Trump proposes gas tax holiday, but savings may be limited

Suspending the federal gas tax would have a modest impact on fuel prices, while also requiring congressional approval.

Trump, congressional Republicans float suspending federal gas tax amid Iran war

Voters are souring on Trump's economy ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, and high gas prices are only adding to consumer discontent.

6 found dead in shipping container at rail yard near Texas border

Police confirmed that there were six people dead, five men and one woman.

Millwall v Hull: Championship playoff semi-final, second leg – live

⚽️ Championship playoff updates from 8pm BST
⚽️ First leg match report | Mail Daniel

And for balance, here’s some classic Hull.

Some lovely goals in this game, from Millwall’s only top-division stint.

Three ministerial aides quit and demand Keir Starmer’s resignation as speech fails to quell rebellion – UK politics live

More than 55 Labour MPs have called for prime minister to set a timetable for his resignation

Botterill says voters she spoke to during the campaign felt the country does not work for them. She is a working-class Yorkshire woman, she says. She knows that the opportunities she has enjoyed would not be there if if had not been for the achievements of Labour government.

She says Labour is one of the best vehicles for changing the lives of working people that this county has ever known.

Tottenham v Leeds: Premier League – live

⚽️ Premier League updates from 8pm BST
⚽️ Kinsky exorcises demons after Atlético debacle | Mail Simon

Looks like lots of All Together Always flags have been distributed behind one of the goals tonight, so look out for an eye-catching display when the teams come out in about half an hour.

Roberto De Zerbi has a chat with Sky:

We played very well in Birmingham [beating Aston Villa 2-1], and I think the whole idea was to keep the same first XI. But I’m lucky also on the bench I have good players.

We have to forget the last two wins. We have to keep just the same spirit, the same style of play, because we need to play football if we want another win tonight. And to be positive, but we can’t forget what the situation was two weeks ago.

Nothing changes, especially in the Premier League. You see Burnley against Villa yesterday – all games are very tough. To win we have to play our best, to fight, to run, to work, but to play according to our qualities. For sure, the first 10 minutes we have to start strong to [keep] the fans with us. But we have to play 90 minutes and extra time, because we are not in a condition to think we can close the game inside 90 minutes.

Drug gang attacks ‘force hundreds of Indigenous families to flee’ in Mexico

Violence in Guerrero state has driven as many as 1,000 households from their homes, rights group says

Hundreds of Indigenous families have been forced to flee their homes in the mountains of central Mexico by intense attacks from a local criminal group, including drone bombings, an Indigenous rights organisation said on Monday.

A gang known as Los Ardillos has been carrying out attacks in Guerrero state for years, but they started to intensify last week. Villages were subjected to eight hours of bombings on Saturday, the National Indigenous Congress said, forcing between 800 to 1,000 families to flee to other towns.

Trump says ceasefire with Iran on ‘life support’ after rejecting peace proposals

US president says he is considering restarting naval escorts in strait of Hormuz in attempt to end Iranian blockade

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Donald Trump has said the ceasefire with Iran is on “life support” and that he is considering restarting US navy military escorts of ships through the strait of Hormuz in an attempt to end the Iranian blockade of the vital waterway.

The US president dismissed Iran’s peace proposals as stupid, and denied he was under any domestic pressure to reach a deal.

Trump says he hopes to achieve ‘a lot’ ahead of China visit, with several CEOs set to join president in Beijing – live

Seventeen tech and finance CEOs to join Trump on China trip; it will be the first US presidential visit China since Trump went in 2017

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Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump reiterated that Iran’s peace proposal was “just unacceptable”.

The president went on to insist that he had a “very simple plan”, and maintained that Tehran could not have a nuclear weapon, without elaborating on the next negotiating steps.

The Guardian view on Labour’s rebellion: Starmer faces a crisis of legitimacy | Editorial

After disastrous elections, Labour MPs voice public doubts over whether the prime minister can politically survive at all

The clock is ticking on Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership of the Labour party. He had begun Monday morning with a speech designed to save his premiership after it was routed in local and devolved elections last week. In it he attempted a political synthesis by occupying Reform’s terrain of national pride without the xenophobia, adopting the left’s language of industrial revival without class antagonism and repositioning Labour as culturally pro-European without reopening the Brexit settlement. It did not succeed. By the afternoon, scores of MPs from across the party had publicly demanded that the prime minister leave office in an “orderly transition”. As the hours passed, the rhetoric crossed an important threshold: from criticism of strategy to questioning Sir Keir’s legitimacy as leader.

Labour MPs increasingly say that voters do not trust, or believe, Sir Keir. Nor do they see the change the Labour government promised to deliver. Backbenchers are clearly saying the prime minister’s leadership is the issue. The instinctively loyal MP Catherine McKinnell put it in stark terms. The message from voters, she said, was clear: “The Labour government has to change, or we will change the Labour government.”

The Guardian view on World Cup ticket prices: $33,000? You’re having a laugh … | Editorial

Fifa’s embrace of dynamic pricing and resale markets has led to sky-high costs and a speculative free-for-all, betraying the spirit of the beautiful game

In What Money Can’t Buy, his 2012 critique of a world where everything is for sale, Michael Sandel laments what he calls “the skyboxification of American life”. Price gouging and profiteering, Mr Sandel notes, can exclude millions from communal experiences that should unite people, rather than divide them according to the size of their wallets. That is “not good for democracy, nor is it a satisfying way to live”.

Ahead of the men’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico next month, millions of football fans would readily agree with the Harvard philosopher. Gianni Infantino, the president of the sport’s global governing body, Fifa, has predicted that this summer’s tournament will be the “greatest and most inclusive … ever”. But the lead-up has been overshadowed by a ticketing strategy that is almost surreally indifferent to the battered traditions of “the people’s game”.

Years after sex abuse scandal, a young gymnast says "it happened again"

Sean Gardner, a gymnastics coach who trained elite young girls, will be in federal court in Mississippi on Monday facing 12 felony counts of sexual exploitation of children.

Redistricting war isn't over, Democrats say as Jeffries calls a meeting this week

Democrats are vowing to fight on after being dealt a series of blows in the partisan fight to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Why Americans from the hantavirus-stricken ship were taken to Omaha

Most of the Americans who were on a cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak were taken to specialized facilities at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Brent oil tops $104 after Trump says ceasefire with Iran is on 'life support'

Oil prices jumped on Monday after Israel warned that the conflict with Iran was still ongoing.

Why is Putin now talking about the war in Ukraine ‘coming to an end’?

Drone strikes, mounting casualties and a distracted US president means a slow-motion victory is in doubt

Vladimir Putin suggested that the war in Ukraine may be “coming to an end” on Saturday – comments that raise the question of why the Russian president might want a possible end to the war now, given how the fighting is evolving.

Poland says it expects US to extradite ex-minister who fled from Hungary

Trump reportedly involved in securing visa for Zbigniew Ziobro, who is wanted in Warsaw on criminal charges

Poland has said it expects Washington to extradite a former justice minister wanted on criminal charges after reports emerged that he had fled to the US from Hungary, where the former prime minister Viktor Orbán had granted him asylum.

“You can’t hide these days. You can flee, you can delay it for a while, but eventually your options run out,” Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, said on Monday in reference to Zbigniew Ziobro.

Flight of the Conchords’ US reunion brings needed joy: ‘Grateful you accepted people from outside your country’

The New Zealand duo’s first performances in eight years showcase their signature wit and understated charm

When Robots, Flight of the Conchords’ songabout an android uprising told from the robots’ perspective, came out in 2008, it seemed like pure comedy. Now the story feels all too real, and the lyrics have been updated accordingly.

“Humans invented artificial intelligence, and then they had us doing really stupid shit with it,” Jemaine Clement, in the role of a frustrated robot, explained over a beat at Los Angeles’s Greek Theater on Saturday night. “They gave us all the knowledge, deep learning, gave us the power to solve complex, scientific mathematical equations,” his bandmate Brett McKenzie added. “Then just asked us questions like, ‘How do you cook an egg?’”

Newly elected Reform councillor resigns after social media claims

Stuart Prior, who was elected in Essex last week, allegedly celebrated the rape of Sikh woman and called Muslim people ‘rats’

A Reform UK councillor has resigned days after being elected, after he allegedly celebrated on social media the rape of a Sikh woman in the Midlands, declared white people the “master race” and called Muslim people “rats”.

Stuart Prior was elected as a councillor for Essex county council last Thursday, winning 2,404 votes, the highest total of any candidate in the ward.

Trump approves plan to fire FDA Commissioner Marty Makary

Marty Makary has served as Food and Drug Administration commissioner since March 2025.

Senate Democrats to fight Republicans’ $1bn funding plan for Trump’s ballroom

Chuck Schumer accuses GOP of ‘asking working families to pay the price while Trump pockets the perks’ in letter

• US politics live – latest updates

Chuck Schumer, the US Senate’s top Democrat, has vowed to oppose a Republican plan to spend $1bn on security improvements for the ballroom Donald Trump is seeking to build on the White House’s former East Wing.

The money is set to be included in a measure Republicans plan to pass that would allocate about $70bn to the federal agencies leading Trump’s mass deportation campaign, with the intention of keeping them operational through the remainder of the president’s term.

Number of police officers killed in line of duty decreased in 2025 compared to 2024

Though the number of police officers killed in the line of duty has dropped, non-fatal assaults against them have been rising since 2021, according to new data released Monday by the FBI.

Is CTE really the main reason behind the rise in NFL player suicides?

Brain trauma and football have become inexorably linked. But a recent Harvard study suggests there are other dangers for football players

When an NFL player takes his own life, there is often speculation about why. Injuries and unemployment – a common occurrence in a violent sport where players are frequently traded and cut – have been linked with increased risks of suicidal ideation. In parallel to those factors, however, exists chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). A degenerative brain condition caused by repeated trauma to the head, CTE’s links with football are established and almost impossible to ignore. Players ranging from widely admired Pro Bowlers such as Junior Seau and Dave Duerson, to those infamous for more notorious reasons, such as Aaron Hernandez and Phillip Adams, were all confirmed to have CTE by autopsies. (The condition can only be diagnosed posthumously.) All four players killed themselves.

Such anecdotal observations imply a certain, coherent logic that connects playing football with suicide. Tackle football, by its nature, increases participants’ risk of head injury. Head injuries increase the likelihood of an affected individual attempting suicide. CTE is often the cumulative consequence of years of head injuries and, indeed, many high-profile NFL players who have taken their own lives have been confirmed to suffer from CTE. So it’s easy to reason that football and/or CTE, by their very nature, lead to an increased risk of suicide.

In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected] or [email protected]. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

GM cutting hundreds of salaried IT workers as it trims costs, evaluates needs

General Motors is laying off hundreds of salaried employees in its information technology operations.

Trump wants to suspend the federal gas tax as prices soar amid war with Iran

Suspending the federal gas tax would require an act of Congress.

Group sues to block Trump's blue resurfacing of Reflecting Pool

A nonprofit group is suing to block the Trump administration's blue resurfacing of the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

Benfica to target Fulham’s Marco Silva if they lose José Mourinho to Real Madrid

• Mourinho expected to return to Bernabéu

• Chelsea also keen on Silva, but Alonso is their first choice

Benfica will target Fulham’s Marco Silva as their manager if they lose José Mourinho to Real Madrid. Mourinho is Madrid’s preferred choice and talks have taken place over the former Chelsea and Manchester United manager returning to the Bernabéu.

Benfica do not want to lose the 63-year-old, who was hired last September, but need a contingency plan. They are looking at Silva as a potential replacement for Mourinho, who is expected to agree to a second spell at Madrid 13 years after his first ended.

Americans evacuated from hantavirus cruise ship arrive back in U.S.

The Americans who were evacuated from the cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak are back in the U.S. They are now being monitored at the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska. Ian Lee reports on the passengers and Dr. Jon LaPook has more on the outbreak.

John Oliver on Trump’s use of supreme court shadow dockets: ‘his go-to method to get his way’

The host makes a case for court reform as the US president bypasses traditional legal processes for emergency rulings

On Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, John Oliver took an extended look into Donald Trump’s influence on the supreme court.

This comes in the wake of the highest US court giving their nod to multiple presidential executive orders, effectively giving a head start to Trump’s agenda even as cases are still working their way through the court system.

ChatGPT developer sued over FSU shooting: "They planned this shooting together"

The family of one of the victims in last year's deadly mass shooting at Florida State University accused ChatGPT developer OpenAI of enabling the suspect leading up to the attack.

Europe’s best title race is in Scotland: Explaining Hearts, Celtic and a decisive week

A traditional power and an upstart contender are leading a tense competition that could go down to the final day

The 12-team division splits into two groups of six for the final five matches of the season, with each team playing every other team in their group once. This creates some nail-biting tension down the stretch, as the relegation rivals face each other, as do the title challengers. It also satisfies TV broadcasters, who now get four Old Firm league derbies to broadcast every year.

Hantavirus cases spark brief surge in pharma and biotech stocks — here’s why trading is so volatile

The outbreak of Hantavirus on a cruise ship has led to biotech and pharmaceutical stocks surging on reports of firms developing vaccines.

Trump says he aims to suspend gas tax "for a period of time"

President Trump made the comments in a phone interview with CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes.

Coast Guard seizes sailboat in Lynette Hooker's disappearance probe, sources say

The sailboat used by Brian and Lynette Hooker​ in their travels around the Bahamas — named "Soulmate" — has been seized by U.S. Coast Guard investigators.

You’re right to feel suspicious: Wordle is the TV spinoff the world does not need

The game already feels like a relic – so I suspect the TV gameshow will be very annoying indeed. But perhaps this is what newspapers need to stay afloat

Anyone who has watched television knows that late-night talkshow hosts have a habit of pulling entertainment formats from the barest of inspirations. James Corden got Carpool Karaoke from the act of singing songs in the car. Jimmy Fallon got Lip Sync Battle from the act of mouthing along to songs in the mirror. And now Fallon has struck again. He’s making a Wordle gameshow. It’s based on Wordle, that puzzle you used to do while sitting on the toilet.

Fallon’s production company, Electric Hot Dog, has acquired the rights to Wordle and will turn it into a show where teams compete to solve puzzles for cash. The show will film in Manchester, England, this summer and debut on NBC next year.

Beta Mums: they’re messy, chaotic and nowhere near Instagram

The days of helicopter parenting, where raising a child was seen as a competitive sport, may now be over thanks to the looming threat of AI. It could be good news for everyone involved

Name: Beta Mum.

Age: 25-45.

Cole Allen pleads not guilty to trying to assassinate Trump

Allen is accused of trying to kill Trump, transporting firearms interstate, discharging a firearm during an act of violence and assaulting law enforcement.

What we know about hantavirus cases tied to deadly cruise ship outbreak

Health officials have identified at least 10 confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus tied to an outbreak on the M/V Hondius cruise ship.

Very difficult and extremely cool: how to start doing pull-ups

Long considered an important milestone in one’s fitness journey, pull-ups build upper body strength and look impressive in the gym

The pull-up has long been seen as an important fitness metric. From 1966 to 2013, public middle and high school students in the US were required to do pull-ups as part of the presidential fitness test (an evaluation Donald Trump has considered reinstating). US Marine Corps members were long required to perform pull-ups as part of their regular physical fitness test, and prospective UK Royal Marines must complete a minimum of three to four pull-ups before they are eligible to join.

There is no definitive data on how many adults can perform a proper pull-up, but two things are clear: they are very difficult and look extremely cool.

Lat pulldowns.

Bent-over dumbbell rows.

Single-arm dumbbell rows.

Wide upright rows.

Shoulder shrugs.

Former Tesla CFO Deepak Ahuja joins EV battery recycler Redwood Materials

Before joining Redwood Materials, Ahuja served as chief financial and business officer at the drone delivery startup Zipline for about three years.

Americans from hantavirus-hit ship arrive in U.S., including 1 who tested positive

An American on the repatriation flight began showing symptoms of hantavirus and another "tested mildly PCR positive for the Andes virus," the Department of Health and Human Services says.

Israeli troops jailed for desecration of Virgin Mary statue in Lebanon

IDF says two soldiers will spend weeks in military prison over incident it said was viewed with great severity

Two Israeli soldiers will spend weeks in military prison for the desecration of a Christian object after one stuck a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon and the other photographed it.

The photo of the soldier, a cigarette dangling from his own mouth, went viral and sparked widespread outrage. It was the latest act by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon to be denounced as anti-Christian.

Dua Lipa alleges Samsung uses copyrighted image of her to sell TVs

Pop singer accuses electronics manufacturer Samsung of using a copyrighted image of her face to sell TVs.

Hansi Flick turned Barcelona into a family – and runaway La Liga champions | Sid Lowe

After learning of his father’s death on the morning of the clásico, the manager watched his players respond with devotion that underlined the culture he has built

Early on Sunday morning Hansi Flick got a call from his mum telling him that his father had died overnight. Hansi Sr was 82 and he had been ill for some time. The day that Barcelona were going to win the league again, the first clásico back at Camp Nou, had just begun and their coach was not sure what to do, yet he also knew. “I [thought]: ‘should I hide it or should I speak with my team, because for me it is like a family?’,” he said. “I said ‘OK, I want to get the information to my players, and what they did is unbelievable. I will never forget this moment.”

None of them would. Barcelona’s players had arrived at the Torre Melina hotel on the Diagonal at midday, where the man many of them consider a father told them about his. Now it was close to midnight and together they celebrated a title that was his too. For the first time in 94 years, the clásico had decided La Liga, if decided is really the word when it was done a while ago. Barcelona’s superiority in the 2-0 victory that finally ended it was incontestable as it had been virtually all season, Real Madrid’s players withdrawing swiftly, relieved that at least it was over now and leaving the stadium to them, the first round of fireworks exploding into the sky and a sardana forming in the centre circle.

Savannah Guthrie will host Wordle TV game show

Jimmy Fallon will produce show, which will begin filming over the summer, based on New York Times’ hit word game

Savannah Guthrie is to present a TV game show based on the New York Times’ hit word game Wordle, the newspaper announced Monday.

It will be the first new onscreen venture for the host of NBC’s Today show since her return in April after the disappearance two months earlier of her mother.

Evacuated US and French MV Hondius passengers test positive for hantavirus

French woman taken to Paris in serious condition while American flown to Nebraska is asymptomatic, say officials

• Europe live – latest updates

A French woman and an American national evacuated from the cruise ship at the centre of a deadly hantavirus outbreak have tested positive for the virus, as the complex operation to repatriate those onboard continued on Monday.

The French woman was one of five French passengers who disembarked from the ship in Tenerife on Sunday before being flown to a hospital in Paris.

There should be one thing on Starmer’s mind: not keeping his job, but keeping out Reform | Polly Toynbee

His speech today was OK, but nowhere near enough. Now the risk is that the longer he stays in No 10, the harder it will be to stop Britain’s Trump

Calamity, cataclysm, catastrophe: the lexicon ran out of words for Labour’s plight. Keir Starmer’s career-saving “reset” needed to be monumental. It was … OK-ish. But it didn’t dispel the sense of a country with no overall control. As ever, his tacking neither right or left, as he wrote in the Guardian, sends many Labour people into paroxysms of despair, when last week it lost most votes leftwards.

Britain at the heart of Europe was absolutely the right message, “shoulder to shoulder with the countries that share our interests, our values and our enemies” on growth, defence and energy. But as Starmer said himself, “incremental change won’t cut it”. His message lacked the ear-splitting sounds of red lines snapping and a manifesto straitjacket bursting open. Tiptoeing towards the single market and customs unions for a manifesto three years away doesn’t cut the mustard. What voters sniff, remainers and leavers alike, is the odour of cowardice, an unwillingness to say what he and Labour undoubtedly feel about Europe – rejoin ASAP.

Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist

EU preparing to offer key concession to UK in new post-Brexit agricultural deal

Exclusive: Britain expected to be allowed to keep ban on live animal exports, sources say, in fillip for Keir Starmer

• UK politics live – latest updates

Brussels is preparing to offer Keir Starmer a key concession in talks over an agricultural deal, giving the beleaguered prime minister an important victory in his efforts to move closer to the EU.

European officials have conceded that the UK can keep its ban on live animal exports as part of any joint deal on food and agricultural products, according to sources on both sides of the talks, even though the EU has not imposed such a ban.

The Federal Reserve is quickly running out of reasons to cut interest rates

Friday's jobs report provided evidence that the central bank's larger concern is a cost of living that is getting increasingly hard to bear.

'Atlanta Journal-Constitution' chief steps down as bold goals yield to tough realities

The owners of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution invested $150 million to reinvent the paper. The changes have been significant. Three years in, the payoff has been modest.

April home sales disappoint as higher mortgage rates weigh on buyers

Home sales barely moved in April, as mortgage rates shot higher the month before and uncertainty over the war with Iran weighed on consumers.

Principal who tackled gunman says he didn't initially know he was shot

Kirk Moore, the principal at Pauls Valley High School in Oklahoma, exclusively told CBS News how he acted on "just instinct" when tackling a school shooter.

A job that changed me: At 14 I was a basketball musician. If someone missed a shot, I’d drop in a ‘du-ba-dum’

A big shot earned a triumphant snare drum roll with a resolving crash. My timing was often slightly late, occasionally wildly inappropriate

Music came to me very early on. I’m told that as a baby I would fall asleep to opera – arias would stop me crying. By age six I was enrolled at the local conservatory of music in Athens, learning classical guitar and moving, quite seriously, through music theory and the fundamentals. By my teens, I was in a band with friends, covering everything from Avril Lavigne to Muse, aiming for precision over hours of rehearsal. My music practice was very disciplined and far removed from anything resembling “entertainment”.

Sport, on the other hand, barely registered for me.

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Royal Opera House calls for release of Georgian bass singer jailed over democracy protests

Casting director urges Keir Starmer to intervene in case of Paata Burchuladze, 71, jailed for seven years after singing at anti-regime demonstrations

The Royal Opera House in London has urged Keir Starmer to intervene in the case of Paata Burchuladze, a world-renowned bass singer who has been imprisoned in Georgia since October on a charge of leading a coup against the country’s authoritarian leader.

The 71-year-old has performed at the Royal Opera House and the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and collaborated with the likes of Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras. He was arrested after joining a protest outside the presidential palace in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. Last week he was given a seven-year jail sentence which Burchuladze suggested to the court was equivalent to a life sentence given his age.

Suspect in White House press dinner shooting pleads not guilty to all charges

Cole Tomas Allen, accused of attempting to assassinate Trump last month, did not speak as plea was entered

The suspect accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last month at a gala in Washington DC has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Cole Tomas Allen did not speak in court on Monday as his attorney entered the plea on his behalf.

Desperate to please but pleasing no one, Starmer’s latest reset could be his last | John Crace

Monday’s ‘make or break’ speech was one of the PM’s best but the signs are that most Labour MPs have already seen enough

• What did Keir Starmer say in ‘last chance’ speech to save his premiership?

• UK politics live – latest updates

Was that it? Reset number … I forget where we’re up to now. Much the same as the last reset. And probably much the same as the next reset. That’s if there is one. The signs are that most Labour MPs think they’ve seen enough. That Keir Starmer has run out of road. He certainly seems to be running out of friends. Down to a few ultra-loyalists. And he can’t even trust those who want him to stay, as they are probably only biding their time until Andy Burnham is in Westminster and can launch a leadership challenge.

There’s a sadness here. Because Monday’s “make or break” speech was one of Starmer’s best. But it was always going to end in heartbreak, because Starmer can’t roll back the last two years. He can’t stop a leadership race that has in effect already started.

Michael Pennington was an actor of astonishing range, a wise writer and witty company

Over his kaleidoscopic career, the great Shakespearean was a stalwart of the RSC, co-founded a ‘rock’n’roll’ theatre company and excelled at Chekhov and Pinter

Michael Pennington was what Richard II – a part he played with great distinction – called a “well-graced actor”. He had a resonant voice, a handsome countenance, a security and ease on stage. But looking back over his career, on his death at the age of 82, I am struck by its astonishing variety.

He co-founded, with Michael Bogdanov, the English Shakespeare Company. He toured the world with one-man shows on Shakespeare and Chekhov. He directed here and abroad and wrote 10 books full of practical wisdom. On top of all that, he was witty and delightful company.

AI-powered hacking has exploded into industrial-scale threat, Google says

Criminal groups and state-linked actors appear to be using commercial models to refine and scale up attacks

• Business live – latest updates

In just three months, AI-powered hacking has gone from a nascent problem to an industrial-scale threat, according to a report from Google.

The findings from Google’s threat intelligence group add to an intensifying, global discussion about how the newest AI models are extremely adept at coding – and becoming extremely powerful tools for exploiting vulnerabilities in a broad array of software systems.

UK slavery reparations must be top issue at Commonwealth summit, says former Caribbean leader

Leaders cannot ignore support for reparations resolution this November, says St Vincent and Grenadines ex-PM

• What are reparations for slavery and colonialism – and will the UK pay?

It is “inconceivable” that reparatory justice from Britain for the transatlantic trade of enslaved Africans will not be “front and centre” of the next Commonwealth leaders’ meeting, the former prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines has said.

Ralph Gonsalves was in Jamaica to discuss the next steps of the “alive and growing” movement to advocate for reparations for hundreds of years of chattel slavery.

Six people found dead inside train car at rail yard near Texas-Mexico border

Discovery was made by Union Pacific employee inspecting stopped train at the yard in Laredo before it continued its journey north

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Rail workers in Texas found six people dead inside a boxcar at a yard close to the Mexican border on Sunday afternoon, officials said.

The discovery was made by a Union Pacific employee inspecting the stopped train at the yard in Laredo before it continued its journey north, a spokesperson for the Laredo police department said, citing the railroad freight company.

White House ballroom funds hang over GOP push to fund ICE

The Senate is returning to Washington to resume work on funding immigration agencies with a package that includes $1 billion for the renovation of the White House East Wing.

White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting suspect Cole Allen pleads not guilty

Allen is charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump, assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and two gun counts.

Ketamine, TMS, a fecal analysis: my year trying San Francisco’s most experimental depression treatments

Carly Schwartz wanted a solution for her mental health struggles. She found one, but not where she expected

On a threadbare carpet in the living room of a Bernal Heights bungalow, I lay blindfolded on my back. Two middle-aged rescue terriers, one missing an eye, sniffed my feet and climbed up and down my legs. F**kin’ Perfect by Pink blared in the background, but the music sounded muffled and distant, like I was listening from underwater.

It was 1pm on a Thursday. Instead of going to the office, I’d allowed a shaman named Jonathan to inject my thigh muscle with a large dose of liquid ketamine. Even in my compromised state, high and spread out like a corpse on a stranger’s rug, I knew I’d reached peak absurdity. I also knew I wouldn’t emerge from this activity with even a slight improvement to my mental health.

Carly Schwartz is the author of the new memoir I’ll Try Anything Twice: Misadventures of a Self-Medicated Life and the former editor in chief of the San Francisco Examiner

‘As good as any feeling I had in football’: Nigel Martyn on swapping goalkeeping for a red England cricket cap

The former England keeper has the chance to represent his country once again after flourishing as a senior cricketer

‘I once hit a six in very murky conditions to win a game which got us promoted.” Nigel Martyn is lost in a reverie. The former England, Leeds, Everton and Crystal Palace player was English football’s first £1m goalkeeper, chalked up 846 club appearances in a career that spanned three decades, went to two World Cups and played in an FA Cup final. But it is a smear over long-on in the Yorkshire gloaming that has him misty-eyed.

“Wow. I remember that feeling was … yeah. That was as good as any feeling that I had on a football field.”

Michael Pennington, Shakespeare and Star Wars actor, dies aged 82

‘Brilliant, wise’ co-founder of English Shakespeare Company celebrated for roles including Macbeth and Mercutio

The actor Michael Pennington, known for his Shakespearean work and his role in the original Star Wars trilogy, has died aged 82, his agent has said.

Pennington, who is listed as an honorary associate artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company, also founded and ran the English Shakespeare Company alongside the theatre director Michael Bogdanov.

Cerebras bumps up IPO range as it looks to raise up to $4.8 billion

Elon Musk was open to having OpenAI merge with Cerebras. Now Cerebras is looking at going public as soon as this week.

Flames erupt from Frontier plane after trespasser struck and killed

New surveillance video shows a trespasser wandering onto a runway at Denver International Airport on Friday. Just minutes later the individual was struck and killed by a Frontier plane taking off. Kris Van Cleave reports.

Record-setting Memorial Day travel expected despite high gas and flight prices

Memorial Day travel is expected to set another record this year despite surging prices for gas and flights. AAA anticipates 45 million Americans to travel at least 50 miles from home. Kris Van Cleave reports.

I can tell Stephen A Smith why many Black people don’t like him | Etan Thomas

The ESPN star has done brilliant work for Black students. I wrote an open letter to him explaining why his comments on politics alienate much of his audience

Dear Stephen A Smith,

Let me first say that I tremendously respect all you do for historically Black colleges and universities. You have helped generate millions in scholarships, promoted student enrollment and brought national media attention to HBCUs across the United States. Specifically, as ambassador, you have promoted the annual HBCU College Fair, which has garnered over $12m in scholarships. You encourage students to consider HBCUs for their higher education, highlighting the community and nurturing environment they provide.

Etan Thomas played in the NBA from 2000 through 2011. He is a published author, podcaster, poet, activist and motivational speaker.

High gas prices are hurting restaurant sales — but not all chains

Restaurant traffic fell 2.3% in March compared with the year-ago period, according to Black Box Intelligence.

American passenger who was on hantavirus-stricken cruise ship tests positive for virus

One of the 17 American passengers evacuated from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship has tested positive for the virus. They are now under quarantine in Nebraska. Ramy Inocencio reports.

‘Using his Terminator voice, Arnie said: “Your song. Give it to me. Now”’: Bad to the Bone’s creation – and aftermath

‘There was a lot of fighting and drinking at our shows. We played for bikers, for Hell’s Angels. We would break records for beer sales everywhere we played’

Before Bad to the Bone, we just played obscure blues songs from the archives. But when we toured with the Rolling Stones, I noticed the reaction to their Start Me Up. I said: “Man, we’d better hurry up and write an original song with a catchy intro or, five years from now, people will go, ‘Oh yeah, George Thorogood – wasn’t he good at playing Chuck Berry or something?’”

‘The haters will hate’: Dan Ives predicts Nasdaq 30,000 as AI rally expands

A solid tech earnings season has seen investor jitters earlier this year evaporate

Religious icons and rickshaws in the rain: photos of the day – Monday

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

Oklahoma principal says "there was no denying" sound of gunshots as he describes shooting

Kirk Moore, the Oklahoma principal who tackled a gunman who had entered his school, spoke exclusively to Matt Gutman about the terrifying moment and the support he's received since.

Congress and retailers want to rebuild national parks. Tolls on federal roads might pay for it

Rebuilding national parks is a bipartisan priority and key for outdoor recreation companies such as REI and VF Corp.

Tell us: have you been affected by the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak?

If you have been affected by the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship, we would like to hear from you

Twenty Britons from a cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak continue to be offered practical and emotional support as they isolate at a UK hospital.

Along with the 20 British nationals, a German who is a UK resident, and a Japanese passenger, were taken to Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral on Sunday after the MV Hondius docked in Tenerife.

Pete Songi on the challenges to Starmer’s premiership – cartoon

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Molière Ex Machina: AI used to create ‘new work’ by beloved French playwright

Comedy debuts at Versailles featuring dialogue, music, costumes and scenery created with help of AI tool Le Chat

• Europe live – latest updates

Molière is to the French what Shakespeare is to the English: the last word in historical literature, drama, wit and satire.

Now, more than 350 years after his death, the 17th-century dramatist has been revived after scholars at the Sorbonne University in Paris used artificial intelligence to help write an experimental play in his style.

Philippine presidential hopeful Sara Duterte impeached for second time

Vice-president is accused of misusing public funds and threatening the lives of President Marcos Jr and his wife

The Philippine vice-president, Sara Duterte, has been impeached over allegations she misused public funds, amassed unexplained wealth and threatened the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his wife, in a case that could complicate her presidential ambitions.

Duterte, the daughter of the detained former president Rodrigo Duterte, was impeached by an overwhelming majority of lawmakers in the House of Representatives, which is dominated by allies of Marcos.

Vision of destruction: Israel’s assault on southern Lebanon in video, maps and charts

More than 1.2 million people have been forced to flee their homes amid bombings, evacuation orders and demolitions

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Israel’s destruction in southern Lebanon happened in phases. Hours after Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel on 2 March, the Israeli military issued forced evacuation orders for more than 100 villages close to the Lebanese-Israeli border.

Bombing quickly followed. Tens of thousands of residents of south Lebanon began heading north, taking shelter in cities such as Tyre, Sidon and Beirut. Many people outside the formal evacuation zones also fled their homes, recalling the autumn 2024 war in which Israel bombed wide swathes of south Lebanon without warning.

EU rejects Putin call for Gerhard Schröder role in Ukraine peace talks

Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas says Kremlin-friendly former German chancellor cannot be considered impartial

• Europe live – latest updates

The EU has dismissed Vladimir Putin’s suggestion that the Kremlin-friendly former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder could serve as a European mediator in peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

Over the weekend, the Russian leader put forward Schröder – a longtime ally – as a possible figure to help restart talks with Europe, saying he would “personally” favour the former German leader for the role.

Sharp drop in ‘forever chemicals’ in seabird eggs hailed as win for regulation

Levels of Pfas in northern gannet eggs in Canada fell up to 74% over 55-year period of study

Levels of some of the most dangerous Pfas compounds have dramatically fallen in Canadian seabird eggs, which the authors of a new peer-reviewed study say illustrates how regulations are effective.

Researchers looked at Pfas levels in the eggs of northern gannets in the St Lawrence Seaway basin over a 55-year period. Pfas levels shot up from the 1960s through the peak of the chemicals’ use in the late 1990s and early aughts, then fell.

Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for cheesy polenta with tomatoes, butter beans and pesto | Quick and easy

Enjoy this 30-minute cheesy polenta for dinner, then chill the excess polenta and get an even quicker meal the next day

I love polenta, but very often forget about it in favour of pasta or rice. However, for those transitional spring evenings, it’s perfect comfort food: warm, filling, and cooks in under two minutes when you buy quick-cook. But the very best thing about making a pan of polenta is that with barely any extra effort, it’ll give you the basis for a meal the next day. Try pouring half of it into a tray – studded with olives, or with extra cheddar stirred through, perhaps – and chill overnight. The next day, cut it into squares, chips, or even star shapes, and fry until crisp – a cook once, eat twice win.

OpenAI to give EU access to new cyber model but Anthropic still holding out on Mythos

OpenAI announced on Thursday it was granting preview access to its latest cyber model to vetted cybersecurity teams.

Trump rejects Iran's ceasefire proposal response. And, Congress to tackle ICE funding

Trump rejected Iran's response to a U.S. peace proposal, calling it "totally unacceptable." And, Congressional Republicans are trying to push for three years of funding for immigration enforcement.

Trump threatens EU with ‘much higher’ tariffs if no trade deal signed by new deadline

President Donald Trump said he will give the European Union until July 4 to ratify its trade agreement with the U.S.

Norway puts UN project funding on hold raising fears for plastics treaty talks

Move by largest donor to environment programme poses further uncertainty for already troubled negotiations

The largest donor to the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) has paused funding to the body before its revised budget on 12 May, triggering concern among member states and NGOs.

The news could carry significance for the already troubled plastic treaty negotiations being overseen by Unep. Since 2022 countries have been struggling to agree on how to deal with the volume of plastics being produced and used, a subject widely acknowledged to be one of the most serious environmental issues of the age, but despite six rounds of talks there has been no agreement in sight.

Oregon's most unexpected gubernatorial candidate? A pencil with a point

Oregon's public schools rank last in fourth-grade reading, according to an analysis of national testing. As a wake-up call for elected leaders, Pencil is running for governor as a write-in candidate.

Wondered where the culture wars would end? Try a white influencer suing a charity for not offering her an internship | Jason Okundaye

The GB News commentator Sophie Corcoran’s case against 10,000 Interns is part of a broader strategy of anti-DEI lawfare imported from Trump’s US

If our culture wars are to reach a nadir, it may be this single, absurd moment: a white female influencer is moving to sue a positive action charity over anti-white discrimination.

This is the basis on which the GB News commentator Sophie Corcoran is bringing a legal case against the 10,000 Interns Foundation, which helps to organise internship opportunities for young black people and other ethnic minorities. Corcoran says that she applied for a programme run by the foundation and the Bar Council, as she had been “exploring a legal career”, only to be rejected. The legal action claims that Corcoran faced a loss of employment opportunity, as well as discrimination in violation of the Equality Act.

Jason Okundaye is an assistant Opinion editor at the Guardian

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Forget the AI job apocalypse. AI’s real threat is worker control and surveillance

A new divide is emerging: between workers who use AI at work and those who are managed by it

The real danger that artificial intelligence poses to work is not just job loss – it is the growing divide between people who use AI to extend their skills and those whose working lives are increasingly shaped by opaque, AI-powered systems of surveillance and control.

The debate about artificial intelligence and how it will affect workers is stuck in the wrong place. On one side are warnings that machines are coming for millions of jobs. On the other are claims that AI will turbocharge productivity. Both stories miss what is already happening in workplaces across the world, from Britain to Kenya to the United States.

‘Truly terrifying’: Alberta voter data breach raises fears for Canada’s electoral integrity

Debates over secession overshadowed by revelations separatist-linked group gained access to list of electors

The illegal use of voter information by rightwing separatists in the province of Alberta has raised fresh fears over Canada’s electoral integrity by making valuable and “incredibly confidential” personal data easily accessible to malicious actors, security experts have warned.

The data breach, one of the largest in Canadian history, has prompted warnings of a “truly terrifying” new battleground over information, persuasion and foreign interference in already weakened democratic systems.

'Men and women hate each other' | The Global Dating Crisis: episode 2

In the US, 60% of young men are single and sex is at a record low. Despite endless opportunities to meet the right person, it feels like dating in the US has become more fraught than ever. As political divides deepen and the #MeToo backlash grows, we meet the people navigating ‘heterofatalism’ and those ditching modern dating for 1950s values. From the unlimited choice of NYC dating apps to a Christian retreat in the south, reporter Carter Sherman explores a nation struggling to connect.

‘I told him, “Go ahead, do it”’: Juliette Binoche on how a strangling attack as a teen inspired her directorial debut

The French actor steps into unfamiliar – and bracingly raw – territory with In-I In Motion after four decades reigning the international arthouse. You have to go out of your comfort zone, she says, ‘otherwise you become a prude’

Starring in more than 70 movies is all well and good, but Juliette Binoche can still get the jitters. Right now, the Oscar-winning actor is biting her lip on the third floor of a Manhattan high-rise. In 20 minutes, she will step into a sold-out movie theater to introduce her directorial debut at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Titled In-I In Motion, the vérité-style documentary follows Binoche’s late-2000s plunge into the world of contemporary dance for a series of daring and bewitchingly strange performances with the British dancer Akram Khan. “So,” she asks me, “how do you think I should present it?”

Which is how I find myself giving advice about public speaking to arguably the most celebrated French actor working today. She did a great job last night introducing the film at the buzzy Metrograph cinema downtown, I say. But it’s tough to know how to prepare an audience for the film’s poetic (and sometimes confusing), nonlinear narrative: maybe you just have to let them have at it. She smiles slyly. “Should I say: ‘This film isn’t going to hold your hand’?”

Researchers find 42% drop in Canadians visiting US metro areas amid Trump 2.0

Data from University of Toronto suggests Canadians are avoiding US cities during the second Trump administration

A new research tool that tracks cell phone activity has found a 42% drop in visitors from Canada to big metropolitan areas in the US that is much higher than official border-crossing data, suggesting Canadians during the second Trump administration are avoiding US cities in particular.

Researchers from the University of Toronto said the tool showed a “year-over-year median decline of approximately 42% in Canadian visits to US metropolitan areas – significantly higher than official border-crossing data, which showed a roughly 25% decline”.

Soaring World Cup ticket prices for players’ families and guests leave several FAs stunned

• Average cost of one ticket claimed to be $3,000 (£2,200)

• Fifa insists terms and conditions of sale were made clear

Numerous Football Associations have been hit by increased prices when buying World Cup tickets for their players’ family and friends, with teams competing at the tournament affected by Fifa’s dynamic pricing model. While Fifa offered all national associations that have qualified for the World Cup a six-week window to buy tickets at a fixed price after the draw in December, any requests for tickets from the end of January have been subject to what Fifa describes as “adaptive pricing”, with the cost rising for most matches.

An executive at one national association said they had requested hundreds of additional tickets in recent weeks and have been surprised at the size of the bill. An executive at another association claimed the average cost of securing attendance at matches for their players’ family and their guests has risen to about $3,000 (£2,200) a ticket after extra purchases, a significant ­additional cost that will eat into their ­tournament funding. Fifa sources insisted the average cost of tickets bought by national associations is far lower than $3,000.

As ranks of uninsured grow, charity care can be hard to come by at many hospitals

An investigation of hospital data and charity care programs shows most Minnesota hospitals provide little financial aid to patients and often make assistance difficult to get.

Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi transferred to a Tehran hospital, her foundation says

Nobel Peace laureate and activist Narges Mohammadi has been transferred to a Tehran hospital more than a week after collapsing in prison, her foundation said Sunday.

‘Treats its audience like adults’: why Moneyball is my feelgood movie

The latest in our series of writers paying tribute to their favourite comfort films is an ode to Brad Pitt and Aaron Sorkin’s lovably human baseball drama

The older I get, the more I want to hear people talk. I want films in which recognisably human characters interact in recognisably human ways. No one need die; nothing great need be at stake. I just want to be treated like an adult. Moneyball treats its audience like adults.

Though it was released in 2011, it’s a very 1970s film: its theme is analogous to the paranoid thrillers of that decade. In Moneyball, an American institution is in the hands of an elite, and a lone man who doesn’t trust the system is trying to change things. Yes, it’s about baseball rather than the CIA, but I don’t think it’s coincidence that this is the film where Brad Pitt finally looked like the inheritor to Robert Redford.

The one change that worked: I felt like an outsider in my village – until I found a simple way to connect

I was isolated and nervous when I decided to roll up my sleeves and start volunteering. But I shouldn’t have been intimidated. It’s brought so much happiness and community into my life

I live in a fairly average town in Oxfordshire, and despite having friends and family nearby, I never felt as if I was properly a part of the community. I didn’t feel rooted, or that I knew my neighbours beyond a quick hello. I moved here in my late 20s with my partner and spent a lot of time at home. In my 30s, I got a dog, had children and started working from home.

As a result, I spent a lot more time in my local area, but I still felt like an outsider. At this point in my life, where I was focused on building a family and setting down my own roots, this lack of connection made me feel isolated – until I started volunteering.