New Library of Congress exhibit features rare draft of Declaration of Independence

A rare draft of the Declaration of Independence, now on display at the Library of Congress, was written by Thomas Jefferson and contains edits from fellow Founding Fathers Benjamin Franklin and John Adams.

New Jersey works to destroy firefighting foam laced with cancer-linked PFAS

New Jersey is one of more than a dozen states that are working to collect, remove and destroy all of their aqueous film-forming foam.

200 young campers rescued as flooding hits parts of Missouri and Kentucky

A historic rainfall event has left communities across several Missouri counties underwater and prompted water rescues, including an evacuation of a summer camp.

U.S. launches strikes after Iran fires on civilian vessel in Strait of Hormuz

Iran says it again considers the Strait of Hormuz closed after its military struck a ship using an "unauthorized route." In response, the U.S. military announced a third round of strikes this week.

Argentina v Switzerland: World Cup 2026 quarter-final – live

⚽️ World Cup kick-off: 8pm local time/2am BST/11am AEST
⚽️ Norway 1-2 England (aet) | Golden Boot | Mail Ella

The winner of this Argentina v Switzerland match will face England in the semi-finals:

Lionel Scaloni has no changes from the Argentina XI that staged a remarkable fightback against Egypt in the last 16. To no one’s surprise, Lionel Messi starts in what will be his 205th appearance for the national side.

Blistering heat dome grips West and Northern Plains, fueling wildfires

Dry heat in the West and Northern Plains is fueling wildfires, including the Summit Fire north of Los Angeles. Gwen Baumgardner reports on the flames and evacuations. Andrew Kozak has the forecast.

Exhibit looks at how the Declaration of Independence evolved

A new exhibit, The Declaration's Promise, celebrates America's independence and showcases how phrases such as "all men are created equal," evolved. Nikole Killion has more.

Bipartisan housing bill becomes law after Trump refuses to sign it

A landmark housing bill automatically became law overnight after President Trump declined to sign it.

Fire departments work to get rid of cancer-linked foam extinguisher: "It was like sitting on a bomb"

Fire departments across the U.S. are changing how they extinguish fires. For decades, they used foam that contained so-called "forever chemicals" that are now linked to cancer. More than a dozen states are now working to collect, remove and destroy all of it. Mark Strassmann has more.

Congress passes housing bill without Trump's signature

The largest housing bill in years is now law without President Trump's signature. Ali Bauman reports on what the new housing law will do.

Trump, Iran's supreme leader trade threats

Iran's new supreme leader and President Trump traded threats on Saturday after the U.S. military battered Iran and Iran fired upon vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. Olivia Rinaldi reports.

Seahawks sold to 49ers minority owner for record $9.6 billion

The Seattle Seahawks are being sold to the Khosla family in accordance with the wishes of late team owner Paul Allen, the team announced on Saturday.

Wallabies’ pop-gun revival under Schmidt blown apart as France unload heavy artillery | Daniel Gallan

Plucky defeats decorated with patches of excellence will not cut it for Australia with a home World Cup now looming large

The camera found Joe Schmidt shortly after France had completed a 22-point swing. Australia’s coach had seen a 21-12 half-time lead obliterated in 16 brutal minutes. Schmidt, one of rugby’s sharpest minds, looked short of answers. The trouble was that the questions confronting him had obvious answers but almost impossible solutions.

Why had Australia’s discipline deteriorated? Because they were under pressure. Why had their tackle intensity and ruck speed fallen away? Because France had introduced fresh power from the bench. Why had the Wallabies gone from a nine-point half-time lead to a 13-point deficit in barely a quarter of an hour? Because one team had more large, skilful, Test-quality rugby players than the other.

US and Iran exchange strikes as Tehran again says strait of Hormuz is closed

Tehran says vessel using unapproved route in strait was struck, drawing strikes from US forces to ‘degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners’

Iran’s ⁠Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Sunday it had closed the strait of Hormuz after a vessel travelled on an unapproved route and was struck, warning that any retaliation over the incident would be met with a “severe response”.

“A vessel that had jeopardised maritime security by switching off its systems was struck and ⁠brought to a halt,” the navy of Iran’s ⁠Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in ​a statement, without giving any details about the ship.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup schedule and how to watch

With 104 World Cup games being played in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, it's like "a Super Bowl every single day for five weeks," U.S. team captain Tim Ream told CBS News.

Norway 1-2 England: World Cup quarter-final player ratings from Miami

Jude Bellingham shone again for England while Marc Guéhi edged a fierce battle with clubmate Erling Haaland

Orjan Håskjold Nyland Norway’s hero against Brazil will have nightmares about his error that handed Bellingham his second goal. 3

Bellingham’s extra-time winner sinks Norway and sends England into World Cup semi-finals

Thomas Tuchel’s message was that it was time for England to thrive at the business end of the World Cup; the most exciting part. His players had to release the handbrake and go for it. They must not have any regrets against a Norway team that most of England expected them to beat. English arrogance? Or cold, hard realism?

Happily for Tuchel, he had a player in Jude Bellingham who took him at his word. Every one of them. Bellingham had shone previously at this tournament but he moved to another level here when it mattered the most.

In a nailbiter, England moves on to the World Cup semifinals, defeating Norway 2-1

England's Jude Bellingham has done it again. Scoring both of his team's goals in a thrilling quarterfinal against Norway that needed extra time. It was the first World Cup meeting between the two.

This week on "Sunday Morning" (July 12)

A look at the features for this week's broadcast of the Emmy-winning program, hosted by Jane Pauley.

Man, 28, arrested over murder of former MP Ann Widdecombe

Suspect arrested in South Yorkshire after ex-politician was found dead at her Devon home on Thursday

A 28-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Ann Widdecombe, police said.

The suspect, who is a white British national, was arrested at an address in the South Yorkshire area on Saturday evening and is in police custody.

200 young campers, staff rescued amid record flooding in Missouri

More than 200 people at Camp Taum Sauk in Missouri, were rescued after 6 to 12 inches of rain fell along the Taum Sauk Reservoir.

Palestinian aid worker who organized World Cup screenings killed in Israeli strike

Palestinians are mourning Mohammed al-Wahidi, a beloved aid worker in Gaza. He was killed by as Israeli airstrike while en route to a World Cup screening which he organized.

This English professor has run with the bulls in Spain for two decades

When Bill Hillmann was 19 years old, he read Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. That book inspired him to pursue two dreams: a career in literature and to run with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

High energy costs from Iran war heighten pressure on struggling farmers

As the agriculture industry in Louisiana contends with major energy cost hikes brought on by the Iran war, some farmers are unsure if their businesses will survive.

‘I’m taking the big one’: Noskova says sight of trophies inspired Wimbledon triumph

• Noskova wins women’s singles after 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory

• ‘What really helped me … the trophies were there’

A jubilant Linda Noskova said seeing the Wimbledon trophy sitting by Centre Court helped her reset at a vital time as she clinched her first grand slam title with a dramatic 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory over her fellow Czech Karolina Muchova at Wimbledon.

The 21-year-old led 6-2, 5-2 only to miss five match points as Muchova levelled but Noskova took a bathroom break and reset brilliantly to become the sixth Czech woman to lift the title in the Open era.

The moment I knew: I was devising a plan to set up Martha with my friend – and realised I’d fallen for her myself

After meeting in then-Zaire in the 1980s, Steve Sherwood and Martha Meares became good friends. But when she planned to leave for England, he decided he wanted something more

• Find more stories from the moment I knew series

It was 1986, I was 26, had been travelling for two years, and was making my way through Africa. I was camping in the grounds of a run-down hotel, the only camp site in Kisangani, a city in what was then known as Zaire. On my first day in town I asked when the next River Congo ferry would leave. Tomorrow, they said.

Overland trucks would arrive and spend two to three days in town. A truck travelling from Kenya to the UK came, and its passengers put their stools in a circle to eat dinner. I asked to sit with them. Martha from Sydney sat beside me on the last spare stool. We spent most of that night chatting and laughing and got on really well.

Former England captain Heather Knight to retire from international cricket

• Current Lord’s Test will be her final appearance

• ‘I’m privileged to have gone on this journey’

Heather Knight will retire from international cricket at the end of this week’s Test against India at Lord’s. Knight, who has made a record 320 appearances for England, has joined her teammate Tammy Beaumont in calling time on her career at the end of what is the first women’s Test at the home of cricket, and one in which England appear headed for defeat after a gruelling second day’s play on Saturday.

The 35-year-old made her England debut in 2010 and went on to captain the side on 199 occasions between 2016 and 2025, guiding the team to success at the Women’s World Cup on home soil in 2017. However, Knight was sacked as captain in March last year after a disastrous three-format Ashes tour of Australia in which England were trounced 16-0.

Jay-Z review – rap legend dazzles New York City with lavish spectacle, sharp bars and Beyoncé

Yankee Stadium, New York City

The rapper celebrates 30 years of his classic debut album Reasonable Doubt with eye-popping visuals and special guests in a love letter to hip-hop culture

The beauty of watching Jay-Z live is more than just watching him calmly spit bars that effortlessly prove why his career has been this long and brilliant; it’s also the complex but lovely feeling of watching an audience (and the artist himself) relive the past. It’s almost unfathomable that 30 years ago, Jay-Z was starting out as a relatively unknown rapper from Brooklyn chronicling his life as a hustler. Quite possibly the greatest pure MC of all-time – encompassing flow, patience, humor, live ability and his taste as an auteur – Jay built a career on restrained tales of wide-eyed dreams and braggadocious stanzas about financial gain.

His 1996 debut album, Reasonable Doubt, was the start of that career, and on Friday night, I’m at New York City’s Yankee Stadium as Jay-Z performs the album’s tracks in order, front to back, making it impossible to forget its legacy in a visually stunning show that splits the difference between close connection and grand spectacle. At times, with a wide, movie-like screen backing Jay that shows funerals of presidents, footage of Mike Tyson, or his wife, Beyoncé, cutting his hair at the ballpark, the show feels influenced by previous tours like Watch the Throne mixed with the street romance of the 2002 movie Paid in Full. Yet the care and attention to detail ensures that the 50,000-capacity venue feels intimate, for the folks who heard the album and felt seen through its songs of regret and paranoia.

Jos Buttler and Harry Brook in record T20 partnership as England thrash India

• Fifth T20i: England, 257-3 beat India, 201-8, by 56 runs

• Buttler hits 131, Brook 95 as England seal 4-0 series win

Cast your minds back to February 2022: the Partygate scandal is in full swing as news breaks of the surprise birthday party held for Boris Johnson two years earlier and four of the prime minister’s top advisers resign; Russia launches a “special military operation” in Ukraine; Adele sweeps artist, song and album of the year awards at the Brits; and India beat West Indies to go to the top of the ICC’s T20 rankings. Finally, 1,601 days and two World Cup wins later, and after a humbling series of defeats across Ireland and England came to an often calamitous crescendo, they have been usurped. Instead England end a couple of phenomenal weeks on top of the world.

An extraordinary, and extraordinarily one-sided, series got the ending it deserved, with England scoring a remarkable 257 for three – breaking the record they set in Mumbai in March for the highest total ever posted against India in T20s – and though the tourists’ chase was, at least for a while, more spirited than much of their fielding they managed only 201. England won the game by 56 runs and the series 4-0.

Linda Noskova fends off Muchova fightback to win first grand slam title at Wimbledon

• Ninth seed beats fellow Czech 6-2, 5-7, 6-3

• Muchova falls short in second major final

As one of her worst nightmares on a tennis court appeared to be unfolding before her disbelieving eyes, Linda Noskova walked solemnly to her chair with both index fingers plugged into her ears. She was attempting to block out the roars of a booming Centre Court crowd, which had erupted in jubilation at her failure to convert no fewer than five championship points. But the 21-year-old knew deep down that what she truly needed to block out were her own fatalistic thoughts.

Noskova’s hopes of capturing her first Wimbledon title were in freefall by that point. She had lost five consecutive games, her easy 6-2, 5-2 lead crumbling to dust as she found herself in an unwanted final set. Having betrayed all of her tension and fears to her bloodthirsty compatriot, victory seemed much further away than the scoreline suggested.

Spain’s Mikel Merino enjoys happy knack of scoring late winners

Midfielder has risen from the bench to come up with the decisive goal in past two games – Spain’s first World Cup knockout victories since they won the tournament in 2010

“I look behind me and I see Mikel Merino and I think: ‘I’m calm as can be,’” Luis de la Fuente said when at last the heart rates had returned to normal. Everyone else’s heart rates, anyway. In those moments when time is running out and the tension is running high, there’s something about Spain’s coach. And there’s certainly something about the midfielder.

On the afternoon before Spain faced Belgium in their quarter-final, De la Fuente had an attack of the giggles as he recalled how when he was a kid only three television events gathered his family around the screen: the national team, Eurovision and the gloriously silly, inexplicably bizarre gameshow Un, dos, tres (whose UK version was 3-2-1).

Venezuela quake death toll passes 4,300 as scale of recovery effort looms large

Nearly 17,000 injured and thousands more listed as missing amid calls by president Delcy Rodríguez and UN for financial help

The death toll in Venezuela’s devastating twin earthquakes has passed 4,300, the government said on Saturday.

At least 4,333 people were killed and 16,740 injured in the back-to-back quakes on 24 June that flattened entire districts in the coastal state of La Guaira, the Venezuelan parliament chief, Jorge Rodríguez, wrote on Telegram. Thousands more people are listed as missing.

US congressman says he was detained by armed Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank

Ro Khanna said settlers were armed with US-made weapons and Israel Defense Forces refused to intervene

The US congressman Ro Khanna says armed Israeli settlers detained him during a visit to the Israel-occupied West Bank recently, describing the experience as a first-hand view of the realities faced by Palestinians living under occupation.

In an interview with Reuters on Thursday from a Palestinian village, the progressive US House Democrat from California said his detention happened the previous day while his delegation visited an area of the southern West Bank that has experienced repeated attacks by Israeli settlers.

Apalachee High School shooting suspect set to change plea, documents show

Colt Gray is scheduled to appear in Barrow County Superior Court on July 24 for a plea hearing, court documents show.

Houston man didn't threaten ICE agent before being fatally shot, lawyer for witnesses says

Eyewitnesses say Lorenzo Salgado Araujo did not threaten ICE agents before he was shot and killed during a vehicle stop, an attorney said, contradicting an agent's account. The Department of Homeland Security said that officers were looking for a different person when they stopped Salgado Araujo's vehicle.

Football without faith is nothing so Infantino is playing with fire at World Cup | Jonathan Wilson

Swirl around Fifa’s machinations and about big team and big name bias creates doubt – and that’s a dangerous game

About 25 years ago, I was in the office of a sports newspaper in Bucharest on a Saturday afternoon following the Premier League games with some local journalists. With about five minutes to go, Chelsea trailed 2-1. Somebody had backed Chelsea to lose and brandished his betting slip. Chelsea scored. A couple of minutes later, they scored again. The reporter tossed the slip away. I saw drama; the Romanians saw a fix.

This is why integrity and the perception of integrity are so important. I don’t think that game was fixed. There is no evidence whatsoever it was fixed. Given the salaries players earn and the sophistication of the early warning system for unusual betting patterns, there is little chance Premier League games are fixed. But if you grew up in the declining days of the Ceauşescu era or the wild west that followed, when match-fixing wasn’t so much an open secret as a simple fact, cynicism is the natural response.

Justice Department subpoenas New York Times reporters over Air Force One reporting

The Times says federal agents turned up on the doorsteps of several of its journalists to force grand jury testimony next week over their coverage of the Air Force One plane gifted to Trump by Qatar.

Exclusive discounts from CBS Mornings Deals

On this edition of CBS Mornings Deals, we show you items that will help improve your everyday lifestyle. Visit cbsdeals.com to take advantage of these exclusive deals today. CBS earns commissions on purchases made through cbsdeals.com.

Trump warns Iran "missiles are locked and loaded" if they attempt assassination

President Trump threatened to "decimate and destroy" Iran if they try to assassinate him. This comes as the U.S. and Tehran continue negotiations. Here's what to know about where things stand.

Will these extreme stadium eats hit a home run?

Baseball season is in full swing, and millions of fans are dreaming about their team winning -- and their favorite bleacher grub. Here are the most extreme eats and the creative combos that knock it out of the park.

Nolan Wells' mom speaks out after son found dead: "We just want to know what happened"

Teen football player Nolan Wells was found dead on a Mississippi island days after he vanished during a July Fourth outing. Wells' parents are searching for answers, saying that they don't believe their son would have stayed behind on the island by choice.

Heatwave forces Tour de France organisers to shorten Sunday’s stage nine

• Stage eight: Tadej Pogacar untroubled in overall lead

• Merlier produces superb sprint win for second day
  

Sunday’s ninth stage of the Tour de France has been shortened by 30km due to a red heatwave alert in the Corrèze département of central France. The stage from Malemort to Ussel will now be raced over 155.5km instead of the scheduled 185.5.

In a statement the Tour said: “This decision aims to ensure that the race can take place under conditions compatible with the red heatwave alert.”

Elon Musk’s family foundation took Tommy Robinson to Russia, says Musk’s father

Errol Musk says far-right activist is ‘a fine young man’ and held meetings with Russian business figures

Elon Musk’s family foundation took Tommy Robinson to Russia, according to the billionaire X owner’s father, who was with the British far-right activist in Moscow as he encouraged anti-migration protests in Britain.

Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – appeared last month in Moscow, from where he issued calls for supporters to take to the streets after a knife attack in Belfast. He shared video of himself in a luxury Moscow hotel with the older Musk, whose son has been a vocal supporter of Robinson.

New York Times journalists issued subpoenas over Air Force One reporting

The subpoenas were issued after the New York Times reported on alleged security concerns with the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One.

Chef Greg Baxtrom serves delicious Midwestern meals to New Yorkers

Chef Greg Baxtrom is bringing approachable Heartland flavors to New York City with 5 Acres, a Midwestern restaurant in the iconic Rockefeller Center. Baxtrom talks about creativity with vegetables and shares his struggle with sobriety.

Superior Sinner provides true measure of Zverev’s step up in Wimbledon final

German’s long-awaited first slam title came in Paris after his rival wilted in the heat but was his triumph a turning point or a blip?

For a brief moment on the first day of Wimbledon, there was reason to believe that Jannik Sinner was still processing his collapse at Roland Garros. Any loss in Paris would have been significant, considering the certainty with which he had dominated the clay court season beforehand, but it was the manner of his defeat that stung.

Sinner, it cannot be repeated enough, had been leading the innocuous Juan Manuel Cerundolo by two sets to love and 5-1 in set three when he crumbled physically. No matter how Sinner tried to emphasise his satisfaction at his achievements in the entire clay court swing, this was an excruciating loss.

Train lovers seek out the lingering romance of steam locomotives

Trainspotters love to see a Union Pacific locomotive rounding a curve or crossing a bridge. First built in 1941, these moving museums showcase the best of American railroad history.

Pollock’s hat-trick powers England’s 11-try Nations Championship mauling of 14-man Fiji

• Fiji 8-73 England

• Scrum-half Simione Kuruvoli sent off before break

To say England needed to shine in sub-tropical Liverpool is the understatement of this protracted season. Had they slipped to a sixth straight Test defeat it would probably have been the end of Steve Borthwick’s tenure as head coach. Instead a one-sided romp, their first win since February, has given the management a little respite as they prepare to head to Argentina for the last leg of their continent-hopping summer itinerary.

In all honesty, though, Fiji were so disjointed and ill-disciplined for lengthy periods that the game resembled something close to a training run. A litany of botched offloads, silly penalties and back-pedalling mauls had long since allowed England to cruise away over the horizon even before Simione Kuruvoli was sent off just before half-time with his side already 35-3 behind.

The biggest steam locomotive is whistle-stopping across the U.S.

Huge crowds of train fans turn out as the 1940s era Big Boy steam locomotive is making a rare trip cross country.

Hunter Biden wins $1.7m in suit over Iran bribery claim by ex-CEO of Overstock.com

Biden sued Patrick Byrne for defamation over claim that he sought bribe to lobby his father to free $8bn in Iran assets

A federal judge on Friday awarded Hunter Biden $1.7m in punitive damages in a defamation lawsuit he filed against former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne.

Biden sued Byrne – a Donald Trump ally who denied the results of the 2020 election and funded efforts to overturn them – in 2023, accusing Byrne of lying in an interview that Biden had previously sought a bribe from Iran’s government in the fall of 2021.

Hundreds rescued amid historic flash flooding in Missouri

A deluge of rain flooded roads and homes in Missouri, prompting a state of emergency. Hundreds of people were rescued.

Trump administration subpoenas New York Times journalists over new Air Force One reporting

Outlet said journalists subpoenaed to testify before grand jury after story detailed security concerns with Qatar-gifted plane

The Trump administration has issued subpoenas to several New York Times journalists after the newspaper reported on security concerns with the president’s new plane, according to the outlet.

The Times said its journalists were subpoenaed on Friday by the US justice department to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan five days later, marking the latest effort by the Trump White House to compel testimony from journalists under the threat of penalty. Agents delivered some of the subpoenas to the Times reporters at their homes, the paper added.

‘A slap in the face’: small farmers say Trump is turning his back on them

The president wooed farmers in his campaign, but now the USDA is yanking funding, citing ‘DEI’ and wasteful spending

It’s just an eighth of an acre, but for Lawrencia Rogers, the plot where she grows broccolini, lettuce and beans on land once tilled by poorhouse residents in eastern Iowa is the closest she has come to living her dream.

Iowa is one of the most agriculturally productive states in the country, but getting into farming is not easy, particularly for people like Rogers who have no family connections to the business. It’s nonetheless been a lifelong passion for the 33-year-old Iowan: at age six, she planted a rosebush that’s still alive today, and managed to grow cantaloupe on a strip of dirt and chain-link fence next to the driveway of her grandmother’s house.

Is the US trying to make scientists’ work so difficult that they simply give up? | Daniel Malinsky

New Trump administration rules would undermine longstanding research practices. It’s death by a thousand cuts

A politician who aims to gradually privatize and ultimately destroy an institution funded by tax dollars – say, a public school system or public transportation network – may choose to do so by strategically disinvesting resources from that institution until it becomes barely functional, leading users to look elsewhere to meet their needs. Eventually, the user-base of the public system gets so low or frustrated that it seems reasonable to scrap the thing entirely, or re-direct public funds to private companies as contractors to provide the needed “service”. We’ve seen this strategy play out many times in states and city councils across America.

It appears that the endgame of the Trump administration’s attacks on science and the research funding ecosystem is similar: grant freezes and administrative disarray at federal funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), new layers of project review by political appointees hunting for forbidden keywords such as “disparity” and “marginalized”, and proposed new restrictions to make international collaboration difficult or impossible all point towards a world where it’s just too onerous to do federally-funded scientific research. Is the goal to make scientists simply give up on the endeavor?

Daniel Malinsky is an assistant professor of biostatistics in the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University

7/11: CBS Saturday Morning

Hundreds were rescued from flooding in Missouri. President Trump threatened to "decimate and destroy" Iran if they try to assassinate him. Plus, Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy sat down with Kelly O'Grady to discuss his new book.

South Africa World Cup midfielder Jayden Adams dies aged 25

• Adams played in South Africa’s World Cup group games

• Midfielder played for Mamelodi Sundowns

Jayden Adams, who played in South Africa’s three group games at the World Cup, has died aged 25.

The Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder started the tournament opener, a 2-0 defeat by Mexico, and the 1-1 draw with Czechia, being substituted in both matches. He then came off the bench in the 1-0 win against South Korea, but took no part in the 1-0 last-32 defeat by Canada.

Book excerpt: "They Stole a City" by Lauren Collins

The New Yorker writer's new book examines how, in 1898, white supremacists staged a coup against Wilmington, N.C.'s multi-racial government – a case study in the sabotage of American democracy.

These are America’s 10 worst states to live in for 2026

Some states may have low costs and light regulation, but high crime and lack of healthcare are among important factors when people choose where to live. 

The best states to live in for 2026: No. 1 has a six-year winning streak

Return to office mandates and a decline in remote work have companies looking more closely at the quality of life in the place where they establish offices. 

TV presenter Dermot Murnaghan dies of prostate cancer, aged 68

The former ITV, BBC and Sky News journalist died peacefully at home in London on Saturday, his family say

The former BBC and Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan has died aged 68 after a “period of illness with prostate cancer”, his family have said.

The journalist, who was long a fixture on British TV screens, was also known for hosting the quizshow Eggheads.

Drones are detecting more sharks at US beaches, but do they make the public safer?

Increase in sightings may not reflect increase in sharks with little evidence that threat to swimmers has risen

Experts say that despite recent increased investment in drones to monitor for sharks in states like New York, the machines have limited usefulness as a public safety tool and there does not appear to be evidence that the threat to swimmers from sharks has increased.

There have, however, been more reports of sharks around local beaches.

As Democrats pick up the pieces after Graham Platner, many wonder: how did this happen?

The former US Senate candidate’s spectacular fall has upended the Maine Senate race and left voters fuming at the party

Almost exactly one year ago, Graham Platner, who has no political experience, was cherry-picked by out-of-state political activists.

According to a person familiar with the campaign, Daniel Moraff and Leanne Fan, who have made a name for themselves by recruiting populist candidates across the country, traveled to Maine and rented a house near Platner’s home in Sullivan to convince him to run for the US Senate. Throughout the process, Moraff became Platner’s “right-hand man”, the person described, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of backlash.

Is Mitch McConnell secretly deceased? | Arwa Mahdawi

The senator’s health is shrouded in mystery after he was hospitalized. Why can’t we get a clear answer?

Is Mitch McConnell dead?

This shouldn’t be a difficult question to answer. The response is either “yes”, “no” or something along the lines of “he’s on life support but appears to be brain dead”.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

Burnout, frustration and heartbreak: Amazon layoffs take their toll in saturated job market

In the eight-plus months since Amazon announced its most expansive job cuts ever, laid off workers have been thrust into an increasingly saturated labor market.

A tiny GLP-1 implant is the latest bet to help patients maintain their weight loss

Vivani Medical is developing an implant of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's obesity injection Wegovy and diabetes counterpart Ozempic.

Opinion: Is democracy a joke? Count Binface says no.

Populist British MP Nigel Farage resigned from Parliament over questions about his finances, and is running for re-election in his constituency. His biggest rival? Count Binface.

Nigeria says army has killed 300 bandits in north-western state of Zamfara

Vigilantes also took part in the fight that raged all night and the following morning, residents say

Nigerian soldiers killed more than 300 members of kidnapping and cattle bandit gangs in the north-western state of Zamfara this week, according to a government official.

Government troops targeted the gangs in Gummi district in a two-day operation that “led to the elimination of more than 300 terrorists”, Zamfara’s information commissioner, Mahmud Muhammad Dantawasa, said in a statement.

Most people who need glasses don't have them. Can the post office change that?

In some towns in India, a visitor to the post office who's squinting at fine print might be asked: Do you want an eye test?

Datacentres drive up big tech’s carbon emissions to a third of those of France

Microsoft, Amazon and Google say they still aim to achieve net zero output despite construction boom

Microsoft, Amazon and Google’s collective carbon emissions have increased by nearly a fifth in the past year, driven largely by datacentre construction.

In the financial year ending March 2026, the three tech companies emitted 119m mTCO₂e (metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent), or about a third of those of France.

‘I was a captive in this water prison with over 1,000 miles left to sail’: how an ocean odyssey with my old flame turned into a nightmare

I had always longed for adventure, so when ‘the Captain’ invited me on a 4,000-mile sailing trip, I took the plunge. Then coronavirus hit, and I found myself stuck in a relationship as choppy as the sea we were navigating. Who exactly was the man I’d followed onboard?

I sat on the stern bench, the sun shining down on me. The bright orange wheel spun gently on autopilot, keeping us on course to the Marquesas Islands. We were a week out of Panama, and it had been a smooth passage so far, with everyone settling into their rhythm and responsibilities as we worked as a team to sail the 4,000 nautical miles. Then, the email from the Pacific Crossing network we were part of arrived.

Coronavirus had become a worldwide pandemic – borders were closing fast. There was nowhere to land. I was on a 47ft (14-metre) sailboat with my on-again, off-again boyfriend (the Captain), three strangers and a dog – the safest place on Earth, and the most stuck I had ever been in my life.

‘Every time the rain falls, the fear comes back’: life in Lagos under the constant threat of floods

As Nigeria braces for another season of devastating rains, people affected describe the mental toll of repeatedly rebuilding their lives

Murky water first tore down a perimeter fence, then bubbled into the yard before spilling into every room. Within minutes, electronics, kitchen appliances, furniture, documents and academic certificates lay submerged.

With the water rising rapidly, Daniel Ebiesua evacuated his home in the Shogunle area of Lagos, with his wife, their two-week-old baby, four-year-old son and his mother-in-law to a neighbour’s upstairs apartment. There they stayed trapped for four hours, helplessly watching the flood swallow the streets below.

Safe from AI: which jobs will help you thrive in the future?

Experts say there will still be opportunities ahead in everything from teaching to hotels and the law

Entering the world of work often brings some uncertainty, but now there is another question: how can I AI-proof my career?

We asked people from across various industries what they think the impact of AI will be on careers, and which jobs may be less affected. While it is still early days for the tech, many had ideas about how you can best prepare yourself for a successful career in this new world.

Madeline Horwath on the advantages of an older partner – cartoon

Continue reading...

‘‘It’s difficult for children to avoid the temptation of screens’: Soumayan Biswas’s best phone picture

The photographer was looking for inspiration near his home in West Bengal when he spotted a girl lying near a tangle of fishing nets

In the Hooghly district of West Bengal, just a short walk from his home, photographer Soumayan Biswas found himself circling the edges of a large village pond, searching – as he often does – for “stories”. He remembers that the weather was “cloudy that day, and the wind was light”. It was the kind of muted afternoon when your attention is sharpened.

The story appeared in the form of Sabana, a 12-year-old student lying beside a tangle of fishing nets. Biswas had never met her before and, while spending some time around her, was struck by how absorbed she was in her phone.

Minnesota is pulling troops early from D.C., as pressure grows on Michigan

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is pulling his National Guard early from Washington, D.C. as the chorus against Democratic governors sending troops to the city amid President Trump's ongoing deployment grows louder.

My holiday from hell: I wanted to go zipwiring and eat chips. But my mum insisted we find the ‘real’ Mallorca

My sister and I were enjoying our all-inclusive getaway, but my mum hated forced fun and sitting by the pool. So we went off exploring in the searing heat. Our hike through the island’s building sites didn’t end well

Package holidays weren’t yet a thing people did, in 1983 or 84, and Mallorca hadn’t completely become itself, but wasn’t unspoilt either. Me, nine, my sister, 11, and my mum, 46, would have been early adopters of the all-inclusive getaway, if in any sense my mum had arrived in an adopting frame of mind. It’s hard to describe the attitude she brought with her without making her sound like a monster, so you just have to fill between the lines with “she had other nice qualities”.

She didn’t like small talk and didn’t like buffets; didn’t like bumptious dads who invited your kids to join theirs; didn’t like nuclear families; and she wasn’t wild about other single-parent families either. She hated sitting by the pool, drinking piña coladas, group activities and any kind of quiz. She had an aversion to forced fun, which she used as cover for her distaste for many other kinds of fun. Me and my sister loved forced fun. We would lose our shit over a cocktail umbrella.

Alfred Dreyfus statue to finally receive permanent home in central Paris

Sculpture of Jewish army officer wrongly accused of treason has been moved around the city for decades

For 40 years, the statue of Capt Alfred Dreyfus has been moved around Paris, never finding a permanent home.

The French army twice refused to allow it to stand at l’École Militaire, where Dreyfus, a Jewish officer it had wrongly accused of treason in 1894, was stripped of his rank in one of the most notorious acts of antisemitism in France’s history.

Ben Okri: ‘What happens when we die? We don’t die. We change realms’

The Booker prize-winning novelist on the art of lying for a living, the cosmic force of love, and gargling loudly

Born in Minna, Nigeria, Ben Okri, 67, spent his childhood in Nigeria and London. He published his first novel Flowers and Shadows in 1980 and won the Booker prize in 1991 with The Famished Road. His subsequent work includes Astonishing the Gods, which in 2019 was selected as one of the BBC’s 100 novels “that shaped our world”. In 2023, he was knighted for services to literature. His latest novel, Waking the Warriors, is published on 16 July. He lives with his partner and their child in London.

When were you happiest?
On a train journey to Arcadia many years ago while making a TV documentary.

‘Like a sauna’: London tube travellers swelter in temperatures higher than legal limit for cattle

The tube cannot easily be adapted to cope with heatwaves, making conditions almost unbearable

As the escalator descends below ground at King’s Cross St Pancras station in London, the shift from what was already a hot station entrance to the furnace-like subterranean depths is perceptible.

On the tube it’s worse: a man leans back in his seat, eyes closed, sweltering; people hold electric fans an inch away from their faces. London commuters are known for their stoicism and the heat appears to be another tribulation to accept. They will need to: heatwaves in the capital are becoming routine.

A swarm of stink bugs and a river of rats: why India’s flowering bamboo causes a crisis for humans

Every few decades mass blooming in Mizoram’s forests causes a rodent boom – and devastation to crops. The cycle is well-known, so why aren’t farmers and authorities better prepared?

In the hills of Mizoram state in north-east India, the first thing that farmers notice are the swarms of stink bugs, known locally as thangnang. It can mean only one thing: the rats are coming. And with them, famine.

As dawn breaks in Mamit district, Maunsanga, a 62-year-old farmer, walks across his plot, stopping where his rice crop once stood. He bends down to examine a broken stalk.

Pressed for time? 20 brilliant books you can read in a day

From novels by James Baldwin and Han Kang to a guide to quantum physics – a former Booker prize judge recommends immersive one-sitting wonders

A one-sitting read is typically the domain of the short story – a form that largely depends on a reader’s pure, unbroken attention. But there is some­thing special about the intensity of beginning and ending an entire book in a single day. Of all my reading experiences, these have been among the most memorable.

As a judge for last year’s Booker prize, faced with 153 books and just over six months in which to read them, it was my task to try to turn every novel into one that could be read in a day. While I loved the experience, it wasn’t exactly a recipe for satisfying reading.

‘Politicians have always been schemers’: upheld conviction fails to dent Le Pen’s popularity

Presidential bid by leader of far-right National Rally has no shortage of supporters in scenic Montargis

In the small French town of Montargis, Jean-Antoine, a retired decorator, was pleased Marine Le Pen had again shaken up French politics by launching a bid for the presidency, despite her legal woes.

“Even the judges said she didn’t personally profit from the money, it was for her party,” he said of Le Pen’s newly upheld conviction for embezzlement. “All politicians in France have always been schemers, it’s just a fact of life.”

‘A new consumer’: how weight-loss drugs are shaking up clothes shopping

As they slim down, UK and US users of GLP-1 jabs and pills are changing their spending habits – and their wardrobes

• Tell us: what does the new weight-loss pill mean for you?

“I’m now at a point where I’m going to buy even more clothes,” says Hayley Grice, 50, from Shropshire, who has dropped seven sizes after starting on the GLP-1 weight loss jab Mounjaro two years ago. “I’m very happy with my physique right now.”

Grice, the financial director of a business she set up with her husband, tried gastric bypass surgery in 2009, but put most of the weight back on, and had been between UK dress sizes 26 and 28 (US sizes 22 and 24) all her adult life.

The World Cup has upended the old world order – and despite Trump and Infantino, it still inspires | Simon Tisdall

Even White House interference and Fifa’s greed cannot spoil the celebrations. At last, an arena in which multiculturalism triumphs and underdogs score

Of all the outrageous things Donald Trump has done, from bombing other countries to appeasing dictators, his sneaky interference in last week’s USA v Belgium World Cup match sparked by far the most united and furious reaction across the world. Condemnation was all but universal. Trump’s cheating heart cannot understand the unmatched, ubiquitous power that the “beautiful game” exercises over ordinary lives everywhere. It massively surpasses his own. The world truly loves football. It doesn’t love him. And then USA lost the match anyway. Karma. This modern morality play joyously illuminated the limits of authoritarianism.

In an age dominated by overbearing, illiberal economic and military powers, the men’s World Cup is upending the conventional geopolitical pecking order and power balances in refreshing and instructive ways. In this alternative universe, smaller nations – and ordinary people – can and often do get a bigger shout. Despite huge state investment in all aspects of the game, China again failed to qualify. Russia, never much good at football in the first place, was kicked out after invading Ukraine. And despite all Trump’s Maga hooliganism, the US remains soccer small fry. So much for superpowers.

Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator

‘Spermageddon’: is the world facing a male reproductive crisis?

Reports of falling sperm counts and testosterone levels have fuelled fears over chemicals, pollution and modern lifestyles. But how much do scientists agree on what is affecting male fertility?

The world is unwittingly walking into a male reproductive crisis, scientists warned this week as they presented data that revealed an apparent halving of average male testosterone levels over the past 50 years.

“It is mind-blowing that testosterone has declined by 50%,” Prof Hagai Levine, who led the work, told the Guardian. “This is a lot. Wake up people. Wake up.”

What links Kendrick Lamar, June Brown and E, H and I? The Saturday quiz

From the Battle of Santiago and The Miracle of Bern to Nasa and Woman in the Moon, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz

1 Which 90s duo only released three singles, all chart toppers?
2 Betsy Ross is traditionally credited with designing and making what?
3 Based in Cambridge, which geographical research organisation is the BAS?
4 Which wetland sedge is important in the history of writing?
5 What did Nasa borrow from the 1929 Fritz Lang film Woman in the Moon?
6 What 1,000-year-old Sherwood Forest resident died in 2026?
7 Which country’s national museum burned down in 2018?
8 Which magazine was named after the sound of a “guitar being struck with force”?
What links:
9 E, H, I and S; June Brown; Kendrick Lamar, formerly?
10 White (bow); red (sword); black (pair of scales); pale (nothing)?
11 Robert Mitchum, 1962; Robert De Niro, 1991; Javier Bardem, 2026?
12 Hetty Feather; Tom Jones; Oedipus; Oliver Twist; Superman?
13 Cadbury Castle; Danebury; Maiden Castle; Vespasian’s Camp?
14 Abhakshya; haram; tabu; treif?
15 Maracanaço; Miracle of Bern; Battle of Santiago; Disgrace of Gijón?

Casual by Chappell Roan helped me ditch dead-end relationships

After years of one-sided commitment, revisiting her hit song Casual finally gave me a reality check

‘Sadie,” I say. “I would call our daughter Sadie. Or I like Leo for a boy.” I’ve been on the phone for two and a half hours, speaking about our hypothetical children to a man who has explicitly said that he does not want a relationship. At the same time, he’s said things like: “I told my mum about you. She wants to meet you.” When he makes those comments, I can’t help dreaming – in the words of a certain song – of us in a year: maybe we’ll have an apartment, and he’d show me off to his friends at the pier?

That’s the fantasy Chappell Roan imagines in her 2022 hit Casual. My own vision looks a little different: instead of a pier there is an apartment (where the now familiar sound of his key in the door still excites me), and his friends say things like: “I’ve never seen him act like this with anyone else before.” But crucially, in this fantasy, we’ve made a commitment to each other. The first time I heard Casual, I was in a committed relationship. I listened to it often, singing along loudly in the bedroom I shared with my boyfriend to “Knee deep in the passenger seat, and you’re eating me out”. (Roan was nervous about that line – “it’s crass,” she said – but fans loved it.) I also loved the song’s sense of unrequited yearning, but I couldn’t really relate to it. Not yet.

Summer on the Slovenian Riviera

The country’s coastline is one of the shortest in Europe, but it packs a punch with unspoilt nature reserves, vibrant Venetian towns and a thriving foodie scene

I’m riding a salt-coloured horse through the Dragonja valley, deep in the green hills of Slovenian Istria. Electric-blue dragonflies zip over the river as we gallop past olive trees and vineyards. The landscape rises steeply in a series of grassy terraces, and at the top of the hill we rein in the sweating horses to take in the view. Far below, the huge grids of solinas (salt pans), glittery and light-blue in the early morning light, look strange and somehow elegant against the wild, expansive sea beyond.

The Istrian peninsula is the largest in the Adriatic Sea, with 90% of it in Croatia and smaller portions in Slovenia and Italy. I’ve come to explore the Slovenian section. At just 29 miles (47km), the country’s coastline is one of the shortest in Europe, from the Italian city of Trieste down to the Croatian border, but it boasts colourful seaside towns, hilltop villages and an emerging gastronomy scene.

Everything is heating up – except the barbecue: the Becky Barnicoat cartoon

Continue reading...

Ryanair has axed its family seating policy – but kids’ fees still add up

The airfare for a baby on your lap could cost more than your own ticket. Here’s how airline charges and travel taxes can hit you

Ryanair recently stopped making parents pay to sit next to their children but depending on the airline the hidden extra costs involved in flying with children can be substantial. In some cases, you can even end up spending more for the baby on your lap than you paid for your own flight.

Your baby might not need a seat, but you are still likely to pay fees for them to travel. Some airlines offer discounts for children over two, while others whack families with the cost of a full-grown adult.

The hill I will die on: Radio 4’s Today programme has become really annoying since I left | John Humphrys

With its gushing interviewees and weird (y’know) ways of talking, the BBC news flagship show I used to present now has me harrumphing at the radio

It’s seven years since I stopped presenting the Today programme and started listening to Radio 3 instead. Or at least, that was the plan. On the first day it lasted for almost an hour. By the second day I’d given up on it. I suppose it was inevitable. You can’t spend 61 years as a news hack – more than half of it presenting the same programme – and then just erase it from your memory and start a new life.

What you can do in my own case – or, rather, can’t help doing – is mutate into a “new” listener. How to describe this “new” listener? I suppose if I were Today’s editor, the phrase “pain in the arse” might come to mind. Having been the one on the radio informing (and possibly sometimes annoying) the listeners for 33 years, I’m now the man shouting at his radio about how irritating the programme has become.

John Humphrys presents The Odd Couple podcast with Matthew Norman

Meera Sodha’s recipe for rollercoaster apple muffins | Meera Sodha recipes

These easy bakes are packed full of the good stuff, and will keep kids fuelled all summer long

My children are mostly vegetarian, which means that at home I’m always searching for what we call “rollercoaster foods” due to their obsession with being allowed on Mandrill Mayhem at Chessington World of Adventures. In other words, food that will help both of them reach the next level on the rollercoaster height chart – that is, food packed full of the good stuff (protein, wholegrains, healthy fats and nutrients). This muffin was created with that in mind: tasty (crucially) without tasting worthy, high in protein (9g per muffin), and mindful of sugar. It’s a mix-in-a-bowl job or, you could say, child’s play.

Europe considering proposals to allow navigation fees in strait of Hormuz

Plans specify tolls must not be compulsory as US officials urge Iran to make public guarantee of safe passage for shipping

Europe is studying proposals that could allow navigation fees to be charged in the strait of Hormuz, provided the payments are not compulsory and have the support of the UN agency that regulates maritime transport.

Britain’s deputy prime minister, David Lammy, said imposing mandatory tolls would be disastrous. But some cabinet colleagues said they recognised that payments for specific navigational services were permissible in many natural waterways, including the strait of Malacca and the English Channel.

Apple sues OpenAI alleging trade secret theft, says scheme was 'at every level'

The two companies entered into a high-profile partnership in 2024 when ChatGPT was integrated into the iPhone's operating system.

Haaland’s hometown hails ‘little boy who grew into a huge Viking’

The people of Bryne are proud of local hero’s rise to the top of world football as Norway prepare to face England

Surrounded by red hats, No 9 shirts and Erling Haaland action toys at her fabric shop in the small Norwegian town of Bryne, Olinda Haaland – no relation but proud to share the now world-famous name – said everybody in the striker’s home town was a football fan these days.

“It’s been pure joy,” she said of her namesake’s rise to the top of world football. “We all love him so much and he’s doing so much for Bryne.”

Peter Falconio murder 25 years on: new footage shows dying Australian outback killer’s refusal to reveal body’s location

NT police release body-worn camera vision of Bradley John Murdoch denying knowing where UK backpacker’s body is weeks before his death

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

Infamous killer Bradley John Murdoch aggressively denied knowing where the body of still-missing backpacker Peter Falconio was during a police interview weeks before he died.

NT police released body-worn camera vision of the interview on Saturday, days before the 25th anniversary of the killing of the 28-year-old British man on the Stuart Highway near Barrow Creek, in July 2001.

Hegseth frustrated with lack of adherence to grooming rules

Eight months ago, Hegseth told top military leaders there would be "no more beardos" and "fat troops."

Graham Platner formally drops out of Maine Senate race

Graham Platner had until 5 p.m. on Monday to formally suspend his campaign or he would remain on the ballot in November.

Pentagon releases new set of UFO files: "Unlike anything I had seen"

The U.S. military released a new batch of files related to UFOs, including one report from a Navy pilot who said a mysterious object was "unlike anything I had seen" in 28 years of service.

‘It’s good to do nothing’: why hundreds gathered to sit still on one Bangkok weekend

Responding to a Facebook event which promised a chance to ‘escape’ the screen, young people turned out in Thailand’s capital to spend an hour being ‘useless’

Bangkok is a city thrumming with an energy you can feel from its skyscrapers to the street, but an invitation last week to change the pace and do nothing drew hundreds to the lush green oasis in its centre.

On beanbags, fold up chairs and picnic mats in Lumphini Park on 4 July, people laid back looking at the sky, while others sat upright facing the lake. One examined a twig, a few dozed off and only a handful checked their phones.