Gorton and Denton byelection: Polanski says Greens best party to defeat Reform after Hannah Spencer wins – UK politics live

Reform UK finished second and Labour is pushed into third place in bad news for PM Keir Starmer

• Full story: Resounding victory for Green party

Reform activists are “hearing Matt Goodwin has all but conceded defeat to the Greens”, the UK poll aggregator Britain Elects has posted on X.

The Green party has predicted a “seismic moment” in UK politics, with a party source telling the Press Association:

Things are feeling positive. Not wanting to get ahead of ourselves, but everything that we thought that was going to be happening looks like it’s happening … Whatever happens, I think it’s fair to say that Greens are here to stay now as a progressive voice in British politics.

Chess: British players win Isle of Wight Masters as Scots achieve rare double

GM Matthew Wadsworth won in Ryde on tiebreak, Scottish GM Matthew Turner also shared first, while in Graz Scotland’s Freddy Waldhausen Gordon, 15, qualified for the IM title

In just two years, the Isle of Wight Masters at Ryde school has become established as one of Britain’s most popular events. Its scenic ambience, impressive organisation and competitive spirit have combined to attract a strong international entry.

Last weekend GM Matthew Wadsworth emerged first on tie-break ahead of IM Tobias Koelle (Germany) and GM Matthew Turner (Scotland) after the trio all scored 7/9. Wadsworth also won in 2025.

This Ramadan, know this: I am me, a Muslim and a Briton. I am not a headline, a threat or a stereotype | Nazir Afzal

I am, like millions of others, dutifully fasting from dawn to dusk this month. My faith does not define me. It refines me

• Nazir Afzal is chancellor of the University of Manchester and a former chief prosecutor

As Ramadan begins, Muslims across Britain prepare for a month of fasting, reflection and charity. For most of us, it is a time of spiritual discipline and generosity. For too many of us, it is also a time when the drumbeat of anti-Muslim hatred grows louder.

I have never liked the word “Islamophobia”. It sounds abstract, almost clinical. What we are dealing with is not a vague fear. It is hostility. Suspicion. Discrimination. Abuse. So, I call it what it is, anti-Muslim hatred.

Nazir Afzal is chancellor of the University of Manchester and a former chief prosecutor

Teddies, toys and friendship bracelets: the film about the empty bedrooms of school shooting victims

An Oscar-nominated documentary that goes into the bedrooms of children killed in US school shootings hopes to drive home the reality of such tragedies. ‘I’ve never been so frightened,’ says its director

Steve Hartman has been a CBS correspondent since 1996. In the US, he is known for his feelgood human interest stories. This month he has reported on the retirement of a well-loved New Jersey postman after 33 years on the job and a truck driver who has spent two decades building a balsa wood scale replica of New York City.

But since 1997, Hartman has also been reporting on school shootings, which have become a horrifyingly common feature of American life. (CNN reports that there were at least 78 in 2025, though there is no universal definition of a school shooting, which means that numbers vary depending on the source. Other reports suggest a much higher figure.)

This community festival embraces the joys of a frozen lake — while it still has one

As climate change accelerates, local experts say the date Wisconsin's Lake Mendota freezes over is getting later, making safe conditions for activities that rely on snow and ice harder to predict.

Australia v India: second women’s one-day cricket international – live

• Updates from the match at Bellerive Oval in Hobart

• Any thoughts? Get in touch with an email

3rd over: India 14-0 (Rawal 11, Mandhana 3) Mandhana stretches to make use of Schutt offering too much width for a single to deep point. Schutt has the ball moving around but Rawal hits against the swing into her to crunch the first boundary of the innings through cover. Rawal repeats the shot for the same result as the fast outfield favours the batters.

2nd over: India 5-0 (Rawal 3, Mandhana 2) Darcie Brown takes the new ball but wastes her opening delivery with a full toss that Mandhana dispatches to deep square leg. Brown is fortunate to get away with a single. Rawal picks up two with a flick to the same region.

Netflix shares jump after walking away from Warner Bros Discovery deal, clearing way for Paramount – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

• Netflix declines to match Paramount offer for Warner Bros Discovery

Depressing market move of the day: Shares in tech company Block have surged after it announced it is cutting 40% of its staff.

Co-founder Jack Dorsey has blamed the cuts on the rise of “intelligence tools,” as he reshapes Block – the firm behind Square, Cash App and Afterpay – to capitalize on its use of artificial intelligence.

“The core thesis is simple. Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company.

A significantly smaller team, using the tools we’re building, can do more and do it better.”

“Altogether, while the war for Warner Bros. Discovery ended sooner than expected, this result confirms our ongoing view that WBD was a necessity for PSKY while Netflix was being opportunistic.

It signals that Netflix believes in its internal growth story enough to maintain M&A discipline. We also believe the future Paramount Skydance Warner Bros. Discovery — they’ll need a better name — could finally transform two subscale media companies into a more serious industry player, provided management has the financial flexibility to execute on its vision.”

Harnoncourt: Mendelssohn, Wagner, Schumann album review – revelatory readings from the late revolutionary

European Chamber Orchestra/Harnoncourt/Urmana
(Sony)
This 1999 live recording captures the late conductor’s radical ear in bracing Mendelssohn, gossamer Wagner and a luminous Liebestod – from Violeta Urmana

Ten years on from his death, this newly released live recording from the 1999 Styriarte festival in Graz is a welcome reminder of Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s revolutionary approach to music. At its heart is a rare – for him – foray into the world of Richard Wagner, provocatively coupled with Mendelssohn and Schumann, two composers whose attitudes towards the Sorcerer of Bayreuth were equivocal, to say the least.

He opens with Mendelssohn’s fairytale overture, Die Schöne Melusine, a bracing ride driven by resolute strings and dramatic interventions from the woodwind. The Tannhäuser Overture is quite a different matter. To a certain extent, Harnoncourt takes a Wagner-lite approach, with gossamer textures rooted in Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture, a comparison that the antisemitic Wagner would surely have loathed. Purists might balk, but it’s one of the silkiest and most detailed of readings, for those curious about the actual notes on the page, it’s illuminating.

Fashion’s greatest challenges ‘inequality and AI’, say Prada designers

Speaking at Milan fashion week, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons presented a more concentrated, but relatable, show

Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, the co-designers of Prada, said backstage at Milan fashion week that fashion’s greatest challenges were inequality and artificial intelligence.

An interesting perspective, since Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire owner of Meta, and his wife, Priscilla Chan, sat next to Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada’s husband, in the front row.

Hungary’s Viktor Orbán seeking to drum up votes by doing down Ukraine

EU’s longest-serving leader hopes to retain power by telling voters the main threat to country comes from Kyiv

Paid for by its rightwing, populist government and generated using AI, the billboards – showing Volodymyr Zelenskyy and EU officials with their hands outstretched – blanket Hungary. “Our message to Brussels: We won’t pay!” the taxpayer-funded advert reads, echoing the messaging woven through spots on radio, television and social media.

It’s a nod to the election strategy that Viktor Orbán, the EU’s longest-serving leader, has unleashed as he lags in most polls before upcoming elections: convincing voters that the country’s greatest threat is not fraying social services, the rising cost of living or economic stagnation, but rather the neighbouring country of Ukraine.

How extreme weather is leaving thousands of homes uninsurable

In this week’s newsletter: The climate crisis is making insurance unaffordable for many – and it should worry all of us, even if we think we’re safe from floods, wildfires and hurricanes

• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up here

I’m worried about insurance.

Some homes are becoming uninsurable due to the rapidly escalating impacts of the climate crisis. And that should worry you too, even if you think your home is safe enough.

Under water, in denial: is Europe drowning out the climate crisis?

The Great Olympic lie: untold story of Winter Games’ huge environmental impact

‘It’s more exciting than Tesco’: can traditional fishing lure Cornwall’s young people?

‘Homes may have to be abandoned’: how climate crisis has reshaped Britain’s flood risk

‘Delays, lowballs, outright denials’: how the LA wildfires have exposed the US’s broken insurance industry

The Guardian view on the rising risk from flooding: uninsurable buildings should focus minds on climate adaptation

Rising anger over ‘lop-sided’ and ‘immoral’ US health funding pacts with African countries

Zimbabwe refuses to sign agreement and Kenya faces a court case over data sharing as new aid deals come under scrutiny

A series of bilateral health agreements being negotiated between African countries and the administration of President Donald Trump have been labelled “clearly lop-sided” and “immoral” amid growing outrage at US demands, including countries being forced to share biological resources and data.

It emerged this week that Zimbabwe had halted negotiations with the US for $350m (£258m) of health funding, saying the proposals risked undermining its sovereignty and independence.

US military used laser to take down Border Protection drone, lawmakers say

The U.S. military used a laser to shoot down a Customs and Border Protection drone, members of Congress said Thursday, and the Federal Aviation Administration responded by closing more airspace near El Paso, Texas.

Dirty Business, The Lady, Mandelson’s arrest – are they truth, ‘faction’ or just more drama? | Simon Jenkins

The latest rush of docudramas seems to suggest that anyone in the public eye must expect a degree of intrusion. But where does that end?

Was that really Peter Mandelson getting into a police car on Monday? Was it really the same Mandelson who had supposedly been about to flee to the British Virgin Islands, the man called “a traitor” to his country and the buddy of a sex trafficker of girls? Was he really to be questioned for nine hours by the police over “misconduct in public office”, an offence few people have ever heard of? For a moment, I thought it must be a trailer for a new Epstein docudrama “inspired by real-life events”.

For two months, news desks on both sides of the Atlantic have been trawling through the Epstein files, daily releasing sensational details. This one story – now years old – is crushing out many others. The name of Jeffrey Epstein this past week has claimed precedence over Donald Trump, China, Iran and Ukraine. Each night’s BBC television news has demoted Keir Starmer, the NHS, tax reform and student loans. Preference is relentlessly ceded to Epstein, with bit parts for the former prince Andrew, Mandelson, Bill Gates, the Clintons and a galaxy of billionaires and celebrities.

What to wear with a spring knit

It’s almost time to swap your chunky winter jumper for a knitted polo top. Here are three ways to style it

North Korea’s ‘most beloved’ child: what the key congress revealed about Kim Jong-un’s succession plans

Many observers believe North Korean leader has decided daughter Kim Ju-ae will succeed him, but others say gender politics could block her path to power

When North Korea’s ruling party held a top-level meeting this month there were predictable boasts of unstoppable nuclear development and, more unexpectedly, a suggestion by Kim Jong-un that his country and the US “could get along” – provided that Washington recognised North Korea as a legitimate nuclear power.

But for many North Korea watchers, the Workers’ party congress – held over several days just once every five years – was a rare opportunity to speculate over the identity of the country’s future leader.

Photo of Lutnick on Epstein's island removed from DOJ files now restored

A photo released last month as part of the Epstein files that showed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Epstein's island was removed from the DOJ's website before being restored Thursday night.

Pentagon shoots down Customs and Border Protection drone in Texas, officials say

The Defense Department on Wednesday shot down a U.S. Customs and Border Protection drone in southwest Texas, federal officials confirmed to CBS News.

‘A living, moving exhibition’: Ukraine Museum opens in Berlin air-raid bunker

Exhibits pay homage to Ukrainians’ resilience and bring home the reality that war is going on in Europe

Descending into the windowless basement of a second world war air-raid bunker built for civilians in central Berlin is arguably an eerie enough evocation of what it means to endure life in a conflict.

But in a modern twist, before they have even walked into the first room of the city’s new Ukraine Museum inside the bunker, visitors are “targeted” by a Russian drone just before its operator prepares to release the lethal shot, and see themselves in the firing line on the screen of the weapon’s camera.

Vanished review – even Kaley Cuoco can’t save this desperately daft mystery caper

With poor Sam Claflin virtually banished from screen, it’s up to the Big Bang Theory star to keep this woefully formulaic show afloat – and it’s a losing battle

Buckle up, buttercups! Three hours of overstuffed nonsense split into four 45-minute bursts is about to come atcha, and fast.

Vanished stars Kaley Cuoco, who found fame in The Big Bang Theory from 2007-2019, then starred in The Flight Attendant a few years back. Cuoco played an ordinary, if functionally alcoholic, stewardess who found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and enmeshed in an ever-deepening mystery, then mortal peril. She found unexpected reserves of courage and resourcefulness and managed to stay half a step ahead of the bad guys until it was time for vanquishings and comeuppances all round.

Vanished is on Prime Video now.

‘Everybody wants a bestie like this guy!’ Rush on rock’s most anticipated reunion – and its greatest bromance

After drummer Neil Peart died in 2020, many thought the Canadian prog legends would never reform. As they book a mammoth global tour, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson explain how their lifelong bond drew them back together

The two men on the sofa, Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, have known each other for 60 years now. “When we first met in junior high school, we sat beside each other, and we laughed,” says Lee, the elder by a month. “He’s the funniest guy I’ve ever known, and I make him laugh, too.” Lifeson, who has been gazing at his friend happily, nods vigorously. “Yeah!” The two of them gently tease each other, and speak of each other with such happy admiration, that I feel suffused with warmth from the off. “Everybody wants to have a bestie like this guy!” Lee says at one point, beaming.

It’s only because they like each other so much that they’re in this posh London hotel suite. Lifeson came over to Europe for some health checks, and Lee decided to come with him. Once they were here, they decided they may as well talk to some journalists about Rush’s upcoming R50 reunion tour, and the decision to add 24 European and South American shows to the 58 arena dates they’d already announced for North America (they’ll play the UK in March 2027). The interviews were meant to be separate, but they decided it would be more enjoyable to speak together. Honestly, if you ever want to see a model for male friendship, spend time with Rush and feel cleansed.

If France could lead the world with Minitel in the 1980s, surely Europe can free itself from Silicon Valley’s shackles now? | Alexander Hurst

Back then, France punched above its weight when it came to tech. The EU needs it to rediscover its taste for the cutting edge

In the 1960s, France became the third country, after the US and Soviet Union, to independently place a satellite (Astérix) into orbit, and the only country to send an animal into space and – crucially, for Félicette the catstronaut – bring it back alive. A decade later, the Franco-British Concorde flicked passengers across the Atlantic in three and a half hours and the TGV began to propel them through the countryside first at 250km/h (155mph), and then 320km/h. Then, in the late 1980s, the French space agency designed a crewed spaceplane, Hermès, that corrected for the Nasa space shuttle’s vulnerability by being integrated into its launch vehicle rather than perched atop it.

A concerted buildout of nuclear power left France with one of the least carbon-intensive economies in the world. And then, of course, there was the Minitel. More than a decade before anyone was typing “www” into their web browsers, French users were able to buy train tickets, check film showings, do their banking, play games, find recipes, read their horoscopes, or even log into, yes, erotic chats – la messagerie rose, as it was known.

Pentagon official lashes out at Anthropic as talks break down

The Pentagon's top technology official told CBS News the military has offered compromises to Anthropic, amid a feud over whether its powerful AI technology will be restricted — but Anthropic called the offer inadequate.

Pakistan bombs Kabul after intensifying border clashes with Afghanistan

Escalation of violence between the volatile neighbours makes a Qatar-mediated ceasefire appear increasingly shaky

Pakistan bombed Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul and two other provinces on Friday, hours after a cross-border attack, the latest escalation of deadly violence between the volatile neighbours who signed a Qatar-mediated ceasefire in 2025.

Following months of tit-for-tat clashes, Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday night in what the Taliban government said was retaliation for earlier deadly airstrikes.

The men trying to do friendship, better – podcast

Can talking about their problems help men forge closer relationships – or is there another way? Josh Halliday reports

Josh Halliday is 37, and not short of friends. There are his two closest mates, and then the big group who meet up for weekends away. But recently the Guardian’s north of England editor has noticed something.

“My relationship with my two closest friends, who I’ve been friends with now for 15-16 years, has been fairly surface level, to be honest – 90% of our chat is probably football-related, always with a drink in hand. If you asked me to name their immediate family, I wouldn’t be able to do it. And I think that’s quite shocking really.”

Deadline looms as Anthropic rejects Pentagon demands it remove AI safeguards

The Defense Department has been feuding with Anthropic over military uses of its artificial intelligence tools. At stake are hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts and access to some of the most advanced AI on the planet.

Pakistan's defense minister says that there is now 'open war' with Afghanistan after latest strikes

Pakistan's defense minister said that his country ran out of "patience" and considers that there is now an "open war" with Afghanistan, after both countries launched strikes following an Afghan cross-border attack.

2/26: CBS Evening News

What happened during Hillary Clinton's House deposition on Epstein; Boy who lost Pokémon binder gets over 15,000 cards from strangers

Texas airspace closed after military reportedly downs US drone on accident

Federal Aviation Administration bars flights around Fort Hancock after reported use of anti-drone military laser

The Federal Aviation Administration barred flights on Thursday in an area around Fort Hancock, Texas, after congressional aides told Reuters a military laser-based anti-drone system was believed to have accidentally shot down a US government drone.

The FAA and Pentagon did not immediately comment but the FAA cited “special security reasons” in its notice about the restrictions on the airspace near the Mexican border posted on its Notam alert system, shorthand for “Notice to Air Missions”.

Hillary Clinton calls House Oversight questioning 'repetitive' in 6 hour deposition

In more than seven hours behind closed doors, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton answered questions from the House Oversight Committee as it investigates Jeffrey Epstein.

Prosecutor defends human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia

A federal judge is weighing whether to dismiss the criminal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia on the grounds the prosecution is vindictive.

Woman at heart of US trial says she was addicted to social media at age six

Lead plaintiff, now 20, says use of social media made her relationships with friends and family anxious and strained

The young woman at the heart of the landmark trial about the addictive nature of social media testified for the first time on Thursday, saying she got hooked on YouTube starting at age six and Instagram at nine. By the time she was 10, she said, she had become depressed and was engaging in self-harm.

The woman, who is now 20 and known by her initials KGM, is the lead plaintiff in an expansive lawsuit against YouTube and Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook. The crux of the case alleges social media companies intentionally create addictive products, leading to mental health issues in young people.

Netflix CEO Sarandos visited White House right before streamer said WBD deal is off

President Donald Trump last weekend demanded that Netflix fire former Obama administration official Susan Rice from its board or else “pay the consequences.”

Vegetarians have ‘substantially lower risk’ of five types of cancer

Study shows lower risk for multiple myeloma as well as pancreatic, prostate, breast and kidney cancers

Vegetarians have a substantially lower risk of five types of cancer, a landmark study on the role of diet has revealed.

The research, using data from more than 1.8 million people who were tracked over many years, found that vegetarians had a 21% lower risk of pancreatic cancer, a 12% lower risk of prostate cancer and a 9% lower risk of breast cancer compared with meat eaters. Combined, these cancers account for around a fifth of cancer deaths in the UK.

Boy who lost Pokémon binder gets over 15,000 cards from strangers

A 7-year-old boy was heartbroken after he lost his entire binder of Pokémon cards at the Denver airport. After his dad posted about it online, a United Airlines worker spotted it and spread the word. Tony Dokoupil has the story.

Pentagon locked in standoff with Anthropic over AI guardrails

With less than 24 hours left, Anthropic and the Pentagon are locked in a standoff over access to the company's powerful artificial intelligence. Jo Ling Kent reports.

Hillary Clinton tells House panel she had "no idea" about Epstein's crimes

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in her opening statement before the House Oversight Committee that she had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes.

I am in my 30s, unmarried, and afraid I’ve missed my chance. How do I make peace with my fear? | Leading questions

Your life may not look the way you thought it would, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith, but whatever happens it can still be rich and fulfilling

• Read more Leading questions

I am in my early 30s, unmarried, and increasingly afraid that I may have missed my chance at the life I’ve always imagined. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted children and a loving partnership that embodies safety, warmth and a shared sense of joy in living. But lately, that future feels more like a fantasy than a possibility.

Many of my closest friends are in similar positions, yet one friend is happily married with her first child and already planning a second. Watching the tenderness and stability in her marriage is both beautiful and painful. Her husband embodies so many of the qualities I long for in a partner, and I find myself wondering whether that kind of love is something I will ever experience, or whether it simply isn’t meant for me.

FBI moving command post in Nancy Guthrie investigation, source says

The investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie is still running at full speed, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CBS News.

How the Nancy Guthrie investigation is shifting

Nearly four weeks into the investigation of Nancy Guthrie's disappearance, the main crime scene is being turned back over to the family. Jonathan Vigliotti reports.

CoreWeave shares slip 8% as quarterly revenue guidance disappoints

The company's quarterly revenue forecast fell short of consensus.

On a dancefloor at 2am, I heard Jacinda Ardern’s husband say they were moving to Australia. I don’t blame them | Johanna Cosgrove

It’s no surprise that so many Kiwis are leaving New Zealand behind for a nation with much larger capacity for embarrassment: Australia

I got the news that Aotearoa’s most (internationally) famous prime minister is moving to Sydney in a way that is only possible in New Zealand. I was at the final Splore festival in Tāpapakanga at the weekend (one of our longest-running and arguably most beautiful festivals) when Clarke Gayford, Jacinda Ardern’s husband, popped up next to me on the dancefloor dressed as a giant toadstool. “Yeah, we’re moving to Sydney,” he said to a man in funereal pirate garb. “Can’t wait!”

Maybe it was the joy of a perfect tracklist at 2am, maybe it was getting this breaking news from the horse’s mouth, but I felt thrilled for our former first couple. Like Splore, NZ has the hungover malaise of a party being cancelled and the lights going out.

Johanna Cosgrove is an award-winning actor/writer/comedian. She will perform her show Sweetie at the Melbourne international comedy festival and is now in NZ filming an exciting top-secret feature film

Father of alleged gunman breaks down as video of shooting is played at his trial

The prosecution wrapped its case against Colin Gray, the father of a teen accused in a 2024 school shooting in Georgia. Skyler Henry has the latest.

Columbia student released from DHS custody after Mamdani shared concerns with Trump

A Columbia University student was detained by federal agents Thursday morning at one of its residential buildings and was later released after New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani brought up the case in a meeting with President Trump. Tom Hanson has more.

American among those killed on speedboat in Cuban waters, White House confirms

At least one U.S. citizen was also among the six who were wounded and arrested by Cuban authorities, a U.S. official said.

Netflix drops bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, paving way for Paramount Skydance

Streaming giant Netflix declines to match Paramount Skydance's $31 per share offer for Warner Bros. Discovery.

FedEx vows to pass any tariff refunds it gets from U.S. on to customers

FedEx said it will reimburse customers if the Trump administration provides refunds following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down emergency tariffs.

Details emerge about one of men killed on U.S.-registered boat off Cuba

Michael Ortega Casanova is one of four people who were killed after people aboard a U.S.-registered speedboat allegedly opened fire on Cuba's border patrol.

Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Chelsea must keep their heads at Arsenal, Anthony Gordon faces his old club and a key return for Sunderland

Unai Emery has seen most things in this game but he has never won at Wolves. In three and a half years at Villa, he has lost two and drawn one of his three away games at Molineux. Twelve months ago they lost this fixture 2-0 and this week Emery shared his poor record to stress the difficulty of the challenge facing his side, particularly given they have won just one of their past five matches in all competitions. Emery even mentioned his visit to Wolverhampton with Arsenal in 2019, when his team trailed 3-0 at half-time and lost 3-1. For Emery, there is no better time to break his duck, with the schedule dictating that Villa could move nine points clear of fifth-placed Chelsea, who visit Villa on Wednesday, before Liam Rosenior’s side travel to Arsenal on Sunday. Victory would enhance Villa’s chances of returning to the Champions League but also pile pressure on a direct rival. Ben Fisher

Wolves v Aston Villa, Friday 8pm (all kick-offs GMT)

Bournemouth v Sunderland, Saturday 12.30pm

Burnley v Brentford, Saturday 3pm

Liverpool v West Ham, Saturday 3pm

Block shares soar 24% as company slashes workforce by nearly half

Block said Thursday it's laying off more than 4,000 employees, or about half of its head count.

Chicagoans pay respects to Jesse Jackson as cross-country memorial services begin

Memorial services for the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. to honor his long civil rights legacy begin in Chicago. Events will also take place in Washington, D.C., and South Carolina, where he was born and began his activism.

Glasner admits sparking media storm after Crystal Palace ease past Zrinjski

It is a peculiarity particular to Crystal Palace that a season of such upheaval and unrest could still end up with Oliver Glasner’s side winning another trophy. Having left the pitch after last week’s first leg with supporters calling for the Austrian manager to be sacked in the morning, Maxence Lacroix and Evann Guessand made it a much more harmonious evening for Glasner and his side.

After being fortunate to escape from last week’s trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina with a 1-1 draw, it could have been very different if Zrinjski Mostar had equalised just before Guessand settled the tie late on. But having been demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League after winning the FA Cup last season, Palace’s first European campaign will continue against either the Cypriot side Larnaca – who they lost to during the group stages – or Mainz from Germany in the last 16.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani meets with President Trump to talk housing

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani traveled to Washington, D.C., Thursday to meet with President Trump.

Anthropic says it ‘cannot in good conscience’ allow Pentagon to remove AI checks

Pete Hegseth has threatened to cancel $200m contract unless it is given unfettered access to Claude model

Anthropic said Thursday it “cannot in good conscience” comply with a demand from the Pentagon to remove safety precautions from its artificial intelligence model and grant the US military unfettered access to its AI capabilities.

The Department of Defense had threatened to cancel a $200m contract and deem Anthropic a “supply chain risk”, a designation with serious financial implications, if the company did not comply with the request by Friday.

A timeline of Nancy Guthrie's disappearance as search stretches on

Savannah Guthrie's mom, Nancy Guthrie, was reported missing Feb. 1.

DoD officials sent Anthropic final offer for military use of AI, sources say

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic until Friday at 5 p.m. to grant the military unresticted use of its AI technology.

Epstein files contain explicit but unsubstantiated claim that Trump abused minor

Department of Justice did not release FBI memos when it uploaded millions of pages of files beginning in December

Three memos that describe four interviews conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2019 contain explicit but unsubstantiated claims that Donald Trump sexually abused a woman when she was a minor in the early 1980s with the assistance of Jeffrey Epstein, according to a Guardian review of those documents.

The Department of Justice did not release those records when it uploaded millions of pages of files related to Epstein beginning in December. The existence of the missing documents was first reported by independent journalist Roger Sollenberger and subsequently confirmed by NPR, causing outrage in Washington and sparking an investigation from congressional Democrats.

Mamdani meets with Trump in unannounced trip to Washington

New York mayor proposes 12,000-unit housing project to real estate developer turned president

Zohran Mamdani met with Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday, during an unannounced trip to the nation’s capital.

The New York mayor said he had a “productive” meeting with the US president and he was “looking forward to building more housing in New York City” in a post on X.

"I wanted to be on it all the time," plaintiff says in social media trial

The 20-year-old plaintiff alleges that using YouTube and Instagram from a young age intensified her depression and led to suicidal thoughts.

In reversal, Warner Bros. jilts Netflix for Paramount

Warner Bros. says Paramount's sweetened bid to buy the whole company is "superior" to an $83 billion deal it struck with Netflix for just its streaming services, studios, and intellectual property.

Hudson-Odoi sends Nottingham Forest into last 16 despite fright by Fenerbahce

For 67 minutes, Nottingham Forest were at risk of matching an unwanted record. At that point Fenerbahce were 2-0 up and full of belief that they could achieve the miracle their head coach, Domenico Tedesco, had been manifesting since their 3-0 first-leg defeat in Istanbul.

Only one team in the history of European club competitions have lost the first leg of a tie by a three-goal margin at home and advanced in the second. Up in the directors’ box, Evangelos Marinakis, more than an interested party on that occasion, presumably had flashbacks of Olympiakos suffering a 4-1 home defeat by Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Conference League two years ago, only to triumph 6-1 in Serbia in the second leg.

US-Iran nuclear talks end without a deal as threat of war grows

Mediators say more talks to be held next week but no clear evidence two sides any closer on uranium enrichment

High-stakes talks between the US and Iran over the future of Tehran’s nuclear programme ended on Thursday without a deal, as the White House weighs a military operation that would mark its largest intervention in the Middle East in decades.

The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, claimed “good progress” had been made at the talks and Omani mediators predicted negotiations would reconvene at a technical level next week in Vienna.

Trump's ballroom project can continue for now, court says

A US District Judge denied a preservation group's effort to put a pause on construction

Mandelson faces EU inquiry into Brussels trade role over Epstein links

European Anti-Fraud Office to look into the former US ambassador’s time as trade commissioner in Brussels

Peter Mandelson is facing an inquiry by the EU’s anti-fraud agency after the European Commission requested the body look into his activities during his time as trade commissioner in Brussels.

The commission said it referred the peer, 72, to the European Anti-Fraud Office, known as Olaf, last week after the US Department of Justice released documents allegedly showing he shared sensitive government information with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Jeep maker Stellantis posts first annual loss in company history after EV writedowns

The results come shortly after the auto giant scaled back its EV ambitions following a major strategic shift.

Frozen blueberries recalled over possible Listeria contamination

On Tuesday, the FDA upgraded the recall to Class I, a situation in which a product can cause "serious adverse health consequences or death."

Nancy Guthrie's house to be returned to her family as search goes on

The release of Nancy Guthrie's home in Tucson, Arizona, comes nearly four weeks after she was reported missing on Feb. 1.

NASA lost a lunar spacecraft one day after launch. A new report details what went wrong

Why did a $72 million mission to study water on the moon fail so soon after launch? A new NASA report has the answer.

Columbia student detained by ICE is abruptly released after Mamdani meets with Trump

Hours after the student was taken into custody in her campus apartment, she was released, after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed concerns about the arrest to President Trump.

Bangladesh court requests Interpol red notice for Labour MP Tulip Siddiq

Action relates to corruption case over allocation of government land in Dhaka to a private company

A court in Bangladesh has ordered officials to request an Interpol red notice for the British Labour MP Tulip Siddiq over a corruption case linked to the allocation of government land in Dhaka.

Bangladesh’s anti-corruption commission has alleged Siddiq used her relationship with her aunt, the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, to influence the allocation of a plot of state-owned land in Dhaka’s Gulshan district to a private company. Siddiq has rejected the claim as baseless and politically motivated.

Papa John's to close 300 restaurants as it moves to cut costs

Struggling pizza chain Papa John's said it will close 200 restaurants this year and another 100 by the end of 2027.

EBay laying off about 800 roles, or 6% of its workforce

The job cuts are occurring across the company, and are a result of its push to focus on "strategic priorities," eBay said.

Man accused of torturing, killing wolf in Wyoming agrees to plea deal

Cody Roberts agreed to a plea deal that would spare him from going to trial and possibly prison on charges of animal abuse.

New image reveals secrets of Milky Way galaxy in stunning detail

Largest ever image obtained by specialist telescope in Chile represents scientific and aesthetic breakthrough

Scientists have captured a beautiful image in unprecedented detail of the vast Milky Way galaxy, of which our own solar system is a part.

The stunning image is the largest ever obtained by the specialist telescope in Chile called the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (Alma) radio telescope, according to the group behind the project.

Tourette syndrome tests the limits of acceptance – I’ve struggled with it for 30 years | Leyland Cecco

The anger toward John Davidson’s racist Baftas outburst is understandable. But I’ve had to ask what I owe to others with the condition

I cover Canada for the Guardian, a country spanning six time zones and more than 40 million people, whose stories I get to tell for a living.

I’ve had a successful career but at times, I worry that my work suffers because I have Tourette syndrome (TS).

Melania Trump to lead UN security council session, White House says

First lady to preside over meeting on ‘children, technology and education in conflict’ in New York next month

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Melania Trump is set to lead a session of the United Nations security council on Monday, coinciding with the US assuming the body’s rotating monthly presidency, the White House announced.

According to a statement, first cited by CNN, the first lady plans to spotlight education as a tool for fostering tolerance and promoting global peace at the global body, which has its headquarters in New York.

Brady Tkachuk decries White House’s AI video of him insulting Canadians after US gold

• Player is captain of NHL’s Ottawa Senators

• Tkachuk expresses regret over Trump joke

US ice hockey star Brady Tkachuk has said he does not appreciate an AI video released by the White House that shows him insulting Canadians.

Tkachuk played in the Americans’ victory over Canada at the Winter Olympics on Sunday, which secured the US men their first gold medal since 1980. In the wake of that win, the White House’s TikTok account published video of Tkachuk saying: “They booed our national anthem, so I had to come out and teach those maple syrup eating fuckers a lesson.”

Democrats plan to force Iran war powers vote next week

The president has commanded a massive military buildup in the region, as he negotiates a new nuclear deal with Iran.

Mortgage rates fall below 6% for the first time since 2022

The decline in the average 30-year mortgage rate could be good news for home shoppers as the spring home-buying season gets rolling.

Cuba vows to fight ‘terrorist aggression’ after attack from US-registered boat

Cuban president says country will ‘defend itself with determination’ after deadly coastal assault by exiles

• What we know so far about the deadly boat shooting off Cuba’s coast

Cuba has vowed to defend itself against any “terrorist and mercenary aggression”, a day after border guards said they had killed four exiles on a Florida-registered speedboat that opened fire on a patrol.

Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, wrote on X that the Caribbean country would “defend itself with determination and firmness” after the incident in which six other people on the boat were injured.

Walmart to pay $100 million to settle FTC case on delivery driver wages

The Federal Trade Commission, joined by 11 states, claimed that the retail giant deceived its employees about pay and the tips they could earn.

Nvidia reports earnings and guidance beat as AI boom pushes data center revenue up 75%

Nvidia has been the best performer on Wall Street this year among tech's megacap companies.

MPs condemn hosting of Tommy Robinson by Trump administration

The far-right activist’s trip came amid calls for the US to be included in a probe into foreign interference in UK politics

The hosting of Tommy Robinson by the Trump administration has been condemned by British MPs amid calls for the US to be included in a probe into foreign interference in UK politics.

The far-right activist, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is being feted in the US, where he met figures including a political appointee at the Department of State in Washington DC and a congressman.

Judge rules construction of Trump's White House ballroom can continue for now

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled Thursday that the legal challenge brought by a preservationist group failed because the White House is not a government agency.

Warren calls Trump’s bluff on affordability after State of the Union

Trump laid blame on Democrats for affordability and argued his administration has solved the problem, as polls consistently show increased concern from voters.

Met police to pilot facial recognition identity checks, mayor confirms

Sadiq Khan reveals 100 officers will use roaming technology for six months but opponents call its use ‘alarming’

Metropolitan police officers are to start scanning citizens’ faces using automated facial recognition technology to check their identities, in a move backed by the mayor of London but described as “alarming” by opponents.

The pilot was revealed on Thursday when Sadiq Khan said 100 officers would use the roaming technology – commonly deployed on smartphones – for six months. The mayor was responding to questioning from an opposition politician amid rising concern about the rollout of AI-powered policing tools. The Met’s website still states it “does not presently use the so-called operator initiated facial recognition”.

Rebecca Hendin on nuclear talks between the US and Iran – cartoon

If the Berlin film festival ousts its director, there may be no way back

Hosting an audience-friendly festival in a highly political capital city has always been a challenge. If Berlinale’s organisers push out Tricia Tuttle over the latest Gaza row, they may as well give up trying

Berlin is a difficult place to hold a major international film festival. Perhaps, as the events of the last two weeks have shown, an impossible one. The main cause of this difficulty is that Berlin, unlike all of its major competitors, is a national capital. Cannes, Venice, Toronto and Sundance are all hosted in locations far removed from political centres of gravity. In Berlin, world events are for ever on the cinema doorstep and keep on spilling inside.

The event has long embraced its geographic fate: unlike Cannes and Venice, it is not simply an industry-facing launching pad for new films but also a public-facing festival selling tickets to new films to ordinary Berliners, and the world’s largest of its kind. But that openness also has downsides: the corridors of the Berlinale Palast are teeming with locally based film critics who are quick to perceive a drop in quality on screen or glamour on the red carpet as a reflection of their own diminished standing. The press conferences are rammed with political journalists who struggle with film-makers that find it tough to give unequivocal answers compared with lawmakers in the Bundestag down the road. (The video journalist who pressed jury president Wim Wenders on the festival’s stance on Gaza usually grills spokespeople at government press conferences.) And the closing gala is attended by politicians who constantly feel they must position themselves for or against whatever is happening on the stage. To make all this worse, the Berlinale takes place in what are usually the last weeks of the city’s interminably grey winter, when everyone is in a bad mood and impatient for the first blossoms of the spring.

Danish PM calls an early election seeking ‘Greenland bounce’

Mette Frederiksen hopes to profit from her stand against Donald Trump’s attempt to claim the Arctic territory

Denmark’s prime minister has called an early election to take advantage of a “Greenland bounce” after Donald Trump’s threats to invade the Arctic territory.

Mette Frederiksen, who has been in office since 2019, is required by Danish law to call an election by 31 October. Setting a date with eight months to go appears to be an attempt to ride improved poll ratings after disastrous local elections in November that saw her Social Democrats lose control of Copenhagen for the first time in a century.

I can’t stop picking at my pimples. How do I break this habit?

Treating the underlying acne can help. But stress relief measures like meditation can too – and may depend on the severity

Hi Ugly,

I tend to get pimples, especially around my period. This is fine and normal. What’s not fine is that I cannot stop picking at them, making my skin irritated and red.

Why is this column called ‘Ask Ugly’?

How should I be styling my pubic hair?

How do I deal with imperfection?

My father had plastic surgery. Now he wants me and my mother to get work done

I want to ignore beauty culture. But I’ll never get anywhere if I don’t look a certain way

Scream 7 review – nostalgic slasher sequel settles for solid over seminal

Neve Campbell, Kevin Williamson and Courtney Cox return for another Ghostface whodunnit that is messy but mostly entertaining

Whether you love or hate the Scream franchise, it’s hard at this stage not to at least respect it. Even without the subterranean bar set by other lazy slasher sequels (stalk, stab, repeat, yawn) it’s a series that has now been around for 30 years and tasked itself with extending an ongoing narrative of insanely convoluted soap, finding new ways to comment on the horror genre and appealing to a savvier generation of younger fans (the sixth film managed to be the highest-grossing in the US). If nothing has rivalled the 1996 original, it’s still hard to argue that there’s been an objectively bad Scream movie, even at the franchise’s less effective moments, there’s been a buzz of effort and energy present.

The run continues, albeit with perhaps more notes than usual, with Scream 7, a scrappy, passably entertaining new chapter that limps to the screen with wounds on show. The original plan had been to continue the story of the Carpenter sisters, introduced in 2022’s hit relaunch, but after the shameful firing of star Melissa Barrera who dared to speak out about a genocide, it was back to the drawing board. Said drawing board was then just a headshot of Neve Campbell, the original Scream queen, and a bunch of dollar signs next to it as the actor had rightfully turned down the sixth film over what she said was a lowball offer. Some seven million reasons to rejoin later (according to reports) and she’s back front and centre, along with many amusing “why weren’t you in New York?” references, and with some familiar, and confusing, old friends.

Salesforce climbs on earnings beat as company commits $50 billion for buybacks

Salesforce posted accelerating growth and pushed up its long-range revenue target thanks to a recent acquisition.

Russia says Cuba situation is escalating after deadly incident with U.S.-tagged speedboat

The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Havana.

Pekka Kuusisto: Willows album review – luminous, inventive and penetrating

Norwegian Chamber Orchestra/Kuusisto/Amidon
(Platoon)
The Finnish violinist-conductor strips back The Lark Ascending to revelatory effect in an album that moves from searing grief to radiant, folk-infused transcendence with Sam Amidon

‘We aren’t deleting notes,” says Pekka Kuusisto, “but deleting ketchup.” The Finnish conductor and violinist is talking about Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, a work of such innate Britishness that it regularly tops UK classical music popularity polls. Kuusisto’s Lark isn’t RVW-lite, however, but a penetrating, convincingly honest account that strips the music back to its essential roots in the English folk tradition. Opening with a breathless whisper, it flutters and soars before vanishing into a realm of spiritual tranquillity.

The album, entitled Willows and featuring the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, is in part a reflection on grief and loss: Ellen Reid’s Desiderium, a visceral howl for solo violin, is dedicated to Kuusisto’s gifted brother Jaako, who died in 2022. Elsewhere, Caroline Shaw’s Plan & Elevation, an orchestral version of her 2015 string quartet, picks up on the arboreal theme in a work that maps out Washington DC’s Dumbarton Oaks estate. Architecturally conceived, the piece takes Mozart and Ravel as its guides in flickering lines crisscrossing five assorted movements.

George Takei: ‘I’ve spent two minutes longer in zero gravity than Shatner’

The Star Trek actor answers your questions on Leonard Nimoy, the bathroom facilities on the USS Enterprise and the correct way to eat kangaroo penis

George, you’ve lived long, how’s prospering going? MosesQuest
I’ll be celebrating my 89th birthday in less than two months, I’m enjoying life wonderfully, and here I am talking to the Guardian!

Do you have a beauty regime? Because – let’s be honest – you look great. TooMuchSpareTime
Well, thank you for the compliment. I believe in discipline. I do want to – as we say – live long and prosper. There were so many Sunday mornings I woke up groaning: “I’ll never do that again,” after debauched nights at college spent on the beer bus. I’ve learned that, if you take care of yourself, mother nature will be good to you. I was a marathoner. I started in my 40s, my husband, Brad, trained me, and I’ve done six in total. The last was the London marathon in 1991. London’s one of my favourite cities. You have to run over cobbles, so it was horrible on the ankles. I ended up aching all over, leaning on buildings for support. I recently had surgery on my foot, so I think that is life teaching me not to engage in any more crazy 26.2-mile runs for a while.

David Hockney’s first English landscape on show for first time in almost 30 years

English Garden, painted in 1965, is on display before it goes under the hammer with estimate of £2.5m-£3.5m

David Hockney’s first English landscape, depicting a perfectly manicured Oxfordshire garden, is on show for the first time in three decades before being auctioned.

Sotheby’s said the 1965 painting, English Garden, which was completed in Boulder, Colorado, was pivotal for Hockney as well as holding an important place in wider art history.

An oil refinery defined life in this quaint California city. What happens when it’s gone?

For decades, the Valero refinery shaped Benicia’s economy, politics and health. Now the city has become a reluctant test case of whether an oil town can reinvent itself

Less than 40 miles north of San Francisco, the city of Benicia has the quaint ambience of an American small town, where a white gazebo and sign for a community crab bake mark the approach to a vibrant downtown stretch of restaurants, cafes and antique shops.

From many vantage points, it’s easy to forget the city is home to a massive 900-acre oil refinery, its imposing sprawl of stacks, holding tanks and billowing steam hidden from view. But for nearly 60 years, the refinery has loomed over every aspect of life in Benicia, exerting outsized influence on its economy and politics, while posing serious risks to public health.

‘A gift that falls from the sky’: why farmers are using Etna’s ash as fertiliser

Falling volcanic ash has for years been viewed as a nuisance. But a Sicilian project has discovered its agricultural potential and wants to spread the word

In the Sicilian town of Giarre overlooking Mount Etna, Andrea Passanisi, a tropical and citrus fruits producer, uses an unusual fertiliser on his 100-hectare (247-acre) stretch of land: volcano ash.

Like hundreds of farmers and citizens of rural towns perched on the slopes of Europe’s highest and most active volcano, the 41-year-old’s family has had to deal with the nuisance of falling volcanic ash for generations. But it is only in recent years that the quantity of ash has become so excessive that it required an alternative approach.

‘Fountain of filth’ and an inflatable Maradona: photos of the day – Thursday

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

Resident Evil Requiem review - there’s plenty of life in the undead yet

Fear, fights and feverish fanservice collide in this celebration of Resident Evil’s recent and retro legacy
PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch 2; Capcom

There’s often an undercurrent of existential fatigue in games that look back at their legacy. Dark Souls III’s dying kingdom, Metal Gear Solid 4’s decrepit Snake. So when Capcom showed us an ageing Leon Kennedy entering the ruins of the police station that marked the start of his journey from rookie cop to hardened veteran, it felt tinged with ennui as much as nostalgia. That self-reflective swansong for this 30-year series may still happen one day, but Requiem isn’t it. Even at its dourest and most pensive, this is less a song for the dead, more a knees-up in honour of the rocket launchers and typewriters that came before. Leon may be getting on a bit, but this is Capcom as energised, devious and goofy as ever.

Leon’s old scars will have to wait, anyway. Requiem’s new blood is FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft. Equal parts tenacious and nervous, she’s a fitting lens on the horror portion of Requiem’s split focus between disempowered terror and cathartic action. The story opens with Grace – more acquainted with desk work than field ops – tasked to go over a crime scene at a gutted hotel. She knows the place well, since it holds some horrific memories for her. Still, she heads off with little more than a flashlight and a pistol you’ll never find quite enough ammunition for to feel safe.