Trump administration views Netflix and Warner Bros. deal with 'heavy skepticism,' senior official says

Paramount Skydance, whose CEO David Ellison is friendly with the Trump administration, has tried to buy WBD outright, making several bids for its full portfolio.

Sister turns to TikTok for leads 25 years after teen's murder

More than 25 years after her teenage sister Molly's disappearance and murder in Massachusetts, Heather Bish is using TikTok to appeal for new leads. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports.

Trinity Rodman's agent on rejected multi-million dollar deal: "She's disappointed"

The National Women's Soccer League rejected the Washington Spirit's bid to retain Trinity Rodman, saying the 4-year deal violated its salary cap. The players' union filed a grievance in response. Mike Senkowski, Rodman's agent, speaks with "CBS Mornings" about the contract talks.

Labour announces plans to lift 550,000 children out of poverty – UK politics live

Starmer hails child poverty strategy as a ‘moral mission’ which will include measures to help with childcare and getting families out of temporary housing

Readers may be aware, going into the weekend, that Edinburgh airport had to temporarily suspend flights this morning due to technical issues.

The delays lasted about an hour. A report here:

Merino may keep place as Arsenal striker, Rodri still unavailable for Manchester City – football live

⚽ All the latest updates heading into the weekend’s action
⚽ Premier League: 10 things to look out for | Email Will

Back to domestic matters and last night’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford. Despite looking absolutely woeful against Liverpool, West Ham managed to nick a point with a late equaliser against Manchester United. Ruben Amorim was pretty miffed it’s fair to say.

Ashes news. Quick plug for our other live blog. It was looking a bit grim for England but then two quick wickets! What a catch by Will Jacks! Rob Smyth has the details.

‘He’s the new Daniel Day-Lewis’: Margot Robbie defends Jacob Elordi’s Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights

Robbie addresses backlash to casting Elordi as a character described by Brontë as ‘dark-skinned’, while Fennell praises her female star’s ‘big dick energy’

Margot Robbie has come out in defence of Emerald Fennell’s new adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, in which she is playing Cathy opposite Jacob Elordi’s Heathcliff.

Despite being months away from release, the film has attracted criticism for its casting as well as alterations that Fennell has made to the characters. In an interview with Vogue magazine, Robbie said: “I get it … there’s nothing else to go off at this point until people see the movie.”

World Cup 2026 draw: updates as the teams await fate in Washington DC – live

⚽ Draw begins in Washington DC at 5pm GMT / 12pm local
⚽ Draw explainer | Qualifiers | Follow on Bluesky | Mail John

Benjamin gets in touch: “I am webmaster of www.national-football-teams.com !

“As you can imagine, draw day is quite something when international football is one of your things. I want to chip in on possible groups of death. These are the two of the hardest groups I could come up with:

Argentina

Morocco

Norway

Italy (If they qualify)

Spain

Colombia

Ivory Coast

Denmark (If they qualify)

Canada

Austria

Qatar

Cape Verde

Belgium

Iran

South Africa

Curacao

Eye Opener: Arctic air blasts millions of Americans

Frigid temperatures are expected in parts of the U.S. through the weekend. Plus, more details have emerged about the classified briefing on the controversial Sept. 2 boat strikes near Venezuela. All that and all that matters in today's Eye Opener.

German MPs rubberstamp military service plan amid school pupil protests

All 18-year-old men to be screened for suitability for armed forces, but proposal falls short of conscription

The German parliament has rubberstamped a new model for military service that aims to boost its armed forces, as thousands of school pupils demonstrated across the country against the plans.

The change will include the obligatory screening of all 18-year-old men to gauge their suitability to serve in the military from 1 January, but does not include conscription, as favoured by some conservative politicians.

Netflix to buy Warner Bros. in a deal valued at $82.7 billion

Netflix on Friday said it will acquire Warner Bros., including its film and television studios, HBO Max and HBO.

Frigid cold weather blasts parts of the U.S.

Record cold temperatures are impacting parts of the U.S. and the frigid conditions are expected to persist through the weekend. Tom Hanson has more, and Rob Marciano gives the latest forecast.

Cloudflare outage hits major web services including X, LinkedIn and Zoom – business live

Cloudflare reports it is investigating issues with Cloudflare Dashboard and related APIs

Technical problems at internet infrastructure provider Cloudflare today have taken a host of websites offline this morning.

Cloudflare said shortly after 9am UK time that it “is investigating issues with Cloudflare Dashboard and related APIs [application programming interfaces – used when apps exchange data with each other].

‘Civilisational erasure’: US strategy document appears to echo far-right conspiracy theories about Europe

Official text, signed by Donald Trump, outlines plan to ‘cultivate resistance’ in EU nations to their ‘current trajectory’

Donald Trump’s administration has said Europe faces “civilisational erasure” within the next two decades as a result of migration and EU integration. In a policy document, it argues that the US must “cultivate resistance” within the continent to “Europe’s current trajectory”.

Billed as “a roadmap to ensure America remains the greatest and most successful nation in human history and the home of freedom on earth”, the US National Security Strategy makes explicit Washington’s support for Europe’s far-right parties.

The best music books of 2025

From an enraging indictment of Spotify to Del Amitri frontman Justin Currie’s account of Parkinson’s and a compelling biography of Tupac Shakur, here are five titles that strike a chord

Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist
Liz Pelly (Hodder & Stoughton)
Enraging, thoroughly depressing, but entirely necessary, Mood Music offers a timely, forensically researched demolition of Spotify. In Pelly’s account, the music streaming giant views music as a kind of nondescript sonic wallpaper, artists as an unnecessary encumbrance to the business of making more money and its target market not as music fans, but mindless drones who don’t really care what they’re listening to, ripe for manipulation by its algorithm. Sharp business practices and evidence of its deleterious effect on the quality and variety of new music abound: the worst thing is that Pelly can’t really come up with a viable alternative in a world where convenience trumps all.

Men of a Certain Age: My Encounters With Rock Royalty
Kate Mossman (Bonnier)
There’s no doubt that Men of a Certain Age is a hard sell, a semi-autobiographical book in which the New Statesman’s arts editor traces her obsession with often wildly unfashionable, ageing male artists – Queen’s Roger Taylor, Bruce Hornsby, Steve Perry of Journey, Jon Bon Jovi among them – through a series of interviews variously absurd, insightful, hair-raising and weirdly touching. But it’s elevated to unmissable status by Mossman’s writing, which is so sparkling, witty and shrewd that your personal feelings about her subjects are rendered irrelevant amid the cocktail of self-awareness, affection and sharp analysis she brings to every encounter. In a world of music books retelling tired legends, Men of a Certain Age offers that rare thing: an entirely original take on rock history.

What has the ceasefire actually accomplished? | Fiona Katauskas

As it turns out, not that much

• See more of Fiona Katauskas’s cartoons here

Maximum protein, minimal carbs: why gym bros are flocking to Australia’s charcoal chicken shops

From El Jannah’s webpage dedicated to ‘health-conscious individuals’ to Habibi Chicken’s ‘Gym Bro’ pack, businesses are catering to the post-leg day crowd

• Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email

Popularised in Australia by Balkan and Lebanese immigrants, charcoal chicken has long been part of our comfort-food canon. But recently, the humble chicken shop has had a renaissance – driven by fresh takes on the classics, the expansion of longstanding chains and a surge of protein-conscious gym goers.

In June, charcoal chicken chain El Jannah, which has more than 50 stores, launched a page on its website dedicated to protein and macros – complete with recommendations for the best post-leg day order – a clear nod to the fitness crowd.

The Kennedy Center Honors are coming up. This year's event will be different

President Trump has made major changes at the Kennedy Center this year, ousting the board chair and president, and naming himself host of the organization's yearly awards show.

Cold moon over Gaza, snow in Seoul and the Olympic flame: photos of the day – Friday

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

Playwright Jeremy O Harris arrested in Japan for alleged drug smuggling

The writer of the Tony award-nominated Slave Play remains in custody after authorities say they found MDMA in his bag

American actor and playwright Jeremy O Harris, known for the Tony-nominated Slave Play, was arrested last month at an airport in Japan on suspicion of attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into the country, local authorities said late on Thursday.

Harris, 36, was stopped on 16 November at Naha airport on Okinawa island after a customs officer discovered 0.78 grams of crystal containing the synthetic drug MDMA in his tote bag, an Okinawa regional customs spokesperson said.

The Liz Truss Show will confront the big issues of the day. For example: who on earth would watch Liz Truss? | Marina Hyde

Everyone’s favourite former PM is back! Her mission? To save Britain from its current ‘doomloop’ with, you guessed it, a YouTube talkshow

Will you be seeing a pantomime this year? Birmingham’s got Gok Wan and Biggins in Robin Hood, Bradford has Sinitta in Snow White, while Bromley landed Su Pollard for Beauty and the Beast. And at the end of YouTube’s infinite pier, there’s The Liz Truss Show, starring She’s-Behind-You herself. Curtain up on that one is tonight at 6pm.

According to the producers, Liz’s show “confronts the issues that others tiptoe around”. Wow. The lives, loves, and clinical explanations? Let’s just say I’d watch that. Sadly, this doesn’t seem to be the format. Instead, like all seasonal entertainment, The Liz Truss Show is based on a fairytale. “The deep state and their allies in the media and politics tried to destroy me,” madam explains in a statement, “now I’m back.” Are the gilt markets the deep state now? Honestly, I can’t keep up. You’ll remember that the irony of Truss’s flameout at the hands of market forces was particularly acute given that she had spent an entire career explaining that free markets were the greatest judge of absolutely everything. Small ideological adjustment: free markets are now the greatest judge of everything except the ideas and personage of Liz Truss.

Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist

4 killed in latest strike on alleged drug boat, Pentagon says

At least 87 people have been killed since the vessel strikes began in early September.

Homeland security head reveals plans to widen US travel ban to more than 30 countries

Kristi Noem said the list of countries from which travel to the US is prohibited will increase to an unspecified number

• US politics live – latest updates

The US plans to expand the number of countries covered by its travel ban to more than 30, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kristi Noem, has announced.

Noem, in an interview on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle on Thursday evening, was asked to confirm whether the Trump administration would be increasing the number of countries on the travel ban list to 32.

Amorim says little-used Mainoo is proof he trusts Manchester United’s academy

• Mainoo has not started in Premier League this season

• Amorim: ‘I try to put the best players on the pitch’

Ruben Amorim has denied not trusting Manchester United’s academy by pointing to his selection of Kobbie Mainoo in the matchday squad.

Mainoo was an unused substitute in Thursday’s 1-1 draw at home to West Ham. The 20-year-old midfielder, who has been at the club since he was six, has made 10 appearances this season but only one start, against Grimsby in the Carabao Cup.

‘No mistrust’ between Europe and US over Ukraine, Macron says

French president’s remarks come a day after a report claimed he had warned Washington could betray Kyiv

Emmanuel Macron has said there is “no mistrust” between Europe and the US, a day after a report claimed the French president had warned privately there was a risk Washington could betray Ukraine.

“Unity between Americans and Europeans on the Ukrainian issue is essential. And I say it again and again, we need to work together,” Macron told reporters during a visit to China.

Steve Smith on top again after he resumes Ashes rivalry with Jofra Archer | Geoff Lemon

As Australia’s batting linchpin helps hosts pull away, England’s premier paceman is yet to get him out in a Test

Jofra Archer versus Steve Smith in 2019 is already Ashes folklore. The atmosphere at Lord’s that afternoon was charged in all senses, a huge slab of cloud bringing darkness to the day. Fresh off a match-winning World Cup final, Archer marked his Test debut with what was then the fastest spell recorded for England. Smith was in the middle of a Bradman-hued streak of 774 runs in seven innings. All that could pause him was a short-pitched attack of building ferocity, one that finally dropped Smith with a bouncer to the neck. It was a pure duel, the kind that cause spectators genuine fear.

In the immediate aftermath, and again as Archer took six-fers in wins at Headingley and the Oval, one principal idea came up in every discussion: imagine, what might he be able to do in Australia? Imagine him on a fast and bouncy track in Perth or Brisbane. It was: “I can’t wait to get you to the Gabba,” but born of admiration rather than antagonism. The show, we all imagined, might be a spectacle.

‘I’ve had all the luck you can get’: Michael Caine retires for the fourth time

The 92-year-old actor made the announcement again as he received an award at the Red Sea international film festival in Saudi Arabia

Michael Caine has offered an update on his possible retirement from acting at the Red Sea international film festival in Saudi Arabia, appearing to call time on his career for the fourth time.

Taking to the stage to accept a lifetime achievement award, the actor said: “I kept going until I was 90, which was two years ago, and I thought to myself I’m not going to do anything else because I’ve had all the luck you can get.”

CDC panel to vote Friday on hepatitis B vaccine for newborns

The CDC's vaccine advisory panel meets Thursday and Friday to discuss recommendations for the hepatitis B vaccine and the schedule of childhood shots.

Luigi Mangione returning to court for crucial evidence hearing

Luigi Mangione will be back in court Friday as a crucial court hearing about what evidence should be admitted in the trial continues.

Has hope survived the war? We asked Israelis and Palestinians we spoke to in 2023

In 2023, we interviewed them to see how the Israel-Hamas war was affecting their ability to feel compassion and empathy. In the wake of the ceasefire this fall, we followed up. What's changed?

California pesticide agency could loosen restrictions on most toxic rat poisons

The anti-coagulant rodenticides also unintentionally harm wildlife across the state, including endangered species

The administration of Gavin Newsom, the California governor, is moving to loosen restrictions around the most toxic rat poisons, even as a new state report shows the rodenticides are unintentionally poisoning wildlife across the state, including endangered species.

Blood-thinning, anticoagulant rodenticides were significantly restricted when a 2024 state law approved after 10 years of legislative wrangling required the California department of pesticide regulation to limit the substances’ use unless data showed species collaterally harmed or killed by it had rebounded.

US airstrike survivors clung to boat wreckage for an hour before second deadly attack, video shows

Footage seen by US senators shows two unarmed, shirtless men struggling to stay afloat before they were killed, sources say

• Experts say Trump’s ‘drug boat’ war is legally shaky

Two men who survived a US airstrike on a suspected drug smuggling boat in the Caribbean clung to the wreckage for an hour before they were killed in a second attack, according a video of the episode shown to senators in Washington.

The men were shirtless, unarmed and carried no visible radio or other communications equipment. They also appeared to have no idea what had just hit them, or that the US military was weighing whether to finish them off, two sources familiar with the recording told Reuters.

‘My God, what a story it would make’: film-maker Kevin Brownlow on It Happened Here and Winstanley

Brownlow is best known for restoring silent movies, but in conjunction with Andrew Mollo, he made two features, in 1964 and 1975, that look astonishingly prescient today

Anyone who has sat in the dark and watched the beautiful, glowing images of a silent film come to life on the screen has plenty to thank Kevin Brownlow for. Since the 1960s he has been on a quest to collect, preserve and restore these fragile artefacts of early cinema – thousands of which were lost, binned, or melted down for their silver content. He even won an honorary Oscar in 2010 for his efforts. But perhaps less well known is Brownlow’s career as a film director; not just with the various documentaries and TV shows related to his passion for silent movies, but in feature films that are as good as any of the more celebrated products of British cinema’s 1960s and 70s golden age.

Brownlow, in conjunction with co-director (and historian) Andrew Mollo, has two brilliant features on his CV: It Happened Here, released in 1964, and Winstanley, released more than a decade later in 1975. But that was it. Brownlow, now 87, seems pretty sanguine about it. “We did try,” he says. “If producers had been enthusiastic, I’m sure we’d have made at least one more feature.”

Netflix agrees to buy Warner Bros Discovery studio and streaming business in $83bn deal

Streaming service to gain control of studio behind Harry Potter and Batman, as well as HBO, home to The White Lotus and Game of Thrones

• Business live – latest updates

Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros Discovery in an $82.7bn (£62bn) deal that will dramatically reshape the established Hollywood film and TV industry.

The streaming company will take control of WBD’s prize assets such as Warner Bros, the studio behind franchises including Harry Potter, Superman and Batman, as well as HBO, home to shows including Game of Thrones, The White Lotus and Succession.

Holocaust survivors call on Nigel Farage to apologise over alleged antisemitic comments

Exclusive: Group’s open letter says Reform UK leader must take responsibility for behaviour as a schoolboy

A group of Holocaust survivors have demanded Nigel Farage tell the truth and apologise for the antisemitic comments that fellow pupils of Dulwich college allege he made toward Jewish pupils.

The Reform UK leader has said he never racially abused anyone with intent but may have engaged in “banter in a playground”.

Who is the Jan. 6 pipe bomb suspect? And, lawmakers see video of deadly boat strike

After a years-long investigation, the FBI has arrested a man accused of planting the Jan. 6 pipe bombs. And, lawmakers yesterday saw video of a deadly strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.

Key US panel to vote on changing infant hepatitis B vaccine recommendation

ACIP vote follows two postponements and contentious meeting and comes as RFK Jr pushes for vaccine delay

After a delay and an unusually contentious meeting, a federal vaccine advisory panel was expected to vote on Friday whether to change the longstanding recommendation that all newborns be immunized against hepatitis B.

The first day of the meeting of the advisory committee on immunization practices (ACIP) on Thursday was marked by heated debate over restricting access to the hepatitis B vaccine for infants and a decision to defer the vote by a day to give members more time to review the wording. The panel, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on how to use vaccines, had twice before postponed the vote.

Add to playlist: DJ Moopie’s charmingly moody experimental compilations and the week’s best new tracks

Connoisseurs of all things delicate and deeply felt will love the music put out by A Colourful Storm, the Melbourne-based DJ’s indie label

From Melbourne
Recommended if you like the C86 compilation, AU/NZ jangle-pop, Mess Esque
Up next Going Back to Sleep out now

Melbourne-based DJ Moopie, AKA Matthew Xue, is renowned for engrossing, wide-ranging sets that can run the gamut from gelid ambient music to churning drum’n’bass and beyond. He also runs A Colourful Storm – a fantastic indie label that massively punches above its weight when it comes to putting out charmingly moody experimental pop music, from artists as disparate as London-based percussionist Valentina Magaletti, dubby Hobart duo Troth, and renowned underground polymath Simon Fisher Turner.

In 2017, the label released I Won’t Have to Think About You, a compilation of winsome, C86-ish indie pop. Earlier this year, it put out Going Back to Sleep, a quasi-sequel to that record which also functions as a neatly drawn guide to some of the best twee-pop groups currently working. Sydney band Daily Toll, whose 2025 debut A Profound Non-Event is one of the year’s underrated gems, contribute Time, a seven-minute melodica-and-guitar reverie. Chateau, the duo of Al Montfort (Terry, Total Control) and Alex Macfarlane (the Stevens, Twerps), push into percussive, psychedelic lounge pop on How Long on the Platform, while Who Cares?, one of Melbourne’s best new bands, channel equal parts Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

Elsewhere, Going Back to Sleep features tracks from San Francisco indie stalwarts the Reds, Pinks and Purples; minimalist Sydney group the Lewers; and sun-dappled folk-pop from Dutch duo the Hobknobs. It’s an unassuming compilation that’s almost certain to become well-loved and frequently referenced among connoisseurs of all things delicate and deeply felt. Shaad D’Souza

Daggers, dervishes, Rego and the world’s most expensive egg – the week in art

The British Museum is infused with Sufi spirit, Henry VIII’s storied Ottoman dagger gets its own show, Rego’s art is renewed and a Fabergé sets a new record – all in your weekly dispatch

Henry VIII’s Lost Dagger
A curious quest for the Tudor tyrant’s lost, highly phallic dagger in the house where modern gothic began.
• Strawberry Hill House, London, until 15 February

China in diplomatic push to isolate Japan in feud over Taiwan issue

No end in sight to spat between Japan and China over Taiwan, as neither Tokyo nor Beijing shows signs of backing down.

Composting for your garden? This ancient method requires minimal effort

Digging a trench alongside your vegetable bed is an easy way to dispose of food and plant waste, and enrich soil for next year’s crops

On a visit to our friends’ house recently, the subject of food waste came up. They haven’t got a tucked-away spot to set up a compost bin or heap in their garden, and their local council doesn’t collect. They had put their effort into bokashi composting in the past, but with a baby on the way I suspect they’ll have more than enough to do without taking on the added responsibility of caring for a bucket of fermenting kitchen scraps.

But as they’re already accustomed to burying their bokashi-ed vegetable peelings, it got me thinking about how low effort and high impact trench composting can be for those without room for a larger system. Trench composting is the simple process of putting your compostable matter – fruit and vegetable waste, plant material from the garden, grass clippings, leaves, etc – into a trench near where you’re planning to grow your crops next year. Over the coming months, this organic matter will slowly decompose, enriching the soil and improving its structure, making it ready to welcome the following season’s plants. No further effort is required from you to engage in this ancient approach.

Endangered jaguar spotted at watering hole in Arizona

Officials have said that jaguar breeding in the U.S. has not been documented in more than a century.

Five of the best science fiction books of 2025

An eco-masterpiece, icy intrigue, cyberpunkish cyborgs, memory-eating aliens and super-fast travel sends the world spinning out of control

Circular Motion
Alex Foster (Grove)
Alex Foster’s novel treats climate catastrophe through high-concept satire. A new technology of super-fast pods revolutionises travel: launched into low orbit from spring-loaded podiums, they fly west and land again in minutes, regardless of distance. Since every action has an equal and opposite reaction, our globe starts to spin faster. Days contract, first by seconds, then minutes, and eventually hours. It’s a gonzo conceit, and Foster spells out the consequences, his richly rendered characters caught up in their own lives as the world spirals out of control. As days become six hours long, circadian rhythms go out of the window and oceans start to bulge at the equator. The increasing whirligig of the many strands of storytelling converge on their inevitable conclusion, with Foster’s sparky writing, clever plotting and biting wit spinning an excellent tale.

When There Are Wolves Again
EJ Swift (Arcadia)
There are few more pressing issues with which fiction can engage than the climate crisis, and SF, with its capacity to extrapolate into possible futures and dramatise the realities, is particularly well placed to do so. Swift’s superb novel is an eco-masterpiece. Its near-future narrative of collapse and recovery takes us from the rewilding of Chornobyl and the return of wolves to Europe, through setback and challenge, to 2070, a story by turns tragic, alarming, uplifting, poetic and ultimately hopeful. Swift’s accomplished prose and vivid characterisation connect large questions of the planet’s destiny with human intimacy and experience, and she avoids either a too-easy doomsterism or a facile techno-optimism. We can bring the world back from the brink, but it will require honesty, commitment, hard work and a proper sense of stewardship.

Rosa Parks’ vacant former home is an emblem of racist housing policies | Bernadette Atuahene

Seventy years after the Montgomery bus boycott, policies hiding in plain sight continue to ravage the Black community

Friday is the 70th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott, which began because Rosa Parks refused to relinquish her seat to a white person, as required by law. While her brave act brought national attention to the civil rights movement and triggered student sit-ins to end segregation across the south, it also subjected her and her husband, Raymond, to constant death threats. Consequently, like many other Black families fleeing Jim Crow south’s racial violence, in August 1957, Rosa and Raymond moved up north to Detroit.

When the Parks arrived in Detroit, they and other Black people did not have to sit at the back of the bus. Nonetheless, the city was permeated by a quieter but no less pernicious type of racism: racist policies, which are any written or unwritten laws and processes that produce or sustain racial inequity. In my book Plundered: How Racist Policies Undermine Black Homeownership in America, I demonstrate how racial covenants, redlining, urban renewal, blockbusting, predatory mortgage lending and racialized property tax administration have stymied the Black community.

Bernadette Atuahene is the Duggan Professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, the Executive Director of the Institute for Law and Organizing, and the author of Plundered: How Racist Policies Undermine Black Homeownership in America

Tesla launches cheaper version of Model 3 in Europe amid Musk sales backlash

CEO Elon Musk says lower-cost electric car will reignite demand by appealing to broader range of buyers

• Business live – latest updates

Tesla has launched the lower-priced version of its Model 3 car in Europe in a push to revive sales after a backlash against Elon Musk’s work with Donald Trump and weakening demand for electric vehicles.

Musk, the electric car maker’s chief executive, has argued that the cheaper option, launched in the US in October, will reinvigorate demand by appealing to a wider range of buyers.

Nvidia partner Foxconn reports 26% revenue spike as AI boom continues

The Taiwanese company has increasingly moved into the AI infrastructure space in recent times

Melody’s Echo Chamber: Unclouded review – an enchanted, balmy garden of dreampop

(Domino)
Blooming strings, mellifluous guitars and airy vocals make Melody Prochet’s fourth album a calming place to visit – even if there’s a lack of standout tracks

French musician Melody Prochet, AKA Melody’s Echo Chamber, never struggles to find a supporting cast. Her self-titled 2012 debut was produced by Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker. On second album Bon Voyage (2018) she teamed up with Swedish psychedelic rock band Dungen, whose guitarist Reine Fiske popped up again on 2022’s Emotional Eternal and now features on Unclouded. Prochet’s fourth album is produced and partly co-written by composer Sven Wunder, and its dizzying array of contributors also includes Josefin Runsteen (opulent strings) and DJ Shadow collaborator Malcolm Catto (percussive fizz).

Still, somehow Prochet retains her own singular vision. Borrowing a title from a quote by Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki – “You must see with eyes unclouded by hate. See the good in that which is evil, and the evil in that which is good” – Unclouded takes her airy vocals and baroque dreampop into brighter terrain. Some tracks have a 90s vibe, reminiscent of Saint Etienne or Lush. Others have a feel that can only be accurately described in horticultural terms: the blooming strings of the really lovely Broken Roses, or the sprinkles of xylophones that make Burning Man sound like, well, a Japanese garden.

Who sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week? Find out in the quiz

This week, you'll need to be knowledgeable about holy media darlings, portrait-making techniques, and beloved Canadian icons — and that's just three questions.

Barbican revamp to give ‘bewildering’ arts centre a new lease of life

Project will make the famously confusing London landmark easier to navigate and more accessible

“Everything leaks,” says Philippa Simpson, the director of buildings and renewal at the Barbican, who is standing outside the venue’s lakeside area and inspecting the tired-looking tiles beneath her feet.

Water seeps through the cracks into the building below and serves as a reminder of the job facing Simpson and the team who are overhauling the 43-year-old landmark.

Labour wants to ramp up facial recognition. What if our data ends up in the wrong hands? | Simon Jenkins

We know from recent hacks, and even the Snowden revelations, how vulnerable information gathered is to theft and misuse

One thing to remember about the modern world is that nothing online is ever secure. M&S and Jaguar taught us that. Edward Snowden taught us that. Every week, it seems, some giant corporation sees its system collapse at the touch of a button in an attic.

The government this week opened a consultation on its plan for nationwide facial recognition and surveillance. You would need only put your face outdoors and walk down the street and authorities will know and record it. Of course we will be assured that all will be kept secure. It will not. Cash or conspiracy will find it out and it will leak.

Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist

The World Cup draw is here. Here's why it matters — and how it will work

FIFA is about to determine which teams all 48 participating countries in the FIFA World Cup 2026 will face in the group phase of the tournament, which the U.S., Canada and Mexico are co-hosting.

NPR battles Trump executive order in court

NPR was in court for a pivotal hearing arguing that the Trump administration had broken the law with its treatment of public media.

Morning news brief

Hegseth under fire amid new Signalgate report and boat strike briefing, the FBI arrests man they say planted pipe bombs near the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, SCOTUS allows Texas to use gerrymandered map.

Global websites back online as Cloudflare issues a dashboard fix

Shares of the company were down 4.5% in premarket trading after global websites went down and Cloudflare said it was investigating.

'It was a miracle': Mom who had a stroke while pregnant reflects with her son

Marla Wendel was three months pregnant when she had a stroke. Over 30 years later, she talks with her now-adult son, Daniel, about the experience.

12/4: CBS Evening News

Luigi Mangione arrest video played in court as defense fights evidence; $1.6 million raised for 88-year-old man working at grocery store

Laura Cannell: Brightly Shone the Moon review | Jude Rogers' folk album of the month

(Brawl)
The violinist sets out on her darkest exploration of yuletide yet, giving a murky and melancholy twist on familiar Christmas standards

Traditional music finds its popular, cosy home in the carol, despite the uncanniness that surrounds the nativity story, and the fraying thread back to the past that each winter brings. A veteran explorer of the season (in 2020’s sparkling Winter Rituals EP with cellist Kate Ellis, and 2022’s starker New Christmas Rituals, with amplified fiddle-playing from André Bosman), Laura Cannell sets out on her best and darkest journey yet here, exploring the time of year when, as she writes on the liner notes, “joy and heartache try to exist together”.

Named after the line in Good King Wenceslas before the cruel frosts arrive, Brightly Shone the Moon begins at the organ – a nod to Cannell’s childhood Christmases in the Methodist chapels and churches of Norfolk. Cannell’s fiddle then quivers around the 16th-century folk melody of O Christmas Tree/O Tannenbaum, as if the carol is swirling in a snowglobe, trying to settle in memory. All Ye Faithful follows, full of murky repetitions of the pre-chorus passages, where choirs usually sing “come let us adore him”. But here, love feels stuck, rooting around like an animal in the ground, a sonic reminder of how smothering and strenuous the winter can be for many.

Abdusattorov overwhelms rivals at Arsenal but England hit back in style

The Uzbek shone at London Classic and a 3,000+ tournament performance reaffirmed his place among world’s best

This week’s XTX London Classic at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium took place in an elegant arena with a full view of the football pitch. The English players suffered for most of the event, but hit back in style last night when all four won their eighth-round games.

Scores after eight of the nine rounds were Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) 7, Alireza Firouzja (France) 5, Nikita Vitiugov (England) 4.5, Luke McShane and Michael Adams (both England) 4, Nikolas Theodorou (Greece) and Pavel Eljanov (Ukraine) 3.5, Abhimanyu Mishra (USA) and Gawain Maroroa Jones (England) 3, Sam Shankland (USA) 2.5. The four English victories in Thursday night’s eighth round transformed what had been a difficult event into a demonstration of sustained national strength at the board.

Week in wildlife: a studious deer and a partying raccoon

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

RSF massacres left Sudanese city ‘a slaughterhouse’, satellite images show

Up to 150,000 residents of El Fasher are missing since North Darfur capital fell to paramilitary Rapid Support Forces

The Sudanese city of El Fasher resembles a “massive crime scene”, with large piles of bodies heaped throughout its streets as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) work to destroy evidence of the scale of their massacre.

Six weeks after the RSF seized the city, corpses have been gathered together in scores of piles to await burial in mass graves or cremated in huge pits, analysis indicates.

Aitana Bonmatí makes Guardian top 100 history with third title in a row

The margin may have got smaller but the brilliant Spanish midfielder makes it a hat-trick of No 1 finishes

They say the best things come in threes, and Aitana Bonmatí has written herself into the Guardian’s top 100 history as the first player to finish at the top of the tree for a third consecutive year.

Last year the majestic midfielder emulated her Barcelona and Spain teammate Alexia Putellas by winning for a second year running, but the 27-year-old has now gone one better, establishing herself once again at the top of the women’s game.

‘The goal was to scare a kid’: the wild world of films-within-films

From Angels with Filthy Souls in Home Alone, to Deception in The Holiday, fake movies are taking on a life of their own

The cold was brutal and so were the gangsters. It was the first – and worse, only – day of shooting, and when cinematographer Julio Macat threaded some film into his camera, it was so cold that the film snapped. The gangsters flitted around menacingly, fedoras and machine guns at the ready.

Macat was hoping to make a movie that was frightening and strange. “The goal,” he says, “was to scare a kid.” And so, even though it was 1990, he chose to shoot the noir like it was the 40s, with black and white film, fog filters on the camera lenses, and an intense, old-fashioned lighting setup to cast deep shadows on the set.

‘He played with language better than anybody’: Terry Gilliam and John Boorman on Tom Stoppard

Two film-makers who worked with the late playwright recall a man of extraordinary wit, endless invention and innate elegance

I was utterly knocked out by the way Tom Stoppard’s mind worked, his brilliance and by the fact he made Brazil out of a big lump of stone that I’d spent a year or two preparing. I gave that to him and out of that he carved a beautiful Michelangelo David.

The best poetry books of 2025

From Seamus Heaney’s collected poems and Simon Armitage’s animal spirits, to prizewinners Karen Solie and Vidyan Ravinthiran

Many of 2025’s most notable collections have been powered by a spirit of wild experimentation, pushing at the bounds of what “poetry” might be thought to be. Sarah Hesketh’s 2016 (CB Editions) is a fabulous example: it takes 12 interviews with a variety of anonymous individuals about the events of that year and presents fragments of the transcripts as prose poems. The cumulative effect of these voices is haunting and full of pathos, as “they vote for whoever, and their life stays exactly the same”.

Luke Kennard and Nick Makoha also daringly remixed their source material and inspirations. The former’s latest collection, The Book of Jonah (Picador), moves the minor prophet out of the Bible into a world of arts conferences, where he is continually reminded that his presence everywhere is mostly futile. Makoha’s The New Carthaginians (Penguin) turns Jean-Michel Basquiat’s idea of the exploded collage into a poetic device. The result? “The visible / making itself known by the invisible.”

‘One of the most breathtaking cathedrals in the world’: readers’ favourite churches in Europe

Wonderful art, amazing design and beautiful locations have drawn our tipsters to chapels, churches and cathedrals from Norway to Bulgaria

• Tell us about a great charity challenge you’ve taken part in – the best tip wins a £200 holiday voucher

The Tromsøysund parish church, commonly called the Arctic Cathedral, in Tromsø is a modernist delight. The simple, elegant exterior that reflects the surrounding scenery and evokes traditional Sami dwellings is matched by an interior that has the most comfortable pews I have ever sat on. The stunning glass mosaic titled the Return of Christ at one end may not be to everyone’s taste, but to me had power and majesty. Exiting this magnificent building after an organ recital to be met by the northern lights flickering overhead was awe-inspiring.
Bruce Horton

Over a pint in Oxford, we may have stumbled upon the holy grail of agriculture | George Monbiot

I knew that a revolution in our understanding of soil could change the world. Then came a eureka moment – and the birth of the Earth Rover Program

• Report: Experts say seismic waves can check soil health and boost yields

It felt like walking up a mountain during a temperature inversion. You struggle through fog so dense you can scarcely see where you’re going. Suddenly, you break through the top of the cloud, and the world is laid out before you. It was that rare and remarkable thing: a eureka moment.

For the past three years, I’d been struggling with a big and frustrating problem. In researching my book Regenesis, I’d been working closely with Iain Tolhurst (Tolly), a pioneering farmer who had pulled off something extraordinary. Almost everywhere, high-yield farming means major environmental harm, due to the amount of fertiliser, pesticides and (sometimes) irrigation water and deep ploughing required. Most farms with apparently small environmental impacts produce low yields. This, in reality, means high impacts, as more land is needed to produce a given amount of food. But Tolly has found the holy grail of agriculture: high and rising yields with minimal environmental harm.

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

Helen Goh’s recipe for edible Christmas baubles | The sweet spot

Chewy, marshmallow-coated Rice Krispie baubles that are as fun to make as they are to gift

These edible baubles make a joyful addition to the Christmas table or tree. Soft, chewy, marshmallow-coated Rice Krispies are studded with pistachios and cranberries, chocolate and ginger, or peppermint candy cane; they’re as fun to make as they are to eat, and they make a perfect little gift. To add a ribbon for hanging, cut small lengths of ribbon, then loop and knot the ends. Push the knotted end gently into the top of each ball while it’s still pliable, then reshape around it, so it holds the knot securely as it sets. Alternatively, wrap each bauble in cellophane, then gather at the top and tie with a ribbon, leaving a long loop for hanging.

60,000 African penguins starved to death after sardine numbers collapsed – study

Climate crisis and overfishing contributed to loss of 95% of penguins in two breeding colonies in South Africa, research finds

More than 60,000 penguins in colonies off the coast of South Africa have starved to death as a result of disappearing sardines, a new paper has found.

More than 95% of the African penguins in two of the most important breeding colonies, on Dassen Island and Robben Island, died between 2004 and 2012. The breeding penguins probably starved to death during the moulting period, according to the paper, which said the climate crisis and overfishing were driving declines.

Experience: I gave birth to the world’s first IVF boy

My husband and I were unable to have children, and then we heard about a new experimental technique

I was 26 when my gynaecologist told me that my fallopian tubes were blocked and there would be no way I could get pregnant. I was devastated. I had always wanted children. It was 1972; I was living in Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow, and working as a college lecturer. IVF didn’t exist, and when my husband and I put our names down to adopt a baby, we were told we had very little chance because few babies were available to adopt at the time. Meanwhile, my gynaecologist tried to open my fallopian tubes. It didn’t work.

I refused to accept that I had no options. I read every article I could about fertility treatment. After three years, I heard about a medical breakthrough by gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe and physiologist Robert Edwards. It was described as very experimental and new.

Skipton in Yorkshire named happiest place to live in Great Britain

Access to nature and essential services and friendliness of the people led ‘gateway to the Dales’ to top Rightmove index

It is nicknamed “the gateway to the Dales”, is home to one of England’s best-preserved medieval castles and, for trivia fans, was the birthplace of half of Marks & Spencer. Now, the Yorkshire market town of Skipton has been named “the happiest place to live” in Great Britain.

It received the accolade from the property website Rightmove, which runs a “happy at home” index that is now in its 14th year. The survey asks residents how they feel about their area based on a range of factors.

‘Constant stimulation, dopamine overload’: how EsDeeKid and UK underground rap exploded on a global scale

With an experimental and maxed-out sound, bold new MCs are emerging from all corners of the UK – and with US rap in the doldrums, the time is ripe for another British Invasion

It’s early November and London’s Electric Ballroom is heaving. The warm-up DJ drops Fetty Wap’s 2014 smash Trap Queen, and the young crowd, a fair portion of whom were in primary school when the tune first came out, roar every word. They’re clad in baggy skatewear, with distressed, monochromatic union jacks plastered across hats and jackets. A coat sails across the room: someone is going home chilly tonight, but that’ll be the last thing on their mind as Liverpool rapper EsDeeKid, one of the fastest-rising musicians in the world, explodes on to the stage.

Wrapped in a hooded cloak and spinning like a twig in a hurricane, he grabs the mic and snarls: “Are you ready for rebellion?”, his distinctive scouse accent battling a storm of apocalyptic bass and John Carpenter-esque horror synths. Behind him, projections flash in stark black and red – tower blocks, eyeballs, dot-matrix geometries – more like the ragged photocopy aesthetic of 80s post-punk than any luxury rap branding. The teenagers in the room are ecstatic, borne aloft by the palpable sense, thrumming from stage to pit, that this is A Moment.

‘Look what you’ve done to my children!’: a tale of winter wonderland disasters

These events are meant to make Christmas magical, and while many do, a few fall spectacularly short. Here, in no particular order, are some of the worst offenders

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: the season where British people traditionally complain about spending too much on rip-off Christmas events. This year’s festivities have already kicked off in earnest, thanks to the malfunctioning Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer drone show in Haywards Heath this week. By all accounts the drone show was a classic of the genre. It made big promises, offering families “a night of magic and wonder” complete with “state of the art production [and] 600 LED drones”. Then it charged big money, with some families paying hundreds of pounds to attend. And then, of course, it comprehensively underdelivered.

Reports describe the event as not only being too short – about just 15 minutes – but also, due to the failure of several drones, completely unintelligible. “From the beginning, large numbers of drones were missing, which left huge gaps in the formations and made it nearly impossible to understand what the images were even supposed to represent!” wrote one aggrieved attendee on social media. “The ‘finale’, the moment the entire audience was waiting for, didn’t even happen. Just a black sky.”

FBI arrests suspect in 2021 D.C. pipe bomb case, identified as Virginia man

Authorities say the FBI has arrested a man suspected of placing pipe bombs outside RNC and DNC headquarters on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Appeals court lets Trump admin. keep National Guard deployed in D.C. for now

A U.S. District Court decision to end the deployment of National Guard members to Washington, D.C., is now on hold.

Pentagon watchdog finds Hegseth's Signal chat violated regulations

The Pentagon watchdog released its report on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of Signal to share details about operations in Yemen.

What to know about Minnesota fraud allegations, as Trump levels attacks on Walz

President Trump has recently attacked Gov. Tim Walz over the fraud cases, calling Minnesota a "hub of fraudulent money laundering activity" and lashing out against the state's Somali community.

Luigi Mangione arrest video played in court as defense fights evidence

On the one-year mark of the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a New York City sidewalk, a hearing was held to determine what evidence is admissible in the trial of his accused killer, Luigi Mangione. Alice Gainer reports.

FBI arrests suspect in 2021 D.C. pipe bomb case

A northern Virginia man was arrested and accused of placing two pipe bombs outside the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee headquarters on the eve of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Scott MacFarlane has details.

A minimalist statement or just Pantonedeaf? ‘Cloud dancer’ shade of white named Pantone’s 2026 colour of the year

Wait, what? You mean … white? Are they trolling us? Emma Joyce explains all to Nick Miller

Hi, Emma! I’m so pumped to find out what colour 2026 is going to be. Fill me in!

Brace yourself, Nick. Every year since 1999 Pantone chooses a colour for the year, a representation of the zeitgeist – from how we’re feeling to what we’re wearing, how we’re styling our homes and even our eyebrows. Last year’s was the darker shade of beige “mocha mousse”, the year before that was the soft, warm “peach fuzz”.

Three-year-old chess prodigy becomes youngest player to earn official rating

• Sarwagya Singh Kushwaha plays up to five hours a day

• Indian boy beats adults to secure record-breaking status

India’s Sarwagya Singh Kushwaha has become the youngest player in chess history to earn an official Fide rating at the age of three years, seven months and 20 days.

The chess prodigy edged out the previous record of compatriot Anish Sarkar, who was three years, eight months and 19 days when he reached the milestone in November last year.

Lawmakers see video of boat strike, say admiral testified there was no kill order

"What I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I've seen in my time in public service," Democratic Rep. Jim Himes said.

Brutal Arctic blast grips Midwest and Northeast as temperatures plummet

An early season Arctic blast sent shivers through the Midwest and Northeast as temperatures tumbled far below normal. Lana Zak reports and Lonnie Quinn has the forecast.

$1.6 million raised for 88-year-old man working at grocery store

For most of his life, Ed Bambas worked toward his American dream. But in 2019, at 82, he found himself doing what most retirees never imagine: going back to work. That was, until a stranger approached him with a question. Tom Hanson has the story.

Lawmakers react to video of U.S. strikes on alleged drug boat after classified briefing

Military officials showed lawmakers video of a second strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat behind closed doors on Capitol Hill and testified that there was no order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to kill everyone on board, multiple lawmakers said. Charlie D'Agata has more.

Supreme Court allows Texas GOP to use new redistricted map for now

Texas approved a new congressional map this summer after Trump urged state GOP lawmakers to craft new House district lines to help Republicans hold onto their majority in the 2026 midterms.

Grand jury refuses to re-indict Letitia James

Federal prosecutors on Thursday presented an indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James to a grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia.

Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Van de Ven may be key for Spurs, Wissa could make Newcastle debut and Dyche deserves warm Everton welcome

Arsenal’s recent memories of Aston Villa are of awkward opponents. Mikel Arteta’s side squandered a two-goal lead at the Emirates Stadium when the teams last met, in January, Arsenal dropping two points, their title charge dented. With such little margin for error, it was the kind of day that boosted Liverpool and crystallised the sense that the Gunners would come up short. Villa also defeated Arsenal in 2023-24, abruptly halting a six-game winning streak. Now Arsenal are in a different position, at the summit with a five-point lead – and six clear of Unai Emery’s team. Victory at Villa Park on Saturday, against a side that have lost only once in the league since August, would offer another significant indication that this could be the season Arsenal take the crown. Ben Fisher

Aston Villa v Arsenal, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT)

Bournemouth v Chelsea, Saturday 3pm

Everton v Nottingham Forest, Saturday 3pm

Manchester City v Sunderland, Saturday 3pm

This week on "Sunday Morning" (Dec. 7)

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

SoFi's stock drops on $1.5 billion share sale announcement

SoFi said it's selling $1.5 billion in stock after the company's market cap almost doubled this year.

Costco adds Biden Commerce Sec. Gina Raimondo to board on heels of Trump tariff lawsuit

The Supreme Court is set to soon determine if President Donald Trump had the power to unilaterally impose tariffs that Costco now is seeking to claw back.

These U.S. cities have seen the biggest rent increases since 2020

Rents in the 50 largest cities have surged by hundreds of dollars per month over the last five years, a LendingTree analysis found.

Microsoft will raise prices of commercial Office subscriptions in July

For the second time in five years, Microsoft is hiking prices for commercial customers of its widely used Office bundles.

Employers have cut 1.1 million jobs this year. Here's why.

Job cuts so far this year are at their highest levels since 2020, new report says.

Congressional watchdog probes Trump FHFA chief Bill Pulte

Pulte has made allegations of mortgage fraud against New York Attorney General Letitia James, Fed Gov. Lisa Cook, Sen. Adam Schiff, and Rep. Eric Swalwell.

RFK Jr.'s vaccine panel defers vote on hepatitis B shot for babies until Friday

The current recommendation for babies to receive a hepatitis B shot within 24 hours of birth is credited with driving down infections in kids by 99%.

U.S. tightens immigration work permits in latest move to expand crackdown

The Trump administration said it would reduce the period of time that work permits are valid for refugees, asylees and other immigrants granted legal protections in the U.S.

RoboCop statue rises in Detroit: ‘Big, beautiful, bronze piece of art’

A 15-year quest ends with a monument, drawing crowds and nostalgia as Detroit embraces its cult-film past

The statue looms and glints at more than 11 feet tall and weighing 3,500 pounds, looking out at the city with, how to put it … a characteristically stern expression?

Despite its daunting appearance and history as a crimefighter of last resort, the giant new bronze figure of the movie character RoboCop is being seen as a symbol of hope, drawing fans and eliciting selfie mania since it began standing guard over Detroit on Wednesday afternoon.

New York Times sues Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth over restrictive Pentagon media rules

Reporters from The New York Times, CNN, Fox News, NBC and others staged a walkout after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled new Pentagon press rules.

GM's new product chief Sterling Anderson eyes technology renaissance for automaker

GM Chief Product Officer Sterling Anderson has consolidated power to oversee "the end-to-end product lifecycle" of manufacturing, engineering and software.

Tesla gains in 2026 Consumer Reports' auto brand rankings

Tesla made notable strides in Consumer Reports' influential annual auto brand rankings, cracking the top 10 overall U.S. automotive brands.

Nvidia has a cash problem — too much of it

Nvidia's recent slew of billion-dollar checks highlight the company's growing cash pile.