC rejected an emergency appeal seeking to pause the removal of Donald Trump’s name from the facade of the Kennedy Center on Friday.

Justice department lawyers for Donald Trump and his hand-picked Kennedy Center board filed the emergency appeal earlier on Friday, asking the court to stay a judge’s order that his name be removed from the facade of Washington’s leading performing arts venue.

Alabama seeks lethal injection execution after court rejects nitrogen gas method

Alabama is seeking to execute a man with lethal injection hours after his nitrogen execution was prevented from going forward.

Girls who call themselves twins say, "We have a bond that we think no one else can break"

Steve Hartman goes "On the Road" again with a pair of twins, who aren't really twins. Just don't try to tell them that.

Trump name must be removed from Kennedy Center by Friday night as appeals court rejects delay

President Donald Trump had asked a federal appeals court to suspend a lower-court order that his name before removed from the performing arts center.

Severe storms, tornadoes slam Midwest, killing at least 1

Severe storms that swept through the Midwest late Thursday knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers, damaged buildings and canceled flights.

At least 1 killed, 9 hospitalized in Texas mass shooting; suspect dead

The suspect, Victor Mata Villarreal, was wanted for attempted murder of a police officer after shooting at law enforcement during a vehicle chase earlier this week, officials said.

SpaceX's public offering creates new millionaires: "I don't have the words, honestly"

SpaceX's market debut made Elon Musk a trillionaire on Friday. The company has also minted thousands of new millionaires. Jo Ling Kent reports.

U.S., Iran say they are closing in on an agreement

Both the U.S. and Iran said they are closing in on a final agreement that could be signed as soon as Sunday or Monday. It could launch further talks to wind down Iran's nuclear ambitions, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end months of military hostilities. Ed O'Keefe has more.

DOJ paves way for Paramount Skydance to buy Warner Bros. Discovery

Paramount Skydance's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery would not harm U.S. consumers or weaken competition, DOJ antitrust enforcers said.

Tornadoes, thunderstorms and sweltering heat hit American communities

Nearly 80 million people in the U.S. are still facing the threat of powerful storms, and about the same number are sweltering in brutal heat. Lana Zak reports from the hard-hit town of Streator in central Illinois, and Eric Fisher has the forecast.

Texas shooting kills at least 1, injures 10

On Wednesday, a 45-year-old gunman opened fire on police in Midland, Texas, allegedly refusing to surrender to police. He fled, finally barricading himself in an abandoned veterinary building and shooting wildly. All of those shot were civilians. The gunman was found dead on Friday, with the FBI and state agencies investigating. Jason Allen has more.

U.S. to take on Paraguay as World Cup returns to American shores

The U.S. calls it soccer, much of the world calls it football, but everybody calls it the World Cup. It's bigger than ever, and on Friday night, the competition returns to American shores as the U.S. takes on Paraguay. Nicole Valdes has more from Inglewood, California.

Paramount-Warner Brothers merger gets Justice Department approval

The Justice Department closed its investigation into the proposed $110 billion merger of Paramount and Warner Brothers Discovery, saying it found no threat to competition or consumers.

New Yorker confronts unruly Knicks fans: "This is our city"

When violence erupted near a New York Knicks watch party on Monday, one New Yorker stood up to the unruly crowd.

Philippines picks up the pieces after strongest earthquake in decades

7.8-magnitude quake hit the southern island of Mindanao killing at least 55 people and leaving a trail of destruction

It was just before midnight when the rescue team pulled the body from the rubble of a grocery store destroyed by the most powerful quake to hit the Philippines in half a century. The family wailed at the sight.

“While tragic, it offered the family a painful consolation,” said Rene Baliong, the head of the search and rescue team. “They have a body to bury.”

6/12: CBS Evening News

A shooting in Texas kills at least one and injures 10; tornadoes tear through the Midwest, leaving widespread damage.

Justice Dept. approves Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery

The decision paves the way for a proposed $111 billion merger uniting two rival studio giants — Paramount, owner of CBS, and the much larger Warner, which includes HBO and CNN.

David Hockney: the artist whose work was a feast of visual pleasures – video obituary

David Hockney, whose paintings of pools shimmering in the Los Angeles sunshine became icons of 20th-century art, has died at the age of 88. Hockney was born in the north of England but lived much of his life in southern California, making its sun-drenched suburban views a major motif. Later in life he returned to Europe, finding renewed inspiration in the wooded hills of his native county of Yorkshire and the fields and trees of France’s Normandy region. He became one of the UK’s most treasured artists, his works selling for record prices at auction.

• David Hockney obituary

• David Hockney, pioneering British artist famed for his pools and portraits, dies aged 88

• ‘David Hockney changed the world just by looking at it’: a tribute to the artist whose work was a feast of visual pleasures

• Peroxide mop, statement specs, tweed suits and quirky Crocs: David Hockney’s genius for fashion

A Trump push to cut 'statistical noise' could mean less data from the Census Bureau

New public data for redistricting and other uses may be reduced as Trump officials limit the ways the Census Bureau can protect people's privacy when it releases statistics.

Blood test can find thousands of genetic conditions in pregnancy, say scientists

Technique that examines fragments of foetal DNA in mother’s bloodstream could limit need for invasive screening, according to researchers

A new maternal blood test that can detect thousands of serious genetic conditions in the developing foetus could limit the need for invasive screening during pregnancy, according to scientists.

The test, to be described at the European Society for Human Genetics conference in Gothenburg on Saturday, relies on detecting tiny fragments of a foetus’s DNA that circulate in the mother’s bloodstream during pregnancy. Using advanced sequencing techniques, scientists were able to identify a very high proportion of genetic conditions, such as cystic fibrosis, that are currently only reliably diagnosed using amniocentesis or other invasive tests.

Katie Boulter stuns Rybakina for biggest win after Raducanu starts Queen’s party

• British No 3 produces her greatest performance

• Emma Raducanu finds her best tennis to defeat Cirstea

Katie Boulter battled hard with Elena Rybakina and she emerged from the longest day of her career with her greatest victory, a special performance from the British No 3 yielding a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 win over the world No 2 and Australian Open champion.

Emma Raducanu was also a winner on Friday, defeating Sorana Cirstea, the seventh seed and one of the most in-form players in the world this year 6-4, 6-2 to return to the quarter-finals on the grass courts of the Queen’s Club. However, the winner of her quarter-final match against Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova will be forced to play two matches on Saturday after the congested, rain-delayed schedule ran out of time on Friday afternoon and their match was postponed at the end of the day.

SpaceX stock soars on first day of trading following record-breaking IPO

SpaceX's stock closed the day at $160.95 after making its debut on the Nasdaq exchange.

South Koreans revel in ‘World Cup brunch’ as time difference sees beers swapped for breakfast

Crowds gather around big screen in Seoul with commuters and schoolchildren alike ditching their daily routine to back the Red Devils

By 9am on Friday, the morning commute in central Seoul looked different. The usual tide of suits and briefcases was broken by a sea of red shirts and red scarves, worn by thousands who had come out to cheer on the national team.

Scattered around, people clutched coffees, bottled teas, and pastries. Families had mats spread for a picnic. Nobody looked as if they were thinking about work.

6/12: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Iran's top diplomat says deal "has never been closer"; FISA surveillance set to expire despite new intelligence chief pick.

Wembanyama brushes off historic collapse and eyes NBA finals comeback: ‘We’re over it. It’s the playoffs’

• San Antonio Spurs trail 3-1 in best-of-seven series

• Team blew 29-point lead to lose Game 4

Victor Wembanyama says the San Antonio Spurs have shaken off the biggest single-game collapse in NBA finals history and are ready to face the New York Knicks on Saturday.

The Knicks overcame a 29-point deficit to hand the Spurs a crushing 107-106 victory in Game 4 of the series and can win their first title since 1973 with victory in San Antonio.

SpaceX to list on US stock market at historic $1.77tn valuation

Initial public offering for aerospace and AI company made Musk the world’s first trillionaire as share prices jumped

• Share your views on SpaceX’s stock market debut

SpaceX made the biggest stock market debut in history on Friday after nearly two and a half decades as a private company. Public trading began around midday with a starting share price of $150, which quickly jumped by a double digit percentage and sent the company’s valuation above $2tn, where it remained through market close. The company’s initial public offering made the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, the world’s first trillionaire.

“It is certainly hard to believe that a little company that started in a warehouse in El Segundo is now going public with the largest IPO ever,” Musk said in an address at SpaceX’s headquarters Friday morning. He reiterated the company’s mission to “make humanity multiplanetary” and “take the fiction out of science fiction”.

Former SpaceX welder becomes a millionaire after historic IPO

Juan Hernandez, a former SpaceX employee, owns 6,500 company shares. On the first day of public trading, his wealth ballooned by $1,046,175.

Elon Musk becomes the world's first trillionaire with SpaceX's IPO

The SpaceX CEO's fortune on paper now rivals the annual economic output of many countries, according to World Bank data.

A judge clears the way for Trump's name to be removed from the Kennedy Center

On Friday, a federal judge denied an appeal by the Kennedy Center's board of trustees for a stay on the removal of President Trump's name from the building. Then the Trump administration filed for an emergency stay, and that too was denied.

Trump says he has canceled planned strikes on Iran and peace deal is near — again

President Trump has canceled planned strikes in Iran, claiming, once again, that a peace deal is near. This is just the latest salvo in a series of whiplash proclamations when it comes to the U.S.-Israel-led war in Iran.

‘Failure was my thing’: Women’s prize winner Virginia Evans on her long journey to success

The American author received ‘thousands of rejections’ over two decades before finally hitting gold with her first published novel

Just as I am about to interview this year’s Women’s prize winner, debut American novelist Virginia Evans, at the party on a drizzly evening in a leafy London square, we are interrupted because someone wants to congratulate her. The fan is Richard Curtis.

A warm-hearted weepy with a sprinkling of gentle humour, Evans’s prize-winning novel The Correspondent is prime Curtis material. In fact, he is too late. “I think he just wants to be my friend,” Evans jokes modestly – Notting Hill is her favourite movie of all time. A film of The Correspondent is already in the pipeline with Jane Fonda playing 73-year-old Sybil Van Antwerp, the crotchety correspondent of the title. Evans will be one of the producers and will have a cameo appearance, “walking a dog or something”.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Penguin Books, £9.99). To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.

Ohio voting rights group facing criminal fraud investigation, sources say

The FBI executed a search warrant at the office of an Ohio-based group known for its voter registration work as part of an ongoing fraud-related investigation, sources told CBS News.

Trump denies Iran's account of deal terms, decries new drone attack: 'Dishonorable people'

"They better get their act together, and FAST!" President Donald Trump said of Iran one day after announcing that a deal would be finalized within days.

As SpaceX IPO launches, Texans near its Starbase HQ are mixed on the company

SpaceX's arrival in the region has been good for business, some Brownsville, Texas, residents say, while others rue its impact on the local community.

US-Iran peace deal remains elusive as Trump and Tehran trade conflicting claims

US president dismisses Iranian media reports agreement is close, despite earlier suggesting a deal could be signed this weekend

Prospects for an immediate end to the war between Iran and the US remained uncertain on Friday amid a chaotic series of conflicting claims and counter-claims by US and Iranian officials about ongoing negotiations.

Donald Trump seemed to distance himself from his earlier comments that suggested a preliminary agreement could be signed as soon as this weekend, with a series of angry social media posts describing the Iranians as “very dishonorable people to deal with”.

Pentagon releases 3rd batch of UFO files: "Are you seeing this?"

The Pentagon on Friday released a new group of documents and videos related to UFOs, or UAPs, with 72 more documents, images and recordings.

Canada police investigate whether Toronto police death linked to global terror attacks

Constable Marc Pinizzotto, 43, was killed while executing search warrants related to a shooting at US consulate

Authorities in Canada are investigating whether the killing of a Toronto police officer while he was executing search warrants related to a shooting at the city’s US consulate is linked a broader series of global terror attacks.

Constable Marc Pinizzotto, 43, a member of the emergency taskforce, was killed on Thursday during a dawn search of an apartment building in the west of the city.

Judge rejects bid to block UFC event at the White House

A federal judge on Friday rejected a long-shot effort to block the Ultimate Fighting Championship event set to take place at the White House this weekend.

British man jailed for goading American to kill himself on video call

Dylan Phelan, 21, of Leeds, sentenced to more than six years for encouraging the suicide of 21-year-old Travis Dyer

A Yorkshire man has been sentenced to more than six years in jail after admitting encouraging a US citizen to kill themselves while on a video call.

Dylan Phelan, 21, was sentenced on Friday at Leeds crown court after previously pleading guilty to intentionally doing an act that was capable of encouraging the suicide of another person.

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

A key spy tool is expiring due to inaction in Congress. Here's what that means.

Lawmakers have long sounded the alarm about the risks of letting Section 702 expire. But there's debate over what a lapse in the law actually means.

The SpaceX IPO made Musk a trillionaire. The old rules of capitalism no longer apply | Robert Reich

The economic principles taught in school aren’t as relevant as hype, connections and total, arbitrary control

• Share your views on SpaceX’s stock market debut

Elon Musk is now the world’s first trillionaire, after his SpaceX exploration and satellite company went public on the Nasdaq on Friday.

With shares priced at $135 each, Musk’s aerospace and satellite maker soared to an overall market valuation of approximately $1.77tn – which raised Musk’s net worth (which had already hovered at the astronomical $813bn) into the $1tn stratosphere.

‘I think about him every time I go swimming’: David Hockney remembered by Rachel Whiteread, Jeremy Deller and more

Artists and cultural figures celebrate the great Yorkshire painter who could ‘make teabags and toothpaste glamorous’ – with a poem from a fellow Yorkshireman

• ‘David Hockney caught the look of the modern world’

• David Hockney, revolutionary British artist, dies aged 88

My earliest memories of modern artists were of David Hockney, Andy Warhol and Bridget Riley. I remember seeing a TV programme about David in the 1970s as a young kid and thinking “wow, is that what being an artist is like?” Because my mum was an artist but she wasn’t anything like that!

SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell had IPO doubts for years, now she has a message for investors

Gwynne Shotwell, long Elon Musk's second-in-command at SpaceX, spoke exclusively with CNBC ahead of her company's highly anticipated IPO.

The week around the world in 20 pictures

Disorder in Belfast, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, the Ebola outbreak, and the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs in the NBA finals – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists

The Guardian view on literature in wartime: words do not stop when the bombing begins | Editorial

Writers do not only document the horror of conflict; they speak to a future that must exist beyond it

Last week, thousands of readers gathered for a literary festival in Kyiv, risking air raids to hear from writers. Four brutal years of war have not destroyed the appetite for writing, but fuelled it. Russia’s extensive and systematic attempts to destroy Ukrainian culture, and therefore identity, have rightly received widespread attention. Over 700 libraries were damaged or destroyed outright within the first three years of the full-scale invasion.

But that campaign has also spurred efforts to move away from Russian literature and the Russian-language titles that previously dominated the market. Ukrainian literature and publishing has flourished far beyond the powerful documentary accounts of war often awarded attention outside the country, with growing room for experimentation. Newer writing also attempts to bridge the gap between those on the frontline and those more safely at home.

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.

Judge blocks DOJ 'anti-weaponization' fund for longer, wants guarantee it’s dead

A judge gave Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent a week to submit a sworn declaration the DOJ fund was not going forward.

World Cup football and T20 cricket galore, plus F1 in Barcelona – follow with us

Here’s how to follow along with our coverage – the finest writing and up-to-the-minute reports

‘The absence becomes the point’: the steady march of barely there shoes

Dear Frances offers the latest take on ballet flats, offering ‘a glove-like fit wearability’ – which is fine if you have nice feet

When is a shoe not a shoe? On sale this month is a pair that seems to pose the question – the no shoe-shoe is the work of the cult brand Dear Frances and the latest in a steady march of shoes that are barely there; a take on naked dressing but for the foot.

The Balla shoe, which the brand calls a “sock shoe”, covers almost the entire foot, but also leaves it – encased but on display – in a kind of flimsy foot-cage. According to Jane Frances, the creative director and founder of the brand, it “offers a unique, glove-like fit wearability” and “takes inspiration from the delicate strength of a woman”.

‘We can’t give up on Afghans’: Lyse Doucet on the remarkable ‘people’s history’ that won her the Women’s prize

The BBC’s chief international correspondent was awarded the prestigious nonfiction prize for The Finest Hotel in Kabul – which she hopes will bring more attention to the Taliban’s draconian treatment of women

• Women’s prize: Virginia Evans wins for fiction and Lyse Doucet takes award for nonfiction

Lyse Doucet first checked into Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel on Christmas Day 1988, as Soviet troops were withdrawing from Afghanistan at the end of a decade-long occupation. She expected to stay briefly. Instead, she remained for almost a year, and the hotel became her first Afghan home.

More than three decades later, it became the subject of her first book, The Finest Hotel in Kabul, which has now won the Women’s prize for nonfiction. But while the prize recognises a remarkable work of reportage and history, the BBC’s chief international correspondent is more interested in what it might do for the country that inspired it.

Olivia Rodrigo: You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love review – who’s she singing about? Who cares when the songs are this good

(Geffen)
Gossips have rushed to the lyrics for details about her personal life, but the rest of us can just get on with luxuriating in Rodrigo’s funny, Cure-infused craft

With a certain crushing inevitability, the arrival of Olivia Rodrigo’s third album has been accompanied by a lot of frenzied decoding of its lyrics for references to Louis Partridge, the British actor whose relationship with the singer ended late last year. One magazine ran a 1,200 word essay, complete with annotations, panning its songs for nuggets of gossip: the fourth piece they’ve published on the subject in recent months. A British broadsheet plumped for a news story about the fact that Rodrigo had apparently changed the lyrics of a track called Purple, formerly a “very sweet and saccharine” love song, to reflect the end of their relationship. Over in New Delhi, The Hindustan Times was pondering rumours that the couple had actually got back together: “Interest in Partridge has grown after Rodrigo released her new album since fans believe the track Stupid Song has references to the singer’s relationship with him.”

Well, of course it has: for better or for worse, that kind of speculation seems to have become a major part of modern pop, and Oliva Rodrigo in particular has long been a beneficiary of the clickbait publicity it brings. Her breakthrough single Drivers Licence gained traction thanks to the rumour that its lyrics were about her former boyfriend Joshua Bassett’s dalliance with Sabrina Carpenter; Vampire, the lead single from 2023’s Guts invited yet more speculation about whether its subject was another ex or Taylor Swift. Indeed, she actively seems to encourage it: “I never talk about my personal life in interviews or in any public forum, so I guess the music is where people go to deduce things,” she recently told an interviewer, a line that seems to have a distinct hint of “go ahead, fill your boots” about it.