Senate deal to end government shutdown waits for 1 GOP senator to show up

The U.S. government shutdown has dragged on for weeks because of the refusal by Democrats in the Senate to approve a bill that does not extend ACA tax credits.

Transportation Sec. Duffy warns air travel will be 'reduced to a trickle,' with flight cancellations worsening as the shutdown drags on

Airlines will have to slash hundreds of more flights if shutdown continues into next week.

US Senate vote marks step towards ending federal shutdown

Senators vote on advancing House-passed stopgap funding bill, suggesting end to historic 40-day shutdown in reach

The US Senate on Sunday took a key vote on a bill that would end the record-setting federal government shutdown without extending the healthcare subsidies that Democrats have demanded.

Senators began voting on Sunday night to advance House-passed stopgap funding legislation that Senate majority leader John Thune said would be amended to combine another short-term spending measure with a package of three full-year appropriations bills.

Senate votes on key funding bill as more Democrats back deal

A deal was reached among Democrats in the Senate ahead of the vote, a source familiar with the deal told CBS News.

Trump is first sitting president to attend regular season NFL game since '78

Some fans booed as Mr. Trump read an oath for members of the military to recite as part of an on-field enlistment ceremony during the break in the game.

Ukraine war briefing: Lavrov reappears, ready to offer Marco Rubio same demands

Ukraine answers Russia’s strikes on energy grid; Zelenskyy tells the Guardian that King Charles eased Trump tensions. What we know on day 1,356

State legislators maneuver to preserve history of U.S. Capitol riot

While GOP lawmakers and the Trump administration have downplayed the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, there are state efforts underway to ensure it's recorded for history.

Who is ‘fedora man’? Dapper French teenager in viral Louvre heist photo unmasked

Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux was captured looking suave in a picture outside the Paris museum on the day of a crown jewels heist

When 15-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux realised an Associated Press photo of him at the Louvre on the day of the crown jewels heist had drawn millions of views, his first instinct was not to rush online and unmask himself.

Quite the opposite. A fan of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot who lives with his parents and grandfather in Rambouillet, 30km (19 miles) from Paris, Pedro decided to let the mystery linger.

Flight delays mounting across U.S. airports as longest government shutdown continues

The effects of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history are intensifying, with flight disruptions and delays across the country. Shanelle Kaul is at Newark International Airport with the details.

11/9: Face the Nation

New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill and Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger join to discuss the past week's state and local elections.

Maggots in the meals, glass in the rice: Indonesia’s free school meals tainted by food poisoning

Thousands of cases of food poisoning have been linked to programme launched with fanfare by the president, Prabowo Subianto

Rini Irawati feared the worst when she found her teenage daughter Nabila pale and barely breathing in an emergency centre in Indonesia’s West Java. “My heart was shattered,” Rini said.

After consuming one of the government’s free school meals this October, 16-year-old Nabila and 500 other students at schools in her area became violently ill. “I’ve seen nothing like it, even during Covid-19,” said Aep Kunaepi, who works at the shelter Nabila was taken to before she was admitted to hospital for three days.

Girl, 17, joins lawsuit against government after seeing horrific phone videos at school

Flossie McShea from Devon says she saw a shooting, a beheading and porn and that other students ‘show you their screen without invitation’

A 17-year-old girl who says she was exposed to horrific images and videos including porn, a shooting and a beheading on a smartphones during the school day has joined a legal action against the education secretary.

Flossie McShea, from Devon, says she also received threatening messages while at school, as she put her name to a judicial review in an attempt to get smartphones banned in schools in England.

Growth in global demand for ‘green’ office buildings slows amid Trump policies

Fall reported by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors as UN calls for accelerated action in buildings sector to meet global climate goals

The growth in global demand for “green” office buildings has slowed after Donald Trump’s assault on environmental protection policies caused a slump in interest in the US, according to a survey of construction industry professionals.

Building occupiers and investors across North America and South America expressed significantly lower growth in demand for green commercial buildings, a shift that “seems to be in response to a change in US policy focus”, according to a survey of members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). Reported demand across the rest of the world also fell, albeit not as sharply.

With visa renewals for religious workers backlogged, a Texas pastor is self deporting

Thousands of foreign-born faith leaders across the U.S. are finding it difficult to stay with their congregations as visa renewals for religious workers have been backlogged for years. Omar Villafranca reports from Gordon, Texas.

Meet Atlanta's urban cowboy

A Georgia man is living his dream in a saddle. CBS Atlanta's Brian Unger reports on a real-life urban cowboy.

Consumer confidence in U.S. economy is near record-lows, survey shows

A recent survey shows consumer confidence in the economy is near record-low amid the ongoing government shutdown. Andres Gutierrez is in Burbank, California, with the details.

Trump admin. orders states to "undo" SNAP payments ahead of Senate vote to fund government

The U.S. Senate is voting on a bill to fund and reopen the government. Earlier Sunday, the Trump administration ordered states to "undo" SNAP benefits payments amid the funding halt. Willie James Inman is at the White House with latest.

Arctic blast threatens millions across Great Lakes region, South with possible record-cold

Freeze alerts and warnings are in effect for more than 70 million Americans. Near blizzard conditions are forecast in Chicago. CBS News meteorologist Andrew Kozak is watching arctic air pouring into the Midwest, to the East and to the South.

MLB pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz charged with taking bribes to rig pitches

Two Major League Baseball pitchers have been indicted on charges they took bribes to give bettors advance notice of the types of pitches they'd throw and intentionally tossed balls instead of strikes.

The Mushroom Tapes review – Erin Patterson through the eyes of Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein

This account of what the three authors observed during Patterson’s triple murder trial does resemble a podcast transcript at times, but it is extremely readable

Every reader of The Mushroom Tapes will open the book knowing that Erin Patterson was found guilty in July of murdering three people – her in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson – and of the attempted murder of Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson. They will also know she was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years, and is now appealing against her conviction. Who among us hasn’t been roped into speculation about this family tragedy, the carcass of which has been picked over by pundits, amateurs and experts for years now?

Over 10 long weeks, the baroque details of the trial of Erin Patterson were made immediately available to a ravenous public – including sightings of Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein, three of Australia’s most celebrated nonfiction writers, in the public seats of courtroom four in Morwell, Victoria. Were there several works of Australian literary nonfiction about Erin Patterson in the offing? A week after the guilty verdict was handed down, Text Publishing announced that the trio would collaborate on a book: The Mushroom Tapes.

Climate disasters displaced 250 million people in past 10 years, UN report finds

Floods, storms and droughts have uprooted people across the globe as rising temperatures intensify conflict and hunger

Climate-related disasters forcibly displaced 250 million people globally over the past decade, the equivalent of 70,000 people every day, according to a report by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

Floods, storms, drought and extreme heat are among the weather conditions driving conflict and displacement, alongside slow-onset disasters such as desertification, rising sea levels and ecosystem destruction, which are threatening food and water security.

Slim pickings: what explains the unusual apple shortage in this Blue Mountains orchard?

Growers are reporting a difficult apple season, which is having a knock-on effect for local tourism

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

At this time of year, Pine Crest Orchard in the Blue Mountains town of Bilpin would usually have about 1,000 visitors a day picking their own fruit from trees laden with apples.

But this season, the trees are mostly bare – and no one really knows why.

European football: Inter beat Lazio and leapfrog Roma to go top of Serie A

• Martínez and Bonny score in 2-0 home victory

• Real Madrid held to goalless draw by Rayo Vallecano

Inter moved to the top of Serie A with a 2-0 home win against Lazio on Sunday, sealed by goals from Lautaro Martínez early in the first half and Ange-Yoan Bonny after the interval. The result lifted Inter to the summit, level on 24 points with second-placed Roma. Behind them are Milan and Napoli both with 22 points, while Bologna are fifth with 21.

It took three minutes for Martínez to give Inter the lead: receiving the ball inside the box, the captain angled it with the outside of his foot into the far corner. Inter doubled their lead and sent the home crowd into a frenzy in the 62nd minute. Federico Dimarco’s low ball across the face of goal found Bonny free at the back post, leaving him with a simple tap-in.

Some UPS and FedEx planes are grounded. What does that mean for holiday shipping?

UPS and FedEx's fleets of MD-11 planes are grounded, which can each carry thousands of packages. Logistics experts say some cargo could shift to passenger planes, trains and trucks.

Trespasses review – an intoxicating, rousing and heartbreaking love story

This adaptation of Louise Kennedy’s masterly novel, set in 70s Belfast, sees a Catholic teacher drawn into a dangerous affair with a Protestant barrister. It really hits a nerve

We could be happy together, if only we weren’t here and it wasn’t now: the tragedy of sweethearts caught up in conflict, their love overcome by others’ hate, is an old and powerful story. Trespasses, an adaptation of Louise Kennedy’s novel, written by Ailbhe Keogan, hits that nerve.

A small town outside Belfast, 1975: rancour, suspicion and grief shadow every moment in the thwarted life of Cushla (Lola Petticrew), a Catholic primary-school teacher in her mid-20s who is giving up her spare time to work shifts in her brother’s pub. The priests at the school are hollering bigots, telling the children that every Protestant is an evil enemy, despite one of the kids being the son of a Catholic father and Protestant mother. Cushla takes an interest in the boy, who tends to arrive at school without a coat, and his elder brother, who shows signs of secretly sharing Cushla’s love of reading. She gives them lifts back to their house on a flag-strewn Protestant estate, at the risk of her car being pelted with bricks, and redoubles her support for the family when the dad has his legs and skull broken by vengeful neighbours.

NFL roundup: Dolphins shock Bills as Texans stage record comeback against Jags

• Miami end seven-game losing streak against Buffalo

• Houston score 26 points in final quarter to secure win

Tua Tagovailoa threw for 173 yards and two touchdowns, De’Von Achane added a pair of rushing scores and the Miami Dolphins beat the Buffalo Bills to end a seven-game losing streak against their AFC East rivals. The Bills (6-3) had not lost to Miami (3-7) since Week 3 of the 2022 season but came out flat on Sunday.

Achane finished with 225 scrimmage yards and fourth-quarter touchdowns of 59 and 35 yards. Tagovailoa completed 15 of 21 passes with two interceptions to give him a league-leading 12 picks this season. It was also the most dominant performance of the season for Miami’s defense, which had three takeaways and three sacks. Josh Allen threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns, with an interception and fumble, but was replaced by Mitchell Trubisky after Achane’s second TD put the Dolphins up by 17 with three minutes left.

More than 2,000 flights canceled on Sunday as Duffy warns of further reduction

The FAA ordered airlines to cut thousands of flights ahead of this weekend as the agency deals with air traffic controller shortages during the government shutdown.

Moore says "we're not going to sit on our hands" on redistricting

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, announced last week the creation of a commission to look at mid-decade redistricting.

Cleveland Guardians pitchers indicted for scheme to rig bets on pitches thrown

According to the indictment, Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz took bribes as part of a scheme to rig bets on pitches thrown during MLB games.

Guardiola thanks Doku and Manchester City for ‘present’ of Liverpool victory

• Guardiola brings up 1,000 games as a manager

• Arne Slot unhappy with Van Dijk’s disallowed goal

Pep Guardiola praised Jérémy Doku and thanked Manchester City for giving him the “incredible present” of a 3-0 victory against Liverpool, in his 1,000th match as a manager.

First-half goals from Erling Haaland and Nico González and an outstanding 20-yard individual Doku effort after the break took City to within four points of the Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Dave Portnoy says there's been a "definitive shift" toward antisemitism

In a "CBS Sunday Morning" interview with Tony Dokoupil to air Nov. 16, the president of Barstool Sports talks about an increase in anti-Jewish expression: "This is not normal."

The BBC is facing a coordinated, politically motivated attack. With these resignations, it has given in | Jane Martinson

The corporation should have stood up to the Telegraph, Trump and the Tories. Now, its enemies know how little it takes for it to fold

The resignation of the BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, over accusations of bias comes as a shock and leaves a gulf at the top of the corporation when it needs leadership most. Davie stressed that the decision was his alone – neither the board, nor even many of those who led the coordinated attack among rightwing press and politicians expected it.

Now the resignations of both Davie and the CEO of BBC News, Deborah Turness, have shown that baying for blood gets results.

Jane Martinson is professor of financial journalism at City St George’s and a member of the board of the Scott Trust, which owns the Guardian Media Group. She writes in a personal capacity

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.

11/8: Saturday Morning

Flight cuts make travel delays worse amid the shutdown; we explore embryo testing that predicts height and IQ.

Dave Portnoy says there's been a "definitive shift" toward antisemitism

In an interview airing on "CBS Sunday Morning" Nov. 16, Barstool Sports president Dave Portnoy says that he's experiencing daily antisemitism. "People are coming up with real hate," he tells Tony Dokoupil.

Tim Davie resigns as BBC director general after accusations of ‘serious and systemic’ bias in coverage

Davie says departure is ‘my own decision’, while head of news also quits. Insiders say it ‘feels like a coup’ by broadcaster’s enemies

• BBC bias row: how a week of hostile headlines from rightwing media led to resignations

Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, and the head of BBC News have resigned after a former adviser to the corporation accused it of “serious and systemic” bias in its coverage of issues including Donald Trump, Gaza and trans rights.

In an announcement that caused shock within the corporation, Davie said his departure was “entirely my decision” and it comes as the BBC prepares to apologise for the way it edited a Trump speech.

Full transcript of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Nov. 9, 2025

On this "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" broadcast, Virginia Gov.-elect Virginia Spanberger and New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill join Margaret Brennan.

US sports betting crisis grows as MLB’s Clase and Ortiz indicted over alleged rigged pitches

• Pair could face 65 years in prison if found guilty

• NBA also caught up in its own gambling scandal

The betting crisis in US sports has spread further after Cleveland Guardians players Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted over an alleged scheme to rig pitches during games.

Bettors on baseball can gamble on whether individual pitches will be balls or strikes. Prosecutors allege claim that Ortiz was paid $5,000 for throwing an intentional ball during a game on 15 June. His teammate Clase, a three-time All-Star, is alleged to have been given $5,000 for facilitating the rigged pitch, alongside gamblers in the players’ home country of the Dominican Republic. Prosecutors claim the pair did so again in a game on 27 June, receiving $7,000 each.

Norris boosts title bid with F1 São Paulo GP win as Verstappen charges to third

• McLaren driver opens 24-point lead over Oscar Piastri

• Kimi Antonelli second, Verstappen powers through field

Max Verstappen had declared disconsolately that his world championship hopes should be forgotten as he went into the São Paulo Grand Prix. Yet after another masterclass in Brazil he defied the odds in taking third from a 19th-place start in the pit lane. It was an extraordinary drive, even as Lando Norris delivered a perfect weekend with a win at Interlagos and in so doing staked a claim to having one hand on the title.

Norris’s victory was without doubt that of a champion in waiting as he managed a tense and high‑pressure victory from pole position to extend his world championship lead over his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, who finished fifth. Norris gave a performance of precision and control exactly when it was required to put real daylight on his two title rivals.

More than 1 million evacuated in the Philippines as Typhoon Fung-wong makes landfall

At least two people found dead as super-typhoon hits Philippines, days after Typhoon Kalmaegi killed at least 224

More than 1 million people have been evacuated from their homes in the Philippines and at least two people have been killed as Typhoon Fung-wong – the second big storm to hit in days – made landfall on the east coast.

The super-typhoon crossed over the north of the archipelago’s most populous island, Luzon, with torrential rain, sustained winds of 115mph (185km/h) and gusts of up to 140mph (225km/h).

Paul Tagliabue, NFL commissioner for 17 years, dies at 84

Paul Tagliabue, who helped bring labor peace and riches to the NFL during his 17 years as commissioner but was criticized for not taking stronger action on concussions, died on Sunday at 84 years old.

Paul Tagliabue, NFL commissioner for 17 years, dies at 84

During his tenure from 1989 to 2006, Paul Tagliabue oversaw the expansion of the NFL to 32 teams.

Kingdom review – David Attenborough never fails to make nature awe-inspiring

Attenborough’s latest extravaganza is packed with such high drama it’s like Game of Thrones … if Cersei was a hyena. If only it hadn’t been bumped down the schedules because of Strictly

As I watch a leopard hunt in Kingdom, the BBC’s latest David Attenborough-narrated documentary, I find myself thinking about a YouGov survey from a few years ago that found that half of Britons wouldn’t take a free trip to the moon, with 11% turning it down because “there isn’t enough to see and do”. As well as it providing a fantastic insight into the great British public’s psyche (would outer space be better if it had Alton Towers?), I can’t help but wonder if it also explains the pressure that TV commissioners feel under to find new ways to interest the pesky human race in sights that would previously have been greeted with wonder.

Back in 2017, Blue Planet II was the most-watched programme of the year, with 14.1 million viewers tuning in to see dolphins surf on prime time. Today, the six-part Kingdom has been bumped to the teatime slot, and finding out which Strictly celeb’s rumba has been voted the most mediocre is deemed more important to the schedule.

Veterans' Day commemorated as active-duty military could go without pay amid shutdown

Monday marks the Marines' 250th birthday and Veterans' Day is Tuesday -- both coming in a week where active-duty military are set to go without pay amid the government shutdown.

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey says National Guard has been activated to food banks

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, whose state has more than 270,000 people using SNAP benefits, said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that his administration is "working by activating the Guard and putting resources at the food banks." "Our people are hurting right now, and I'm doing everything I can to solve the problems while Washington bickers," Morrisey said.

Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill says New Jerseyans want to see an "agenda to get their costs down"

New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that her state's residents elected her because they want "to see an agenda to get their costs down, and something that was going to take place quickly. As I said, you know, I'm not writing a strongly-worded letter. I'm not doing a 10-year plan."

BBC director resigns after criticism of the broadcaster's editing of a Trump speech

The BBC said that director-general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness have resigned after criticism of the broadcaster's editing of a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy: why should I be afraid of Donald Trump?

Exclusive: Ukraine’s leader dismisses reports his last Washington meeting was volatile, and praises King Charles for helping build ties with US president

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is not “afraid” of Donald Trump unlike other western leaders and dismissed reports that their last meeting in Washington was volatile, adding that he had good relations with the US president.

He also said in an exclusive interview with the Guardian that King Charles had helped build relations with Trump and described the British monarch as “very supportive” of Ukraine.

Trump administration demands that states 'undo' full SNAP benefit payments

The Trump administration has resisted continuing the SNAP program, which provides food stamps to 42 million Americans, during the government shutdown.

WSL roundup: Manchester City go top, Liverpool and West Ham stay winless

• City overtake Chelsea with a 2-1 win against Everton

• West Ham fail to beat Leicester to keep them bottom

For a while the mood was buoyant in Dagenham as West Ham fans felt their early season woes were finally lifting. Leading Leicester with four minutes to play, news filtered through that Liverpool had conceded a 93rd-minute equaliser to share the points with Brighton in a 1-1 draw. It meant that three points would lift the Hammers off the bottom of the Women’s Super League for the first time this season.

Rehanne Skinner’s and Gareth Taylor’s teams have been in lockstep and they somehow contrived to mirror each other once again. As their relegation rivals had done minutes earlier, the Hammers’ conceded in the 97th minute to burst their supporters’ bubble and drop two points in a 1-1 draw, ensuring the parity between the two continued.

The Guardian view on the assault of Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum: when a president is groped, no woman can feel safe | Editorial

A shocking incident should become an opportunity to address broader problems of misogyny

What does the experience of women at the top tell us about the rest? Those most vulnerable to sexual harassment, assault and abuse are, unsurprisingly, those who have less power or are treated with less respect: undocumented migrants; women in precarious employment; women with disabilities; LGBTQ women; young women and girls.

Paradoxically, that helps to explain why the assault of Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, has drawn such outrage domestically and internationally. A drunken man tried to kiss her neck and grabbed her chest as she spoke to citizens in the capital’s streets. It is the proof, captured on camera, that no woman is safe. You can be the most powerful person in the land and a man will still feel entitled to grope you, in front of the world, because you are a woman. When you object, some will complain that you are taking it too seriously, or that it is all made up. As Ms Sheinbaum herself remarked: “If they do this to the president, then what will happen to all the young women in our country?”

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.

Trump admin order to 'immediately undo' full SNAP benefits leaves states scrambling

The Trump administration late Saturday directed states that they must "immediately undo" any actions they have made to provide full benefits to low-income families via SNAP.

The Guardian view on Scottish land reform: vast estates remain feudal in scale | Editorial

Half of the country’s privately owned countryside is held by just 421 owners. New legislation suggests democrats still fear powerful interests

No other European country has such a narrow base of proprietorship as Scotland. Half of all privately owned rural land is held by 421 people or entities. The roots of such disparities lie in the past. The 18th- and 19th-century Highland clearances emptied the glens and readied them for private takeover. On the continent, and eventually in England, the great estates were broken up by inheritance and land taxes. By comparison, Scotland is still feudal in scale.

The passing of a land reform bill, its supporters say, will change that. But doubts remain. Its proponents say the legislation could allow the Scottish government to intervene in private land sales and require large estates to be broken up. At its heart is the so-called transfer test. This would see Scottish ministers notified before any land sale over 1,000 hectares. However, they lack an explicit veto. If they wanted a more democratic constraint, they could have adopted the Scottish Land Commission’s 2019 proposal for a public interest test – forcing big buyers to openly justify their purchases.

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.

Rebecca Hendin on King Charles leading the UK’s Remembrance Sunday service – cartoon

Continue reading...

Can Donald Trump really make an NFL team name its stadium after him?

The president reportedly wants the new home of the Washington Commanders to bear his name. There are reasons to think he will succeed

That’s if a well-sourced report from ESPN is to be believed. The US president has apparently let it be known to the ownership group of the Washington Commanders that he wants the team’s new stadium, which is scheduled to open in 2030, to take his name. “It’s what the president wants, and it will probably happen,” a senior White House official told ESPN.

Russian activist held in Poland admits he worked as FSB agent, court papers say

Igor Rogov, who left Russia in 2021, due to go on trial accused of informing on other Russian opposition activists

A Russian opposition activist arrested in Poland and due to go on trial next month has admitted he worked as an undercover agent for Russia’s FSB security service and informed on other opposition figures, court documents claim.

Igor Rogov, 30, has been associated with various opposition movements in the Russian city of Saransk, including Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation and Open Russia, linked to the exiled businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Late Thiago double earns comeback win for Brentford against 10-man Newcastle

Something is seriously wrong with Newcastle on the road. It is all well and good raising their game for the biggest Champions League fixtures at St James’ Park, but if they continue to play as meekly as they did against Brentford – just as in defeat at West Ham a week earlier and on a concerning number of previous occasions over recent months – those European nights will rapidly become a thing of the past.

Two points above the relegation zone is no place for a club of their ambition. “It’s the wrong end of the table for us, but it’s the reality,” Eddie Howe said. That they ended this match with a numerical disadvantage after Dan Burn’s sending off was of little relevance to a defeat that they fully deserved. Harvey Barnes’s goal aside, they were utterly impotent, offering only his solitary shot on target all match.

Carlos Alcaraz up and running at ATP Finals with win over Alex de Minaur

• Top seed beats Australian 7-6 (5), 6-2

• Alcaraz has never won ATP Finals

Carlos Alcaraz opened the ATP’s season-ending championships, and the battle for the year-end No 1 ranking, in ideal fashion as he confidently navigated a turbulent opening set before easing to a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win against the seventh seed, Alex de Minaur, in Turin.

Alcaraz, the top seed, is attempting to win the ATP Finals for the first time and hold off Jannik Sinner to finish the season as the top-ranked player. Despite ceding significant ground to the Italian in recent weeks by losing to Cameron Norrie in his opening match at the Paris Masters, which Sinner won, Alcaraz still holds a clear advantage this week since the Italian is defending his title from last year. The Spaniard must win all three of his round-robin group stage matches or reach the final in order to secure the top ranking.

Buendía sets up Aston Villa rout as Martínez saves frustrate Bournemouth

After Emiliano Martínez’s mistake allowed Mohamed Salah to open the scoring for Liverpool at Anfield last weekend, there was a statistic doing the rounds that only three players had made more errors leading to Premier League goals than the seven made by the Argentinian since he signed for Aston Villa five years ago. The life of a goalkeeper and all that.

But Martínez tends to thrive when in the line of fire and here he pulled off two brilliant saves, including one to deny Antoine Semenyo from the penalty spot. At that point Bournemouth were pushing to make a comfortable afternoon a little more awkward, before the substitutes Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen added their names to the scoresheet in a 4-0 victory that lifts Villa above Bournemouth in the table. For Andoni Iraola’s side, their first notable off-day of an otherwise fine start. Villa began with five winless games but have now won five of their past six league matches.

Tom Gauld on writing a masterpiece – cartoon

Continue reading...

The nut secret: 14 easy, delicious ways to eat more of these life-changing superfoods

A handful of nuts a day can help manage obesity and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some kinds of cancer. Yet most of us don’t get enough. Here’s a no-fuss guide to getting your 30g a day

How often do you eat nuts? The planetary health diet, introduced in 2019 and updated last month, recommends that everyone eat a portion every day (unless you have an allergy). Alongside eating more fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes, and fewer animal products and sugary foods, this could help prevent 40,000 early deaths a day across the world, as well as slash food-related greenhouse gas emissions.

Yet according to Prof Sarah Berry, the chief scientist at Zoe, many don’t eat any nuts at all. In the UK, the average consumption is 6g a day. Romanian researchers found higher levels of nut consumption in Canada, some African countries and some regions of Europe and the Middle East, and lower levels in South America. But overall, they said: “Consumers may not have a comprehensive understanding of the multiple benefits that nuts might bring.”

‘Existential and urgent’: what impact will ICJ climate ruling have on Cop30?

Decision by international court of justice hailed as a gamechanger for climate justice and accountability

In July 2025, the international court of justice delivered a landmark decision that clarified that all states were bound under international law to tackle the human-made climate crisis, which the judges unanimously concluded posed an “urgent and existential threat” to the planet’s life-sustaining systems and therefore humanity itself.

The ICJ advisory opinion built on rulings from hundreds of climate lawsuits across the world over the past decade or more, and added further legal weight to strong decisions from the inter-American court of human rights in July 2025 and the international tribunal on the law of the sea in May 2024.

Bad Bridgets podcast about crime among Irish women in US inspires film

Margot Robbie’s company to make movie based on Northern Ireland academics’ stories of poverty and prison

It started as a trawl of dusty archives for an academic project about female Irish emigrants in Canada and the US by two history professors, a worthy but perhaps niche topic for research.

The subjects, after all, were human flotsam from Ireland’s diaspora whose existence was often barely recorded, let alone remembered.

I’m as capitalist as they get but Medicare for all is the best hope for US healthcare | Gene Marks

With the US government shut down over impending rises to insurance premiums, it’s clear the status quo cannot continue

Deductibles. In-network. Out-of-network. Concierge medical services. Out-of-pocket expenses. Co-payment. Co-insurance. Benefit advisers. Insurance brokers. Healthcare consultants. ACA. HMO. PPO. EPO. POS. HDHP. HSA. FSA. HRA. EOB. COBRA. SHOP. Single coverage. Dependent coverage. Premium tax credits.

Confused? You should be. Who understands all this stuff? Not the typical business owner. Nor the typical employee. Choosing the right healthcare insurance for our business – or for our families – seems like it requires a PhD in healthcare.

Israel receives remains of hostage that Hamas says is IDF soldier killed in 2014

Hadar Goldin was killed on Aug. 1, 2014, two hours after a ceasefire took effect ending that year's war between Israel and Hamas.

Remembrance Sunday and a Pride parade: photos of the weekend

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

The kindness of strangers: a man I’d just met helped me land the job that changed my life

Because he’d gone to the trouble of setting it up, I went to the interview – even though I didn’t have a visa

• Read more in the kindness of strangers series

In the late 1980s, I was setting off on a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. They were interested in doing a master’s degree in New York, so we’d booked a two-week stay in the Big Apple on the way to London.

We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House which had been set up by Rockefeller to house postgraduate students. We dropped our bags and went straight to the canteen, where we grabbed food, took a seat and started talking to other diners.

If you’re feeling anxious, take a moment to pause before pouring that glass of wine | Diane Young

Anxiety can disrupt relationships, affect sleep and lead to harmful coping behaviours. Early awareness is crucial

• The modern mind is a column where experts discuss mental health issues they are seeing in their work

When Mia*, 35, walks into my office, she looks composed and ready to start her day fresh with a counselling session. But having seen Mia for almost half a year now, I know she masks the truth behind her polished facade, and I notice the subtle tension in her shoulders that gives it away.

Mia tells me that the night before, she had poured herself “just one glass of wine” to unwind after a long day. One glass became two, then three. It’s a pattern she has grown used to; a quiet ritual that helps her “switch off” from the racing thoughts that flood her mind when the day finally slows down.

What we lose when we surrender care to algorithms | Eric Reinhart

A dangerous faith in AI is sweeping American healthcare – with consequences for the basis of society itself

The computer interrupted while Pamela was still speaking. I had accompanied her – my dear friend – to a recent doctor’s appointment. She is in her 70s, lives alone while navigating multiple chronic health issues, and has been getting short of breath climbing the front stairs to her apartment. In the exam room, she spoke slowly and self-consciously, the way people often do when they are trying to describe their bodies and anxieties to strangers. Midway through her description of how she had been feeling, the doctor clicked his mouse and a block of text began to bloom across the computer monitor.

The clinic had adopted an artificial-intelligence scribe, and it was transcribing and summarizing the conversation in real time. It was also highlighting keywords, suggesting diagnostic possibilities and providing billing codes. The doctor, apparently satisfied that his computer had captured an adequate description of Pamela’s chief complaint and symptoms, turned away from us and began reviewing the text on the screen as Pamela kept speaking.

US states must stop the power shutoffs during the shutdown | Edward J Markey and Mark Wolfe

Americans are choosing between heating their homes and putting food on the table. Officials and utilities can prevent this

As the stalemate over government funding and healthcare benefits continues, winter is approaching – but federal heating assistance, blocked by the shutdown, isn’t arriving in time. Millions of American families are about to face an impossible choice: heating their homes or putting food on the table. As the senator for a state known for its volatile winters and as executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, we call on states and utilities to choose a different outcome for those families and shut off the shutoffs. A nationwide freeze on utilities’ ability to disconnect customers from heat for nonpayment isn’t about politics – it’s about public safety.

The breakdown in federal budget negotiations has frozen the release of funding for many of the essential services families rely on nationwide, including the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (Liheap). Liheap helps struggling households keep their heat and lights on by helping eligible families pay their utility bills. With those dollars locked up in Washington gridlock, America’s seniors and working families are now at risk of losing power – just as temperatures start to plummet.

Edward J Markey represents Massachusetts in the United States Senate and is a long-time advocate for affordable energy, consumer protection, and climate action. Mark Wolfe is an an energy economist and serves as the executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, representing the state directors of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and co-director of the Center on Climate, Energy and Poverty

Can Nigel Farage emulate success enjoyed by Italy’s far-right Giorgia Meloni?

Reform’s leader may hope to tread a similar path to Italy’s prime minister, but she is an experienced parliamentarian open to collaboration and compromise

One of the more striking images from June’s G7 summit showed a small group of world leaders engaged in an impromptu and informal evening chat at the venue’s restaurant. In the foreground of that photo was a familiar blond head: Giorgia Meloni.

During her three years as the Italian prime minister, Meloni has moved beyond her hard-right populism, not to mention her fascism-adjacent origins, to earn at least the respect of other leaders – Keir Starmer among them – for her pragmatism and flexibility. Among those watching this transformation from the sidelines will be the man hoping to be Starmer’s replacement: Nigel Farage.

How to make the perfect beer cheese soup – recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect …

No wait! This richly flavoured cornerstone of the US midwest is a treat on a cold day – here’s how to perfect it

Beer and cheese, two ingredients that don’t immediately scream soup to much of the world, are the cornerstones of one such midwestern speciality, particularly beloved in Wisconsin, with its prominent dairy and brewing industries. Beer soups are also found from Alsace to Russia (and, indeed, Wisconsin has a significant northern European heritage population). The cheese, however, appears to be an inspired American addition (though, seeing as Germany boasts both beer and cheese soups, I’m prepared to stand corrected), playing off the bittersweetness of the beer to produce a richly flavoured dish that’s perfectly suited to harsh midwestern winters. That said, it’s a treat on a cold day wherever you are.

(Note: this is not to be confused with German obatzda, while a thicker version is a popular hot dip in Kentucky, in particular.)

Palestinian man dismissed from Gaza border assistance role to sue EU

Exclusive: Mohammed Baraka’s case alleges discrimination on basis of nationality after EU counterparts were transferred

A Palestinian man who was dismissed from his job in Gaza after the war broke out is suing the European Union for allegedly breaching Belgian law.

Mohammed Baraka, who worked at the EU border assistance mission (EUBam) at Rafah after its inception in 2006 as an unarmed civilian third-party presence, has filed his case in a Belgian court.

Water levels below 3% in dam reservoirs for Iran’s second city, say reports

Storage dwindles in Mashhad, home to 4 million people, as country struggles with drought

Water levels at the dam reservoirs supplying Iran’s north-eastern city of Mashhad have plunged below 3%, according to reports, as the country suffers from severe water shortages.

“The water storage in Mashhad’s dams has now fallen to less than 3%,” Hossein Esmaeilian, the chief executive of the water company in Iran’s second largest city by population, told the ISNA news agency.

A first-time HPV vaccination campaign sees some success -- and strong resistance

The goal: inoculate 90% of girls in parts of Pakistan to immunize them against the infection that causes cervical cancer. "Our biggest challenge was to counter misinformation," says a spokesman.

Fedora man unmasked: Meet the teen behind the Louvre mystery photo

"I didn't want to say immediately it was me," fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux said. "With this photo there is a mystery, so you have to make it last."

Suspect in Calif. family's murder asked online psychic: "Will I get caught?"

The bodies of Dr. Henry Han, his wife Jennie, and their 5-year-old daughter Emily were found in the garage of their Santa Barbara, California, home, wrapped in plastic and duct tape. The prosecutor says they were shot while they slept.

‘Too far? I don’t think we’ve gone far enough!’ The founder of Peta on gruesome stunts and her bloody fight for animal rights

After 45 years as chief fake blood thrower, Ingrid Newkirk is still waging war on everything from leather to cashmere. Is she still relevant?

Ingrid Newkirk was 54 when she thought she was going to die in a plane crash. It was late summer and the founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) was flying from Minneapolis in the US to the company HQ in Norfolk, Virginia when her plane encountered strong wind shear. The pilot attempted an emergency landing, but failed; back up they went.

On the third attempt, with “a teaspoon of fuel” in the tank, he finally got the plane down safely. During those moments, Newkirk, now 76, scribbled a will on a napkin. She has tweaked it over the years, but it still reads like a horror movie prop list: her liver is to be sent to France to be made into foie gras, her skin to Hermès to create a handbag and her lips to whichever US president is in power, to shame them for granting a “patronising” pardon to a turkey each Thanksgiving. As wills go, it’s straight out of the Peta playbook: an audacious stunt of the kind that has made them the world’s most well-known, successful and in some quarters reviled animal rights organisation. “I know I’ll never be made a dame,” Newkirk says, laughing. “I’m too controversial.”

Could urban farming feed the world?

From back gardens to hi-tech hydroponics, the future of food doesn’t have to be rural

In 1982, artist Agnes Denes planted 2.2 acres of wheat on waste ground in New York’s Battery Park, near the recently completed World Trade Center. The towers soared over a golden field, as if dropped into Andrew Wyeth’s bucolic painting Christina’s World. Denes’s Wheatfield: A Confrontation was a challenge to what she called a “powerful paradox”: the absurdity of hunger in a wealthy world.

The global population in 1982 was 4.6 billion. By 2050, it will be more than double that, and the prospect of feeding everyone looks uncertain. Food insecurity already affects 2.3 billion people. Covid-19 and extreme weather have revealed the fragility of the food system. Denes was called a prophet for drawing attention to ecological breakdown decades before widespread public awareness. But perhaps she was prophetic, too, in foreseeing how we would feed ourselves. By 2050, more than two-thirds of us will live in cities. Could urban farming feed 10 billion?

Trump tariffs and strict US border rules threaten flight of Canada’s ‘snowbirds’

Annual migration from frigid Canadian winter to Florida sunshine could become thinner as travellers look elsewhere

The annual migration of hundreds of thousands of Canadian “snowbirds” escaping freezing temperatures in their homeland and heading to warmer US states such as Florida for the duration of the winter could be about to become noticeably thinner.

Many have ditched plans to visit their southern neighbor and are looking to spend their valuable dollars elsewhere, largely put off by Donald Trump’s escalating economic war with Canada and strict new immigration rules that have created fear and confusion.

‘Ambition is a punishing sphere for women’: author Maggie Nelson on why Taylor Swift is the Sylvia Plath of her generation

What do Swift and Plath have in common, and should Kamala Harris have spoken out about her political ambitions? The Argonauts author turns her lens on poetry, pop and patriarchy

Maggie Nelson is an unapologetic Taylor Swift fan. She knows the discography, drops song lyrics into conversation and tells me she took her family to the Vancouver leg of the Eras tour. So she’s a dyed-in-the-wool Swiftie? Nelson seems not entirely comfortable with the breathless connotations of that term but yes, the love is real. So much so, she has written a book about the billionaire singer-songwriter, or rather, a joint analysis of Swift and Sylvia Plath, who recurs in much of Nelson’s oeuvre.

The notion of uniting these two cultural titans, who are seemingly poles apart in sensibility – one a melancholic American poet, the other an all-American poster girl – came to her when she heard Swift’s 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department. Alongside its literary references to F Scott Fitzgerald, Dylan Thomas and Shakespeare, there are heavy resonances of Plath in its introspection and emotional tumult. But the book only started to take shape after a chat with her 13-year-old son’s friend, Alba. “We were making bracelets and she said ‘Have you ever heard of Sylvia Plath?’ I thought that was funny because I’d written my undergraduate thesis on Plath and I was [almost] 40 years older than her. So I said: ‘I have heard of Sylvia Plath.’ As I sat there, I thought, these kids don’t want to hear me talk on this topic but I have a lot to say because I’ve been thinking of it all.”

Three dead and 15 hurt after rough seas pull people into the ocean in Tenerife

Two men and a woman died in separate incidents after sudden sea surges battered the Spanish island

Three people have died and at least 15 were injured in separate incidents linked to rough seas battering the Spanish island of Tenerife pulling several people into the ocean, emergency services said.

A rescue helicopter airlifted a man who had fallen into the water at a beach in La Guancha, a municipality in the north of the island, but he was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

A year on from Trump’s victory, resistance is everywhere | Rebecca Solnit

Americans have shown a tremendous amount and variety of opposition – more than some may realize

A young white woman in yoga clothes berating masked ICE agents in a parking lot this spring. A pope speaking up again and again for immigrants. Furious judges dressing down the Trump administration and ruling against it time after time after time, in response to the blizzard of lawsuits filed by human rights and environmental groups, states, cities and individuals. A senator speaking nonstop for 25 hours and another flying to El Salvador to find out what happened to his kidnapped constituent. The biggest day of protest in US history as an estimated 7 million people showed up for No Kings on 18 October in small towns and red counties as well as big blue cities.

Weekly protests at Tesla salesrooms earlier this year that succeeded in damaging the brand, depressing global sales and prompting Tesla CEO Elon Musk to retreat from his Doge slash-and-burn project. Federal workers resisting sometimes merely by adhering to law, truth and fact, and sometimes by speaking out as whistleblowers or in protests, as with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff who staged a walkout in late August in solidarity with senior staff who’d just resigned in protest against the health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s anti-vaccine policies.

Rebecca Solnit is a Guardian US columnist. She is the author of Orwell’s Roses and co-editor with Thelma Young Lutunatabua of the climate anthology Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility

This is how we do it: ‘The sex is so good I walk around with a ridiculous smile on my face’

Claudine and John both found a new lease of life on dating apps – and now put time aside to do things properly

• How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

With John there’s never any pressure, unlike in my old relationship

How Mamdani is defying immigrant expectations by embracing his identity: ‘His boldness resonates’

New York City mayor-elect refused to ‘be in the shadows’ in the face of Islamophobic attacks during his campaign

Across the country, Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigrants has shaken neighbourhoods, torn apart families and engendered a sense of panic among communities. But in New York, on Tuesday night, Zohran Mamdani, the first Muslim mayor of New York, and an immigrant from Uganda, chose to underline his identity. “New York will remain a city of immigrants: a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant,” he told an ecstatic crowd at Paramount theater in Brooklyn.

The son of a Muslim father and a Hindu mother, he was born in Kampala, raised in New York, and identifies as a democratic socialist. Almost every aspect of Mamdani’s identity had been an issue of contention during the election. Earlier this week, the Center for Study of Organized Hate published a report highlighting the surge in Islamophobic comments online between July and October, most of which labelled Mamdani as an extremist or terrorist.

Many would-be buyers are frozen out of the housing market

Only about one in five homes sold in the last year went to a first-time buyer. And the average person buying their first home was 40 years old — a record high. A new report from the National Association of Realtors shows how challenging it's become for young people to get a foothold in today's costly housing market.

‘Anastacia is a big inspiration for me – raspy, raw and heartfelt’: Ella Eyre’s honest playlist

The singer was inspired by her mum’s love for Basement Jaxx and spent 69p on Jamiroquai, but what does she put on when she’s feeling down?

The first song I fell in love with
The first song that I remember really feeling inspired by was Good Luck by Basement Jaxx. My mum had all their CDs. Good Luck was the first song I sung for my managers before they took me on board, so I still have a big love for it.

The first single I bought
My mum gave me money to go and buy Feels Just Like It Should by Jamiroquai for 69p from HMV in Oxford Circus. It was the first time I’d bought a physical CD.

Does Trump truly care about Nigerian Christians? Of course not – he just knows faith sells | Simon Tisdall

In a bid to exercise absolute power, today’s crop of authoritarian leaders is recruiting – and exploiting – believers

Donald Trump’s crusading threat to invade Nigeria and save Christians from Islamist terrorists is typical attention-seeking. Surely even he must realise that unilateral US military intervention would invite disaster. And he’s got his facts wrong. The threat of Islamist terrorism is real, but it affects Nigerian Muslims as much, if not more, than Christians. There’s no evidence of genocide, contrary to the alarmist claims of US far-right internet warriors. Trump’s intervention was about politics, not faith.

In speaking out, he was massaging a key domestic constituency, not acting from genuine, God-fearing concern for “our cherished Christians” in a land he’s never visited. Christian nationalist votes helped clinch Trump’s two presidential victories despite the obvious insincerity of his professed beliefs. His support among white evangelical Protestants is much higher than the average – 72% in April, compared with 40% among all US adults. Trump’s histrionics about Nigeria were primarily for their (and his) benefit.

Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator

The man who shot Al Capone: Jun Fujita’s Chicago – in pictures

Disasters, riots, gangsters and construction … early 20th-century Chicago is seen here through the lens of the pioneering Japanese-American photojournalist, poet and artist Jun Fujita. His life and work is covered in Behind the Camera by Graham Harrison Lee, published by Hat & Beard Press, with an accompanying exhibition planned in Los Angeles next year

British Asian families urged to share stories of ‘greatest generation’ who fought for Britain

Half of UK public unaware of contribution made by 2.5m British Asian members of armed forces who served in second world war

British Asian families are being urged to record the experiences of relatives who fought for Britain for “future generations” as data reveals half the British public don’t know that Indian members of the armed forces served in the second world war.

The My Family Legacy project, backed by the Royal British Legion, is building an online archive of Asian veterans’ experiences to raise awareness of the shared histories and sacrifices of Britain’s diverse communities.

‘They treat men like vending machines’: inside the hidden world of social media sperm selling

Parenthood can seem an impossible dream for many, and online sperm donor groups offer a solution, but they can be a murky world

A man going by the name “Rod Kissme” claims to have “very strong sperm”. It may seem like an eccentric boast for a Facebook profile page, but then this is no mundane corner of the internet. The group where Rod and other men advertise themselves is a community where women and couples come, in many cases, to fulfil a lifelong dream: parenthood.

There is a growing number of online sperm donor groups on social media. They offer people the chance of parenting children in an unregulated, dangerous but surprisingly straightforward way.

Continental thrift: five of the best cities in Europe for vintage shopping

From flea markets in Berlin to thrift stores in Athens, a vintage shopping veteran picks her favourite places to shop for preloved bargains and unique souvenirs

A city as celebrated for its quirkiness as Berlin is almost duty-bound to deliver on the flea market front – plus, many of its shops close on Sundays, making market browsing the natural retail fix.

Nearly a million people evacuate as Super Typhoon Fung-wong threatens the Philippines

Super Typhoon Fung-wong, the biggest storm to threaten the Philippines this year, started battering the country's northeastern coast ahead of landfall on Sunday.

‘You Britons go to the pub, we go to the swimming pool!’: the European health habits worth adopting

Daily swims, power naps and five meals a day – not tips from the latest hit wellbeing podcast, but longstanding traditions that have kept generations healthy in Iceland, Ukraine, France and more …

Iceland: swimming pool culture

Amid squabbles, bombast and competing interests, what can Cop30 achieve?

Climate summit in Brazil needs to find way to stop global heating accelerating amid stark divisions

“It broke my heart.” Surangel Whipps, president of the tiny Pacific nation of Palau, was sitting in the front row of the UN’s general assembly in New York when Donald Trump made a long and rambling speech, his first to the UN since his re-election, on 23 September.

Whipps was prepared for fury and bombast from the US president, but what followed was shocking. Trump’s rant on the climate crisis – a “green scam”, “the greatest con job ever perpetrated”, “predictions made by stupid people” – was an unprecedented attack on science and global action from a major world leader.

Salt-N-Pepa, Outkast among Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's newest inductees

The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class included Warren Zevon, Bad Company, Salt-N-Pepa, Outkast, Soundgarden, Cyndi Lauper and The White Stripes.

Baby formula recalled after reports of infant botulism in 10 US states

Federal and state health officials are investigating 13 cases in 10 U.S. states of infant botulism linked to baby formula that is being recalled.

White House says Commanders naming new stadium after Trump would be "beautiful"

Under a deal between the Commanders and D.C., the team will return to the nation's capital in a new stadium expected to cost nearly $4 billion.

Trump tells Senate Republicans to send federal health insurance money 'directly to the people'

President Trump proposed a new potential compromise on health insurance payments.

‘They’re not wolves – they’re sheep’: the psychiatrist who spent decades meeting and studying lone-actor mass killers

From Port Arthur to Hoddle Street, Paul E Mullen has had a front-row seat to the men behind some of the worst public massacres. He says it’s possible to ‘disrupt the script’ for future violence

Dr Paul E Mullen and his family were living near Dunedin, New Zealand when, one evening in November 1990, they heard gunfire. The shots continued into the night, followed by the distant sound of police and ambulances. At 9pm, a hospital colleague told him that a few kilometres away, in Aramoana, someone with a gun had started shooting.

As it turned out, Mullen had heard of the perpetrator before; one of his long-term patients was the man’s nextdoor neighbour, and soon Mullen would learn that many other people he knew had been injured or killed.

Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads

The moment I knew: when we reunited in our 60s, it felt like coming home

Lynne Besant met Paul as a teenager. After 40 years apart, she discovered she still had feelings for him

• Find more stories from the moment I knew series

In the mid-60s, my family followed my father’s work to a caravan park in Gladstone, central Queensland. He worked in construction and the sprawling transient accommodation for the hundreds of families who’d relocated to build an aluminium plant became our home. I was going on 16 and sulking about having to change schools, again. Then I met Paul.

Back in those days people made their own fun. We often had huge parties at the caravan park, and Paul, an apprentice electrician, would volunteer to rig up the lighting.