Venezuela being ‘reborn’, Rodríguez tells UN; Trump greets Xi Jinping ahead of high-stakes US-China summit – live

Acting president says Venezuela returning strongly after ‘setbacks’; Chinese leader says Beijing and Washington should be partners not rivals after arriving in US for state visit

• Trump greets Xi Jinping at plane as Chinese leader arrives for state visit

These latest attacks come just hours before Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s address to the UN general assembly, so he is likely to reflect on them during his UN speech later.

So far, we have had no public comment from Zelenskyy or Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha.

Hurricane Polo fuels fears of landslides in Mexico as Nolo closes in on Hawaii

Southwestern Mexico braced for heavy rain and mudslides after Polo became a major hurricane. Forecasters warned another system headed for Hawaii could cause catastrophic flooding later in the week.

‘Hanging on by a thread’: 11th hour decision to protect endangered birds from SA space project plans welcomed

The Eyre peninsula site is ‘precious and important’ habitats for southern emu-wren and home to 80% of the mallee whipbird population

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Conservation groups have welcomed an 11th-hour decision to protect “precious and important habitat” on South Australia’s Eyre peninsula from plans for a rocket launching facility.

The Whalers Way “orbital launch complex”, which could see as many as 42 rockets a year take off from conservation land, had already been approved under federal and state planning and environment laws.

GOP senator says party in "fight for our lives," sees path to holding Senate

With just under six weeks until the midterms, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina laid out the NRSC's strategy to try to hold onto the Senate amid a tough political environment.

Here's what happens to the economy when Treasury yields soar like they are now

Government debt costs leaped higher Wednesday, the product of multiple factors.

Albanese says OpenAI hacked Medicare and told Australia months later via email to generic inbox

Prime minister says he told Sam Altman he was disappointed it had taken OpenAI ‘way too long’ to disclose breach

Anthony Albanese says an artificial intelligence agent developed by OpenAI hacked Medicare in June and the tech giant notified the government earlier this month using an email sent to a “public mailbox”.

Australia’s prime minister made the comments at the UN summit in New York, saying it appeared no personal information had been accessed in the AI breach.

Mark Zuckerberg debuts $1,299 Meta VR Glasses and Muse Charm pendant as part of AI agent push

At Meta Connect, CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed new VR Glasses and the Muse Charm gadget for AI agents.

Hawaii is facing another hurricane watch as new storm closes in

Nolo is expected to become a hurricane sometime Thursday, and could become a major hurricane by the weekend as it approaches Hawaii's Big Island.

Trump rolls out the red carpet for Xi despite U.S.-China tensions

It's not clear what specific goals President Trump wants to accomplish in his meeting with the Chinese leader.

Meta's standoff with Amazon over Muse could be a sign of things to come

Meta's new Muse AI personal agent is garnering excitement and shows signs of becoming a hit, but Amazon has blocked the app from its site.

ICE officer who shot Venezuelan man wasn't wearing body camera, sources say

The ICE officer who shot a Venezuelan delivery driver was not wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting, sources familiar with the investigation told CBS News.

Eight USS Lincoln personnel have attempted suicide, US navy confirms

Hung Cao, acting US navy secretary, answered questions from US senator Kirsten Gillibrand in a letter

Eight US navy personnel assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group have attempted suicide since the start of their lengthy deployment as part of the US war on Iran, Hung Cao, the acting US navy secretary, revealed in a letter to the US senator Kirsten Gillibrand on Tuesday.

“Since the beginning of Lincoln’s deployment, there have been a total of eight suicide attempts across the strike group,” Cao wrote, responding on behalf of US defense secretary Pete Hegseth to Gillibrand’s inquiry about the quality of life aboard the fleet. “This number includes the Lincoln crew and sailors from the carrier airwing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers and all embarked aviation squadrons.”

Ukraine war briefing: Moscow hammers Kyiv as Zelenskyy urges leaders at UN to keep choking Russia’s revenues

Two killed and 41 wounded in Kyiv as Russian drone attacks that began on Wednesday stretched into Thursday. What we know on day 1,674

In historic first, tropical turtles spotted nesting on California beaches

What caused the turtles to begin nesting farther north than usual is the ‘million dollar question’

A sea turtle crawled out of the surf in southern California last weekend around sunset and started laying eggs in the sand.

People on Huntington Beach who saw the female olive ridley sea turtle were shocked and excited. And they weren’t the only ones freaking out, said Justin Viezbicke, the California stranding coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (Noaa).

Dolly Parton's estate granted restraining order against her nephew

A Tennessee judge granted Dolly Parton's estate a temporary restraining order Wednesday against the late singer's nephew Bryan Seaver and his private security company.

Meta debuts no-camera smart glasses and virtual reality spectacles

The new wearables come at a time of uncertainty for smart glasses, which are facing backlash over privacy concerns

Meta announced an advanced new set of virtual reality glasses and a collection of new smart glasses Wednesday, including an audio-only version without a camera.

At the firm’s Meta Connect conference in Menlo Park, California, executives said the new Ray-Ban Meta models set new standards for battery life and weight. They said the new glasses with screens in the lenses squeeze capabilities previously reserved for a full headset into a light set of spectacles that rest on a user’s ears.

Justin Bieber performs surprise acoustic gig in beleaguered Los Angeles park

Small crowd enjoys singer’s free concert in MacArthur Park, which has often drawn headlines for less cheery reasons

With no announcement and little fanfare, Justin Bieber performed a free acoustic set on Monday at a Los Angeles park often in local headlines for less cheery reasons.

In videos that surfaced online, four musicians flanked the global phenom, who wore a plain T-shirt and shorts as he sang hits including Daisies and Yukon. The low-key affair with a small crowd stood in stark contrast to Bieber’s recent blockbuster World Cup and Coachella performances.

East Coast faces threat of powerful winds, flooding as Nor'easter builds

Both coasts are bracing for the possibility of extreme weather as a Nor'easter builds in the East and California is threatened by Hurricane Polo. Rob Marciano breaks it down and shares the forecast.

Flock, Axon dodge Senate hearing after invite from Chair Josh Hawley

Prior to the hearing about the surveillance technology companies, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., suggested the executives could face subpoenas.

Judge dismisses Trump's 2024 lawsuit against Iowa newspaper over poll results

An Iowa judge sided with pollster J. Ann Selzer and The Des Moines Register, saying that allowing the lawsuit and its "faulty" claims to proceed could "discourage others from reporting on and debating public affairs."

Tony Blair says Britain should work towards rejoining EU in next 10 years

Andy Burnham under pressure to revisit Brexit as poll suggests pledge to rejoin could boost Labour’s electoral chances

Britain should work towards rejoining the EU in the next decade, Tony Blair has said, adding to growing pressure on Andy Burnham to abandon Labour’s reluctance to revisit the 2016 referendum.

The former prime minister has urged Burnham to use his 10-year plan in November to put the country’s membership of the union back on the table, a decade after it voted to leave.

Judge considers restoring journalists' access to White House after Trump's ban

Lawyers representing the White House and the three media outlets banned from the property sparred over the constitutional rights of journalists at a hearing in federal court Wednesday.

9/23: CBS Evening News

Both coasts bracing for extreme weather; Trump hosts China's Xi Jinping amid media boycott.

Inside the illegal gold rush destroying the Amazon rainforest - video

The Guardian's Tom Phillips rides along with Brazilian forces as they inspect illegal mining operations in the Sararé indigenous territory. The destructive prospecting camps and mine sites have carved out swaths of the Amazon, threatening protected indigenous lands

Judge seems inclined to side with media outlets who were banned from White House in lawsuit

Due process was not followed, said judge, when CNN, MS Now and Politico were banned from White House

A US district judge on Wednesday heard arguments in the extraordinary showdown between Donald Trump and CNN, MS Now and Politico, suggesting in comments that he was more inclined to side with the media plaintiffs who sued the president on Monday.

Lawyers representing the media organizations have asked Timothy J Kelly, a district judge, to force the White House to return the press badges that were taken over the weekend after Trump banned their journalists from the building. While the judge declined to rule on Wednesday, he acknowledged that due process had not been followed in revoking access.

Millions in England unaware they have ‘silent killer’ condition, research reveals

Approach to treating high blood pressure ‘not fit for purpose’, say researchers, with 59% of cases undiagnosed

Only half of people being treated by a GP for high blood pressure in England have it under control, and millions more are completely unaware they have the “silent killer” condition, research reveals.

Most people with hypertension (59%) are in the dark and undiagnosed, raising their risk of stroke, heart attack and early death, according to the largest ever study of its kind.

Fat Bear Week 2026 is here, and voting already "broke the internet"

Sixteen bears are vying for votes in Fat Bear Week​ 2026, the highly anticipated contest among the chunkiest bears at the Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

Twenty years after An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore still believes in the climate fight: ‘We are going to win this’

Former US vice-president still has optimism for climate advocacy two decades after groundbreaking documentary

Two decades after the release of his groundbreaking documentary An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore has admitted he was surprised by the ferocious, ongoing backlash from the fossil fuel industry and its political allies. But the former US vice-president insists he still has optimism the world will confront the climate crisis.

At a New York event to mark the 20th anniversary of the release of the film and his subsequent climate advocacy work, Gore, now 78, joked: “I always say if it hadn’t been for me, we might have a big problem right now” when asked about the progress made over the past two decades.

Co-worker: Gilgo murders suspect unnerved her by tracking her down on a cruise

Exclusive details about the NYC architect accused of being the Long Island serial killer, his life and how he may have been hiding in plain sight for more than a decade.

As Trump and Xi meet, Chinese automakers could be a Pandora's box for U.S. auto industry

Trump’s meeting with Xi comes as U.S. automakers and lawmakers push to keep restrictions on Chinese vehicles and manufacturers.

Judge hears arguments on Trump White House media ban, hopes to rule 'soon'

The DOJ on Tuesday night cited national security concerns in justifying President Trump's ban of MS NOW, CNN and Politico from the White House.

Kaptein fantastic strikes as Chelsea battle to WCL win over Austria Vienna

Wieke Kaptein’s early goal gave Chelsea a winning start to their Champions League campaign proper against Austria Vienna, but it was a far from comfortable evening for them.

“Probably the performance is not the one we wanted to have,” Chelsea’s manager, Sonia Bompastor, said. “We could have controlled the game a little bit better in terms of scoring a second goal to kill the opposition’s hope, but sometimes you need to focus on what is most important and tonight that was to win and to take the three points from the game.”

9/23: The Takeout with Major Garrett

President Trump to hold arrival ceremony for Chinese President Xi Jinping; judge yet to rule on Mr. Trump's ban on news outlets from White House.

Judge skeptical of Trump's White House ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico

A federal judge signaled he is skeptical of President Trump's ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds.

OpenAI and Anthropic CEOs push for AI cooperation at UN after Trump rebuffs 'globalist scheme' to control it

Altman is one of several tech executives who's argued that AI companies should temper the pace of AI development in order to manage potential risks.

McDonald's CEO expects high inflation, lackluster traffic are here to stay

McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski said that he expects that high inflation and flat traffic will continue to weigh on the restaurant industry.

Why McDonald's is following Walmart and Amazon into the advertising business

McDonald's is following the lead of Amazon and Walmart as it starts its own media network.

Six Flags Magic Mountain sued over alleged ‘catastrophic brain damage’ from X2 rollercoaster

Lawsuit joined by more than 100 others claims they experienced traumatic injuries from the ride

California’s Six Flags Magic Mountain is facing lawsuits from three people who alleged they suffered “catastrophic brain damage” after riding the X2 rollercoaster.

More than 100 other people also claimed that they experienced traumatic brain injuries from the attraction at the Valencia amusement park, according to the law firm representing the plaintiffs.

‘I miss old Google’: readers tell us how they search the internet in the age of AI

A feature called AI Overviews has been a profound change, and the browsing habits of billions of people are shifting

Google has put artificial intelligence at the front and center of its search bar. The most-visited site on the internet still shows the same list of links to users, but they have to scroll past a summarized response from an AI chatbot, a feature Google calls AI Overviews. The change to what was once the gateway to the rest of the internet has been profound, and the browsing habits of billions of people are shifting.

“AI is driving the most significant upgrade of the Google Search experience ever,” wrote Liz Reid, Google’s vice-president of search, last August. In May, the company said more AI is coming.

These GOP candidates in tight races are calling for a quick end to Iran war

Some Trump-aligned candidates are calling for an end to the Iran war, even as Trump stands by his Iran strategy and has suggested escalation is possible.

Christian Eriksen leaves Wolfsburg by mutual consent after on-pitch collapse in June

• Danish midfielder has been recuperating in homeland

• Eriksen: ‘I’m pleased we were able to find a solution’

Christian Eriksen and the German side VfL Wolfsburg have agreed to terminate ⁠his contract by mutual consent, the club announced on Wednesday.

The 34-year-old collapsed during a Denmark friendly ⁠against Ukraine in June. Eriksen said in July he would ​return to his homeland to undergo a ‌rehabilitation programme. He previously suffered a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s opening Euro 2020 group match ⁠against Finland in Copenhagen in 2021.

Former NFL star Antonio Brown to avoid possibility of 30 years in prison with plea deal

• 38-year-old had been facing attempted murder charge

• Former player will accept aggravated assault charge

Former NFL star Antonio Brown plans to accept a plea deal on an attempted murder charge in Miami, his lawyer said Wednesday. Doing so will mean the former wide receiver avoids prison.

Brown is scheduled to appear in court next Wednesday to make the deal final. He could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the current attempted murder charge.

Disney is raising prices for Disney+ and Hulu. See the breakdown.

The price hikes for new subscribers are effective immediately. Existing subscribers' plans will go up next month.

Milei threatens at UN that Argentina will take ‘matters into our own hands’ on Falklands

Argentinian president accuses United Nations of being filled with ‘parasites’ in bellicose general assembly speech

Javier Milei has condemned the UN as he warned that Argentina would take “matters into our own hands” in its dispute with Britain over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.

In a caustic speech at the general assembly in New York, the Argentinian president criticised the UN for being ineffective when it came to the long-running tensions over the British overseas territory in the south Atlantic known in Argentina as the Malvinas.

Diesel prices just hit a new record. Would a U.S. export ban bring relief?

Some lawmakers want to halt U.S. diesel exports as prices top $6.50 a gallon. But such a ban could have unintended consequences, experts say.

Federal prosecutors probe Jeffrey Epstein estate executors, WSJ reports

A group that advocates for Epstein victims applauded the news that Richard Kahn and Darren Indyke are facing an investigation. No charges have been been filed.

RAF jet crashes and explodes in Anglesey moments after pilots eject

Witness says T2 Hawk aircraft, which was being used for a training flight, ‘was basically on fire’ on takeoff

An RAF jet crashed and exploded moments after two pilots ejected during a training flight over Anglesey (Ynys Môn) in north Wales on Wednesday.

The aircraft, a Hawk T2, had just taken off from RAF Valley on the west of the island when the incident occurred, witnesses said.

Social Security tax hike "financially impossible" for many, expert says

Raising payroll taxes enough to stabilize Social Security could add thousands of dollars in annual costs, according to one analysis.

Police make 2nd arrest in death of woman found hanging from tree

Police said they have an arrest warrant for one more person in the death on Mississippi woman Tasia Fortune.

Trump and Xi meet at moment of global consequence

It is the second time the leaders are meeting this year after the Beijing summit in May.

Iran's president gives a rare wartime speech at the U.N.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the U.N. General Assembly a day after President Trump threatened from the same podium to "annihilate" Iran.

Market sees next Fed hike in October, following Barr comments and hot inflation reading

S&P Global said its overall inflation measure hit its highest level since October 2022.

A Catholic media star will be beatified in St. Louis, moving a step closer to sainthood

Bishop Fulton Sheen, who charmed millions of television viewers on his show Life Is Worth Living,'will come one step closer to being declared a saint.

What is the White House press pool and how does it work?

President Trump's move to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House has highlighted the role of the press pool.

Harry Kane admits England’s World Cup 2026 exit ‘hurt more than any other’

• ‘It wasn’t the team that we wanted and said we’d be’

• England host Spain in Nations League on Saturday

Harry Kane has described England’s World Cup semi-final defeat against Argentina as his most painful tournament exit because of how the team lost sight of who they were.

The captain is determined to move on as quickly as possible and is chasing a statement performance against Spain at Wembley on Saturday night in the Nations League. But he admits he is yet to get over the Argentina game and knows it is something he and his England teammates must work to process.

Netherlands v Germany: Klopp and Xavi begin revival projects with derby

Jürgen Klopp and Xavi Hernández face each other in Nations League as they take the reins following disappointing World Cups

Before the latest instalment of a time-honoured international rivalry gearing up for two distinct new beginnings, Jürgen Klopp could not resist sprinkling a little of the old mischief. “The good thing is that we both have the exact same situation,” he said of Xavi Hernández, his counterpart when Germany visit the Netherlands on Thursday night. “We met on Monday and play on Thursday. And the coach knows the players from television. I actually know more of the Dutch players personally than Xavi does. Whether that’s an advantage, I don’t know, but it’s still a fact.”

In his public appearances Klopp has been on irrepressible form since taking the role in July. The task of whipping Germany back into shape has visibly and audibly topped up the energy levels that had drained by the time he departed Liverpool. Klopp, his wit sharp and appetite piqued, looks a far cry from the character who, to most trained eyes, was going through the motions upon his unveiling as Red Bull’s head of global soccer early last year.

McDonald’s to take on KFC and rivals as Gen Z flock to fried chicken

Fast food giant aiming to increase share of global chicken market as rising cost of beef hits profits

McDonald’s is betting on fried chicken as health concerns and the rising price of beef shift dining habits.

The company said that it aimed to take an extra 1.5 percentage point-share of the global chicken market by 2030, with an aim to increase its share of drinks by the same proportion. McDonald’s said the growth in chicken, a lower-priced protein, would not come at the expense of beef burger sales, saying it aimed maintain its “leadership position in beef”.

The Guardian view on Russian disinformation: a foreign threat that relies on UK complicity | Editorial

Andy Burnham’s accusation against the Kremlin tells half the story. Domestic extremists amplified by US big tech are part of the same problem

In November 2020, Barack Obama warned of an “epistemological crisis” facing western democracies. Polarisation and radicalisation were corroding trust in established information sources. “If we do not have the capacity to distinguish what’s true from what’s false, then by definition the marketplace of ideas doesn’t work,” the former US president said.

That vulnerability has grown since then. Democracy’s enemies have become more determined to exploit it. This is the threat that Andy Burnham highlighted in a speech at the United Nations this week. The prime minister accused Russia of waging an “industrial-scale assault” on the UK’s information environment using bot armies and fake websites to spread falsehoods, interfere in elections, foment discord and poison inter-community relations.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

The Guardian view on the future of the UN: more embattled, but more necessary, than ever | Editorial

As the secretary general, António Guterres, prepares to step down, the general assembly is highlighting the scale of the organisation’s challenges

The United Nations was created, its charter states, to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”. Donald Trump used his address to the general assembly to threaten Iran, another member state, with annihilation again. The charter also speaks of the obligations of international law. On Venezuela, Mr Trump gloated that “to the victor belong the spoils”. His speech in New York on Tuesday might be regarded as an improvement on last year’s only in that it was not an explicit, full-scale attack on the UN itself, merely on its founding principles.

The absences this year are perhaps as telling as the US president’s hostile presence. Vladimir Putin has not attended for more than a decade. Nor has Xi Jinping – but the snub is more striking as he is in Washington to meet the US president. India’s Narendra Modi is not present; nor are Cyril Ramaphosa, Bola Tinubu or Abdel Fatah al-Sisi – the leaders of Africa’s three giants, South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt. While their reasons are various, the gaps speak collectively to Mr Trump’s wrecking capability and the broader challenges faced by the UN.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Philadelphia teacher admits to lying about being Palestinian and Black: ‘I hid the truth’

Local advocacy groups say they have cut ties with Hannah Gann, who ‘fully lied about her identity and background’

A Philadelphia teacher is facing criticism from her fellow colleagues and activists after it was revealed that she fabricated being both Palestinian and Black.

The Racial Justice Organizing Committee (RJOC) and Philly Educators for Palestine (PEFP) announced over the weekend that it was cutting ties with “one of their long-time members”, Hannah Gann, who “completely lied about her identity and background, claiming at various times to be Palestinian, Tunisian and Black”.

McDonald's stock falls as it unveils plan to spend big on restaurant upgrades

The plans are part of the fast-food giant's new growth strategy, called McDonald's > NEXT.

Italian pop legend takes the lead in Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Fendi collection

Milan show full of diaphanous dresses and visible bras celebrates ‘incredible feminist’ of the 1970s, Raffaella Carrà

Maria Grazia Chiuri has been having more fun with clothes since she decamped from Paris back to her native Rome to work at Fendi. “I have less of a uniform these days. I think it is because being back here makes me feel young again. I’m not sure my daughter appreciates [this attitude]! But I don’t care,” she said at a preview before her Milan fashion week show.

Not that Chiuri doesn’t approach her work as a designer seriously. She described her second ready-to-wear season at Fendi not as a show, or a collection, but as “the second part of the project I am working on for them”.

Ben Jennings on Andy Burnham’s meeting with Donald Trump – cartoon

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Iran’s president hits out at ‘bully’ Trump in UN speech but signals willingness to talk

Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran is ready for dialogue and diplomacy ‘but without the language of force’

Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, turned the tables on Donald Trump, describing the US as the true bully and terrorist in the Middle East while insisting that Iran had always shown a commitment to the negotiating table.

In a defiant speech to the UN general assembly in New York, his first since the US and Israel launched an all-out war on Iran, Pezeshkian repeatedly vowed that Tehran would never bend the knee to the US.

‘I want to go’: Lewis Hamilton hopes F1 is able to end season in Middle East

• ‘I love going to the Middle East,’ says Ferrari driver

• Qatar and Abu Dhabi races could still be cancelled

Lewis Hamilton said he hopes the Formula One season can still end at the two scheduled rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, with the finale still in doubt because of the war in the Middle East.

Formula One is pressing ahead with its original plan, although a contingency is understood to be in place to host a final round in Imola if the volatile situation means both meetings have to be cancelled.

DOJ defends Trump media ban, citing national security and "professionalism"

The Justice Department claimed that reporting from CNN, MS NOW and Politico raises national security concerns and accused their journalists of failing to act with "professionalism and decorum."

Germany pledges to phase out fossil fuels for first time with target of 2045

Campaigners say plan marks notable shift away from oil and gas as previously pledges were only for carbon neutrality

Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, has committed to phasing out fossil fuels by 2045, despite fierce debate about its green policies.

In a roadmap published on Wednesday, the German government set out for the first time an explicit promise of “transitioning away” from fossil fuels. Previous pledges were only for “carbon neutrality”.

"Lioness" star Michael Kelly talks season 3 finale

"Lioness" actor Michael Kelly sits down with "CBS Mornings" to discuss the season 3 finale of the popular series.

‘And you will be the People’s Earl’ – Charles Spencer’s Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, digested by John Crace

The earl on his globally lauded eulogy for Diana, King Charles’s sausage fingers and toxic Raine, topped off with a lavish sprinkling of adverbs

Cheers were heard up and down the land. Halley’s comet made an unscheduled appearance in the ethereal night sky. In very heaven, angelic choirs rang out. A saviour had been born. A light to lighten the world. But enough about me. For this paragraph at least.

In my universally acclaimed funeral address, I aimed to speak for my sister. The real Diana. For only I truly knew her. She had the heart of a lion. And I had a glut of cliches. Yet when Diana had swept so triumphantly into the arena of royal life, I was but a callow youth awash with hormones and gripped by the self-centredness of adolescence. Nothing much has changed. Yet I know, with all my heart, that Diana would have wanted me to tell our story.

Chris Spatola, basketball analyst and Mike Krzyzewski's son-in-law, dies at 47

Spatola played basketball for the U.S. Military Academy and later coached on legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski's staff.

From cybersecurity to AI to Taiwan, what's at stake in Trump's summit with Xi

As President Trump and China's President Xi prepare to meet, Rush Doshi of the Council on Foreign Relations explains the current state of U.S.-China relations and what to expect from this summit.

‘I had a headache for days’: Hrgovic reveals brutal toll of Itauma world title fight

• ‘I didn’t celebrate. I went home to rest. It was a hard fight’

• Hrgovic stopped Briton to win the IBF heavyweight title

Filip Hrgovic, the new IBF world heavyweight champion, has offered a candid insight into the ordeal he endured before beating Moses Itauma in a shock stoppage victory last month, revealing he absorbed so many heavy punches in the first eight rounds that he felt headaches for a number of days afterwards.

“I felt fucked up,” said the 34-year-old Croat. “I received a lot of shots and I was bruised. I had a bit of a headache for a few days. On the Wednesday after the fight I was back in the gym, working out already, but for a few days I felt really tired and bruised, with some headaches.”

Cristiano Ronaldo vows to play on for Portugal and targets 1,000 career goals

• Player reflects on critics, says ‘they’ve tried to kill me’

• Jorge Jesus launches passionate defence of 41-year-old

Cristiano Ronaldo said he considered quitting international football after the World Cup, but confirmed he plans to play on for Portugal and hopes to reach 1,000 goals for club and country. Ronaldo, who is 21 goals shy of the milestone, accepted some critics are trying to “kill” him but is determined to carry on.

Ronaldo, who has won 233 caps for his country, captained Portugal in the summer at the World Cup, where they exited to Spain in the last 16. Asked if he considered walking away from international duty, he replied: “Yes, I did. Of course, I’m always thinking about my decisions, my future, the present also. I’m a thinker; you have to think. This is why you see me here now, it means I will continue.

Something in your eye? Here’s how to get it out – without making it worse

It’s natural to want to soothe eye irritation, but mishandling could lead to more problems, experts warn. We asked them for advice on how to deal with it properly

It may feel like a gritty, annoying sensation, or a sharp pain. Either way, you may have the same problem: something is stuck in your eye and needs to come out.

Addressing the situation incorrectly can lead to bigger issues such as infection, scarring, an ulcer or corneal scratches, which are abrasions on the clear covering of your eye. Ignoring the dilemma can lead to similar consequences.

Sleep payments: could they lead to better rest – and better health?

We all need a good night’s rest, but regular, sufficient sleep is hard for many of us to come by. Students in Pittsburgh have been offered a novel incentive

Name: Sleep payments.

Age: A new strategy for an age-old problem.

Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 15 years after sexual assault conviction

Sentencing comes after years of appeals and retrials in case involving former TV production assistant Miriam Haley

Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 15 years on Wednesday after being convicted of sexually assaulting former TV production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 at his Manhattan apartment.

Haley appeared in court on Wednesday morning and delivered a victim impact statement.

Unhappy couples staying put due to cost of living crisis, say divorce lawyers

Financial pressures suspected to be behind figures showing failed marriages are lasting longer in England and Wales

Couples are putting off divorce because of the cost of living crisis, lawyers have said, after figures showed the average length of a marriage ending in divorce in England and Wales reached a record high last year.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) released figures on Wednesday showing that the average marriage ending in divorce in 2025 lasted for 13 years. This is the longest since records began in 1963 and up from a record low of 8.9 years in 1985.

Trump’s UN speech was delusional and dangerous | Kenneth Roth

It is sad and dangerous that at such a perilous moment, the United States is saddled with a president like Trump

Donald Trump’s speech on Tuesday to the United Nations general assembly was an object lesson in his lawless rule and remarkable capacity for self-delusion. Disregarding the UN charter’s emphasis on the peaceful resolution of disputes, he doubled down on his violent unilateralism while denigrating the global issues that the UN is designed to address.

For many, the headline remark was his musing about whether to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” of Iran. “Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?”

Kenneth Roth is a Guardian US columnist, a senior fellow at Yale University and a former executive director of Human Rights Watch. He is the author of Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments

Trans row nurse tells tribunal she ‘felt discriminated against’ by her union

Sandie Peggie accuses RCN of failing to adequately support her in dispute over sharing women’s changing room with trans doctor

A nurse who objected to sharing a changing room with a transgender doctor has said she felt “discriminated against” by her union after raising the complaint.

Sandie Peggie, who worked for NHS Fife for more than 30 years, won a partial victory against her employer after a tribunal in December 2025, when a judge upheld her harassment claim against the health board but dismissed claims of discrimination, indirect discrimination and victimisation.

DOJ defends Trump ban of 3 news outlets, says White House access is a 'privilege — not a right'

The Department of Justice also argued President Trump was motivated by national security concerns in banning MS NOW, CNN and Politico from the White House.

Eric Idle has had tons of celebrities staying at his house. God, it must be exhausting | Adrian Chiles

Whether it’s an A-lister or an old schoolfriend emerging blearily from the spare room, those first moments of the day are tricky

First thing in the morning, that’s the hardest time. Eric Idle told me this. A wise man, is Eric. Actor, comedian, songwriter, musician, screenwriter and playwright and, when it comes to mornings, a man of wisdom.

I interviewed him about his new book, which is a love letter to his house in Provence. He bought it more than half a century ago, before he hit the big time. It didn’t cost him much, because it was tiny, tumbledown and without water or electricity. Slowly, as the money came in from this job or that, he made improvements. By hook or by crook, the water and electricity started to flow, and with them a steady stream of guests coming to stay. These weren’t just any old guests: they were superstars, among them David Bowie, Art Garfunkel, Penny Marshall, Lauren Hutton, Brian Cox (the professor and the actor too, I think, although possibly not at the same time), Paul Simon, Carrie Fisher, Robin Williams and George Harrison. Also Michael Palin and assorted Pythons; Ronnie Wood and assorted Stones. And so on. There are photos of Wood sitting on the floor strumming his guitar; Bowie mooning about clad only in short shorts. Quite something, but all I could think about was how tiring it must have been to have so many guests turning up all the time. Let’s be honest: guests are a bit of an effort. A-lister or Joe Bloggs, a guest’s a guest.

Australia banned this anti-fascist play in 1936 at the request of the Nazis. Ninety years on, it’s being staged again

A new production of Clifford Odets’ agitprop work Till the Day I Die is being remounted on the back of a truck in a Melbourne car park – rekindling its activist intent

It might be difficult to imagine these days, but there was a time when theatre in Australia was so politically incendiary it could cause an international diplomatic scandal. A year after it premiered on Broadway in 1935, US playwright Clifford Odets’ Till the Day I Die found itself at the centre of controversy in Australia when it was banned by the federal government at the request of the Nazi party’s consul general, on the grounds it was offensive to a “friendly foreign nation”.

Odets’ play, about a communist Berliner arrested by the Nazis for producing leftwing political pamphlets, was a companion piece to his more famous Waiting for Lefty, which was staged the year before by Sydney’s New Theatre – one of a branch of theatre companies that sprang up around the globe in the 1930s that was heavily affiliated with communism. The ban was counterproductive, leading to a massive public outcry and a cobbled, surreptitious production performed on the back of a truck at Collingwood town hall in Melbourne.

That truck is a galvanising symbol of rebellion and resistance for theatre-makers Mark Wilson and Katie Sfetkidis, who have been inspired to revisit the play as an act of leftist solidarity with the past and a spur for future activism. They’re staging a new production of it for this year’s Melbourne fringe festival in the car park of the Trades Hall building on the back of their own truck. “We got excited by these artists refusing to be banned, about the idea of a necessary theatre,” Wilson says.

My (complicated) relationship with AI: often seductive, occasionally frustrating and always demanding vigilance | Setareh Seyedghorban

As a multilingual academic, artificial intelligence has levelled the playing field. But I will continue to think, judge and develop ideas that are stubbornly mine

I am walking between carriages in search of a cup of tea on a train travelling over 100 miles an hour from Liverpool to London when I see half the people in my carriage in deep conversations with a machine: ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini to name a few. I am meant to be on sabbatical, the rare stretch of academic life reserved for slow thinking. Around me, almost nobody is thinking slowly.

This is not limited to a train carriage. Half of the adults surveyed in one US study reported using an AI chatbot, one example of how fast people are entering a relationship with their AI tools, which now receive more of our questions, problems and drafts than our friends and colleagues do.

El Niño could cause 451,000 more heat deaths compared to normal year, group says

Researchers project nearly half a million more heat-related deaths from June 2026 to February 2027 compared with a typical year, as a result of El Niño.

Zelenskyy says Ukraine ready for ‘energy ceasefire,’ calls for trilateral meeting with Putin, Trump

Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready for an “energy ceasefire” with Russia, provided Moscow stops attacks on critical infrastructure.

Meta's Muse shopping agent is a hit, as AI commerce starts to take off

Meta's new AI tool now ranks at the top of the App Store. Some retail experts see a "natural evolution from search."

Wonka’s Golden Ticket review – this bleak reality show is all nausea, no sugar rush

Netflix’s new series is the ruthless, hyper-capitalist competitive take on a kids’ book that no one needed. AI-generating Gene Wilder’s voice for it just feels wrong

As the sad-faced Oompa-Loompas who acted in Glasgow’s famously catastrophic Willy’s Chocolate Experience in 2024 will testify, if you come at Willy Wonka, you’d better not miss. There’s always a risk involved when trying to recreate fantastical, fictional worlds: if you fall short – or miss the point – the bathos is all the more devastating. Roll up, then, for Wonka’s Golden Ticket, Netflix’s twist on Roald Dahl’s confectionary phantasmagoria, which reimagines the story as Squid Game: The Sugar Headache. It gets messy.

As we join our contestants, they’ve assembled outside Wonka’s factory, having found Golden Tickets in apparently random bars of chocolate – although, as a group, they seem fortuitously demographically mixed and able to bring a range of disparate yet complementary backstories to the table. A lucky break. But wait! Is that the voice of beloved Wonka-proxy Gene Wilder?

Mortgage rates top 7% for the first time since May 2024

As rates climb, more buyers are seeking riskier adjustable-rate mortgages, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Shipwreck, apparent human remains found 7 years after boat sank in Atlantic

The nonprofit Green Oceans asked the Coast Guard to reopen an investigation that had classified the F/V Mistress as lost.

LA 2028 triathlon course will see athletes race from Venice Beach into Pacific

• Women’s triathlon will award first medals of Games

• Beach start only second in Olympic triathlon history

The first medals of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will be doled out on the eclectic confines of Venice Beach, where organizers have unveiled a triathlon course that will send athletes racing from the sand into the Pacific Ocean.

LA28 unveiled initial details of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlon routes on Wednesday, laying out a compact course through Venice that takes in the beachfront bike path, neighboring streets and the Venice Canals before finishing overlooking the coastline.

It's getting harder to afford rent in the U.S., even for middle-income families

Housing affordability challenges are spreading to higher income brackets, according to new research, which found one in five renters struggled last year to pay for their housing in full and on time.

Why fans are digging their claws into Wolverine over its patronising gameplay

From highlighted ledges to characters telling you what to do, blockbuster games are increasingly taking the challenge out of playing – and players are pushing back

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Marvel’s Wolverine, the latest action game from Sony’s stable of expensive blockbuster-factory studios, has had an unfortunate launch. Reviews were decent, if not stellar, but a series of viral video clips from reviewers and streamers have made it the scapegoat for a patronising flavour of game design that gamers have hated for decades. This clip, from Skill Up’s review, shows the player entering a beautiful wintry landscape before being overwhelmed by visual cues telling them what they’re supposed to be doing there. Sonar pulses point you in the direction of objectives. Targets – which, it bears emphasising, are shaped like targets – get an extra reflective visual effect so you know you’re supposed to pay attention to them. A trail shows you not just where to go, but where the level’s sole hidden collectible is.

It is hand-holding to the point of parody. Indeed, it reminded me of the sniggersome Mario in Unreal Engine satirical videos that makes the social media rounds every few months (“A mushroom? I should take a look at this”). Skill Up’s clip has been followed by hundreds of others, gleefully ripping into Wolverine with ironic savagery. In one much-copied clip, a streamer simply lays down his controller during a motorbike chase sequence and watches as Wolverine speeds on regardless, bouncing off the scenery as the game plays itself.

Hayden Panettiere died of an accidental overdose, coroner's office says

Hayden Panettiere died of an accidental overdose involving fentanyl, the coroner's office said in its autopsy report. Lillia Luciano reports.

Greetings from Edinburgh, where a cheeky tour guide makes art history hilarious

For anyone who grew up staring blankly at museum artwork, this is the fun that was missing: Coco leads interactive and (mostly) factual art history comedy tours.

Rumors swirl after 2 Ole Miss students found dead in separate locations with packaged kratom

Two University of Mississippi students were found dead in separate locations, each with packaged kratom, police said. Jason Allen has the latest.

Diesel prices hit all-time high

Diesel prices hit an all-time high Tuesday of $6.52 per gallon on average. Kris Van Cleave has more.

‘We live in a world of extreme consumption and waste’: Magali Reus, the artist reimagining rubbish

Making vast versions of sardine tins and fishing lures, the Dutch sculptor explains how she imbues disposable objects with autonomy and meaning

Midway through my conversation with Magali Reus, we are interrupted by a courier. They’ve arrived at the artist’s studio to deliver an important package – one of the final components of a sculpture being finalised for Reus’s show Swimming By Night at the Perimeter in London.

The studio is filled with such sculptures, all in various stages of completion. Reus likes to take everyday, often disposable, items – pizza boxes and sardine tins among them – and recreate them on a larger-than-life scale. One of them – vast looming fish hook lures made to look like uncanny cupcake cases or severed skeletal limbs – looms nearby, resting against a studio wall.

Jess Cartner-Morley on fashion: in praise of slightly silly clothes

The push to buy lasting, sustainable clothes is a good thing, but every wardrobe need a bit of mischief

I do hope you are wearing your zebra stripe trousers today. Anyone who is anyone is wearing zebra stripes this month, you know. If you haven’t yet got with the programme, I suggest you nip to the shops and snap some up before they are all gone. It would be mortifying to be the last one without a pair. Hurry!

Only teasing. Fashion doesn’t work like that any more. The days when people like me bullied everyone else into wearing banana yellow one season and puffball sleeves the next are over. Looking trendy is over. Timeless chic is the only show in town. Peacocking has been phased out in favour of understatement and personal style.

‘He made something every single day’: David Lynch’s inscrutable photography celebrated in LA show

The director’s surrealist films defined Los Angeles. Now the city is celebrating his other passion: photography

No one can bring Los Angeles together like David Lynch.

The first posthumous exhibition of the director and artist’s photographs went on display at LA’s Pace Gallery this weekend, drawing a massive crowd of goths, weirdos and art world observers to celebrate a creative mind that has few equals in American pop culture history.

The living dead: we can watch ‘Janis Joplin’ perform or reunite the Beatles, but who are the real winners here?

Advances in digital technology mean that avatars are ever more realistic, and zombie concerts are coming our way. Exciting as it might be to witness the Fab Four, or Maria Calla on stage, I’d rather have flesh and blood live experiences any day.

It seems that AI’s powers – terrifyingly – know no bounds. But can it raise the dead? Here’s what Avatar concert producer Unit1 Studio’s CEO Barney Wragg said in a recent interview. “We [are] talk[ing] about using AI to simulate the way that tears evaporate in your eye between blinks, or subcutaneous blood flow, so that when one of our [digital] characters laughs or opens their mouth or smiles, areas of their flesh will change colour as it would do in a real human”. Digital avatars are already part of our entertainment landscape – from Tupac and Abba to Maria Callas – but now that an avatar’s cheeks can change colour mid-set, is it game over for humans?

Wragg last week reported a massive investment in his company to make hyper-realistic avatar-entertainment. Unit1 plans to roll out avatars of musicians living – and dead – so that the success of Abba Voyage is just the start of a slew of “hybrid” concerts. In other words, flesh-and-blood audiences paying massive amounts of human money to witness a very expensive LED screen showing phantom musicians in the 21st century’s equivalent of the magic lantern. (The tech is a 2D illusion: you think you’re seeing Abba’s Agnetha in 3D, but you’re not; it’s all just a new-fangled but fundamentally old-fashioned trick of the light.)