The Open 2026: Fox equals major record, McIlroy blasts DeChambeau, and day three updates – live

️Updates from the third round at Royal Birkdale
️Official leaderboard | Mail Scott with your thoughts
️McIlroy lashes out at DeChambeau over penalty row

It’s the same old story for Rory McIlroy: he just can’t keep any momentum going this week. He follows that chip-in eagle on 9 with bogey at 11. Back to -1, and a second Claret Jug continues to hover out of reach. At least he’s got one. Jon Rahm has a strangely underwhelming record at the Open: a couple of high finishes in 2019 and 2023 without ever really looking likely to win. And it’s threatening to happen again. He carves his opening drive over the bushes to the right and out of bounds, and starts with a double-bogey six. His fume is internal, but it is real, registering eight-and-a-half out of ten on Bryson DeChambeau’s patented R&A-o-meter™.

Ryan Fox speaks to Sky. “The game plan was to be aggressive … I hit driver a lot … your strategy changes with the wind around here … I had a couple of interesting shots on the back nine and kinda got away with them … pretty happy with 62 in the end, that’s for sure … had a lot of fun with [Xander Schauffele] … he played really well too and we kind of fed off each other … was pretty happy to make par [on 18] from that fairway trap … I haven’t really put four rounds together [at the Open] … hopefully this is a sign … I’m in a pretty good place to give myself a chance so we’ll see what happens!”

Iran supreme leader vows 'unforgettable lessons in store' for U.S. after calling off interim peace agreement

U.S. Central Command says it continues to enforce a naval blockade against Iran, while Kuwait and Bahrain say they have intercepted more Iranian projectiles.

World Cup 2026 latest: Trump criticises Tuchel, buildup to France v England and Spain v Argentina final

⚽ World Cup latest on final weekend of tournament
⚽ England’s exit was not just about Tuchel
⚽ Email us | Archive: Argentina v Spain in 1966

I’m still getting my head around the 2007 photo of Lionel Messi, 19, bathing Lamine Yamal, four months, for a Unicef calendar shoot.

Sid Lowe has done some digging to find out how it all came out …

The photograph was taken around Christmas 2007. Sport newspaper was putting together a charity calendar on behalf of Barcelona and Unicef, a studio set up in the away dressing room at the Camp Nou. Each player had a month and appeared with a child. Ronaldinho, the star, was July. Messi was January. Lamine Yamal was four months old. His mum, Sheila, had put him into a draw to take part. Monfort got the idea the night before when bathing his daughter, taking a plastic tub and a rubber duck with him. Although the baby was tiny and Messi was timid, with Sheila’s help he got a shot he was happy with.

ICE officer in Maine shooting has history of violent behavior, relatives say

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot and killed a Colombian man in Maine this week is an Army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood, relatives say.

South Africa 43-0 Wales: Nations Championship Rugby – live

• Rugby union updates from 4.40pm UK/5.40pm SAST

• England defend Pollock after gestures to Argentina fans

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9 mins. A few minutes are taken up with the setting of a Wales scrum that goes to ground once, then brings a penalty for the Boks against Dillon Lewis for losing his feet under pressure. The lineout for the home team is wasted as Moyo encroaches the lineout too early.

5 mins. The crowd springs to life for the first time as Fassi steps off his left foot, leaving Edwards standing, to run 15 metres into the Wales half. Two phases later, after a strong run from De Allende, Wiese crashes through some poor tackling in the 22 on a short angle to rumble over.

Shackle Rodri the metronome and Argentina’s passion play can floor Spain | Jonathan Wilson

The World Cup final is a classic clash of the process team against a side riding an emotional urge to fulfil Messi’s destiny

In the 37 minutes between England going ahead against Argentina and falling behind, they had 12% possession. It’s fair to assume that in the World Cup final Spain will provide a rather different challenge. They do not suffer the Mafeking tendency of the English, seeking to re-enact some famous siege every time they take the lead. The finalists have averaged 64% possession so far in the tournament. Spain could hardly be more different to England: their way is not of panic but of process.

There is a clearly defined Spanish style, as there has been since Vicente del Bosque replaced Luis Aragonés as Spain manager in 2008, and arguably before. In that, perhaps, there is hope for England. Spain once were even greater underachievers but Aragonés inspired the revolution against the furia roja orthodoxy. The result has been three Euros and a World Cup in the past two decades, with perhaps another to come on Sunday.

Maps show wildfire smoke forecast, air quality alerts in swath of U.S.

Heavy smoke from several large wildfires blazing in Canada and Minnesota is engulfing large swaths of the Midwest and the U.S. East Coast this week.

1 dead, 3 missing after boat sinks near Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay

One person died and three were missing in San Francisco Bay on Tuesday after a boat with 20 people on board sank near Alcatraz Island, authorities said.

Burnham risks Labour backlash if he reverses ban on new oil and gas drilling

Party manifesto pledged to honour existing North Sea exploration licences but not issue new ones

Andy Burnham risks his first confrontation with Labour MPs if he announces new oil and gas drilling licences when he becomes prime minister, insiders have warned.

Speculation is rife that Burnham will announce some new plans for drilling in the North Sea after he is installed in Downing Street on Monday.

Iran attacks US allies in Middle East as renewed conflict enters second week

Kuwait says civilian sites and infrastructure targeted, Jordan downs missiles and sirens sound in Bahrain as Iran responds to US strikes

Iran launched a wave of attacks against US allies in the Middle East, as the renewal of US strikes on Iran entered a second week and fighting escalated over the strait of Hormuz.

Kuwait has accused Iran of targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure in the country, such as a power and water desalination plant. Kuwait, which is extremely arid, relies on desalinated water for about 90% of its drinking water.

North Dakota men who discover they were switched as newborns sue hospital

Kyle Bylin and Jeremy Morrison uncovered the truth after Bylin received an at-home DNA test as a Christmas gift

A DNA discovery has led two families to accuse a North Dakota hospital of changing the course of their lives after learning two newborns were allegedly switched at birth nearly four decades ago.

Kyle Bylin uncovered the truth after receiving an at-home DNA test during a Christmas gift exchange. The test connected him with his biological aunt through a genealogy platform, prompting her nephew, Jeremy Morrison, to take his own DNA test. The results confirmed the two men had been raised by each other’s biological families.

Pogacar attacks ⁠on steepest climb to clinch fourth ⁠Tour de France stage win

• Slovene now 4min 30sec ahead of Vingegaard

• Paul Seixas takes lead in young rider classification

Tadej Pogacar’s rapacious appetite for stage wins was in evidence yet again in the climbs of the Vosges on Saturday, as he raced to his fourth victory of this year’s Tour de France at Le Markstein.

Pogacar’s attack came 1.6 km from the summit of the final climb, the Col de Haag, and 7.5 km from the finish line and once again left Jonas Vingegaard, Paul Seixas and Remco Evenepoel in his wake.

Mercedes’ Antonelli outpaces Verstappen to grab F1 Belgian GP pole

• Russell will share second ​row with Ferrari’s Leclerc

• Norris ‌third fastest ‌but has a 10-place grid penalty

Kimi Antonelli has suffered a run of no little bad luck of late, but the Italian teenager demonstrated it had left him entirely unfazed as he produced a dominant lap to secure pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old’s composure and control at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday was something to behold as he flew round the circuit in the Ardennes mountains with ease, comfortably beating the Red Bull of Max Verstappen into second place. Notable was the manner in which he did so given Verstappen had benefited from having a tow from his teammate, Isack Hadjar, who willingly sacrificed his laps given he had a 30-place grid penalty to come.

Reporter's Notebook: Finding World Cup joy in speaking to women who love soccer

Tune into World Cup coverage, and you are likely to see waves of male, screaming, sweaty fans. But one of the joys of covering this World Cup has been speaking to women who love soccer.

Severe weather puts millions at risk in Northeast as wildfire smoke lingers

A severe weather threat is in effect from the Ohio Valley through the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

‘It’s only going to get worse’: wildfires forcing firefighters to make impossible choices

As the climate crisis fuels more intense blazes, pushing them to new parts of the world, those tackling them are forced to ration resources and decide which to fight

César Alcaraz had only just become a firefighter in the late 1990s when he found himself ambushed by a fast-moving blaze. Barely able to breathe and with no more water left in his truck, he and his colleagues fled an inferno ravaging Spain’s Montgó mountain region, wishing their bosses had sent more support.

But nearly three decades on, as an officer with Alicante’s provincial firefighters, Alcaraz has more sympathy for the agonising choices that commanders have to make. When wildfires overwhelm an area, his job resembles that of a doctor in an emergency room with too few ventilators.

ICE detention center employee arrested for shooting protester in Colorado

A woman was shot while protesting outside of an ICE detention center in Aurora, Colorado, police say. The employee of a group operating the center faces assault and attempted second-degree murder charges in connection with the shooting. This comes after two fatal shootings by ICE agents in Maine and Texas.

‘Where did they go?’: homeless people feel force of America’s brutality in World Cup clean-up

Fifa says football brings the world together but the unhoused in Atlanta feel targeted and completely excluded from the tournament

“A lot of our community has been pushed out by the World Cup. We’re not just dollar signs, we’re more than that. We’re people and we’re frustrated that they’ve chosen to treat us less than human.”

“They dropped me off there in the middle of the night. They call them Mormon centres or whatever, but it ain’t nothing but a warehouse of cops. It looked like a Fema camp. When I saw it, I left, I walked all the way back here. It’s because of the World Cup. They’re trying to make it look good for tourists. They don’t want the eyesores around.”

Inside the winery that put Napa Valley on the map

The Robert Mondavi Winery opened in 1966, the first major winery in the Napa Valley since Prohibition. Now, the historic winery is experiencing a rebirth after a recent renovation.

Germany’s CDU party chair resigns after using surrogacy to become parent

Jens Spahn had criticised ‘rented wombs’ and his party is strongly opposed to surrogacy, which is banned in Germany

A senior German politician and ally of the chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has resigned as chair of the Christian Democrat (CDU) party after he and his husband used a surrogate mother to become parents, a practice he has criticised in the past and his party is vehemently opposed to.

Surrogacy is banned in Germany, a policy Jens Spahn refused to relax when he was health minister in 2020, so he and his husband, Daniel Funke, used a surrogate mother in the US.

Students earn scholarships, gain confidence when they "Do the Right Thing"

Nonprofit group Do the Right Thing honors young students who get good grades or help their communities, encouraging them to reach for their dreams. Organizers, educators and police talk about the organization's impact.

Federal court strikes down New Jersey ban on assault rifles and large-capacity magazines

Ruling comes as supreme court is set to consider whether bans on semiautomatic rifles violate US constitution

A federal appeals court on Friday ruled that New Jersey’s bans on assault firearms and magazines that can hold 10 or more rounds is unconstitutional.

It marks the first time a federal appeals court has struck down a state ban on such weapons, and comes as the US supreme court is set to consider whether bans on semiautomatic rifles violate the second amendment in the fall. Just last week, another federal appeals court upheld Illinois’ ban on semiautomatic weapons.

Doctors question evidence behind Pentagon plan for testosterone screening

Pete Hegseth announced that soldiers aged 30 and older in the US military will be screened for low testosterone

The US defense secretary, ⁠Pete Hegseth, this week ordered annual testosterone-deficiency screening for active-duty and reserve service members aged 30 and older, which he says will help to maintain military readiness.

But many medical professionals warn it might do nothing of the sort and instead could increase service members’ risk of infertility or other consequences if testosterone is prescribed inappropriately.

Josh Kerr makes athletics history by shattering one-mile world record in London

• Time of 3min 42.66sec betters El Guerrouj in 1999 by 0.47

• Kerr becomes seventh British man to hold record

Having put himself out there in the manner that he did, Josh Kerr left nowhere else to go. He had to deliver on Saturday. You call your shot, you take it. So he did. And boy, was it spectacular.

For the first time in 27 years there is a new one-mile world record-holder. On the morning of this London Diamond League meet, Sebastian Coe – a three-time mile world record-holder himself – described Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj, the incumbent, as the greatest miler in history. If that fact remains undisputed, the record books will now show Kerr’s name above El Guerrouj as the man who ran one mile in 3min 42.66sec. Just as he said he would.

New footage shows assassination attempt on Ukrainian businessman in Monaco – video

Ukraine's prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, said investigators have recovered key evidence in the case of the attempted assassination of the Ukrainian businessman Vadym Iermolaiev in Monaco. Specialists from Ukraine's security services restored a surveillance-camera recording that suspects had allegedly attempted to destroy. According to the prosecutor general, the surveillance camera had been installed near the crime scene to obtain confirmation that the alleged contract killing had been carried out. He said the recovered footage was among key pieces of evidence in the investigation.

Fans elated for Argentina and Spain to face off in World Cup final

Millions of fans will watch as Argentina and Spain appear in the World Cup final. Spain looks to dethrone reigning champion Argentina, while Argentina hopes Lionel Messi leads them to glory again.

License of Utah school where Paris Hilton alleged she was abused is revoked

The license for another campus of the Provo Canyon School was revoked on Friday.

White House doubles down on Trump's baseless election interference claims

President Trump rehashed old talking points about election security, claiming without evidence that China interfered in the 2020 election during a primetime address. A day later, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced an election security crackdown.

Canadian wildfire smoke blankets parts of U.S. as Texas floods turn deadly

Smoke from Canadian wildfires still shrouds huge swathes of the U.S., from the Great Lakes region to the Mid-Atlantic. Down south, torrential rain brought flooding to Texas Hill Country. Plus, a look at the air quality forecast.

7/18: CBS Saturday Morning

Smoky air in parts of the U.S. as President Trump renews election interference claims. Plus, an interview with Anne Hathaway and Matt Damon.

‘Profound, resigned hopelessness’: people across US and Canada share effects of wildfire smoke

Air quality in North America has plummeted, affecting the health of millions of people across the continent

As smoke from hundreds of Canadian wildfires continues to spread across large parts of North America, bringing hazardous air to tens of millions of people, outdoor activities are being canceled, businesses disrupted and vulnerable residents are being kept indoors as officials warn the unhealthy conditions will likely persist.

Air quality alerts were issued across more than 20 US states as smoke from wildfires burning in south-central Canada, northern Ontario and parts of Minnesota drifted south. About 109 million Americans across the midwest, mid-Atlantic and north-east experienced unhealthy air this week.

What to know about Trump's claim that over 250K noncitizens are registered to vote

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin sent letters to four states alleging that a combined 250,000 noncitizens were registered to vote. Elections experts caution that could be a significant overcount.

Cuba edges toward breakdown as power cuts and US meddling push society to brink

As Cuba swelters under six-month oil blockade imposed by US, tempers are fraying and unrest is growing

When Cuba’s national grid collapses, as it did for the third time in 10 days on Tuesday, a collective groan spreads across its cities and people wonder, again, whether the island’s antiquated electricity system may soon become unrecoverable.

The 777-mile Caribbean island of 9.5 million people has been sweltering under a six-month-long oil blockade imposed by the US, part of a pressure campaign to bring down its communist government. But the parlous state of Cuba’s infrastructure goes far further back.

Rachel Roddy’s recipe for pasta with courgette, onion and raw tomato salsa | A kitchen in Rome

Hot summer days call for a pasta dish that’s treated like salad leaves – tossed gently through a fresh, room-temperature sauce

In her encyclopaedic but not at all stuffy book about Neapolitan food, Jeanne Caròla Francesconi provides half a dozen recipes for pasta with raw tomato sauces suitable for hot days. The one I always notice is vermicelli all’insalata, because of the arrangement of the words. Not the familiar insalata di pasta (pasta salad), but all’insalata (like a salad), which serves as a reminder that, as with salad, the important thing with this family of recipes is that the pasta is treated like leaves of salad and tossed gently but thoroughly with plenty of tasty and suitably cut condiments and dressing.

The dressing in this instance is the result of mixing two recipes that we used to make during cooking lessons on hot days at the old Latteria Studio: pasta with courgette, and pasta with double tomato sauce. The courgette softened in plenty of olive oil with spring onion is the warm part of the recipe, while a raw and juicy salsa of tomato, garlic and herbs provides the room-temperature element.

Why is it so hard for the U.S. to win wars?

U.S. presidents have promised short, decisive wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran. All have proved much more difficult than advertised and fallen far short of the political goals set at the beginning.

2 kidnapped Forest Service workers safe after being zip-tied, held at gunpoint

Two suspects, a father and his adult son who were allegedly armed with guns and knives, have been arrested, authorities said.

When Trump accuses others of wrongdoing, you can bet he’s up to something himself | Arwa Mahdawi

Thursday’s speech about election integrity was a case in point, as the president seeks to undermine the system

America’s mad king is spiraling. Donald Trump’s approval ratings are mired in the 30s as the Iran war rages on with no end in sight. As prices rise and the US’s reputation tanks, Trump is building self-serving monuments and putting his face on new $1 coins to ensure he leaves a lasting legacy. Don’t worry, Donald, we’ll never forget you! Your name will forever be associated with corruption, crime, and a nationwide outbreak of explosive diarrhea.

When the going gets tough, Trump tends to go into full-on victim mode. This week was no exception. On Thursday, the president gave a televised primetime speech in which he rehashed all his usual grievances. A random jab about trans people? Check. Boasting about how he’s single-handedly made America great again? Check. Demonizing the media? Check. Complaints about how unfair it was he lost to Joe Biden in 2020 coupled with accusations about Chinese interference and misinformation about election integrity? Check. “No country can be great without fair and honest elections,” Trump announced. “If there can be no trust, there can be no greatness. Unfortunately, the system we have falls catastrophically short of that standard.”

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

‘They car-bombed my house – there’s not much more they can do’: the astonishing podcast taking on illegal bloodsports

After 20 mutilated animal corpses were left outside a rural primary school, the creators of award-winning podcast Buried began investigating – with a little help from Chris Packham. It plunged them into organised crime, the dark web and Line of Duty-esque rumours of police corruption

In 2024, a village in Hampshire woke up to something truly disturbing. A mound of dead animals had been dumped outside a school, and blood oozed out on to the streets before children’s classes started for the day. There were about 20 carcasses, including rabbits, hares, pheasants, a fox and a muntjac deer with its head severed. The village was dumbfounded, and the biggest question was: why?

The husband-and-wife investigative journalist team of Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor – the pair behind the award-winning BBC podcast series, and now forthcoming documentary, Buried – found themselves wondering the same thing. Their new 10-part podcast, Buried: Dead Rabbit, delves into this and finds them plunged into the shady world of illegal bloodsports. Specifically, hare coursing – where dogs hunt hares to kill them, an activity that has been banned in the UK since 2005 – and its links to organised crime and the dangerous, violent characters who are terrorising villages across the country.

Buried: Dead Rabbit is on BBC Sounds now.

‘It becomes inevitable’: the toxic mix fuelling deadly political violence around world

After killing of a British former MP, experts say dehumanising rhetoric, declining institutional trust and disinformation fuelling a global problem

On 9 July, the body of Ann Widdecombe, an uncompromising, staunchly conservative former UK government minister turned TV personality and spokesperson for the radical-right Reform UK party, was found at her home in south-west England.

Two days later, a man was arrested in South Yorkshire. Believed to be previously unknown to the local police force and thought to have acted alone, he is suspected of driving 270 miles (435km) to the 78-year-old politician’s home and causing her catastrophic blunt-force injuries. Police have been examining whether a leftwing or single-issue cause may lie behind her killing.

World Cup audience stayed bipartisan despite Trump's prominent role, CNBC survey finds

Nearly half of registered voters watched the 2026 World Cup, with income and education shaping viewership more than party affiliation, the survey found.

Opinion: The continued courage of Captain Sully

Retired pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger is known for safely landing an airplane on the Hudson River in 2009. This week, he announced that he has Alzheimer's disease.

Korean beauty products are becoming mainstream in the U.S. Why there may be even more growth ahead

Morgan Stanley forecasts that K-beauty sales in the U.S. can reach approximately $4 billion in 2026.

Faced with inadequate US healthcare, Black women fly to South Korea: ‘It could save your life’

Black women who feel minimized or dismissed in the US are traveling thousands of miles for South Korea’s patient-first approach

For years, Americans have crossed borders in search of affordable healthcare, whether it be for dental work in Mexico, prescription drugs in Canada, or hair transplants in Turkey. But a new destination in medical tourism is gaining momentum among Black American women, who are increasingly booking flights to Seoul, South Korea, for something else: care that feels inclusive.

South Korea holds a reputation as the global capital of cosmetic dermatology and plastic surgery. But many visitors are discovering comprehensive preventive medicine, extensive diagnostic testing and appointments that are more affordable and easier to access than in the United States. “Our clients have told us they want to know what’s actually going on in their body,” says William Ban, the co-founder and COO of Himedi, a preventive health platform that connects American clients with comprehensive diagnostic screening in South Korea. “They arrive in Korea and access a level of diagnostic thoroughness with same-day imaging, comprehensive panels and specialist review that would take months and significant out-of-pocket cost to assemble in the US, if they could access it at all.”

Wife of US heir and activist donor on fighting his extradition to US: ‘It’s incredible that this can happen’

Stella Schnabel says Trump administration is falsely accusing James ‘Fergie’ Chambers of contributing to Hamas

Although her husband, James “Fergie” Chambers, had been locked up in Spain for nearly a week, Stella Schnabel didn’t break down and cry until Thursday, when she finally got to speak to him for several minutes – enough time, she said, “for us to say we love each other and for him to say: ‘Tell the kids I love them.’”

Spanish authorities, operating on a US extradition request, arrested the 41-year-old Chambers, a US citizen and wealthy donor to leftwing and humanitarian projects worldwide, last Friday in Ibiza. He has been transferred to a prison in Madrid. The Trump administration’s Department of Justice is seeking his extradition for alleged financial support of Hamas, according to a spokesperson for the Spanish high court.

Gianni Infantino unlikely to face IOC sanctions over Balogun red card scandal

• Donald Trump spoke to Fifa president before ban lifted

• Human rights body FairSquare sent complaint to IOC

Gianni Infantino is poised to escape without sanction after complaints he breached rules on political neutrality in his dealings with Donald Trump over the Folarin Balogun affair.

The International Olympic Committee this week received a formal complaint from the human rights organisation FairSquare regarding Infantino’s conduct after Trump revealed he had called the Fifa president asking him to review Balogun’s ban from the USA’s last-16 tie against Belgium. The ban was subsequently suspended for 12 months after an unprecedented ruling from Fifa’s disciplinary committee.

Hart, Rooney and Richards on rowing the Hudson and if Tuchel should keep his job

Pundits set out on the New York river to fulfil forfeit after Wayne’s errant prediction about Norway at the World Cup

The BBC punditry trio Wayne Rooney, Micah Richards and Joe Hart are fresh off a boat on New York’s Hudson River after an attempt to honour Rooney’s declaration that he would “row the River Mersey” if Norway reached the World Cup quarter-final. They did, prompting Erling Haaland to tease Rooney, saying: “I’m looking forward to seeing you, Wayney boy.”

How was it?

White House backs Argentina players over Falklands banner in World Cup semi-final

White House Fifa taskforce chief defends Argentina footballers, saying US believes in free speech

The White House has backed Argentina’s footballers who displayed a banner supporting their country’s claim to the Falklands Islands after their World Cup semi-final victory against England.

After Argentina’s 2-1 win in a fractious match in Atlanta on Wednesday, some players held up a banner that said: “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” – using the country’s term for the South Atlantic islands.

8 killed and more than 60 wounded in Ukrainian drone attack on Russian regions

Kyiv's forces are continuing their aerial campaign against energy infrastructure and military targets inside Russia, aiming to undermine Moscow's war effort.

Eye masks, cherry gel and an afternoon kiwi: Ezri Konsa, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and other top sports stars on how to get a good night’s sleep

The England defender wears a tracker, the heptathlete is experimenting with kiwi fruits – and world champion swimmer Adam Peaty swears by hours and hours of history videos …

Katarina Johnson-Thompson

The Uplift: Weaving American history

We travel to South Boston, Virginia, where they are weaving pieces of American history every day at a patriotic flag factory. Plus, David Begnaud shares three heartwarming stories sent to him by viewers.

'Less than human': how unhoused people in Atlanta are being treated during the World Cup – video

“This is what happens when you apply these incredibly violent economic forces to these cities … it's happened at every World Cup I've been to,” explains our chief sports writer, Barney Ronay.

Employees in Atlanta, Georgia, recently threw away tents, medication, identification and other belongings of unhoused people at a public park without warning. This led activists and a local official to point to an apparent violation of procedures created after a city employee ran over a tent with a front loader last year, killing a man. Cornelius Taylor was crushed inside his home as workers came to clear a homeless encampment.

The sweep through the park occurred less than a mile from a popular spot for World Cup watch parties, drawing into focus ongoing tension over the treatment of the city’s several thousand unhoused people during the tournament. A city official said the park where about 15 people have gathered for months was “not an encampment” and that the incident was not a sweep.

Watch Barney's latest report from downtown Atlanta as the World Cup edges closer to the final – and for more of his video diaries follow Guardian Sport on TikTok.

Tell us: are you wearing the new Meta glasses?

If you’re wearing the new glasses, we want to know more about how you’re using them. We’d also like to hear from people about how they feel about others around them wearing the glasses

With over seven million pairs of glasses reported to have been sold by Meta in 2025, it is clear that their popularity is growing and we’d like to find out more about how people are using them.

There have been some concerns around nonconsensual filming and the data protection of users, however the glasses have proved life-changing for those with visual impairments and hearing loss.

The 2000s called. They want their digital camera back

Why are people who weren't born 25 years ago snapping up the digital camera of that era? Blame Taylor Swift, trend cycles, childhood nostalgia and smartphone fatigue.

Trump has normalized crypto. Is it the path to the next financial collapse? | Eduardo Porter

Cheerleading by the president, who made $1.2bn last year off uninsured currency, does not bode well for US economy

The scale of the graft is decidedly off the charts, but the revelation that Donald Trump raked in a personal fortune of $2.2bn during his first year in office should come as no surprise. The president didn’t even try to hide his venality. Not only did he refuse to sell businesses and put assets in a blind trust, as other presidents have done to limit opportunities for self-dealing; the quid pro quos with foreign governments and assorted magnates were exposed for all to see.

It is troubling that the president of the United States would so nonchalantly deploy his official powers to profit from dealings with money launderers and Middle Eastern princes. It is perhaps more so that the supposedly robust checks and balances upholding American governance proved powerless to stop him. (Here’s waiting for the supreme court to define Trump’s dealings as “official acts” in order to exonerate him.)

Madeline Horwath on free airport wifi – cartoon

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‘As individuals, we keep ourselves in cages, without connecting to others’: Jibak Bhattacharya’s best phone picture

On a break from work, the oncologist was struck by the sight of construction workers balancing on scaffolding for a new high-rise

There is no window in Jibak Bhattacharya’s consultation suite, in Kolkata’s Apollo multispeciality hospital. The oncologist took this photo in 2024 while on a break. “I often crave sunlight between seeing patients, so I step out on to the landing, which has a huge square glass window where you can enjoy the outside view,” he says. “Previously, it was unobstructed nature, but they are developing a high-rise now.”

Bhattacharya noticed the pattern made by three workers on the scaffolding, and how you could draw a line straight through it, as in noughts and crosses.

Farrell rues Ireland errors as All Blacks extend unbeaten streak at Eden Park

• New Zealand 40-21 Ireland

• Hosts unbeaten in 32 years at Auckland venue

Andy Farrell rued an error-strewn display after Ireland suffered a 40-21 defeat to New Zealand in round three of the Nations Championship.

The All Blacks scored four first-half tries through Patrick Tuipulotu, Ardie Savea, Will Jordan and Asafo Aumua en route to stretching their remarkable unbeaten run at Eden Park to 53 Tests. Jack Conan crossed for Ireland in a punishing first half before Joe McCarthy and Hugo Keenan went over in an improved second period, with Sam Prendergast slotting all three conversions.

‘Maybe the best pumped-up sequel ever made’: James Cameron’s Aliens hits 40

The director’s more-is-more approach to the 1986 sequel gave us seat-edge action and an indelible performance from a rule-breaking Sigourney Weaver

James Cameron loves tough female characters. That seems like a given now, after three Avatars and two particularly muscular arms belonging to Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2. Even the lushly romantic Titanic is about a supportive, sweet-natured boyfriend lending his love the extra smidge of strength she needs to live a rich and iconoclastic life without him, until she’s freely chucking diamonds into the sea at 100 years of age. But in Cameron’s 1984 de facto feature debut The Terminator (after a Piranha sequel that he attempted to disown), T2’s Hamilton is stalked and appropriately terrified by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s slasher-like killer robot. She’s a great character who gets majorly pumped up for the sequel in 1991. By then, Cameron had plenty of practice: he had already written and directed Aliens, maybe the best pumped-up sequel ever made, which turns 40 this week.

Ellen Ripley, introduced as the warrant officer onboard the ship Nostromo in Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi horror picture Alien, is already a great character by the end of that film. But while the anecdote about James Cameron pitching a sequel by appending a dollar-sign to Alien’s title, concisely showing what a simple pluralization could do, has perhaps overtaken the buffing up of Ellen Ripley in the most-circulated lore about this movie, she’s really the first subject of Cameron’s great plussing. Without betraying the simplicity and resilience of her character in the first film, Cameron reintroduced Ripley as a survivor, landing on Earth almost 60 years after the events of the earlier film. (In a deleted scene restored in the film’s longer special edition, Ripley even learns that her daughter has died in the interim – as an adult, given that Ripley was in cryosleep for decades.)

Natalie Imbruglia: ‘I forget the words to my own songs on stage. You’d be surprised how few people notice’

The singer on struggling with the English weather, a secret celebrity crush, and her terror of tinned spaghetti

Born in Sydney, Australia, to an Italian father and Australian mother, Natalie Imbruglia, 51, joined the cast of Neighbours at the age of 17. In 1997, she released her debut album, Left of the Middle, which gave her the global hit single Torn. She releases her seventh studio album, Algorithm, on 4 September. She lives in Oxfordshire with her son.

What is your greatest fear?
As an Italian, tinned spaghetti. As a child, I was once served it at someone’s house. It was quite frightening.

D'oh! I can't believe I did that! Graceful ways to handle awkward moments

Yes, there is a way to gracefully address that you've been walking around with spinach in your teeth. Here are tactics to quickly defuse your most embarrassing, cringe-inducing moments.

Hagitude author Sharon Blackie: ‘At 60 I wasn’t ready to give up, I was just starting’

The writer of cult hit If Women Rose Rooted is on a mission to bring folklore to modern readers. She talks about confronting her fears, communing with nature – and the power that comes with age

Like many of the wise women in her books, Sharon Blackie lives miles from anyone. Hers is the only house on the road winding through a valley deep in the Yorkshire Dales. The River Eden runs along the bottom of her garden, which overlooks the ruins of a castle built, as legend has it, by King Arthur’s father. The writer shares this romantic idyll with three border collies, six sheep, nine hens and her husband, David Knowles, a former RAF Tornado pilot.

It seems an appropriate setting for an author who is on a mission to bring fairytales to modern readers. Blackie runs spiritual retreats and workshops at the nearby Broughton Sanctuary and publishes a popular Substack called The Art of Enchantment. Her books, including word-of-mouth hits such as If Women Rose Rooted and Hagitude, are a beguiling mix of memoir, mythology and eco-feminism – manifestos for a better way of living.

‘Without this it’s all just tourists’: the fight to save Soho’s last primary school

Falling pupil numbers have left ‘unique’ London school facing an uncertain future, but its supporters have ambitious plans

Sandwiched between a strip club, a West End theatre and a pub might not be the most obvious location for a school but Soho Parish C of E primary has thrived for decades among the colourful charms of inner London.

But in an area that once had 16 schools, Soho Parish is the last remaining and its time may soon be up, a victim of the post-Covid downturn and falling pupil numbers that are forecast to close hundreds of primary schools across England.

Tuchel would rather put down the English game than admit to his own cowardice | Jonathan Liew

England’s coach said ball possession is not in the team’s DNA – it’s an opinion that should disqualify him from the job

How we talked. On late-night news shows, disembodied heads above a rolling yellow banner. On planes and trains, at bus stops and flower shops and kids’ birthday parties, trying desperately to connect the ennui of the now with the vividness of the later, trying on some level to anticipate the feelings, the blood surge, the heart rush. At the sinks in the office toilets, jerthinktheylldoit, theyactuallymighty’know, shake-shake, and your devastating analysis of the Rice-Anderson-Mainoo triple pivot gets lost in the noise of the hand-dryer.

Two years of this. Countless millions sunk on tickets, hotels, Ubers, shirts, pizzas, flags, the hours spent on Google Maps trying to locate somewhere to eat after 11pm in Riga, the endless psychodrama over Jude Bellingham and whether he should have been left at home or not (turns out, not). How we bled and sweated over this, over the minor details of the journey, over whether Danny Welbeck had done enough to earn a place in the squad or not (turns out, not). All pointing towards the moment on Wednesday evening when England are 1-0 up in a World Cup semi-final against Argentina and your entire happiness rests on whether a bunch of millionaire footballers and a millionaire German coach can keep their shit together for 40 minutes, or not.

Six political headaches Andy Burnham must tackle in his first weeks as PM

From dealing with Trump to easing cost of living, the incoming prime minister is mulling his approach to contentious issues

When Labour was preparing for power in 2024, Keir Starmer’s then chief of staff, Sue Gray, compiled what one Labour official called her “shit list” – a dossier of immediate fires the government would have to put out.

Gray is back, advising Starmer’s successor, Andy Burnham, in an unofficial capacity. And yet again, she is advising an incoming prime minister on how to deal with a number of immediate political problems that will need solving in his first few weeks.

London Underground users should know about toxic dust risk, whistleblower says

Former tube network cleaner says tribunal vindicated his health concerns, including about asbestos, that could affect public

A London Underground worker who was unfairly sacked after whistleblowing about his concerns over exposure to asbestos and other toxic dust has said he wants all tube passengers to know about the potential hazards his case has revealed.

Micky Steeds, a former professional boxer from Aveley in Essex, started working for London Underground in 2018 cleaning up decades of dust from vents, lift shafts and inverts – confined channels underneath station platforms for cabling.

The U.S. and Iran blow past red lines as they lurch back toward all-out war

The United States and Iran exchanged strikes aimed at infrastructure and military targets on Saturday as their battle over the Strait of Hormuz intensified.

Farage’s furious clash with Times editor stuns figures close to him

‘Strong confrontation’ comes at fragile moment for Reform’s relations with rightwing media as coverage turns negative

Nigel Farage is no stranger to expressing his ire at what he regards as the liberal establishment, but even figures close to him were surprised at the tirade of anger he unleashed upon the editor of the Times.

The exchange, which is said to have included an expletive aimed at Tony Gallagher, was triggered by the Reform UK leader’s outrage that the paper was planning to run a story about his houses, which he said endangered his family.

Pompeii: Out of Time With Tom Hiddleston – the tale of ordinary Romans’ hopeless heroism is tearjerking television

The Avengers star teams up with real-life scholars for a look at the eruption of Vesuvius. At points it’s elegiac and moving, at others it’s majestic and brutal

It’s always funny when documentaries strategically pair a possibly boring topic with a famous face, just to sex them up. A History of NCP Car Parks By Tinie Tempah, say, or World’s Deadliest Sleep Disorders With Anna Maxwell Martin. So when I saw that Tom Hiddleston was hosting a National Geographic investigation into the destruction of Pompeii in AD79 (Disney+, from Thursday), there was no way I wasn’t watching.

The actor has famously sauntered through life’s most vaunted way stations: Eton, Cambridge, Rada, Kong: Skull Island. Privilege and perceived smugness have long been sticks to beat him with. It’s harder to argue he’s not qualified for this job, having earned a double first in classics. Here, he slips into the role of undergraduate detective. A real-life scholar is forced to cosplay as his don during their interview, addressing Hiddleston by surname, issuing prim little reprimands. Hiddleston even translates Latin headstones in the first episode. I don’t know what the ancient Roman for “screw it, I’m leaning in” is, but I think that’s what it means.

The Guide #252: Christopher Nolan forces ​all rivals to flee as he dominates the battle of the blockbusters

In this week’s newsletter: Is Nolan our last superstar director? Every one of his films is an event, clearing the release schedules and selling out cinemas

This July, competitors are running scared – like Ithacans fleeing the cyclops Polyphemus – from The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s humongous staging of Homer’s epic poem. The only significant alternatives you’ll find at the cinema in the week of its release are a handful of Aardman rereleases and an astoundingly poorly reviewed adaptation of Animal Farm. The tumbleweeds roll on into next week too, where the star attraction is a cheapo horror film capitalising on Pinocchio’s public-domain status. Only by the 31 July does a blockbuster tentatively poke its head above the parapet – we commend you for your bravery, Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

No other film-maker is able to make studios retreat from the battlefield like Nolan, such is his clout. Sure, other directors might be able to attract sizeable numbers of moviegoers by dint of their name on the poster – Paul Thomas Anderson, Tarantino, Scorsese – but none of them are operating on the same “event cinema” scale, selling out cinemas for months on end. Modern-day Spielberg, with a fair wind behind him, might come close, but that depends completely on the project: flashy sci-fi movie that harks back to his golden era of ET and Close Encounters – perhaps; semi-autobiographical paean to the wonders of moviemaking – not so much. Nolan doesn’t tend to experience that variability: everything he stamps his name on will reliably hit.

Blind date: ‘We swapped numbers. I think that sends out good vibes, no?’

Hugh, 55, a teacher and musician, meets Edie, 50, an independent advocate

What were you hoping for?
An exciting, exhilarating experience and a beautiful lady to talk to.

Meera Sodha’s recipe for roasted Greek salad with orzo | Meera Sodha recipes

Bring the flavours – and heat – of Athens into your kitchen, with this traditional salad baked for an added sweetness and jamminess

Greeks, look away now! Those who don’t turn on the oven in the summer months might want to turn the page, too. Personally, I don’t mind putting something in the oven in summer, not least because I enjoy that the oven does the work when I might not want to. I even quite like that cheeky blast of heat when I open the door, imagining briefly that I’m on the streets of Athens. I digress … Today’s recipe is for a Greek salad (minus the cucumber) that’s roasted to make the flavours sweeter and more jammy, then cut with briny feta and cooked with orzo to fill bellies after a long summer’s day.

The end of term is when the real work begins: the Becky Barnicoat cartoon

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‘An overnight success after 25 years? Delicious’: Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham on sexism, stunts and stardom at 51

The actor seemed destined for a long but unflashy career in musical theatre – until a role as a football club owner in the TV hit changed everything. She talks about her new Hollywood era, calling out misogyny and why she’s ‘more than just camp’

Hannah Waddingham clears her throat. Her voice is a little scratchy. Two days before we meet, the star of Ted Lasso hosted the TV comedy show Saturday Night Live UK. She took part in almost all of the sketches that night, from a skit about “two top-heavy, Reading-based drama teachers” called Janet, to a musical number about how many glasses of wine to drink at a bar, to a bit in which she played the stern northern leader of a speed awareness course. In her opening monologue, she zipped through a variety of accents and impressions. “You see?” she told the cheering crowd. “Range! Range.”

I should have remembered this line when making small talk. We are tucked away in the hidden private dining room of a hotel in London, the city where the actor was born and raised and where she still lives with her young daughter. When Waddingham walks through the lobby, people notice her. She is tall, striking, and wearing the pulled-down baseball cap that is an actor’s day-off uniform. During lockdown, Ted Lasso – the amiable football series in which she plays Rebecca Welton, the owner of a fictional team called AFC Richmond – made her famous on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2021, it won her an Emmy award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series. At 47, after a long but unflashy career on stage and screen, there was a sense that her time had come.

Six great reads: flight attendant confessions, culture wars and Sam Neill’s final interview

Need something brilliant to read this weekend? Here are six of our favourite pieces from the last seven days

From Evolution to The Odyssey: the week in rave reviews

Chris Packham takes us back to the beginning in awe-inspiring fashion, while Christopher Nolan heads for Homer with a grand adaptation. Here’s the pick of the week’s culture, taken from the Guardian’s best-rated reviews

Indian activist linked to Cockroach party moved to hospital after 20-day hunger strike

Sonam Wangchuk has been fasting to demand the resignation of India’s education minister because of alleged irregularities in medical exams

Delhi police forcibly moved activist Sonam Wangchuk to a hospital on Saturday because of health concerns after 20 days of his hunger strike to protest against India’s examination system.

Wangchuk, 59, has been fasting since 28 June to demand the resignation of India’s education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, over alleged irregularities in examinations to study medicine.

‘We are preserving a tradition’: how Ghana’s sensationalist film posters became collectible art

Hand-painted works are often wildly unfaithful to the movies they portray – reinterpretations that sometimes resulted in threats, insults and even physical attacks from viewers who felt duped

Sitting on his porch in Teshie near Accra, Heavy J dipped a brush into red oil paint and dabbed it carefully on to his canvas – a flour sack – adding blood to a knife being wielded by a man. Higher on the canvas, he had started on an outline of a skull.

Heavy J was creating a poster, but not as you might have expected for a horror film. Instead, it was for the animated fairytale The Little Mermaid. The man with the knife wasn’t a killer but the film’s kind-hearted prince, Eric. The skull was also unrelated to the story. “We add more to make people interested,” said Heavy J, whose real name is Jeaurs Affutu.

The hill I will die on: Parisian waiters are not rude – they’re just badly misunderstood | Helen Massy-Beresford

After living here for years, I can see through that old stereotype. My tip: if your server is not full of bonhomie, why not try saying ‘bonjour’?

Parisian waiters are professionals, providing an excellent service – they are not rude or unfriendly, just sometimes slightly misunderstood. No, really, hear me out. We’re all familiar with the trope of the rude Parisian waiter, looking down their nose at your inferior wine choice. They have been called “brusque and unwelcoming”, “snooty and rude” by travellers who voted Paris the unfriendliest city in the world. But after living here for many years, I’m struggling to think of an experience that really lives up to the stereotype. Harried and busy, sometimes, yes. But rude? No.

So why do Parisian waiters (and let’s face it, Parisians) have a such a bad reputation? Partly, it’s about misunderstandings. Good manners and greetings between strangers in France are quite formal and can (and did, to this Brit, arriving in 2007) seem a little frosty. There are golden rules that many visitors unwittingly break and the big one is “bonjour”. Or rather, a lack of “bonjour”. Going into a shop or a restaurant in Paris (or anywhere in France) and not greeting the staff is incredibly rude. That means many waiters or shop staff in touristy areas are actually, by French rules, being snubbed thousands of times a day. No wonder some of them feel a little grumpy.

Helen Massy-Beresford is a British journalist and editor who lives in Paris

DOJ says it's no longer illegal to download TikTok on federal devices

The Justice Department determined this week a federal law banning TikTok from government devices no longer applies to the social video app.

Trump threatens Canada with higher tariffs over wildfire smoke

President Trump threatened more tariffs on Canada for wildfires that have blanketed large parts of the Midwest and East Coast in smoke in recent days.

Cyclosporiasis outbreak traced to lettuce from Mexico used by Taco Bell

A lettuce supplier to fast-food giant Taco Bell has been linked to a nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened thousands of people, the CDC said.

Taylor Farms pulls iceberg lettuce linked to cyclosporiasis outbreak

Taylor Farms said none of its branded salads or kits contain the iceberg lettuce associated with the outbreak.

Fact checking Trump's new claims of election interference

In a primetime address on Thursday evening, President Trump accused China of interfering in U.S. elections as he questioned the integrity of the country's voting system. CBS News' Jake Rosen fact-checks his claims.

7-foot-3 former pro basketball player sworn in as Texas police officer

At 7-foot-3, Jordan Wilmore was told his entire life that he was destined for a career in basketball. But that was never his dream. Steve Hartman has the story.

Jimothy, an unusual raccoon with a possible spinal condition, embraced by a Seattle community

Jimothy the raccoon has a condition known as short-spine syndrome, but he has been embraced by a Seattle community and the internet alike.

Trump revisits disputed claims about elections but offers no new proof of fraud

In a primetime address, President Trump alleged the U.S. election system falls "catastrophically short," revisiting a topic that has drawn his attention for years — and making claims that election experts have heavily disputed.

House panel probing Epstein asked Leon Black about birthday book, their friendship

Billionaire Leon Black, who paid Epstein $158 million for tax advice, was subpoenaed for a second interview with the House Oversight Committee in September.

ICE shared Medicaid data it wasn't supposed to have with Palantir

The revelations came out in a federal court case brought by Democratic states challenging ICE's access to Medicaid data to aid in deportation efforts.

DHS Secretary Mullin doubles down on Trump's claims of election tampering

President Trump had harsh words for China in his speech on Thursday night. After calling President Xi Jinping a friend at a summit in May, he accused the communist country of "sinister election meddling." Ed O'Keefe has more details.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires blankets major U.S. cities for third straight day

Millions of Americans across major cities continued to face dangerous air conditions on Friday as smoke from Canadian wildfires lingered. Tom Hanson reports.

Leather jacket worn by Nvidia CEO goes for just under $1 million at Sotheby's auction

The high price for the garment is a sign that collectors are looking to bid on artifacts and collectibles from the artificial intelligence boom.

‘A revolutionary act to watch it’: the film India’s censors do not want you to see

Director Honey Trehan decries ‘dystopian’ opposition to his film depicting crackdown on Punjab’s separatist movement

For as long as he has been a film-maker, there is one story Honey Trehan has wanted to tell above all.

Growing up in the Indian state of Punjab, Trehan saw firsthand the devastation wrought by police who carried out tens of thousands of killings and illegal cremations in the 1990s, as they cracked down on a separatist insurgency. To those in Punjab, the period remains one of the darkest in India’s modern history. Jaswant Singh Khalra, the activist who exposed the crimes and was murdered in the process, is a national hero.

Ex-wife says ICE agent who killed man in Maine had racist beliefs, violent tendencies

Ashley Brouillette has identified her ex-husband, David Brouillette, as the officer who fatally shot Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday. She said she learned he was the officer responsible when he called her on Wednesday.

7/17: CBS Evening News

Wildfire smoke overtakes the U.S.; catastrophic flooding kills at least two people in Texas.

Off-duty employee at Colorado ICE facility arrested for shooting protester

Woman has non-life threatening injuries after Brandon Booth shot her with pistol outside ICE facility and drove off

An employee of a company that runs an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Colorado is under arrest after shooting and injuring a woman on Thursday evening. The incident happened after the woman participated in a protest in front of the facility earlier that day, according to the Aurora police department.

When officers arrived on the scene, they said they found the woman with a gunshot wound in her lower body. She had a friend with her, who was unharmed.

7/17: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Trump claims catastrophic election vulnerabilities without proof; Washington Post identifies installation failures as cause of Reflecting Pool damage.

Spain could make World Cup history: The first to win men's and women's trophies back-to-back

The Spanish Men's National Team will face Argentina in Sunday's World Cup final. The country's women's team lifted its first World Cup trophy in 2023.

Epstein victims blast Trump attorney general nominee Todd Blanche after meeting

"Todd Blanche treated the meeting as a mere 'check-the-box' exercise intended to secure votes for his confirmation," said Epstein survivor Dani Bensky.

Economic outlook is worsening and Trump is getting blamed, CNBC survey finds

The public is as depressed about the economy as it has been since the years just after the pandemic, according to the All-America Economic Survey.

FAA lets Boeing sign off on 737 Max, 787 airworthiness certificates again

The move is a vote of confidence in Boeing from the U.S. government.