McDonald's says its U.S. business is falling short as it announces new head of its largest market

McDonald's stock has fallen more than 11% this year, dragging its market cap down to roughly $191 billion.

What to watch for in SpaceX's first public earnings report this week

SpaceX will release its first earnings report as a public company on Tuesday in a key test for the company's stuttering stock price.

Boy saved in rip current rescue speaks out: "I thought I was going to ... die"

Last month, a 16-year-old lifeguard rescued 10-year-old Nathaniel Rai, who was struggling in a rip current off Santa Cruz, California. Rai and his father spoke to "CBS Mornings" about how the terrifying situation unfolded and their gratitude for the teen lifeguard who stepped in to help.

13 new books in August will get you through the dog days of summer

This month brings riveting novels about dogs, Hollywood stars, small towns and characters with bigger woes than just the sweltering summer heat and humidity.

Foreigners are buying fewer U.S. properties, but luxury homebuilders still draw them in

Foreign buyers are pulling back sharply from U.S. residential real estate, in part due to a pullback among workers that would qualify for H-1B visas.

Pfizer tops estimates, hikes low end of revenue guidance on strength of Eliquis, other drugs

Pfizer said it cut its full-year revenue expectation for its Covid products to $4 billion, down from around $5 billion previously. 

Trump raises concerns in call with Rep. Max Miller amid abuse allegations

Ohio Rep. Max Miller's reelection campaign has been upended by allegations Miller assaulted his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, and their 2-year-old daughter.

Philadelphia Fed President Paulson content with rates at current level, but keeping an open mind

Paulson said voting with the majority last week wasn't a tough decision.

Jerusalem’s most important religious site facing ‘imminent’ threat of Israeli takeover, warns Jordan

Country convenes emergency meeting of ministers from Arab and Islamic world, fearing such a move has potential to ‘trigger a religious conflict’

• Middle East crisis live – latest updates

Jordan is convening an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from the Arab and Islamic world over what it says is an “imminent” threat of an Israeli takeover of the most important religious site in Jerusalem, with the potential to “trigger a religious conflict”.

The meeting on Wednesday – and the Jordanian warning – follow an escalating pattern of government-backed incursions by Jewish religious extremists on the compound around the al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock, in violation of a status quo treaty overseen by Jordan’s Hashemite monarchy, by which only Muslims can pray at the site.

Reader Q&A: ask our comedy critic anything ahead of the Edinburgh fringe – live

The world’s largest performing arts festival returns to the Scottish capital for three weeks – and over 4,000 shows – from this weekend. Brian Logan is answering your questions about it now

• Ask a question: log in or sign up here.

Bumscissors asks: Do reviews still matter? (And yes, I regret my choice of username)

Brian: Matter to whom? They matter to me. My experience of art (books, movies, TV, whatever) is so massively enriched and improved by cross-referring it with the experience of reviewers. As soon as I close the last page of a book, I jump online and read what other people have said about it. I love to read what cleverer or better informed or just different minds to my own think about the shows and paintings and songs that I’ve experienced too. I find it weird that anyone might think otherwise.

Whether reviews matter in terms of an artwork’s success or failure (and who gets to define that?!) is less clear. Depends on the show. Depends on the circumstances. At any rate, reviewers are part of an ecology that responds to the art and entertainment that gets put out into the world, and one of the many factors that may influence how those artworks are received, understood and savoured. And the world would be more drab and undistinguished without them. (But then, I would say that…)

Gig. Get up on stage at open mic nights, and give it a go. Over and again. Most comedians would say that it x-hundred gigs’ worth of trying and failing and refining before your comic voice fully emerges (assuming it ever does…) and you learn how to operate in dialogue with the room. Arguably more than other art forms comedy is a skill that can’t really be developed anywhere other than in dialogue with an audience.

So: perform! And go watch lots of comedy too. And don’t try and be anybody but yourself.

Why Michigan voters are hearing 'communist' as they vote Tuesday

President Donald Trump and Republican allies are escalating attacks that label Democrats communists after progressive candidates won elections and primaries.

Analysis: How Bessent is pushing Warsh’s Fed to expand backstop for Japan’s yen defense

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wants to defend the yen without selling Treasurys into a sensitive U.S. bond market. The Federal Reserve could help.

Tour de France Femmes: stage four time trial to Dijon – live

Individual time trial – updates from 13.34 BST/14.34 CET
Wildfires could force re-route of Mont Ventoux stage
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Via the official site: “World and European ITT champion Marlen Reusser (Movistar Team) is set to showcase her time-trialling prowess as of 17:08 CEST. There’s another continental champion. Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly), who dominated the ITT at the Pan American Championships in March. As for the national champions, 12 of them will be representing their countries today.”

15:00 – Célia Le Mouël, France

15:18 – Yuliia Biriukova, Ukraine

15:22 – Daniek Hengeveld, Netherlands

15:38 – Lotte Claes, Belgium

15:48 – Nina Berton, Luxembourg

15:51 – Franziska Koch, Germany

16:19 – Mireia Benito, Spain

16:24 – Nadia Gontova, Canada

16:29 – Zoe Bäckstedt, Great Britain

16:40 – Katrine Aalerud, Norway

16:42 – Dominika Wlodarczyk, Poland

17:26 – Kim Le Court-Pienaar, Mauritius

Spain says 70,000 out of 72,000 migrants that entered Ceuta in mass border crossing have returned to Morocco – Europe live

Minister tells reporters least 75 people died after EU ministers meet to discuss response to the crisis

Meanwhile, the European Commission said it was “monitoring very closely” the situation in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania as the region faces an energy crunch caused by the ongoing heatwave and drought.

Energy spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said “the low Danube levels will clearly have an impact on nuclear generation along the route,” and this “concerns several member states.”

Asking Anthony Fauci for medical advice then calling for him to be jailed? Katie Miller is the latest Maga hypocrite | Arwa Mahdawi

The vocal vaccine sceptic and wife of Trump’s deputy chief of staff turned to the former US science adviser when she was worried about Covid. Now, she’s claiming it was a cunning plan

You should keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and Stephen and Katie Miller as far away from your general vicinity as humanly possible. Many people will not need to be told this. Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, is famous for masterminding the first Trump administration’s family separation policy and Muslim ban. His wife, Katie, is similarly enthusiastic about mass deportation and has reportedly said she didn’t feel compassion for families separated at the border. Stephen met Katie when they were both working in government, but she has since left politics to start a podcast. Now she asks guests such as JD Vance important questions such as: is a hotdog a sandwich?

While I may not need to inform you that the Millers are bad news, it seems Dr Anthony Fauci is only just getting the memo. The former top US government science adviser, who helped guide the country’s Covid-19 response, was forced to appear at a US Senate committee hearing last week. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky framed the hearing as an investigation into the origins of the pandemic. Really, however, it was an opportunity for Republicans to harass Fauci, who is widely loathed among the Maga base. He has become such a target of vitriol that Biden preemptively pardoned Fauci before leaving office in case he was prosecuted by the Trump administration.

"Peanut butter" pay raises are out, as employers shift to merit hikes

Here's what employees can expect for a raise in 2027 as companies move away from broad-based pay increases.

Kemi Badenoch defends selection of man jailed for harassing Jewish MP in council election – UK politics live

Conservative leader tells press she stands by decision to select Joshua Bonehill-Paine as a candidate for local election in Somerset

• Former neo-Nazi activist selected as Tory candidate for Somerset council election

Some 86,495 people were in prison in England and Wales as of 3 August, according to the latest data published by the Ministry of Justice.

This is 2,026 below the record high of 88,521 reached on 6 September 2024, just before the current early release scheme began.

Merck hikes revenue outlook as new drug sales grow, but cuts profit guidance due to deal charges

Merck cut its profit guidance due to a charge tied to its acquisition of biotech company Terns Pharmaceuticals. 

‘Last chance’: Bessent says Hormuz deal is in sight after Trump's warning on Iran talks

President Donald Trump has warned that the latest round of negotiations with Iran are the "last chance" to bring an end to the five-month conflict.

Arson suspect in Spokane-area wildfire had prior manslaughter conviction

More than 700 buildings in the Spokane area have been destroyed and 400 more haven't been assessed, officials said as three fires burned in the area and an arrest was made in connection with one of them.

Man arrested in connection to wildfires near Spokane, Washington

A man who was convicted of manslaughter for killing his father in 2010 was arrested on suspicion of first-degree arson in connection to the largest of the three fires burning near Spokane, Washington. Firefighters say hundreds of structures have been destroyed so far. Kris Van Cleave has more.

UN experts urge Canada to protect Sikh activist amid credible threats to his life

Special rapporteurs say ‘transnational repression by Indian authorities’ has put Moninder Singh in danger

UN rights experts have urged Canada to take all feasible measures to protect the Sikh activist Moninder Singh, who has been repeatedly warned by the Canadian authorities of credible threats to his life.

In a letter to the Canadian government, the five UN experts raised “concerning allegations of foreign intimidation and reprisals” against Singh, a Canadian national.

I was a death row lawyer. Here’s why I now joke about capital punishment

In my standup, I’m not trivializing the death penalty. I’m getting people to stay engaged when the subject is uncomfortable

The first time I came out as gay to a client on death row, he said: “Josh, I don’t care what you do with your ass, as long as you’re helping mine.” That joke did something legal arguments and moral philosophy rarely could: it made him impossible to keep at a distance.

I spent seven years working as a lawyer for men on both Alabama and federal death rows. I stumbled my way into it. I was only 24, fresh out of law school and working at a big corporate law firm in Manhattan. A friend from law school asked if I wanted to join two pro bono death-penalty cases. I had no relevant experience and knew nothing about capital punishment.

What’s the best vegetarian alternative to gelatine?

There is no exact plant-based substitute – the ideal option will depend on the dish. But, ultimately, it’s easiest to choose a recipe that doesn’t require gelatine

How do I go about substituting gelatine sheets for a vegetarian setting agent?
Sarah, Aberdeen
“The truth is, there’s no exact substitute for gelatine, because it has an incredibly unique texture,” says Richard Phillips, head of pastry at Timberyard in Edinburgh. Sure, there are plenty of plant-based gelling agents out there – “agar-agar [or just agar], gellan gum, pectin, carrageenan, locust bean gum, vege-gel… the list goes on,” says Phillips – but the result will never quite be the same.

“The temperature you have to use them at is different [to gelatine],” says Philip Khoury, author of Beyond Baking, so his usual workaround is to simply formulate recipes that don’t use gelling agents. Now, that’s all well and good when you’re a pastry chef, but what about the rest of us? “If, for example, I’m making a thick, pipeable cream, then I’ll use cornflour,” says Khoury, and just manipulate it to get different textures. Let’s take the panna cotta and creme brulee recipes in his first book, A New Way to Bake, as an example: “You get two very different textures from essentially the same recipe. The only difference being that if you pour the custard into a tray and chill it, it will set, whereas if you beat it with a whisk, it will turn into this luscious, creamy texture that’s just set.”

Got a culinary dilemma? Email [email protected]

Lucky Strike review – likably manly Scott Eastwood fights his way home in second world war yarn

Scott (son of Clint) is a wounded soldier behind enemy lines in this competent thriller with tense set pieces and clunky passages

If you’re looking for something to watch with a man whose eyes brim with any mention of the second world war, this will do fine. Although essentially a manly feature about men doing man stuff in battle, with just the one lady in it (an indelible Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) for a mere slip of a framing device, it’s not unequivocally macho and actually dips its toes into the murkier waters of wartime morality. As a simple exercise in suspense, it’s certainly effective, but there are clunky passages that prevent it from being top-tier entertainment.

Scott Eastwood stars as Capt John Castle, an officer in the US army who gets stranded behind enemy lines in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. His whole squadron is killed in a skirmish with the Germans; he is left injured, equipped only with a trusty portable radio he nicknames Lassie, a faithful companion that will guide him home. Like Castle himself, the film limps a little between its big set pieces, but when they arrive they’re very well staged. One tense moment involves a kind Walloon family who hide Castle under their floorboards and then suffer dearly for their kindness. In another nail-biting bit, Castle plays possum on the ground among some slain soldiers, only to realise that the corpse beside him is not only not dead but about to give him away. The very best sequence comes near the end when Castle meets a lone American in the forest who Castle starts to suspect is not quite right given his sympathetic words about Hitler and scant knowledge of baseball.

New details on Twin Falls In-N-Out shooting after 3 killed, 7 wounded

The suspect, identified as 24-year-old Chad Williams, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

Wenger and Infantino’s No 2 Grafström criticise ‘sad and reproachable’ World Cup plan

• Senior Fifa duo pile pressure on under-fire president

• Wenger reveals he knew nothing about investment plan

Gianni Infantino’s authority was dealt a further blow after his No 2, the Fifa secretary general Mattias Grafström, called the failed World Cup private investment plan a “sad and reproachable series of events”.

In further evidence that senior Fifa personnel continue to distance themselves from Infantino and his botched scheme, Arsène Wenger issued a statement on Tuesday morning saying the project’s withdrawal was “absolutely necessary and beyond question”. The former Arsenal manager is Fifa’s chief of global development and had publicly been silent about the crisis unfolding in world football.

Dinghy carrying 157 people capsizes in Channel after engine catches fire

All passengers thought to have been taken to Boulogne after major air and sea rescue operation by France and UK

A dinghy carrying 157 people has capsized after its engine caught fire as it attempted to cross the Channel from France.

The people onboard were rescued from the water after a major air and sea operation was launched using UK border security and French vessels along with an RNLI boat.

5 states hold primaries today. And, Spokane police arrest man connected to wildfire

Five state primaries are being held today, and Michigan is a key focus for Democrats who want to see how progressives fare in races. And, a man has been arrested in connection with a Spokane fire.

They're a world leader in using drones for healthcare. But drones can't do it all

Drones carrying medical supplies constantly crisscross the skies of Rwanda. The Trump administration is giving a major grant to the effort — and at the same time cutting aid to the country.

McDonald's names company veteran Skye Anderson as its U.S. president as growth in its largest market slows

McDonald's new U.S. President Skye Anderson has been with the company for 26 years and succeeds Joe Erlinger in the role.

‘I can’t wait’: Dominik Szoboszlai hungry for Liverpool reset under Andoni Iraola

• Midfielder adapting to life under new manager

• Reds need ‘something special’ without further additions

Dominik Szoboszlai believes last season’s frustration can push Liverpool to challenge for the title again but admits the squad must produce “something special” if no reinforcements arrive before the transfer deadline.

The Liverpool midfielder upped his already impressive level last season, being named the club’s player of the year, but collectively the team went into reverse with Arne Slot losing his job as a consequence. The poor title defence from a team that won the Premier League comfortably in Slot’s debut season should, Szoboszlai insists, prompt a reaction in Andoni Iraola’s debut campaign as Liverpool head coach.

Sex, drugs and serial killers: inside Ryan Murphy and Bret Easton Ellis’s lurid TV thriller

The Shards brings the cocaine-addled teens of a 1980s prep school to life with a cast of newcomers and a heavy dose of sleaze

One of the first things Ryan Murphy’s TV adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’s The Shards will make you ask is: where the hell are these kids’ parents? The answer is simple. This is Los Angeles in 1981, and these fabulously benumbed kids aren’t being helicopter-parented. They’re going to parties, drinking whiskey, listening to Ultravox’s Vienna on repeat and doing copious amounts of cocaine. It’s a complete vision of Ellis’s dully hedonistic America.

The FX series follows a character named Bret Ellis – a thinly-coded version of the author – in senior year at an exclusive Los Angeles prep school whose controlled, Joan Didion-coded world begins to unravel with the arrival of enigmatic transfer student Robert Mallory. At the same time, in the post-Charles Manson and Jeffrey Dahmer era, a serial killer known as The Trawler draws ever closer to Ellis and his increasingly paranoid circle of friends. Ellis (the real one) first released his autofictional story The Shards as a serialized podcast between 2020 and 2021 before expanding it into a novel in 2023.

The US government’s mislabelled map of Africa at a global Aids conference shows again a failure to understand the continent | Kenneth Ngure

This crude lack of thought is influencing crucial budget decisions on HIV programmes, which were cut by 25% worldwide in 2025

At the end of July, thousands of scientists, advocates and policymakers gathered at Aids 2026, the 26th International Aids Conference in Rio de Janeiro, to advance the global HIV response. But during one high-profile session, a jarring moment threatened to derail our focus: a slide presented by a senior US state department official displayed a map of Africa with country names glaringly scrambled and mislabelled.

While the mistake apparently occurred due to an over-reliance on AI tools, it carried a painful symbolic weight for many of us. It reinforced a longstanding frustration: that too many political leaders treat Africa as a monolithic abstraction rather than a continent of 54 distinct sovereign nations.

‘When you kill it, it doesn’t die’: the jellyfish that has cracked the secret of immortality

Turritopsis dohrnii has the ability to turn back into a baby jellyfish and grow up all over again

• Revealed: the top ten invertebrates of the year

Immortality is generally considered the realm of the gods or science fiction, a fantasy that’s actively pursued by tech entrepreneurs in macabre experiments that include injecting “young blood”, cryopreservation, or resurrection in an AI afterlife.

But one ethereal, thimble-shaped jellyfish has already cracked the code.

It’s Invertebrate of the Year again! From 3-12 August, every day we will be profiling one of the thousands of amazing invertebrates that our readers have nominated, and then, when you have got to hear about all of them, we will open the voting so that you can choose your favourites. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with thoughts and ideas: email us at [email protected] with Invertebrate in the subject line.

Authorities arrest an arson suspect in connection with wildfires in Spokane

The suspect was arrested in connection with one of three wildfires in Spokane, Wash., that have destroyed hundreds of homes and displaced nearly a quarter of the city's residents.

Calls for UK bank tax to fund cost of living help as HSBC profits hit £7.5bn

Levy could raise £19bn to help pay for Andy Burnham’s support for those struggling with bills, say campaigners

• Business live – latest updates

Campaigners have renewed calls for a windfall tax on UK banks that could raise £19bn towards Andy Burnham’s cost of living agenda, after HSBC raked in $10.1bn (£7.5bn) worth of profits in the second quarter of the year.

Bosses at HSBC reported on Tuesday that profits rose 60% year on year in the three months to the end of June, helped by fees from wealth management and insurance business, as well as higher interest rates, which allow the bank to charge more for loans and mortgages.

Big Walk review – larking around with mates elevated to an artform

Switch 2, PlayStation 5, PC; House House
The creators of Untitled Goose Game return with an online, open-world adventure that delivers slapstick silliness and bucolic majesty in nearly equal measure

Radiant sunsets glinting on lapping waves; bushland valleys that beckon with secrets; modernist buildings sat atop craggy ridges: Big Walk’s setting is as arresting as it is beguiling – a kind of architectural fever dream transplanted to a handsome Australian wilderness – but it is the images created by players that lodge deepest in the mind. Here’s one that has stuck with me: in the black of night, cicadas kicking up an almighty din, I had lost my partner. Panic. Despair. Fear. Then, there in the far distance, I saw him signalling in my direction. He was relentlessly spamming a gigantic, ball-shaped lamp on and off, the ground around him flicking from inky dark to warm pastel pink and back again, like a single Christmas light blinking from afar.

This kind of encounter is common in Big Walk, the brilliant and whimsical new online co-op puzzler from House House, the Melbourne-based studio behind the 2019 viral hit, Untitled Goose Game. Rather than playing as a honking, mischief-making goose as you do in that game, you are a bug-eyed, gangly limbed kind of bird person (think Pingu as drawn by Mondrian) for whom getting separated from your mates is all part of the fun. That’s somewhat because this rugged terrain is dense with vegetation and cliffs to fall down, and also because the game makes ingenious use of proximity and direction-based voice audio. Step out of earshot of your party and you will find it difficult to call for one another (unless, of course, you’ve picked up a Fisher-Price-like walkie-talkie).

Ariana Grande expands on decision to ‘step back from visibility’, telling fans it was ‘not reactive or impulsive’

Singer and actor, whose world tour ends next month, told audience in Chicago that she had been quietly planning the move for a long time

Ariana Grande has expanded upon her recent decision to take “a step back from visibility” when her tour ends next month, as a result of what a spokesperson called “endless, ongoing public scrutiny”.

On Monday night during the first show of a three-night run in Chicago, the 33-year-old musician and actor read from notes as she told fans: “The announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing. It is something that I had decided to plan quietly, a long time ago.”

The sneaky economics of healthwashing

Why food companies love labels like "organic" and "high protein," why our brains are misled by them — and how to avoid paying extra for marketing.

Michigan votes in key Senate primary as Democrats battle over party’s future

Progressive Abdul El-Sayed leads in polls against centrist Haley Stevens as party looks to regain control of US Senate

The Democratic party faces a crucial test of its direction today as voters in the midwestern swing state of Michigan decide whether to nominate for US Senate a progressive candidate advocating for universal healthcare or an-establishment-backed moderate.

The state’s Democratic primary is the latest high-profile battle over the party’s future, as it seeks to chart a course back to power in Washington following Donald Trump’s victory in 2024.

White elephant in the room: Colombia swears in costumed anti-corruption activist as senator

Luis Carlos Rúa revealed himself to be Elefante blanco just three days before election for ‘his own safety’. Now he is tackling graft from senate floor

When 102 senators were sworn in for Colombia’s latest parliamentary session, they included 32 women, 69 men – and one cartoon elephant.

He had some difficulty making his way down the narrow central aisle of Congress’s ceremonial chamber, weaving past fellow senators in sharply tailored suits and dresses, before taking the oath in his pot-bellied white plush costume.

Prisoners of Paradise review – Ellie Bamber heads to Mauritius for chaste literary tale of star-crossed lovers

An upper-class Englishwoman falls in love with a worker on her uncle’s sugar plantation in this insipid adaptation of Romesh Gunesekera’s novel

Here is a tale of love across the divide, based on a novel by Booker nominee Romesh Gunesekera. Set in 1925, it revolves around 17-year-old Lucy (Ellie Bamber), a beautiful young upper-class Englishwoman sent to live on her uncle’s sugar plantation in colonial Mauritius. There she meets Krishna (Mehdi Dehbi), a local man of Indian heritage employed by her uncle in the fields. In a Mr Darcy-style moment early on, Lucy spies Krishna stripped to the waist and splashing about in a waterfall. But Prisoners of Paradise is a chaste and idealistic drama, and even this moment is filmed in a damp, unerotic way, as if a bit of phwoar would sully Lucy and Krishna’s noble hearts.

Lucy has arrived at Ambleside, the plantation house owned by her uncle George (Rupert Penry-Jones) after the death of her mother. Mauritius’s economy was built on the labour of African slaves and later indentured workers from India. It’s now nearly a century after the abolition of slavery, but uncle George has not removed the torture instruments from his garden, where shackles still hang from a post. He also clings to abhorrent beliefs about racial superiority. Lucy is appalled by his views, and shocked by the casual racism in his circle. When she falls for Krishna, they begin to meet in secret.

I would never go on holiday to France and come back with a pig. But I’ll admit I was tempted | Zoe Williams

The animal was no bigger than a pug and, when you scratched it, lay on its side and snorted with joy. Who could ask for more?

I went to a market recently in the Cévennes, in southern France. It was piled high with things that in principle I’m interested in, but wouldn’t want to own – giant Victorian scissors, tomatoes in the shape of a heart, 70s airline trays, carafe after carafe for the distribution of Ricard, art deco atomisers and vintage cycling tops.

It wasn’t purpose-built entertainment for the wide array of family preferences. My brother has an attention span – he can lose an hour talking about a cheese cloche and he doesn’t even speak French – and I do not. My sister likes to amass giant volumes of fonts that may be ancient, but are also available on a computer; my brother-in-law does not. My niece likes to pick up every single thing and put it back down again; my other niece does not. We were reconciled to conducting most of the expedition solo, so I was already on my own when I walked in and met a pig.

What to know about primaries in 5 states today: Michigan, Virginia and more

Voters are going to the polls Tuesday in five states: Michigan, Virginia, Missouri, Kansas and Washington.

Lindsay Clancy's diary excerpts read at trial: "I feel like I'm drowning"

The Lindsay Clancy trial​ resumed with excerpts from her diary and testimony from doctors who treated Clancy and her children on the night of the murders.

A pressing issue: why are vinyl albums becoming so different from their digital versions?

They’re expensive, elaborate – and may not contain all the music. After Olivia Rodrigo, Charli xcx and more sent out incomplete or unfinished vinyl versions, fans are feeling shortchanged

It was one of the most anticipated collaborations of the year: Charli xcx teaming up with film-maker David Cronenberg for No One Lasts Forever, the closing track on her new album Music, Fashion, Film, which debuted at No 1 in the UK.

But for fans who pre-ordered what was advertised as the “full-length” album on vinyl, an unwelcome surprise awaits. The song doesn’t contain the spoken-word contribution from Cronenberg – an astonishing reflection on art, death and eternity – that is included on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.

Alverca: the Portuguese club thriving with help from Vinícius Júnior

Their rise is down to smart scouting and clever links with celebrities such as Eduardo Camavinga and Travis Scott

By Get French Football News

Alverca have been busy in the last few years. They have shot up the Portuguese pyramid while changing owners, buying a whole new squad and bringing in one of the world’s most famous footballers as a co-owner. The club’s sporting director, Fernando Malta, says they want to be “gamechangers”.

Historically a satellite club for nearby Benfica, Alverca were first promoted to the top flight in 1998 but folded in 2005 after a costly relegation. The club reformed and gradually made its way through the regional divisions before earning back-to-back promotions to take them to the Portuguese top flight in 2025.

Children of the Wild by Kevin Powers review – gripping tale of a friendship forged in war

Written by a US army veteran, this novel of courage and cruelty during the first world war is filled with unsettlingly authoritative depictions of violence – but its characters are less believable

Kevin Powers’s fourth novel marks a return to the themes and subject matter of his acclaimed debut The Yellow Birds, winner of the 2012 Guardian first book award. Through the lives of its central characters, it explores the courage, folly, cruelty and absurdity involved in war, and the challenges of adjusting to civilian life afterwards. But while The Yellow Birds focused on the experience of US soldiers fighting in Iraq, where Powers himself served between 2003 and 2004, Children of the Wild is set amid the carnage of the first world war.

It follows the fortunes of two young men from a remote valley in Virginia. Roy is the arrogant young heir to a wealthy local landowner; Ennis is an orphan of unknown origin who has been living, like a character in a fairytale, in a shack on the top of a mountain. Ennis and Roy are first linked in a love triangle when Ennis is lured off his mountain top by his desire for Samantha, the daughter of the local minister, whose eyes have the “lustre of smoky quartz”. Roy has expected to marry Samantha, but she chooses feral Ennis. Roy accepts the setback remarkably swiftly, transferring his affections to Esther, the wealthy and shallow sister of his college roommate, Fintan. Roy and Ennis settle their differences with a mighty punch-up that cements an unlikely friendship between them.

The truth about blushing: why we do it, how we can resist it – and why it’s actually good for us

Humans are the only animals whose faces redden with embarrassment. Should we see that as an affliction, or as a blessing?

‘Blushing is the most peculiar and most human of all expressions,” Charles Darwin once wrote, and he wasn’t wrong. Though certain species of bird pinken up as a means of communication, and uakari monkeys have red faces when in good health, we seem to be the only animal that flushes as a sign of embarrassment.

“It’s a very truthful signal,” says Prof Sophie Scott, the director of the Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London. “It’s not fakeable, and there aren’t many things that humans do that fall into that category. You can’t blush on command.”

Web of billions: how Spider-Man became the most heroic franchise in Hollywood

Tom Holland’s fourth outing as Peter Parker broke box office records but how did the web-slinger avoid growing superhero fatigue?

A year ago, the superhero-industrial complex looked like it was on the wane. All three of Marvel’s big movies for 2025 underperformed to some degree or another, outgrossed by DC’s newest reboot of Superman – which itself made less than any number of previous-regime DC movies, and was followed up by this summer’s Supergirl, a costly bomb. It looked as if the age of heroes might be coming to an end, and only seemed fitting that the next big Avengers movie was subtitled Doomsday (and had resigned itself to sharing a release date with the Imax-grabbing release of a third Dune movie).

But look out, as the song goes: here comes Spider-Man.

Why Texas is betting 'Y'all Street' can take on Wall Street

Dallas's financial industry is growing, amid a larger Texas business boom. But can it really steal New York's crown?

5 states have primary elections on Tuesday. These are the races to watch

From Michigan's Senate and governor primary to Missouri's 1st Congressional District, a number of key races in primary elections Tuesday could signal the future for Democrats and Republicans.

Are you part of a community environmental action group? We’d like to hear about your experience

We want to hear from people around the world who have been getting involved in local action on the climate

We’d like to hear from people across the world who have been involved in a local environmental action group or community project tackling climate change from where they live. What made you get involved?

What has the group achieved, and what obstacles have you faced? Has it changed how you feel about your local area, or led to wider change? We’d also like to hear from anyone who tried to set up a group and found it difficult to gain traction.

Saudi Aramco profits jump 33% in second quarter as Iran war squeezes oil supply

The results come as oil supermajors have reported blowout quarterly profits, benefitting from higher fossil fuel prices amid the Iran war.

BP profit more than doubles as Trump blasts Big Oil for ‘making too much money’

The result come after U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at Big Oil for making "too much money" off higher fuel prices amid the Iran war.

Geography of Heaven by Rory MacLean – soul-searching journeys into the afterlife

From an ashram in India to an ayahuasca ceremony in Peru, a travel writer searches for meaning after the death of his wife

In this moving, sometimes grandiloquent grief-memoir-cum-travelogue, Rory MacLean pairs an affinity for new-age thinking with a habit of loftily holding forth (“none of us are created for naught”, “love can but lead to truth”) and a proclivity for arresting one-liners (“I watched gods walk on fire”). In his search for meaning in the five years after his wife’s untimely death from cancer, he shows himself to be both refreshingly broad-minded and unnecessarily crotchety, like a more cantankerous Michael Palin.

MacLean’s work as a travel writer has taken him across the world, whether flying a handbuilt plane over Crete or riding shotgun with a drug warlord in Burma. This is his first book since losing Katrin, for 32 years the “fixed point” in his life, whose final weeks and moments he describes tenderly. Unable to process her death, he turns to travel to seek out “thin places”: áiteanna tanaí in Celtic mythology, where the veil between worlds is porous. Starting in Jerusalem, his quest takes him to more than a dozen sacred locations, including an ashram in India, a Native American community in South Dakota, an “excruciating” Vipassanā retreat in Suffolk and, inevitably, an ayahuasca ceremony in Peru.

Ceuta was a carnival of anti-migrant content for hateful opportunists on the right – and a lesson for the left | Jonathan Liew

It was framed as a perfect storm because nativists dearly wanted it to be. Looking on, progressives failed to meet the moment too

The live streams are still running, training their cameras on the beach at Ceuta, where nothing is happening. The self-styled citizen journalists are still pounding the streets, capturing their shaky smartphone footage. Zia Yusuf of Reform UK was out there at the weekend, wearing a crisp white shirt and smart tailored trousers, lest anyone confuse him with the other brown people there. The bad brown people.

Why was the migrant incursion at Ceuta, on the Spanish-Moroccan border, such a big story across the world? How did it manage to pique the interest of Donald Trump and Elon Musk, to feature on NBC’s Nightly News, not – shall we say – a programme massively predisposed to spotlighting news stories from continental Africa? What about it so exercised Europe’s heads of government? What made it an irresistible front-page story in the Daily Mail, the Daily Express and the Daily Telegraph?

Daphne Caruana Galizia was investigating suspected corruption when killed, jury told

Journalist’s son says his mother was examining leak from Electrogas, part owned by Yorgen Fenech who is on trial

Daphne Caruana Galizia was investigating suspected corruption by the businessman Yorgen Fenech and members of Malta’s government when she was killed, a jury has heard.

The heir to one of Malta’s biggest fortunes, Fenech is on trial for murder, accused of commissioning and paying for Caruana Galizia’s killing in a car bombing in October 2017.

Post your questions for Imelda Staunton

She’s acting royalty – literally, having played Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown – but what questions would you ask her?

It is perhaps fitting that Imelda Staunton ended up playing Queen Elizabeth II in the last two series of The Crown, considering she has been acting royalty for years. Her film career has seen her voice champion egg-layer Bunty in 2000’s Chicken Run, followed by roles in Mike Leigh’s 2004 drama Vera Drake and the 2005 comedy Nanny McPhee. In 2014, she played the formidable Welsh miners’ strike campaigner Hefina in Pride. She also plays Lady Maud Bagshaw in the first two Downton Abbey films, and voices Paddington’s beloved Aunt Lucy in all three Paddington films. For a whole generation, however, she will always be Dolores Umbridge in two of the later Harry Potter films, where she somehow made a pink cardigan almost as frightening as Voldemort.

On TV, she has cropped up in everything from Little Britain and Doctor Who to Psychoville, Brassic and a memorable guest appearance in the fourth series of A Bit of Fry & Laurie, where – for reasons known only to F&L – she was introduced as “Snutty”. Whether she’s playing a chicken, a bear or the head of state, there is always something unmistakably Imelda about her performances: warm and calm but with the distinct impression that she won’t stand for any nonsense.

How gen Z exposed India’s prime-time propaganda machine

The Cockroach movement protesters used memes, mockery and collective action to cut through mainstream media’s refusal to tackle problems plaguing the country’s politics

Hello! Welcome to This Is India from the Guardian. I’m Niha Masih and I’ll be writing to you every week about the stories, ideas and news makers of modern India.

I’ll do a deep dive into one story – from politics and internet culture to tech and entertainment – and round up key events, trends and debates that are dominating the discourse among Indians, especially the youth.

The Summer Book review – Glenn Close powers sweet-natured take on Tove Jansson’s grief classic

This sensitive adaptation of Jansson’s 1972 novel, set in the beatific Gulf of Finland, is a quiet treatise on life and death

Glenn Close brings her totemic presence to this gentle movie – as well as a makeup-enhanced grandmotherly face. This is a sweet-natured adaptation of Tove Jansson’s 1972 novel; it has charm, though it’s sometimes becalmed in its own sensitivity.

Close plays a tough, wise, humorous-yet-cantankerous eightysomething woman who likes cigarettes and walking around outside stark naked when there’s nobody else around. She brings her recently widowed son (Anders Danielsen Lie) and six-year-old granddaughter Sophia (newcomer Emily Matthews) to a tiny, idyllic island in the Gulf of Finland, where they have a summer cottage. The grandmother may, incidentally, have unresolved feelings for local man Eriksson, in a fleeting cameo for veteran Icelandic actor Ingvar Sigurdsson.

Get in the ring! Inside California’s top boxing club – in pictures

These images of Lee Espinoza’s iconic gym in the Coachella Valley weren’t just about sport – they also helped photographer Darren Vargas deal with the death of his grandfather

Charity cyclist Bob Montgomery, 82, dies one day after 5,200km ride across Australia

His family said it was Montgomery’s sixth interstate fundraising ride in support of Motor Neurone Disease NSW

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Bob Montgomery, a charity cyclist who has just finished a 5,200km bike ride from Broome to Bowral, died on Monday at the age of 82.

His family confirmed his death on social media, saying he had died unexpectedly just a day after completing the cycling feat alongside his grandson, Tom, as a fundraiser for motor neurone disease.

Acrobatic, goofy and super-fast: the biama battles redefining Ivorian dance culture

Fuelled by TikTok and street dance battles, the coupé-décalé offshoot is latest expression of Côte d’Ivoire’s pop culture

The 400-strong crowd, perched on plastic chairs and wooden benches in Abidjan’s Yopougon-Selmer neighbourhood, roared with approval as Sauce Graine twisted and turned on the spot with breathtaking speed and dexterity.

The dancer, named after the Ivorian palm nut delicacy, was competing in a series of street dance battles set to biama, a frenetic offshoot of coupé-décalé, a type of percussive dance music popular across west Africa that originated in Côte d’Ivoire around the turn of the century.

Herby feta frittata and a knockout fruit and rocket salad: Sami Tamimi’s Arabic summer recipes

Levantine summer magic in a herby and moreish Arabic frittata with a peachy fruit, red onion and rocket salad

I’ve always loved food that can be enjoyed at room temperature, or even cold the next day. As the UK, along with many other parts of the world, swelters through another hot summer, these are exactly the kinds of dishes I want to cook and eat. Fresh, light and unfussy, they require little effort, yet never compromise on flavour. This herb-packed courgette and feta ijeh paired with a lush fruit, red onion and rocket salad alongside makes the perfect meal for warm days and relaxed summer gatherings.

‘They’re not alone’: Chris Hoy on his ambition to stop men dying of prostate cancer

Cycling legend on living with a stage 4 diagnosis, fundraising with Miguel Induráin and why Andy Burnham could be key to his ambition of helping others

Sir Chris Hoy arrives a couple of minutes late and the apologies roll from him. I don’t have a chance to tell the six‑time Olympic sprint cycling champion that waiting an hour for a star interviewee is more common. Hoy is already deep into a story about how he and his wife, Sarra, were walking here when an unknown man stopped him on the street in Glasgow.

The stranger had recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer and he wanted to share what had happened to him and, I suspect, find new strength by talking to a compassionate public figure. Hoy has lived a full life with stage 4 cancer for nearly three years. He has also worked tirelessly to highlight the fact that prostate cancer affects more men in this country than any other cancer while, at the same time, to offer a tangible sense of hope when there is horror for men, and their families, after a terminal diagnosis.

Price of olive oil expected to rise again as European crops feel the heat

Farmers warn impact of high temperatures, drought and wildfires on range of foodstuffs means costs will increase

Farmers across Europe are warning of a slump in food production and rising prices as crops from maize to salads suffer as a result of extreme heat, drought and wildfires.

Olive groves have also been hit as the climate crisis drives temperatures across the continent to fresh record highs, meaning the cost of olive oil – already at elevated levels – is expected to start rising again.

‘The war leaked into every lesson’: learning Ukrainian in a country under siege

Soon after my first visit to Ukraine four years ago, I began language lessons. It taught me more than I ever expected

Almost as soon as I returned from my first reporting trip to Ukraine, in October 2022, I decided to start Ukrainian lessons. Not as an act of solidarity, exactly, but as a marker that I was committed to returning. I wanted to know some Ukrainian in order to feel less helpless, to edge towards a better understanding of what I was reporting, and to be more courteous to those whom I encountered. And I hoped, in time, to be able to pull myself through a piece of poetry in the original.

I began meeting Olha, my teacher, by weekly video call later that autumn. She was in Ivano-Frankivsk, her home town in the far west of Ukraine, I was in London. With endless patience and humour, she led me by the hand through the unfamiliar letters of her language, those elegant, sensuous shapes of the Cyrillic alphabet.

What, no sequinned crooners? How cruises became the home for world class theatre

Forget cheesy acts, these days cruise ships boast the cutting edge tech to stage hip West End productions and Olivier award-winning musicals – and young people are loving it

The phrase “cruise ship entertainment” conjures vivid images, even to those who have never set foot on an oceangoing vessel. Starry backcloths, sequined frocks, tunes and croons from yesteryear, the lite-ent values of the 1970s preserved in aspic. Perhaps those stereotypes held water way back when the singer Jane McDonald ruled the reality TV waves. But – lazy thinking ahoy! – do they still?

Look at the shows currently a-sail on the high seas, from the Olivier award-winning 9/11 musical Come from Away, to hip theatre-maker Emma Rice’s acclaimed Brief Encounter. And look at the onboard production values, which “way surpass what you see in London theatres”, says Susannah Daley of Peel Entertainment, which provides shows for the Ambassador cruise line. “These ships are now being built with theatre in mind, to a really high spec, to hold between 600 and 1,000 people. What can be produced in them is pretty phenomenal.” Producer David Pugh, a veteran of the West End who has collaborated with Cunard cruises, says: “These are probably the most technical theatres, in terms of lighting and sound, that you’ve ever seen outside of the best theatres in the world.”

The ultimate guide to travel etiquette: how to handle 36 tricky situations, from manspreaders to smelly armpits

It’s easy to lose your cool when you’re crammed into a train, bus or plane with a bunch of strangers and one of them is playing music without headphones or fighting you for the armrest. Here are the rules everyone should be following

Public transport can be a hot, noisy, cramped and stressful environment – and that’s before you add in people with pungent food, questionable hygiene and giant backpacks. Most of us know the general rules – though we don’t all follow them – about letting people off first, not putting bags on seats, where to stand on escalators and offering your seat to others. But what about the vaguer conventions? How can you avoid chatty passengers? Or manspreaders? Is it sometimes OK to put your feet on the seats? (Spoiler: it’s not.) Here, three etiquette experts show us the way to public transport propriety.

Can you tell if someone is filming you with Meta glasses? – video

Meta glasses - they're everywhere, and people have a lot of opinions. Mostly about their ability to take photos and videos.

Rafqa Touma speaks to Guardian Australia's technology reporter, Josh Taylor, lifestyle editor, Alyx Gorman, and the Human Technology Institute's responsible technology policy specialist, Lauren Perry.

Sen. Moreno says ex-son-in-law Max Miller shouldn't serve in Congress

GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio said his former son-in-law, Rep. Max Miller, shouldn't serve in Congress amid swirling abuse claims, as Miller vowed to stay in the race for another term and strongly denied all allegations of misconduct.

Seoul braces for heatwave sweeping South Korea as death toll reaches 16

Trucks are dousing capital’s roads with water and nurses are checking on vulnerable people as heat heads westwards

Seoul is bracing for its first ever “severe heatwave warning” on Tuesday, as South Korea reels from a deadly heatwave that has seen the country record its highest ever temperature.

The south-eastern city of Yangsan reached an all-time national record of 42.5C on Sunday afternoon – the highest temperature measured in 122 ​years ​of weather observations – and now the heat is shifting westwards, approaching the densely populated capital of more than 9 million people, which is forecast to hit 38C on Tuesday followed by three sweltering days of 37C.

Trump says Jeanine Pirro "choked" in dropping Reflecting Pool cases

"She folded like an umbrella," President Trump said of Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

Latest on In-N-Out Idaho shooting that killed 3 as police search for motive

Three people were killed by a 24-year-old gunman at an In-N-Out in Twin Falls, Idaho, on Saturday. Lilia Luciano breaks down what we know.

More Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool charges dropped by Pirro's office

Since Friday, D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office has dropped charges against three more people accused of vandalism.

UFC flyweight Allan Nascimento dies aged 34 after apparent heart attack

• UFC says Nascimento died in his sleep

• Brazilian flyweight was 34 years old

• Last fought in split-decision loss in June

UFC fighter Allan Nascimento has been found dead at home at the age of 34, the organisation has announced.

The Brazilian flyweight was pronounced dead after suffering an apparent heart attack in his sleep.

Ariana Grande pulls out of musical over "endless, ongoing public scrutiny"

Ariana Grande had been due to star alongside her "Wicked" co-star Jonathan Bailey in a production of "Sunday in the Park with George" in 2027.

"My Favorite Person" trend making social media users tear up

A social media trend encouraging users to share what they love about their favorite person is bringing light to TikTok and other platforms.

Cornyn, Tillis back Blanche for attorney general after deal on DOJ fund

GOP Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina formally announced their support on Monday for Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general.

Senate candidate El-Sayed questions assumption Michigan voters are moderates

Populist Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens top the Democratic field going into Tuesday's Senate primary. Former Rep. Mike Rogers is running unopposed for the GOP nomination.

Acting attorney general issues order rescinding "anti-weaponization" fund

The order came after Republican Senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn threatened to block Blanche's confirmation for Attorney General if the fund was not rescinded in writing.

Justice Dept. moves to dismiss Jan. 6 class action lawsuit

The Justice Department argued that the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters had until Jan. 6, 2023, to sue the federal government under the Federal Tort Claims Act, missing the deadline to file a lawsuit by over two years.

Senate pushes ahead with plan to fund government through midterms

The Senate is moving ahead with a plan to keep the government funded and avoid another shutdown before the midterm elections.

House Ethics recommends censure for GOP lawmaker in sexual harassment probe

The House Ethics Committee released a report detailing the findings of an investigation into GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards, concluding that there is "substantial reason to believe" he violated House rules.

‘This quarter was otherworldly’: Palantir earnings surge past expectations

Shares soar as yearly revenue up 93%, even as opposition grows to company’s role in Trump immigration agenda

In a sea of companies reporting mixed financial results this quarter, Palantir stands out. Although Palantir was not immune to the AI jitters that caused industry-wide drops in share prices earlier this year, the AI and analytics company reported that its overall revenue grew 93% year over year to $1.94bn. That’s well over the $1.8bn Wall Street expected Palantir to bring in for the second quarter.

The glowing financials sparked a 10% surge in share prices in the immediate aftermath. Despite growing opposition to Palantir’s work with various governments including the crucial role the company plays in the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, Palantir’s revenue from US government contracts grew 90% year over year to $809m.

8/3: CBS Evening News

Spokane wildfires force thousands to evacuate; Michigan reports two cyclosporiasis deaths.

Snap's stock jumps 8% on earnings beat and strong sales forecast

Snap beat analysts' estimates across the board in its second-quarter earnings report.

25 states sue Trump administration over latest round of tariffs

New U.S. tariffs are hurting consumers and businesses, California's attorney general said in filing suit to block levies on 60 countries.

Trump administration finalizes AI framework, official says

The order asks AI companies to share previews of powerful new models with the government before they are released to the public.

Trump says oil companies should cut gas prices after making "too much money"

President Trump said U.S. oil companies made "too much money" from high oil prices. "I'm not happy about it," he added.

8/3: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Trump says he's giving Iran a "last chance" at diplomacy; Blanche one step closer to confirmation as attorney general.

Michigan health officials report 2 deaths among cyclosporiasis cases

Two Michigan residents who had "significant underlying health conditions" have died after contracting cyclosporiasis, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said.

Trump sours on Pirro over Reflecting Pool case, won't say her job is safe

President Donald Trump said Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, "choked" and "folded like an umbrella" in the Reflecting Pool case.

FAA clears smallest Boeing 737 Max to fly after years of delays

Airlines can finally start flying passengers soon after planes are certified, but it can take them months to work them into schedules.

Athens suitcase death: suspect admits hiding body but denies murder

Police are focusing on Elisabeth-Jane Ross’s final hours in hope of discovering motive for her killing

Greek authorities are investigating what may have motivated a 26-year-old Afghan man to kill a Scottish charity worker found dead in a suitcase in an abandoned building in Athens last month.

Inquiries have focused increasingly on Elisabeth-Jane Ross’s last few hours alive and police believe they hold the key to revealing why the 38-year-old was targeted.

ICE detainee reveals video of drinking water apparently contaminated with worm-like creatures

‘Disturbing’ footage shared by California detainee surfaces amid wider complaints about conditions in ICE detention

Attorneys for a man detained in a California immigration detention center have released footage showing him holding up a bottle of water from inside the facility that appeared to be contaminated with worm-like creatures.

The footage came from a video call with Carlitos Ricardo Parias, a Los Angeles man who has been detained for months at the Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, north-east of LA.

More European countries’ FAs withdraw support for Infantino as pressure intensifies

• FA no longer endorses Fifa president for re-election

• Wales and Serbia join Finland in withdrawing backing

European countries began turning their backs on Gianni Infantino as moves intensified across the globe to end his crisis-hit tenure as Fifa president.

The Football Association was the highest-profile of several Uefa member associations to drop its support for Infantino’s proposed re-election next year. It will write to Fifa confirming it no longer endorses Infantino for a fourth term in charge after the intense controversy surrounding his failed plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors.

Senate appears ready to advance Todd Blanche for attorney general after Cornyn strikes deal

President Donald Trump's attorneys continue to fight in court against a judicial order that said the settlement deal is legally baseless.