DOJ asks Supreme Court to allow Postal Service rules on mail ballots

The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to intervene in an ongoing legal battle over U.S. Postal Service rules for mail ballots just weeks before the November midterm elections.

Automakers urge Congress to permanently ban Chinese connected vehicles in U.S.

Major automakers in the U.S. are urging Congress to ban the domestic sale, import and manufacturing of Chinese connected vehicles, hardware and software.

Trump-promoted Freedom Fuel expands to Detroit as lawsuit over supplier's unpaid fuel heats up

Freedom Fuel won free publicity when President Donald Trump urged other gas retailers to emulate its low prices in July.

US Open 2026: Auger-Aliassime out; Keys, Osaka and Swiatek through; Sweeny and Popyrin in action – live

The latest updates from Flushing Meadows on day five
You can mail Daniel and follow us on TikTok and Bluesky

It feels rather odd saying this, given that Osaka is a two-time former US Open champion, but she’s something of a wildcard contender this fortnight, having not won a title since 2021. But over the past year she’s been building momentum, after returning from her maternity leave in 2024, and there were plenty of green shoots on the grass at Wimbledon, where she beat Aryna Sabalenka en route to the quarter-finals. And Osaka has started strongly today, leading Siniakova 3-1 and serving at 40-15. Make that game, as the 13th seed’s pace is too much for the Czech to handle.

Swiatek is serving for the first set at 5-3. And on her second set point, at her advantage, she takes it, when Podoroska prods a return wide. After starting with three holds to love, the set got closer, but the eighth seed found a way through and she’s skipping to the back of the court to start the second set. She looks up for this – and most importantly, more confident than she has done for so much of this year.

Trump asks Supreme Court to lift block on USPS plan to restrict mail voting

The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to lift a temporary block on the U.S. Postal Service plan for President Trump's attempt to restrict mail-in voting for the midterm election.

'No steering wheel, no pedals': Tesla teases fans ahead of long-awaited Cybercab update

Tesla first unveiled the Cybercab almost two years ago, and fans of the company have been waiting to hear more.

Carney claps back at Lutnick, says Canada will resume trade talks 'when the Americans are ready'

Canada has retaliated against President Donald Trump's 50% tariffs with "dollar for dollar" duties on U.S. goods, which are set to take effect next week.

The Social Security Administration overpaid her. Now she owes $35,000.

The agency told a woman that she has 30 days to pay it back. Otherwise, it would cut her benefits by 50% while it collects what it overpaid.

Gas prices surge just before Labor Day, as diesel nears record high

"Diesel is just a couple of ticks away from hitting a new record," one energy expert said. "That will happen."

ChargePoint CEO says 70% stock surge 'is the beginning of the momentum'

The infrastructure company is toward the end of a three-year business plan that has boosted revenue and significantly cut the company's losses.

Missouri House candidate accused of conspiring to plant cocaine on opponent

Thomas Ross allegedly tried to get his campaign manager to plant cocaine and Adderall on his opponent, federal prosecutors in Missouri said.

Nessun Dolore review – sketchy Roman fable of liberal white guilt

Venice film festival
A white man’s eyes are opened to cruelty and racism when a young boy is thrust into his life in Gianni Amelio’s bold but ultimately naive drama

From the heart of Rome, and broadly in an Italian tradition of sentimentalist realism, film-maker Gianni Amelio brings us a fairytale of the city, about the liberal white guilt of those who live a prosperous pain-free existence and those whom Frantz Fanon called the wretched of the earth.

There is some incidental interest and the film is beautifully shot, but finally it buckles under the weight of its own preposterousness and naivety. It is also sketchy about how and why people go into and come out of prison; the final shot, a supposedly heartwarming visionary moment of redemption and reconciliation, looks absurd.

CBS News gas and oil price tracker shows how much energy costs are rising

As the war with Iran continues, CBS News is tracking gas and oil prices. Find out how much more it costs to fill up your tank or heat your house.

Election officials raise alarm over mail voting rules: "Virtually impossible"

One official in California said that scanning individual ballots for every voter in the state would take roughly 43 years based on the Postal Service's estimates.

Fifa calls Uefa’s legal threat a ‘smear campaign’ in US federal filing

• Fifa filed motion opposing Uefa’s request for discovery

• Uefa said to be considering criminal case v Gianni Infantino

Attorneys representing Fifa have hit back at Uefa’s request for discovery in a US federal filing earlier this week. The lawyers called Uefa’s legal efforts “little more than press releases in further support of [a] smear campaign against Fifa and its leadership” and requested the judge assigned to the case dismiss the request.

The filing requests that Fifa US, a subsidiary business unit of Fifa, be permitted to officially opposite the request for discovery by 30 September.

The big August jobs report is due out Friday. Here's what to expect for what has been a jobless summer

August nonfarm payrolls are expected to rise by 53,000 as a subdued labor market keeps Fed attention focused on inflation.

Postal Service mail voting rules face extended block as judge presses DOJ

A federal judge is considering whether to continue blocking a U.S. Postal Service rule imposing new requirements for mail voting.

Vance says Fed should lower interest rates: 'Would be nice to have some help'

Vice President J.D. Vance's remarks came less than two weeks before the Federal Open Market Committee is set to convene and decide whether to adjust rates.

Thierry Henry says players ‘have more power than they think’ amid Fifa scandals

The former Arsenal, Barcelona and France star says players shouldn’t underestimate their ability to change how football works

As Fifa continues to face scrutiny from some confederations and fans, Thierry Henry has encouraged players to use their voice as the political battle for control of international soccer unfolds. The former Arsenal and Barcelona forward turned pundit spoke with the Guardian on Tuesday alongside Kate Scott and Jamie Carragher as CBS and Paramount prepare for this season’s Champions League broadcasts.

“For me, the players have more power than they think they have,” Henry said when asked for his thoughts on the situation. “And if they want it to change, they can make it happen – especially nowadays.”

This is an extract from Soccer Desk, a newsletter from the Guardian US. Subscribe for free here.

Tributes to Gloria Steinem are flooding in, from Hollywood to Capitol Hill

Women in politics and pop culture are paying tribute to Gloria Steinem after her death at 92. Many called her not only an inspiration but a friend.

Microsoft to impose time limits on Xbox cloud gaming subscribers as costs continue to climb

Xbox Game Pass subscribers will have cloud gaming capped starting in November.

DOJ reviving dormant prize law to try to claim Iranian oil tankers

The Justice Department is planning to try to use a legal regime last used during the Spanish-American War to speed up the seizure of ships and their cargo during the Iran conflict.

Later in life, Gloria Steinem found herself free of the 'demands of gender'

In 2015, the trailblazing feminist told Fresh Air she that had entered a new phase in life, one in which "you can do what you want." Steinem died Sept. 2 at the age of 92.

OpenAI hails ‘new era of artificial general intelligence’ with Astra model release

Astra’s arrival comes days after Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive, described AGI as an ‘irrelevant marketing term’

The president of OpenAI, Greg Brockman, has claimed the world has entered a new era of artificial general intelligence after the release of his company’s latest model, Astra, which it described as the “world’s most intelligent and aligned model”.

Brockman made the claim on Thursday as the San Francisco company released the model only weeks after a serious AI safety incident involving other models under its development caused international concern and a pause in Astra’s training.

Trump $1 coins are now on sale. Here's how much they cost.

The U.S. Mint said the President Donald J. Trump $1 coin can be bought in packages of 25 for $61 or 100 coins for $154.50.

ICE officer faces federal charges for lying over shooting of Venezuelan immigrant

The charges represent a rare moment of the Justice Department seeking to hold immigration officers accountable.

Fox News star Maria Bartiromo is out at the network

Fox News suddently announced it had cut ties with anchor Maria Bartiromo after more than a dozen years.

Hegseth favors Sean Parnell for Army secretary, sources say

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told people close to him that Sean Parnell would be his top choice for secretary of the Army, several senior officials told CBS News.

Far-right Israeli minister outlines plan for removal of all Palestinians from Gaza

Itamar Ben-Gvir claims proposal for illegal forced displacement of 2 million people is ‘realistic’ and ‘concrete’

Israel’s far-right national security minister has set out a plan for the illegal forced expulsion of all Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, with the intention of sending them abroad.

Speaking in the run-up to close-fought Israeli elections, Itamar Ben-Gvir said the plan aimed to remove 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza in the first year, followed by the rest of its population of roughly 2 million over the next six years.

Vuelta a España: Jakob Omrzel grabs first Grand Tour stage win as Enric Mas extends lead

• Slovenian wins stage 12 as Mas strengthens position

• Tim Merlier claims stage two in Tour of Britain

Spain’s Enric Mas extended his overall lead in the Vuelta a España with a late attack on his rivals as Slovenia’s Jakob Omrzel won stage 12 to Calar Alto on Thursday.

Movistar rider Mas burst out of a chasing group including red jersey contenders Primoz Roglic and Felix Gall with around ​13km of the mountainous 166.6km ride left and powered away. Roglic and Gall, who began the day second and third on general classification, could not respond as Mas finished 27 seconds clear of Roglic to strengthen his hold on the race.

Ross Fire still burning, with over 90,000 acres scorched

The wildfire, which has torn through Palo Pinto and Jack counties, has forced evacuations, closed roads and disrupted schools.

The Guardian view on press freedom: to defend democracy, stand up for journalists | Editorial

The lack of justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta casts a shadow on reporters everywhere

The acquittal of Yorgen Fenech, who was on trial in Malta for involvement in the murder of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, is a devastating blow for justice and press freedom. Nine years after her car was blown up, it seems increasingly unlikely that anyone will be held to account for ordering and paying for her death. Mr Fenech’s admissions that he knew about the murder before it happened, and gave money to the middle-man who paid the killers, make it hard to understand why he was found not guilty on the lesser charge of association.

All killings of journalists are wrong. The bomb placed in Caruana Galizia’s car was especially shocking, as such brazen violence is usually associated with war zones or states overrun by organised crime. The fact that this acquittal came two months after those of three men accused of murdering another journalist, Lyra McKee, in Northern Ireland, adds to a grim impression of impunity for killers. While McKee is not thought to have been targeted in the way that Caruana Galizia was, the inability of police and prosecutors to secure convictions in either case points to wider problems.

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.

Hundreds gather to urge Scottish government to pause datacentre boom

Opposition mounts as at least 20 projects proposed, including one in Fife billed as second largest in world

Kat Jones may be the closest thing Scotland has to Erin Brockovich in 2026. Standing in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat outside Holyrood, the 52-year-old is revving up the crowd of protesters around her. “Who is here from Lammermuir? Ayrshire? What about Aberdeen?” she calls to the crowd.

On Thursday, hundreds travelled to Edinburgh to call for an immediate moratorium on Scotland’s datacentre boom, which includes one project in Auchtertool, Fife, that has been billed as the second largest in the world.

Serbians targeted with spyware in country’s ‘largest documented wave of surveillance’

Student protesters among those hacked, says digital rights group, though Aleksandar Vučić’s government denies spying

At least 14 people from across Serbian civil society were targeted with advanced spyware earlier this year in what the digital rights group Share Foundation said was the largest documented ​wave of such infection in Serbia to date.

The wave of spyware infections was discovered in August after Apple notified people in 110 ⁠countries that they had probably been victims ⁠of mercenary spyware.

The Guardian view on Nigeria’s kidnappings: a country can’t prosper when going to school is a danger | Editorial

Abductions are resurging and may be spreading to new areas – with young children among the victims. A military response alone won’t work

Early last month, Nigeria’s government announced the largest single-day hostage rescue in its history, with the freeing of 300 people who had been taken in raids in two north central states. Celebrations were short-lived. Barely a fortnight later, gunmen abducted up to 600 worshippers from a mosque in Niger state. Nigerians paid kidnappers nearly $6m in ransoms in the year to June, according to a new report from the Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence – more than triple the total in the previous 12-month period. More than 7,800 people were abducted, a two-thirds increase, and more than 1,100 killed, including almost 900 civilians.

When Boko Haram abducted almost 300 schoolgirls from their school in Chibok, Borno state in 2014, it made headlines worldwide. Yet around 45 children, mostly aged between two and five, remain missing after they were snatched from schools in Mussa, in north-eastern Borno state, in May. There is growing concern that kidnappings may be spreading to new areas. Forty-six students and staff were abducted from three schools in the south-western state of Oyo in the same month; they were rescued in July.

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.

Wong’s five wickets lead England to rampant victory over Ireland and ODI series win

• Issy Wong’s five for 33 sets up win with 27 overs to spare

• Victory seals series with a match still to play

England sealed victory in their one-day international series against Ireland with a straightforward six-wicket win at Derby on Thursday, after seamer Issy Wong took a career-best five for 33.

Wong, again handed the new ball in the absence of Lauren Bell, bowled with accuracy and control to knock over the leg stump of the Ireland captain, Gaby Lewis, then ran through the lower-middle order as they tried to hit out, but were dismissed for 165.

Wild Horse Nine review: Malkovich and Rockwell head to Easter Island for McDonagh’s acid bromance

Venice film festival: Two men, some violence, much freewheeling chat: so far, so standard fare from the Oscar-winning writer-director. But this time the comedy and charm can feel diluted by blood and machismo

It isn’t a Martin McDonagh movie unless you’ve got two morose guys – one old, one not so old – who do nothing all the livelong day but bitch and snipe and quarrel and exchange barbed bromantic dialogue while occasionally going off on a plaintive tangent about nothing at all, incidentally revealing something very wrong with their friendship. If it can be called that. In The Banshees of Inisherin from 2022, the older guy decides he wants nothing more to do with the younger guy; in In Bruges from 14 years earlier (of which this latest film is almost a retread or maybe B-side), the older guy has an awful secret he is keeping from the younger guy.

Wild Horse Nine brings McDonagh to a US setting with American (not Irish) characters and dialogue. But as in another US-set film – 2012’s Seven Psychopaths – Americanness can bring out something less interesting in McDonagh: more violence, more strenuous sweary machismo, less comedy, less charm. Yet there is something interesting and watchably acrid in the pairing of Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich, with Malkovich unspooling long speeches in that unmistakable nasal croon or whine, often concluding with his lips parted in a pursed-lip pout, a mannerism that leaves the audience unsure exactly how ironic or contemptuous he is supposed to sound.

Manchester City’s Vivianne Miedema could miss rest of year with knee injury

• Arsenal poised to land PSG’s Élisa De Almeida

• New United coach Olid promises attacking style

Manchester City could be without Vivianne Miedema for at least the rest of 2026, the Guardian understands, after the Netherlands forward sustained a knee injury.

According to multiple sources the injury is not an anterior cruciate ligament but is serious and there are fears she will not return until after the Women’s Super League’s winter break. A statement from the club on Tuesday said Miedema would miss the “start of the season”.

Gabriel Martinelli leaves Arsenal for Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal in £60m deal

• Forward follows Gabriel Jesus out of champions

• Richarlison not in Tottenham’s Premier League squad

Arsenal have confirmed Gabriel Martinelli has joined the Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal for £60m. It is understood the deal for Brazil forward includes a sell-on clause.

Martinelli, who joined Arsenal from Ituano in 2019, has fallen down the pecking order at the Emirates despite being part of the squad that won the Premier League title last season. His fee surpasses the previous record £40m received by Arsenal when they sold Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool in 2017.

The Gesualdo Six/Colin Currie Group review – surely the year’s most atmospheric Prom

Royal Albert Hall, London
The Gesualdo Six brought focus and luminous tone to a sequence of early devotional music; Reich’s Tehillim made a mesmeric and ecstatic pairing

When Steve Reich wrote Tehillim, half his long life ago, it was a very modern contribution to the ancient tradition of psalm singing. In this late-night Prom celebrating Reich’s 90th birthday, Tehillim was presented next to a sequence of devotional music from medieval Europe, making for what was surely one of this year’s most atmospheric Proms.

For the first half the stage was held by the singers of the Gesualdo Six, who brought intense focus, luminous tone and consistently outstanding vocal quality to polyphonic works by Machaut, Ockeghem, Dunstable and Josquin des Prez, all sung from memory, interspersed with solo melodies by Pérotin and Hildegard of Bingen. Odd one out, in theory, was a version of Hail Gladdening Light written in 2017 by Owain Park, the Gesualdo Six’s bass and director; but this brief chant-like solo for countertenor, with harmonies filled in by the rest of the singers’ humming, fitted in almost seamlessly.

Thieves steal more than 70,000 pints’ worth of Guinness from depot in Cheshire

Police say two lorries were driven into industrial estate in Runcorn and attached to trailers holding about 800 barrels

The famous tagline “Guinness is good for you” applies only when the drink is bought and paid for, police have said, after thieves made off with more than 70,000 pints’ worth in Cheshire.

Officers said they believed two lorries were driven into a depot in Runcorn on Monday and attached to waiting trailers holding a combined total of about 800 barrels before being driven away.

Leon Black sues House Oversight over Epstein probe subpoenas, won't appear Thursday

Black's attorneys say the NDAs being sought by the panel have nothing to do with his dealings with notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Sabotage, leaks and political ties: the story of the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder trial

A Maltese businessman has been cleared of involvement in the journalist’s death, but his trial revealed the challenges faced by those leading the search for her killers

The conclusion of the longest-running murder trial in Maltese history has left a country in turmoil, and a grieving family still searching for answers.

At 7.30pm on Wednesday, gasps and cheers echoed around hall 22 of the courts of justice in Valletta, as a jury pronounced a businessman accused of ordering the murder of the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia not guilty.

Pro-Palestine activists who were sentenced as terrorists launch appeal

Barrister representing four who smashed drones at Israeli arms factory says ruling of ‘terrorist connection’ led to heftier sentences

Palestine Action activists who were the first defendants convicted of property damage whose offending was deemed to have a “terrorist connection” have launched an appeal of “fundamental constitutional importance” against the judge’s finding.

Charlotte Head, 30, Leona Kamio, 31, Fatema Rajwani, 22, and Samuel Corner, 24, received lengthy sentences in June for smashing up drones and other equipment at Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems’ factory in Filton, Bristol, in 2024.

DOJ charges ICE officer who shot immigrant with lying to investigators

Federal prosecutors have charged an ICE officer who shot a Venezuelan immigrant in Minnesota with making false statements about the incident, sources said.

Lewis Hamilton ready to rock Monza with ‘phenomenal’ Italian GP win for Ferrari

• Scuderia bring upgraded engine to their home race

• Winning at Monza would be ‘new territory’

Lewis Hamilton believes that a win for Ferrari at the team’s home race in the Italian Grand Prix would be a phenomenal moment in an already storied career for the seven-time champion.

The British driver, who would make history if he takes the flag at Monza, endured a torrid time with the Scuderia last season but goes into the race this weekend with a win under his belt and a very competitive car that may prove to be even quicker on the high-speed blast around the famous track.

Rich people more likely to steal children’s sweets, finds Ig Nobel prize-winning study

We round up this year’s winners at awards for achievements that ‘first make people laugh and then make them think’

It’s that time of year again: a select group of scientists have been summoned to a ceremony to receive coveted prizes, be showered in paper planes, and leave with a 10tn dollar bill, albeit in the form of a phased-out note from Zimbabwe. It is, of course, the annual Ig Nobel awards.

Not to be confused with the more prestigious and career-changing Nobel prizes that will be announced in Scandinavia next month, the satirical Ig Nobels are awarded for achievements that “first make people laugh and then make them think”.

Kissing apes, anti-splash urinals: This year's Ig Nobels showcase surprising science

The Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded this week for humorous yet thought-provoking research. This year, the ceremony came with a twist.

Grinding up fish to feed to fish is ‘absurd’: fears over UN aquaculture plan

Huge rollout of fish farms could harm ecosystems and threaten vulnerable communities’ food sources, say experts

Nearly half of the world’s wild fish catch will be ground into animal feed for farmed fish if plans to expand aquaculture go ahead, a report has found.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is aiming to increase aquaculture – where fish are farmed rather than caught in the wild – production by 75% by 2040.

How climate denialism finds its way to the US 's highest office – video explainer

Although it's scientific consensus that the climate crisis is happening, climate change denialists have found support in the highest office during the second Trump administration and significantly influenced current climate and environment policies. The Guardian's fossil fuel and climate reporter Dharna Noor explains why such rhetorics could be dangerous for our planet

‘Godzilla-level’ El Niño could cause hottest year on record - The Latest

The UN has warned that the El Niño climate phenomenon is ‘supersizing before our eyes’. The event is forecast to be the largest in at least 1,000 years and will almost certainly shatter temperature records. After a summer of record-breaking heatwaves and extreme weather due to global heating, El Niño means 2027 is almost certain to be the hottest year ever recorded. Lucy Hough speaks to environment correspondent Damien Gayle – watch on YouTube

Hugging Face approached Nvidia’s Huang weeks ahead of $12.9B acquisition, CEO tells CNBC

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that with Hugging Face, the chipmaker will "expand access to AI for developers and institutions worldwide."

Gloria Steinem, groundbreaking feminist campaigner, dies aged 92

Prolific author campaigned against domestic violence, female genital mutilation, pornography and the Vietnam and Gulf wars

• ‘We badly need to raise our boys more like our girls’: Gloria Steinem – a life in quotes

• Hillary Clinton leads tributes to Gloria Steinem: ‘Her activism was rooted in optimism’

Gloria Steinem, the American feminist and journalist whose activism helped push through greater rights for women around the world has died, aged 92.

Steinem “passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by some of the many who loved her”, a statement shared to her Instagram page said.

Unlike Keir Starmer, Andy Burnham promises us that things will get better. And we must believe they can | Polly Toynbee

The PM’s warmth and feelgood policies, such as scrapping VAT on energy bills and a taskforce looking at political donations, offer something rare: hope

Of all the epithets thrown at a new prime minister, “people-pleaser” bounces off Andy Burnham. After all, the polls have him with a favourability rating of +13, making him the only party leader who scores above zero. His manner as he responded to all 125 of his questioners on his first Commons appearance this week had a warmth and empathy that his predecessor lacked. It’s a natural timbre, a good bedside manner for an uneasy country.

Keir Starmer’s rating as he left office was -36. He was defenestrated precisely because of his unpopularity. That baffled his allies, but his ratings crashed early into an electoral death zone from which no leader returns. His revenge comes in giving Labour a potentially awkward byelection confrontation with Zack Polanski: although, just as Burnham defeated the right in Makerfield, any candidate under his leadership stands a good chance of defeating the Greens in Holborn and St Pancras.

Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist

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.

Reform’s media presenter worked for Chinese state propaganda channel

Party podcast and social media host Ray Addison fronted films about province where China is accused of genocide

Reform UK’s top media presenter has worked for a Chinese state propaganda channel within the past year, the Guardian can reveal.

Ray Addison, who presents the political party’s in-house podcast and social media campaigns, fronted films about Xinjiang province – where the Chinese government is accused of committing genocide – for state media in September 2025.

Nobel laureate Machado: ‘Illegitimate’ Venezuela regime has no right to strike US oil deal

Opposition leader says interim government lacking democratic mandate to negotiate on natural resources

The Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has questioned Donald Trump’s oil deal with Venezuela’s interim government, saying the country’s natural resources do not belong to “an illegitimate regime”.

In her first public comments since Trump announced what he called “the biggest oil deal in world history” with Venezuela last Friday, Machado walked a diplomatic tightrope between challenging the agreement and trying not to rile the White House.

By Any Means review – Mark Wahlberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II drama provokes with horror of 1960s racism

Elegance Bratton’s civil rights drama in the Jim Crow south confronts you with almost unbearable brutality

Black people officially won the unrestricted right to vote in the US in 1965 but many still encountered hurdles on their path to the ballot box: 11 states in the south quickly introduced a poll tax requiring an annual fee to be allowed to vote. The practice unambiguously targeted poor Black communities in an early form of thinly veiled racist voter suppression. Vernon Dahmer wouldn’t stand for it. In January 1966 the Hattiesburg, Mississippi-based Black activist and NAACP chapter head promised to cover the fee for those struggling to afford it. “It’s a proclamation that we here, that we matter,” he says in an early scene in By Any Means, a considered, if blunt, drama inspired by the real-life aftermath of Dahmer’s murder by the Ku Klux Klan.

It is Mississippi in the mid-60s and Wayne Strider (a sturdy Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is new to the local FBI unit, having recently moved back to his home state from Chicago, and is dealing with bosses who turn a blind eye to racist crimes. “White guys can get away with murder,” says one Black colleague while shaking his head. After his boss receives a message from President Johnson to prioritize the Dahmer murder case, Strider is teamed up with a widely feared mobster, Gregory Scarpa (Mark Wahlberg with a rather distracting prosthetic nose), who has been shipped in from Brooklyn as part of an off-book mission to track down the Klansmen and bring justice to the killers.

World Cup wishlists, early movers, big clearouts: 2026 summer transfer window trends

At the end of a busy transfer window which spanned the World Cup, here are some of the subplots of the summer

The World Cup is always a good shop window. Yan Diomande was already a rising star at RB Leipzig but shining for Côte d’Ivoire in the US helped push up his price tag before a £115.7m move to Real Madrid. There were other breakout stars: Switzerland’s Johan Manzambi, whose signature Aston Villa pipped Newcastle to; Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Kerim Alajbegovic, who went to Juventus; and Ghana’s Caleb Yirenkyi, who is now in the Premier League with Coventry. Cape Verde’s cult hero Vozinha now keeps net for the Chilean giants Colo-Colo and Morocco’s attacking dynamo, Ismael Saibari, has rocked up at Bayern. Billy Munday

Chocolate eyeball candy sold at Marshalls, TJ Maxx recalled

The recalled candy, sold under the brand "Crystal Temptations," was distributed in 13 states.

NFL set for first-ever game in Melbourne, Australia, in international expansion

The San Francisco 49ers and the L.A. Rams are playing the NFL's first-ever game in Australia, marking an expanded push to grow the game internationally.

U.S. layoffs in August fell to their lowest level in 4 years

Job cuts around the U.S. have declined this year even amid signs that hiring is weakening.

AI interviews rolling out for some federal government hires, sources say

The federal government will shift into using artificial intelligence in the interview process for some job applicants in the coming days, according to U.S. officials.

Texas slammed by Edouard's aftermath

Heavy rains continued to slam Texas in the aftermath of Edouard. Jason Allen reports.

EU’s ability to defend against invasion remains in doubt, finds official report

Fragmented infrastructure and reliance on US continue to hinder ‘defence readiness’, says European court of auditors

• Europe live – latest updates

The EU’s ability to respond to a foreign invasion by 2030 remains in doubt due to a continuing reliance on the US and fragmented national defence systems, according to a report from its official auditor.

The European court of auditors (ECA) said the EU was much better prepared than before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine of 2022, but achieving its goal of defence readiness by the end of the decade would be difficult.

Mother of USS Abraham Lincoln sailor "so relieved" son has arrived in Thailand

The USS Abraham Lincoln pulled into port in Thailand for some rest and relaxation after 286 days at sea.

There’s a quick way to slow climate change. Why isn’t everyone doing it? - video

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that traps more than 80 times as much heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period and causes 25% of global heating today. We definitely don’t want this gas spewing needlessly into the atmosphere, but in 2023 that’s exactly what environment editor Damian Carrington found was happening when he reported on 1,000 super-emitting methane leaks across the globe. Now Turkmenistan, the worst country for mega-leaks, has begun to plug them. Damian tells Madeleine Finlay why some experts call stopping leaks the climate ‘emergency brake’ and reveals which countries are still failing to act.

Billionaires hoarding wealth while the rest of us struggle need to ask themselves: what would Dolly do? | Rebecca Shaw

Every story about Dolly Parton’s generosity should shame the super-rich, who could easily make the world a better place for all

Since the moment the news broke that the great Dolly Parton had died, we have been inundated with all manner of Feelings. The internet is flooded with tributes to Dolly by people from all walks of life, who knew her personally or only from afar. There seems no end to the sharing of stories and thoughts about her, and in what feels like a miracle in this divided world, it has only been positive. Even on social media, where people tear down nice things like it’s their full-time job, I’ve seen nothing but adoration. She is not only beloved for her musical genius, but also for her generosity, her sense of humour, her support for other artists, her active care for marginalised communities, her attitude to living, her truly kind spirit.

I am one of these enthusiasts, of course. I have loved Dolly since I was a kid. I remember going to the Nashville country music museum in my 20s and seeing her handwritten lyrics for Jolene. A shiver went down my spine at the thought of 27-year-old Dolly writing that song, not knowing how far she would go, and the great good she would do for the world.

‘I want to go further’: Justin Broadrick on retiring Godflesh, playing with Phoebe Bridgers – and his new band

A hernia may mean his screaming days are over, but the Napalm Death alum’s influence on metal echoes on in unexpected places – and with ‘heavy, ugly’ experiments in the pipeline, his passion for ‘outsider music’ remains strong

On 4 October 2024, Justin Broadrick felt a pop. The singer and guitarist of pioneering industrial metal duo Godflesh had felt pain in his groin for several years. After a coughing fit following a show in Sofia, Bulgaria, he knew he had a hernia. “It was a small knob in my groin,” says Broadrick. “I got back home and told my partner, and she was like, ‘Let’s watch how it goes.’” He continued to perform live for another year, wearing up to two hernia belts at a time. By the time he got it surgically treated in February this year, it was 13cm long.

The next month, Broadrick shared a picture of himself in hospital and announced that Godflesh’s near-four-decade career will soon end. His condition had been caused by the physicality of shouting over their music since he was 18; he just turned 57. If he were to do so again, he would risk blowing out his abdominal wall entirely. There will be two more studio albums – starting with this autumn’s reliably crushing Decay, recorded pre-surgery – and possibly some archival releases and remixes. But beyond that? Nothing.

My dad died suddenly with no will. Am I morally obliged to share his estate with my estranged half-sibling? | Leading questions

It’s kind of you to wonder if you should change the way things were left, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. But it’s possible his preference is already clear

• Read more Leading questions

My dad died suddenly earlier this year, with no will, and I am unsure as to how I should distribute the estate. We are talking about very modest sums of money – about £5,000 ($US6,750; $AU9,500) in total.

My dad was a very ethical person. While his death was unexpected, he had a sense it was coming. Around six months before he died, he arranged for the disposal of many personal effects. The lack of a will, given his self-discipline and preferences for forward planning, is odd.

Bucking Fastard review – Herzog’s starry twins soap provokes a syncing feeling

Venice film festival: Rooney and Kate Mara play the real-life Chaplin sisters who spoke in unsettling unison in this silly, pointless drama

Werner Herzog is such a unique film-maker that even a dud from him has some interest, but sadly a dud is what this is. It is a fiction feature based on a true story which – despite a few laughs – systematically wastes the audience’s time, as well as the talents of its formidable female leads, real-life sisters Rooney and Kate Mara. You can almost feel this pointless, aimless film making it up as it goes along, losing its way, line by line, scene by scene.

It is inspired by the story of twins Freda and Greta Chaplin from York in the UK; they eerily spoke in unison and in the 1980s were the subject of a highly publicised court case for harassing a neighbour. Herzog’s movie transplants their story to Ireland, in which the Maras play weirdly but comically interdependent sisters Jean and Joan Holbrook whose lives are sent in all sorts of loopy directions. Orlando Bloom plays the roguish neighbour who breaks the women’s hearts (Herzog imagines them as a short-lived throuple), and Domhnall Gleeson is a caring social worker who tries to make them less dysfunctional by taking their case after they move away from the scene of their sexual resentment and legal shame. (During the trial they shout out the spoonerism of the title.)

The Bayeux tapestry: a stupefying, thrilling, horrifying masterpiece that shakes the earth

British Museum, London
The greatest battle ever depicted in art is here at last – and it hurtles along, making your heart pound with its sense of doom and destiny, culminating in fires and corpses on a battlefield full of pathos

It should not work. It should not even exist. Nothing about the Bayeux tapestry makes sense according to any norms of art: its creators couldn’t do proper portraits or pictorial depth or landscapes or any of the sophisticated things we associate with timeless masterpieces. When they depict a church, they have to write what it is: Ecclesia. But these artists – or who knows, perhaps she was a single artist – created something so stupefying and delightful, so abundant in visual thrills, horrors and humour, it beats almost everything else ever painted or carved – let alone embroidered on a strip of linen.

And now here it is, in front of my eyes, close enough to touch if it wasn’t behind a glass screen of such high quality you never catch a reflection. The British Museum’s display of this wonder is perfect. It’s laid out in its case, the length of a gallery, which you reach after some archaeological foreplay involving armour, quotes from chronicles and info screens. Then you see the colours of the tapestry below you from a parapet – russets, greens, yellows – after which you simply start at the beginning and follow the story rightwards. Surrounded by darkness and picked out by finely adjusted lighting, the Bayeux tapestry shines. My only quibble is the ethereal soundtrack – shouldn’t there be drums, oliphants, troubadours?

Good Good Golf CEO resigns after furor over Callaway ad

The top two executives at digital marketing company Good Good Golf are leaving after a controversial ad was panned as sexist.

Hack exposes more than 150 million U.S. and Canadian driver's licenses on dark web

The FBI is investigating a recent hack that put more than 150 million U.S. and Canadian driver's license scans for sale online. Chris Krebs, former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency joins with more.

Adéla: Prima review – Slovakian star smashes the fourth wall to bask in pop’s cynicism and seduction

(Polydor)
The 22-year-old is impressively frank about indulging industry sleaze in her pursuit of fame on a debut that puts a distinctive spin on the best of 00s hedonism

There’s something very striking about hearing a pop star in 2026, their voice larded with Auto-Tune, opening a song with the line “I can’t really sing”. We live in an era where fans seem more aware than ever of the nefarious music business machinations that lurk within the star-making process, one where you’re never far away from online outrage decrying some artist or other as an industry plant. Nevertheless, admitting that the ubiquitous audio processing software is sometimes deployed for a helping hand, not a futuristic aesthetic, feels strangely jarring. On one hand, well of course it is. On the other, actually announcing that without it, you might be honking like a despondent goose, in the first line of a song, still amounts to a dramatic breaking of the fourth wall.

That said, it’s very much on brand for Adéla Jergová, who started her career as a contestant on a TV talent show – she failed to make the cut for crumbling “global girl group” Katseye, as documented on Netflix’s Pop Star Academy – before established names alighted on her as a more left-field solo proposition: Grimes co-produced her early single Machine Girl. New artists are well advised to have a USP, something that helps them cut through the mass of peers vying for public attention on streaming services. The 22-year-old Slovakian has chosen to differentiate herself from the serried ranks of post-Brat female pop stars by spiking her songs about hedonism and messy sexual encounters (“no bed frame, we can do it on the carpet … you eat real good for a starving artist”) with a kind of meta commentary on what it is to be a female pop star.

Rise of far-right leader Roberto Vannacci challenges Meloni as she celebrates Italian milestone

Futuro Nazionale party’s speedy poll rise poses questions whether PM will return to her roots before election

• Europe live – latest updates

Giorgia Meloni’s government has become the longest-running in Italy since the second world war – a milestone the prime minister is determined not to let pass unnoticed.

In the port area of Bari, the capital of the southern Italian region of Puglia, where Meloni hosted the G7 in 2024 and where she spends her summer holiday, preparations are well under way for a festival-style showcase of her rightwing administration.

Martin McDonagh says CIA has ‘done awful things all around the world’

McDonagh’s new film, Wild Horse Nine, stars John Malkovich as an agent in 1970s Chile who feels ‘guilt and regret’ over his role in global interventions

The US’s history of intervening in democratic processes around the world deserves more attention in the light of current political developments, playwright and film-maker Martin McDonagh has said, as his Oscar-tipped film about a rueful CIA agent premieres at the Venice film festival.

“I’ve been very interested in the truth of what the CIA has been doing over the last 60 years, and the awful things they’ve done all around the world,” McDonagh said about Wild Horse Nine, his first film since his 2022 tragicomedy The Banshees of Inisherin. “I think maybe something that’s not talked about enough. We know what the KGB are like, but we probably don’t question the CIA’s activity as much as we ought to.”

Iran targets US bases as Israel warns sanctions could drive Tehran to ‘desperate steps’

Air bases used by US in UAE and Kuwait hit as Israeli defence chief says Iran’s regime fears collapse due to economic pressures

Iran has continued to demonstrate an ability to target bases in the Gulf used by the US despite six months of war and a new sanctions regime described by the Trump administration as an “economic D-day”.

As Iran’s military targeted US bases in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, despite threats of further strikes by the US president, Israel’s defence chief warned that economic pressures from the sanctions could lead Tehran to escalate to more “extreme measures”.

An Unexpected Life by Gloria Steinem review – a fitting tribute to a feminist icon

The activist’s memoir, due to be published this month, now stands as a posthumous testament to her remarkable life

Gloria Steinem was due to speak at a women’s lunch in New York at the end of this month and at more events in October, illustrating the central theme of An Unexpected Life, her new memoir, which, when it’s published a few weeks from now, will stand as posthumous testament to the 92-year-old icon: just keep going. So it is, after her death on Wednesday, that the book’s opening pages unfold with a deep, added poignancy and when Steinem expresses gratitude for a life that has been both happier and longer “than I ever imagined”, one is struck by the greater gratitude we probably owe her.

An Unexpected Life is a follow-up of sorts to My Life on the Road, the activist’s memoir of a decade ago, and as the tributes pour in, the book offers us an opportunity to go back over Steinem’s hardscrabble origins in Toledo, Ohio, and the roots of her activism. This is where it all happened, the formation of a woman who would come to define second wave feminism by combining a tough-as-they-come stance with something that looked a lot like serenity. Reading the first half of the book, one is reminded of Steinem’s original power and the improbability and iconoclasm of her journey, in which a childhood governed by poverty and dysfunction turned into a lifelong mission to resist the narrow templates laid out for her.

Leon Black fails to appear for US House deposition about Epstein ties

Billionaire financier, who previously walked out of a deposition, instead launches lawsuit against the committee

The billionaire financier Leon Black did not appear on Thursday in front of the House oversight committee for a scheduled deposition about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, and has instead launched a lawsuit against the committee arguing that it does not have the authority to compel him to turn over non-disclosure agreements.

Black was a top Epstein client over several years, and the committee is investigating the men’s relationship as well as the existence of any NDAs to which Black is a party.

Fed Governor Waller indicates he will support holding rates steady at September meeting

In remarks that seem to contrast with statements last week from Chairman Kevin Warsh, Waller expressed confidence in the current inflation trends.

Shootout in Kyiv between Ukrainian spy services ‘disgraceful’, says Zelenskyy

Domestic security service says clash with military intelligence directorate ‘definitely shouldn’t have happened’

Several people have been injured in a shootout in central Kyiv between two branches of Ukraine’s security services, in an incident Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as “disgraceful”.

The shootout, which took place on Wednesday morning in a downtown area of the capital, was between officers from the domestic security service, the SBU, and the military intelligence directorate, the HUR.

Hidden China risks are emerging in America’s multibillion-dollar AI data center boom

U.S. AI data centers rely on China-linked supplies of transformers, batteries and optical gear as Washington moves to tighten restrictions on foreign equipment.

The Excursions of Mr Brouček review – Rattle’s illuminating touch lets Janáček’s sozzled antihero soar

Hoare/Briscein/Crowe/LSO/Rattle
(LSO Live)
In this beautifully balanced live recording Simon Rattle, the London Symphony Orchestra and an outstanding cast make the music sing and dance

Janáček’s comedy can be a charmer on stage but it’s a devil to get your head around on disc. Based on satirical stories by Svatopluk Čech – who even puts in an appearance in Act II – Mr Brouček (or Mr Beetle in Czech) is a petty minded, puffed-up landlord with an insatiable appetite for beer and sausages. The first half propels our sozzled antihero on an imaginary flight to the moon where he proceeds to puncture the pretensions of the artsy-fartsy inhabitants. The second half deposits him in the thick of the 15th-century Hussite wars where, cowardly to the core, he singularly fails to cover himself in glory. Amid the fun and games, the conversational text flies by at a discombobulating rate of knots.

This recording takes pride of place in the catalogue thanks in part to Simon Rattle’s illuminating way with the music. Not only does he make it sing and dance – bagpipes and all – he brings out every quirk and colour of Janáček’s imaginative score. By giving the opera room to breathe, listeners have the best chance yet of appreciating the composer’s fertile wit and gift for musical storytelling.

‘I have an obsession with barber shops’: kd lang on her prairies upbringing, Patsy Cline and being shaved by Cindy Crawford

The Canadian singer-songwriter answers your questions about her trailblazing career, her spirituality, and collaborations with the likes of Neko Case, Laura Veirs and Pee-wee Herman

I left the Canadian prairies many years ago, but they remain my home. How do you feel about that part of western Canada, where the prairies meet the Rocky mountains, which shaped us both? What does Alberta mean to you now? NicholasLittle
All of my artistic preferences were formed by the minimalism of the prairies, by the affordable space and the stillness. There weren’t many things around, so a field with bales would be this incredibly graphic moment, or a tree or a certain hill – very small increments of beauty placed in vast amounts of space. The sky was very important and a feeling of – I wouldn’t say loneliness, but solace, perhaps. That’s my bottom line, my basic instinct. It’s the frame that that informs all of my art, the way I decorate my house, the way I sing, the way I dress. That sort of minimalist nature is embedded in me.

Many people can sing a song well, but you’re a vocalist who emotes raw vulnerability. Do you work like a method actor – entering, or reliving, the reality of the song during the practice period? verdantearth
I try to sink myself into the lyrics for sure. I try to create visuals, sort of an emotional internal movie of what the lyrics possess, to relive it emotionally. With [Case/Lang/Veirs track] Honey and Smoke, for example, I imagine watching somebody I’m in love with dancing with somebody else and feeling jealousy.

I own six guns. Here’s how to talk to conservatives about firearms

In rural America, guns are a fact of life. But even conservatives agree that properly locking them up is crucial in preventing deaths

I have six guns in my house.

The first was a vintage Winchester 12-gauge. It was the winter of 1990, and my husband and I had just moved from an urban block in north-west Philadelphia to a 100-year-old farmhouse in Appalachian Virginia, where my family goes back seven generations.

The Ceuta border breach was leapt on by Europe’s right. That doesn’t absolve Spain | María Ramírez

The government’s sluggish response has been disastrous for everyone involved – and for Sánchez’s message on immigration

More than a month after an estimated 72,000 people suddenly crossed from Morocco into the Spanish territory of Ceuta, the city remains in chaos and the damage inflicted on the Spanish government is becoming clearer. Most of those who made the crossing have returned to Morocco. The scale of the incident was nevertheless extraordinary, and about 140 people are thought to have died.

Also extraordinary was the response of the 22 EU governments that rounded on the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, rather than demonstrate the solidarity one might expect from allies. Perhaps less surprising was the exploitation of the crisis by rightwing and far-right parties in Spain and beyond, Donald Trump’s attacks and the interventions of Russian state-linked actors and Israeli critics on social media to fuel division.

Tango championships and a downed drone: photos of the day – Thursday

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

‘We badly need to raise our boys more like our girls’: Gloria Steinem – a life in quotes

The groundbreaking feminist and acclaimed writer has died aged 92 and leaves behind her a wealth of wit and wisdom

• Gloria Steinem, groundbreaking feminist campaigner, dies aged 92

• Hillary Clinton leads tributes to Gloria Steinem: ‘Her activism was rooted in optimism’

Gloria Steinem, the boundary-pushing campaigner and author who spent her life fighting for greater rights for women, has died at the age of 92.

Throughout her career, she was known for her unfiltered honesty and from the 1960s forward, used her words to inspire and bring together women who also wanted to see a change in their lives.

A sun goddess, hundreds of devotees – and polluted water: the Nigerian festival threatened by gold mining

Each year, people from across the world gather in a grove sacred to the Yoruba goddess Osun to be healed, conceive or realise their deepest wishes. But toxic lead, mercury and cyanide is leaching into the river

7Devotees in white clothing line the riverbank, praying as they carry offerings of fruit, kola nut and sacrificial animals in supplication to Osun, the Yoruba goddess of fertility, beauty and healing, whose carved form stands with arms outstretched a few metres away in the Osun River.

It is the final day of Nigeria’s annual Osun Osogbo festival in honour of the African deity, in a tradition that has existed for hundreds of years and draws people from across the diaspora.

Yeye Omifunto Ojo performs a sacrifice at the Osun River

Spain’s PM says no evidence ‘whatsoever’ Morocco behind Ceuta border breach

Pedro Sánchez continues to defend Rabat after police report claiming border forces helped 70,000 cross border

• Europe live – latest updates

Spain has seen no evidence “whatsoever” that Morocco planned or facilitated a mass border breach into its north African territory of Ceuta, the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has told parliament.

The address on Thursday followed the emergence of a police report, commissioned by a judge and widely quoted in the media, claiming Moroccan border forces had actively aided about 70,000 people to cross the border in late July.

Lindsay Clancy mistrial more likely after jurors tell judge they're deadlocked for second time

Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial told Plymouth Superior Judge William Sullivan they were still deadlocked Wednesday, prompting him to read Tuey-Rodriguez instructions, a last resort pushing the jurors to reach a verdict. Caroline Polisi has more.

Fun, flirty and fried to perfection: farewell to Chicken Shop Date, the YouTube show that helped kill off TV

Amelia Dimoldenberg’s series helped turn YouTube into a world-beating phenomenon. As it bows out, we remember its best bits – from mocking MC Ghetts to that sizzling tension with Billie Eilish and Andrew Garfield

When Amelia Dimoldenberg posted a video to social media this week, telling an unknown companion “we need to talk”, it felt like a monumental announcement was on the horizon. And so it came to pass. Chicken Shop Date, Dimoldenberg’s YouTube series, is coming to an end.

The press release covering the announcement came packed with superlatives. Chicken Shop Date has generated 34m hours of views over the years, and has reached 97% of all countries on the planet. What it didn’t mention is that Chicken Shop Date helped to legitimise YouTube as a platform that has taken on – and perhaps beaten – television. The very fact that the Guardian is covering the end of a YouTube video series in the first place is, in part, down to Chicken Shop Date.

‘We need a touch of humanity’: Swedish opposition pledges to help Britons facing deportation

Exclusive: Centre party says it will change law to end plight of those hit by post-Brexit policy if it gains power in upcoming election

• Europe live – latest updates

A leading Swedish opposition party has promised an urgent reprieve for British nationals facing deportation from the country over Brexit administrative issues.

Niels Paarup-Petersen, the migration spokesperson for the Centre party, said it would introduce laws to end the suffering of people such as the 78-year-old British widow Joyce Thomas if, as polls project, it forms a new centre-left coalition after the general election in 10 days’ time. Thomas has been told to leave by next Wednesday after 21 years in Sweden.

Gloria Steinem, trailblazing figure in women's liberation movement, dies at 92

Gloria Steinem, co-founder of Ms. Magazine, was a leader in raising awareness about gender equality and violence against women, and for promoting inclusion, representation and social justice for women and girls.

Hillary Clinton on Gloria Steinem: "One of the architects" of women's equality

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remembered activist Gloria Steinem as "one of the architects of the entire structure of women's equality," while encouraging young women to lift up each other.

What we’re reading: Irvine Welsh, Janice Hallett and Guardian readers on the books they enjoyed in August

Writers and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month. Join the conversation in the comments

I’ve been enjoying Contrapposto by Dave Eggers. The premise that love and art are the only things that make life worthwhile pulses beautifully through this novel and its two protagonists, spanning decades of their obsession with both, and each other. The tragedy is they are not sufficient alone for a relationship to survive to the exclusion of everything else (namely capitalism, which always has a place at the table), but they remain essential and enduring. Nowhere is this better evoked than here. Think John Williams’s Stoner but with art instead of literature and stuffed with more memorable characters.

Apocalypse prep or pure pragmatism: what is behind Peter Thiel’s move to Argentina?

Relocation coincides with proposed laws that opponents say would entrench power of US tech billionaires in country

Dozens of protesters converged on Peter Thiel’s mansion in Buenos Aires this week after a congressional session raised questions about the billionaire’s presence in the country.

In white masks, they held signs saying “Peter Thief” and “No to the Peter Thiel law” in front of the wrought-iron gates of the $12m (£8.9m) residence, which Thiel bought in April as he moved his family to Argentina.

Tall tales: the 20 best giants in film – ranked!

On the 300th anniversary of Gulliver’s Travels, we celebrate the biggest film stars of them all – from a stone colossus to a metal-munching alien and a 50ft woman on the rampage

Not a first-person-shooter BFG, alas, but one of Steven Spielberg’s worst films, reducing Roald Dahl’s story to digital pap. Mo-cap Mark Rylance, whose cutesy ungrammatical babbling should have been left on the printed page, is the 24ft Big Friendly Giant who kidnaps an orphan girl, Sophie. Ugh. Big Creepy Giant, more like.

La Mesías review – this utterly bizarre TV show is unforgettable

Finally landing on Mubi, this Spanish mega-hit about six sisters drilled into becoming viral Christian pop stars is wildly ambitious, blackly funny and a true triumph. Oh, and there are UFOs too

At Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona in 2024, nestled alongside the likes of Pulp and Charli xcx was an unusual addition to the bill. Stella Maris arrived on stage as haunting home movies, religious iconography and glittery gifs popped up on the screen behind them. Part-Haim, part-Heaven’s Gate, the six sisters performed their hits: “Christian electronic dance music” that their late mother, apparently, believed would help them to save the world.

The performance was very real, but the band was not. It was a stunt for the Spanish TV mega-hit La Mesías or The Messiah, which was released there in 2023. Its seven episodes centre on an estranged brother and sister, Enric and Irene, who discover that their siblings have become a viral pop band. Cue a soft-focus, flashback-heavy trip into the family’s past, thick with emotional neglect, parental narcissism and religious fanaticism. Oh, and there are UFOs, too.

Hillary Clinton reflects on Gloria Steinem's impact on women's rights

Writer and women's rights trailblazer Gloria Steinem died Wednesday at 92, her foundation announced Thursday. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined "CBS Mornings" via phone to reflect on Steinem's life and impact.