It's illegal for armed federal officers to be at polls. Lawsuits seek to ensure that

The latest lawsuit, first reported by NPR, argues the Trump administration's repeated suggestions that federal officers could be at polling sites is a form of illegal voter intimidation.

Japan raises interest rates to 31-year high to curb impact of rising prices

Increase from 1% to 1.25% follows US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank tightening monetary policy

• Business live – latest updates

Japan’s central bank has increased interest rates to a fresh 31-year high as it attempts to combat high global inflation linked to the war in Iran.

The Bank of Japan voted to raise its target interest rate from 1% to 1.25%, the highest level since 1995.

Could AI really end humanity? Post your questions for our tech reporters now

After a week of alarming warnings about the technology’s potential to destroy the world as we know it, our expert tech reporters will take your questions on the reality of the AI threat. Join us at 3pm BST (4pm CEST, 10am EDT) where they will answer live

Sign up or sign in to ask your question

The last week or so has seen disturbing claims about the capacity of superintelligent AI to destroy the planet. It has also seen warnings coming from figures within the industry itself, including Anthropic’s report that criminals, state-sponsored groups, spyware vendors, scientists and propagandists have attempted to use its models to “design missiles and bombs, create deadly pathogens and surveil dissidents” and Elon Musk’s claim it could be “more dangerous than nukes”.

Our reporting team has been trying to make sense of the scale of these claims. Is the great AI freakout justified? They will be here from 3pm BST (4pm CEST, 10am EDT) to try and answer any questions you might have.

Sydney Sweeney’s cartoonish provocation has sparked a culture war but let’s just admit sport can be sexy | Emma John

Yes sport is about effort, sweat and inclusivity – but it also turns elite athletes into magnificent specimens of humanity where the aesthetic is part of the appeal

Have you seen the 40-second video that will change the way you think about women’s sport, women’s bodies, just, you know, women? It’s been unavoidable on social media this week – brazen, unapologetic, dominating the algorithm like an AI kitten hacking a banana-bread recipe while lip-syncing to Cardi B. I for one have enjoyed it at least 50 times already.

It starts with some carefully curated passive-aggression – “Dear Sydney”, “Hey Sydney”, “Respectfully Sydney” – and follows up with clips of what, in its own words, “a woman in sport actually looks like”. It shows its subject pounding the treadmill or powering down the back straight, flooring a rival with a tackle or a roundhouse kick, lifting weights or throwing herself through the air. It is, inevitably, soundtracked by Dua Lipa. Training Season is getting a serious bump this week.

Sports quiz of the week: records, hazards, complaints and boring events

Have you followed the big stories in football, cricket, motor racing, tennis, cycling, golf, athletics and American football?

Week in wildlife: swimming pigs, circling sharks and a fox on the cricket pitch

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

2025 and all that: Red Roses ready to regnite Canada rivalry after World Cup win

One year on from the epic final women’s rugby is flourishing in both nations while England are aiming to take their successive win total to 40 games

Train like you have never won, play like you don’t know how to lose. That is the mantra scribbled on a whiteboard in the Red Roses camp this week as they prepare to take on Canada for the first time since defeating them in the 2025 Rugby World Cup final.

The game at Sandy Park on Saturday will be a week shy of the year anniversary of the Twickenham showpiece in front of a record-breaking 81,885 supporters. It is the fans that come to mind when players remember that day: the thousands waiting for both teams to get off of the buses, the noise in the stadium and the reality of a full Twickenham after months of speaking about what it might be like to play in front of that many people.

The world’s rivers are at breaking point. Can we save them before it is too late?

In this week’s newsletter: As the Guardian launches a year-long project, Our Rivers, we take stock of the issues facing waterways around the world

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The nicknames of the world’s biggest rivers give a sense of how we feel about them: “the great river”, “the river that swallows all rivers”, “Mother Ganga” and “Old father Thames”. They feed and water us, and many other animal species. They carry our trade but also give us cool relief on a hot day. They’re nerve endings, elders and sources of comfort, but also of awe and respect.

And yet many of the world’s rivers are suffering, hit by multiple environmental challenges. A new report out today from the World Meteorological Organization finds that rivers across the world experienced one of the driest years in more than three decades during 2025.

Climate crisis probably weakened glacier that caused devastating Nepal-Tibet floods, first study finds

Who are the 514 people accused of starting French wildfires and what motivates them?

Benedict Cumberbatch on his Earth-saving eco film: ‘We are in the last grab of the extraction era’

Global leaders urged to join initiative to fight extreme inequality

More than 1,500 academics and economists sign letter, calling growing gap between richest and poorest ‘a policy choice that can be reversed’

More than 1,500 academics and economists from 100-plus countries are urging global leaders to join an initiative against extreme inequality, calling current unfairness “a policy choice that can be reversed”.

Before the UN general assembly in New York next week, the experts have signed an open letter backing the International Panel on Inequality (IPI).

‘Like a Bond villain’s lair’: I climbed the Dolomites to the world’s most spectacular mountain hut

Perched above the clouds in northern Italy, Santnerpass refuge doesn’t just look stunning. It’s a marvel of eco-building – and vegetarian cuisine

‘I think my boots are falling apart!” shouts Nigel just as we hit the pinnacles, a whole range of them jutting up and out from the mountainside, all thrillingly tall, spiky and knobbled. Through them we painstakingly step, fingers aching in gloves, heads sweating in helmets – squashing up narrow chimneys, squeezing through mighty boulders and inching along slender ledges on a twisting path that’s only just discernible through swathes of sharp white scree.

I know how Nigel’s boots are feeling: the going is far harder than I was expecting. This is only the first day of our annual trip to the Dolomites, a vast range of breathtaking sawtooth peaks in northern Italy, but my head’s already full of the thought I have every year as we start out: “If only you’d got fitter.”

Best of the Best review – college comedy formula gets a Bollywood makeover

What’s engaging in this tale of two best girl friends and a dance competition is not the familiar plot but the whip-fast telling and brilliant choreograpy

There is absolutely nothing unexpected about this Netflix comedy set in the world of rival Bollywood dance groups on American campuses. Each plot twist is instantly familiar, every character recognisable, the essential formula untweaked from a dozen previous college comedies. But it’s funny and snappy, and directed with infectious energy by Lena Khan, one of the few Muslim female film-makers working in Hollywood. The scriptwriters are Hasan Minhaj and Prashanth Venkataramanujam, a pair of millennial comedians who look as if they’ve done enough research on the inner workings of gen Z behaviour to write a PhD.

Maya (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and Anjali (Priyanka Kedia) star as lifelong best friends who enrol together at UCLA. Maya is the clever difficult one; Anjali is the nice pretty one. (It goes without saying Maya is also a total babe.) During freshers’ week they join the college’s Bollywood dance club where, predictably, Maya locks horns with leader Ronak (Ankur Rathee) over the choreography. He wants to base their new-season routine on Bollywood weddings, which, as Maya points out, is a bit trad. If they are going to beat their rivals they will need to come up with something modern and fresh.

Exaudi: Pocket Universe album review – virtuoso vocals with a joyfully bonkers bent

Exaudi/Weeks
(NMC)
Four substantial, eclectic works written for James Weeks’ ensemble are brought together here, encompassing swooping folk phrasing, delicate harmonising and exuberant stylistic skill

There is a lot of joy in this release from Exaudi and their conductor, James Weeks, bringing together four substantial, eclectic works written for the vocal group during the 2010s. The first is Guide by Cassandra Miller. Based on a devotional song as recorded in 1968 by the folk singer Maria Muldaur, phrases of which are repeated freely by the singers in imitation of Muldaur’s swooping, full-voiced style, it builds quickly into a kind of controlled cacophony.

Andrew Hamilton’s Proclamation of the Republic imagines Patrick Pearse outside the Dublin General Post Office at Easter 1916, reading the historic text to a largely confused or oblivious public; little by little, pairing syllables on a quietly but insistently repeating two-note figure, the music blooms into something that seems to unite the crowd as they walk away, humming.

South Korea will not send military to support US war on Iran, defying Trump pressure

Seoul resolves recent speculation over sending military to strait of Hormuz, saying ‘there won’t be deployment that would involve or enter war’

South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung, has said he will ⁠not deploy the military to the ⁠Middle East in a way ​that could draw the country into conflict, resisting calls from Donald Trump to support his war in Iran.

“There won’t be deployment that would involve or enter war. I can tell you that very clearly,” Lee said at a ⁠news conference on Friday. “We won’t deploy military assets in any form to that end.”

The driver who slammed into an LA bus before helicopter crash is charged with murder

An SUV driver was under the influence of drugs when she swerved into the wrong lane, blew a red light and slammed into a Los Angeles city bus, killing two riders, prosecutors said as they charged her with murder.

‘A map is never neutral’: meet the cartographers who took on centuries of western bias

Equal Earth projection, adopted by the UN last week, provides an alternative to 16th-century Mercator display

Three cartographers have spoken of their astonishment at the UN’s near-universal adoption of a map they created to more accurately show the sizes of Africa and Europe, even though they have received a few complaints from some disgruntled diplomats.

The creators of the Equal Earth projection aimed to provide an alternative to the dominant 16th-century Mercator display, which critics have long faulted for giving the impression that northern hemisphere nations are larger than they are – and therefore subtly reinforcing perceptions of where global strength lies.

MPs urge ministers to break off Thames Water talks with US hedge funds

Efra committee calls for emergency legislation enabling government to take public control of the company

Andy Burnham is under further pressure to take control of ailing Thames Water from a cross-party group of MPs who are calling for ministers to break off talks with the US hedge funds who are effectively running the company.

Adding their voices to demands that the prime minister takes public control of the company, which has debts of £20bn and is being controlled by a group of 100 hedge funds and distressed-debt investors, the MPs said in a report that ministers should consider emergency legislation to take control of its financial affairs to stabilise the company.

Children and mature adults we know about, but why is society so clueless about young people in between? | Gaby Hinsliff

While there’s much mocking of gen Z, the idea that the state should do more for those aged 18 to 25 is catching on around Westminster. About time, too

When did you realise you had finally grown up? It’s a trick question, obviously: maturity is just realising that life is full of things you don’t feel old enough for but somehow manage anyway, while getting better at pretending to know what you’re doing. But the question is worth asking nonetheless, because for gen Z the goalposts of grownup life are clearly shifting.

It’s a truism that adulting now comes later than it did to generations who still don’t consider adulting a verb, with 43% of 25-year-olds still living at home and plenty more jobless university graduates boomeranging back there this summer, thanks to a grim labour market. Since they’ll probably be working longer into what were once retirement years, perhaps it’s only natural that they’re taking longer to get started. But there’s a fine line between choosing to grow up more slowly and becoming trapped into a kind of limbo between childhood and adulthood, with nobody to pull you out of the morass beyond parents who aren’t sure how to handle this new life stage either.

Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist

Is the tie dead? Fashion connoisseurs hope not as House of Lords relaxes rules

Switch to ‘business attire’ is a sign of the times, but formal neckwear still has its place, say some of Savile Row’s finest-dressed

The House of Lords has long been derided as a stuffy relic of the past. But now its benches, usually filled with haughtily dressed men, could soon resemble something more akin to “dress-down Friday”.

One of the nation’s most storied chambers of power has enacted a rule change: men are no longer required to wear a tie in the House of Lords. Instead, they should opt for “business attire”.

Indonesia gets its first aircraft carrier amid debate over cost and military ambitions

The gift from Italy has sparked fierce debate among defence analysts and opposition politicians who question its true cost and purpose

Indonesia has received its first aircraft carrier, a former Italian warship that the government says will strengthen the archipelagic nation’s maritime security and disaster response capabilities.

The 41-year-old former ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi, with capacity for short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft and helicopters, arrived Friday morning at a naval base in North Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok port, where it was welcomed with a military ceremony.

The spectre of ‘remigration’ is haunting Europe. Slovenia in 1992 gives us a blueprint for this state terror | Miha Mazzini

In February that year, the Slovenian government officially deleted 25,000 citizens, turning them overnight into illegal immigrants

So much of your daily life – your job, your health, your home – hinges on the fact that your name is in a government database. Are you a legal citizen of your country, with everything that entails? You are, until an anonymous bureaucrat hits a key one night and strips it all away, turning you into an illegal immigrant. It happened in Slovenia in 1992.

“I took my son to register for secondary school. The clerk rifled through the papers, then stared at me as if refusing to see the boy standing right next to me. Finally, she said: ‘But you don’t have a son. He doesn’t exist.’” I can’t forget the look on the face of the woman who was telling me this story. It was a mixture of deep hurt and bewilderment, with a pause after every sentence, as if she were walking through a minefield. During the research for my book Erased, I compiled countless stories like this: stories I once would have thought impossible.

Miha Mazzini is a writer, film-maker and anthropologist

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

‘The damage was much worse than I had imagined’: the shocking inside story of Salman Rushdie’s survival

After ​the writer was stabbed in a horrific attack, his wife started making a video diary of his recovery. The clips are featured in a new film from Alex Gibney, who drew on Dennis Potter to create a powerful portrait of Rushdie’s tumultuous life

Eliza Griffiths was at home in New York, drinking a second cup of coffee one August morning in 2022, when her phone rang. She answered it to a frantic friend, who told her the man she had married just a year earlier, and who had set off the previous night for a speaking engagement nearly 400 miles away, had been hurt. “What kind of hurt?” she panicked. Turning on the television, she was assaulted by blurry images of chaos on stage as audience members surged to the rescue. Her husband, Sir Salman Rushdie, had been stabbed multiple times and was fighting for his life.

Within days of desperately chartering a plane to fly her to Rushdie’s hospital bedside, not knowing if he was alive or dead, Griffiths – a poet and photographer who works under her full name Rachel Eliza Griffiths – had begun to make a video diary recording his treatment and recovery. “When it had become likely that I was going to survive,” says Rushdie drily, “I said to Eliza we need to make a record of this. By which I meant something very modest: maybe she would take a picture of me on her iPhone every couple of days just to document the recovery, but Eliza had bigger ideas.”

MobLand season two review – why is Pierce Brosnan’s tedious crime drama so obsessed with testicle jokes?

This Guy-Ritchie-directed gangland drama is deathly dull. It’s a charm-free watch with awful characters and humour so genital-based that at one point Helen Mirren yells a penis joke at a sausage

MobLand. It sounds like a regional nightclub. Or a boyband. But it’s not. It’s a Paramount+ crime drama starring Pierce Brosnan as an Irishman unable to speak in a convincing Irish accent. This is his tragedy. His cross to bear. And now it’s ours, too, because MobLand is back for a second series, with Brosnan – as the veteran gang boss Conrad Harrigan – once again battling other gang bosses while attempting to say things like “Oi love ye loike a tramp loves paraffin” without his vowels shrivelling into tiny raisins of pseudo-Hibernian shame. Does he succeed? Oi tink not! But there are bigger problems afoot, to be sure.

Created by Ronan “Top Boy” Bennett and directed by Guy Ritchie, the first series of the London-set MobLand (feel the width of that capitalised L!) was a sustained roar of nothing much; a rumble through every possible modern gangster drama cliche in the Every Modern Gangster Drama Cliche book. You know the sort of thing: car chases through suspiciously empty city streets; convoluted drug deals with mumbling eastern Europeans; tiny-eyed endomorphs in flat caps bellowing “Oi” in slow motion as they hurtle through the air to the strains of something unconscionable by Kasabian.

Josh Allen shines again as Bills celebrate new home with slugfest victory over Lions

• Detroit Lions 31-41 Buffalo Bills

• Bills QB throws three TDs and rushes for two

• Jared Goff excellent in defeat for Lions

Josh Allen quickly put his stamp on the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium, which has been dubbed “The House that Allen built.”

Allen threw three touchdown passes and ran for two scores, and the Bills beat the Detroit Lions 41-31 on Thursday night in the first regular-season game at Highmark Stadium.

Farmer who voted for Trump says farmers are "all just in survival mode"

Matt Bell said he initially supported Trump's policies but now feels he and other farmers were "sold a bill of goods" that there was a plan to "put America's farmers and ranchers first."

F-16 from Texas crashes in Michigan, evacuation order lifted

An F-16 fighter jet crashed in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, on Thursday, triggering an evacuation order along part of County Road 633, the county's emergency management said.

No hope, no vote … how most of Delhi’s sex workers are being struck off electoral rolls

Modi’s bid to ‘purify’ voter lists has affected a third of the city’s residents. In the GB Road red light district, those who lack permanent homes and documents are among the hardest hit

Rows of hardware and car-part shops line Garstin Bastion Road, with faded signs crammed together above their shutters. By day, the street is one of Old Delhi’s busiest commercial thoroughfares. But as dusk falls, GB Road, as it is known locally, transforms into one of the city’s most notorious red-light districts.

An estimated 2,800 sex workers live and work in brothels that occupy the upper floors of the dilapidated buildings, their entrances tucked behind narrow stairways and unmarked doors. Women sit on plastic stools beneath the stairways, calling out to men passing on the street, while others watch from windows above, their eyes following the movement below before customers are directed upstairs.

Holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy trial says he "didn't have any doubts"

Michael Desronvil, the lone holdout juror in the high-profile Lindsay Clancy murder trial, said he "didn't have any doubts" during deliberations.

Russians go to polls against backdrop of Ukraine war and Putin’s tightening grip

President’s United Russia party faces no meaningful opposition after liberal anti-war party barred from ballot

• Revealed: how Russia uses mobile ‘super-app’ Max to spy on its citizens

Russians are going to the polls to elect a new State Duma in a tightly controlled vote stripped of meaningful competition and with little doubt about the result.

Vladimir Putin’s United Russia is expected to extend the grip on parliament it has held for 23 years, alongside a handful of nominal opposition parties that reliably vote with the Kremlin on the issues that matter. The three-day vote begins on Friday, with results expected after polls close on Sunday.

There’s a long history of athletes pooing themselves mid-race – why, and how can you avoid it?

Since the ancient Olympics, athletes like Hyrox competitor Joanna Wietrzyk have experienced runner’s diarrhoea. What does the science say about extreme exercise’s ‘mechanical jostling of the intestines’?

Soiling yourself in public sounds like a bad dream. But the Australian athlete Joanna Wietrzyk has now apologised for doing just that at the Hyrox games in Beijing on Saturday.

Wietrzyk won the fitness race but not before using communal equipment with faecal matter visibly running down her legs – and muddying Hyrox’s reputation.

GOP congresswoman says Trump immigration enforcement has "gone too far"

"The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed," said Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar.

YouTube star Ms Rachel to match Macklemore’s $1m Palestine aid donation

Educator talks of ‘moral obligation’ and urges ‘every wealthy white celebrity’ to make similar donation

YouTube star Ms Rachel has said she is matching rapper Macklemore’s $1m donation to organizations supporting Palestinians, calling on other public figures to follow suit.

Macklemore, who was fired as the opening act on Ed Sheeran’s tour after saying “Free Palestine” on stage at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, pledged to donate the entirety of his earnings from Sheeran’s tour to several organizations focused on the Palestinian people.

Patrick Clancy's wife to appear on 60 Minutes

Ross Douthat's interview with Patrick Clancy and Dr. Rachel Danis airs Sunday on 60 Minutes.

Patrick Clancy says he still talks to his kids "all the time"

This Sunday on 60 Minutes, Patrick Clancy talks about his grief, his memories of his children, and the baseless conspiracy theories that flooded social media since his ex-wife's murder trial.

Patrick Clancy says he still speaks to his children to "stay connected to them"

Patrick Clancy and his new wife, fertility doctor Rachel Danis, sat down with 60 Minutes this week. Shanelle Kaul has a preview of the story, which airs Sunday.

1 in 3 Americans with health insurance have medical debt, survey finds

Nearly half of Americans with medical debt owe at least $2,000, forcing them to make tough choices, new research shows.

US court sentences ex-Syrian official who ran notorious ‘punishment wing’ to 60 years

Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, part of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, was in charge of Adra prison where prisoners were tortured

This article contains descriptions of torture.

A US federal court in Los Angeles sentenced a former Syrian government official who ran one of the country’s most infamous prisons to 60 years in prison on Thursday – the most significant punishment handed to an official of ousted president Bashar al-Assad’s regime by a foreign court and to a defendant present in person.

Trump photo shows him viewing "Kennedy Center demolished" document

In court documents filed Wednesday by Rep. Joyce Beatty, a witness said he saw a "forklift run into and hit the pillars" of the building.

Almost 50 dead in Nigeria after drinking alcohol suspected to contain methanol

Drinking locally made alcohol is common in Nigeria, especially in rural areas where it is more affordable and poorly regulated

At least 48 people have died and about 100 others are receiving treatment in southern Nigeria after consuming a locally brewed alcoholic concoction suspected to contain methanol, officials said on Thursday.

Banji Ajaka, Ondo state’s commissioner for health, said the cases had been reported in the Odigbo and Irele local government areas. A total of 182 people are believed to have been affected and some are being treated in the hospital, he said.

Doctors successfully separate twin girls conjoined at the head

Two-year-old conjoined twin sisters saw each other face-to-face for the first time after a successful 24-hour surgery to separate them. Ian Lee reports from the children's hospital in St. Louis, where it happened.

‘Forcing a reckoning’: How Asia is preparing for a ‘supersized’ El Niño

From Sri Lanka to South Korea, governments are preparing for droughts, wildfires, typhoons and floods – with climate plans facing their biggest challenge to date

Asian governments are rushing preparations for the most severe El Niño weather event on record, with hundreds of millions of people bracing for multiple crises at once as extreme heat, heavy rain and food shortages hit the region.

Fuelled by exceptionally warm ocean conditions across the tropical Pacific – and developing alongside the human-driven climate crisis – El Niño is virtually guaranteed to grow to a very strong intensity towards the end of this year and into 2027.

Trump ordered DOJ not to appeal ruling loosening gun limits, sources say

President Trump ordered the Justice Department not to appeal a court ruling that loosened restrictions on firearms known as "gangster weapons," sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.

Little kid tries to run away, but is faced with the reality of the great, big world

A childhood rite of passage was caught on camera when a little kid planned to run away from home. Tony Dokoupil has the story.

Alabama executes killer of famous Elvis impersonator by lethal injection

Alabama executed a man with a chemical injection Thursday, months after a judge blocked the state from putting him to death with nitrogen gas.

Balletic hits and bicycle kicks: Teqball comes of age at the Asian Games

Invented a little over a decade ago in Hungary, teqball is a combination of football and ping pong

In Bangkok’s Sports Science Centre, Jutatip Kuntatong is airborne, executing a gravity-defying bicycle kick that slams the ball on to the curved table with a force that echoes throughout the gym.

She is preparing to represent Thailand at the Asian Games, which start on Saturday, but six years ago she had never even heard of teqball, the sport of which she is now the world champion.

Michigan synagogue reopens 6 months after terrorist attack

Six months after a terrorist rammed a truck full of explosives into a Michigan synagogue, images were released of the building restored and reopened. Jonah Kaplan has more.

Princess Diana's brother says, "I felt it my duty to lay out the true history"

The late Princess Diana's brother issued new accusations against Britain's royal family on CBS Sunday Morning in an interview that will air this weekend. Holly Williams has a preview.

Video shows flames shooting from plane engine minutes after takeoff

Passengers settling in for a flight to Mexico this week saw flames shooting from one of the plane's engines just minutes after takeoff. Kris Van Cleave has new video.

Photo shows Trump viewing pile of rubble under words, "Kennedy Center demolished"

With fencing blocking the Kennedy Center doors on Thursday, its executive director, a President Trump appointee, said the center is closed due to a "risk to public safety." Ed O'Keefe has the new details.

Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Spurs and Villa meet in desperation derby and Andoni Iraola faces test on south-coast return

• Premier League top scorers: check the latest standings

Chelsea have not won this west London derby since Brentford’s first Premier League season. Each visit since October 2021’s 1-0 win, Ben Chilwell the scorer, has been a draw. This season has continued the divergence between the clubs’ respective approaches, Brentford’s solidity and continuity compared to Chelsea attempting their latest reboot. Kevin Schade, after two well-taken goals at Bournemouth, will fancy facing a defence not yet attuned to Xabi Alonso’s configurations. Only one team has won a Premier League title with a defensive trio: Chelsea’s last title team, in 2016-17 under Antonio Conte. Alonso’s attack has been rather more successful, presenting another challenge for Jannik Schuster. Replacing Nathan Collins, the 20-year-old central defender had a tough examination from Bournemouth’s Evanilson on his first Premier League start, emerging with credit. For Chelsea, João Pedro has registered three goals and three assists, but doubts surrounding his fitness could lead to Danny Welbeck’s first league start. John Brewin

Brentford v Chelsea, Friday 8pm (all times BST)

Tottenham v Aston Villa, Saturday 3pm

Pilot ejects before F-16 fighter jet crashed in Michigan

An F-16 fighter jet crashed in northern Michigan on Thursday, narrowly missing homes as it slammed into the ground a few miles south of Traverse City. Jason Allen reports.

House heads home to campaign amid calls for urgent AI action

The urgency with which Anthropic, OpenAI and xAI have sought to be regulated has not translated into action on Capitol Hill.

9/17: CBS Evening News

F-16 fighter jet crashes in Michigan; Latest on Trump-Kennedy Center drama.

Trump withdraws Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, as his nominee to lead ICE

The White House says it is withdrawing its nomination of Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, to lead ICE, ensuring that an agency at the forefront of President Trump's domestic agenda will remain without a Senate-confirmed leader for at least a while longer.

Iran downed at least 2 American drones in recent days, U.S. officials say

Iranian forces in recent days have brought down at least two American MQ-1 unmanned aircraft, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

Tom Banton’s six-hitting wins T20 for England after Dawson derails Sri Lanka

• Banton and Brook lead England home in style

• Big hitting leaves Sri Lanka looking out of their depth

England extended their extraordinary hex over Sri Lanka to a 14th game, with the tourists looking as out of their depth as the balls that were repeatedly deposited into the River Taff as their opponents cantered to an increasingly and deliciously customary victory.

More than a dozen years have passed since Sri Lanka, crowned world champions in the format a month earlier, beat England by nine runs at the Oval. They have lost every meeting since and with this one also another series, and while much about this game contrasted with Tuesday’s first encounter in Southampton – starting with England winning the toss and choosing to chase – the outcome did not. This emphatic home win was sealed in the end in slapdash style: no-ball, wide, single, wide, single, muted celebration. Ryan van Niekerk, the Sri Lanka bowling coach, estimated a par score on this pitch at 200; England’s target was just 146, and they got there with 47 balls remaining to win by six wickets.

Jensen Huang says Nvidia will sell twice as many chips next year

Huang's comment is the latest forecast from Nvidia and points to continuing massive growth for the next six quarters.

9/17: The Takeout with Major Garrett

OpenAI reports six new incidents of "concerning" behavior; U.N. panel says it has "reasonable grounds" to believe U.S. committed war crimes in Iran.

Bill to curb AI data center utility costs hits snag in Senate

Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., blocked bipartisan legislation aimed at reining in data center-related utility cost increases, calling the bill a half-measure.

White House withdraws ICE director nominee Richard Schroyer

Richard Schroyer's nomination was held up in the Senate. The White House eventually pulled it.

New cat species identified for first time in more than a century in Bolivia

New species of wild feline was discovered in Bolivia’s Yungas forest that is smaller than the average domestic ⁠cat

A diminutive wild cat that inhabits Bolivia’s ⁠cloud forest has been identified as a previously unknown species, marking the first time a new living feline species has been formally named and described in more than a century.

The cat, called tilcayo by local communities, is part of a group called tiger ⁠cats found across much of South ⁠America. It was found in Bolivia’s ​lush Yungas forest, a mountainous region where forests are often covered by clouds and surrounded by high humidity, according to researchers. It measures about 18in (46cm) long and weighs about 3lb (1.4kg), making it smaller than the average domestic ⁠cat.

Suspect in ‘Putney pusher’ case told family that investigation was ‘murdering him’

Exclusive: Sisters of Nicholas Brandram recount 44-year-old’s deteriorating mental health in days before he took his life

Days before Nicholas Brandram, the man suspected of being the “Putney pusher”, killed himself, he told his family that the police investigation was “murdering him”.

He had “no fight left” in him, he told his sisters, Alexia Hicks and Sophie Voelcker, and could not see an end to the Metropolitan police investigation, or the online abuse.

No relief in sight for U.S. drivers as gas and diesel prices surge

The Iran war and Russia-Ukraine conflict are knocking out global refining capacity, pushing fuel prices higher, analysts said.

ICE agent appears in Minnesota court to face charges in the shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant

Christian Castro, a federal immigration officer, made his first court appearance in Minnesota since he was booked Wednesday into a local jail. Castro faces multiple state and federal charges in connection with a shooting during the immigration surge in Minnesota.

Trump photo appears to reference Kennedy Center demolition, judge orders advance notice of any move to knock it down

President Donald Trump wants his name on the Kennedy Center. But a judge has ruled it cannot be placed there without authorization by Congress.

Retired Olympic superstar Jessie Diggins wins her first-ever 100 mile trail race

This spring Jessie Diggins retired as one of America's most successful winter Olympic athletes at age 34. She's relaxing by entering 100-mile trail running races and navigating what comes next.

RFK Jr promises anti-vaxxers a ‘friend at the White House’ amid deadly measles outbreak

The US health secretary added that he would’ve made sweeping changes ‘on day one’ but he had to follow the law

As the death toll from the worst measles outbreak in decades rises, Robert F Kennedy Jr headlined the Washington DC conference of the anti-vaccine organization Children’s Health Defense, which he led for nearly a decade.

“Let me be clear. You have a strong and steadfast friend at the White House,” Kennedy, now serving as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), told anti-vaccine activists at the conference in a nearly hour-and-a-half-long speech. He urged patience, saying that he would’ve made sweeping changes “on day one” but that he had to follow the law in order to make permanent change.

To prevent deaths in childbirth, Kenyan moms turn to an AI powered chatbot

Many questions come up during pregnancy. Is swelling normal? Are avocados safe to eat? For folks in Kenya who don't have a search engine at their fingertips, a chatbot is offering a lifeline.

Nato head: Britain must show ‘credible path’ of annual defence budget increases

Mark Rutte said Britain will need to steadily increase defence spending to meet Nato target of 3.5% of GDP by 2035

Britain needs to show “a credible path” of annual increases in its defence budgets to meet a Nato target of spending nearly £30bn more on the military by the middle of the next decade, the head of the alliance said on Thursday.

Mark Rutte, Nato’s secretary general, said that Britain could not wait until just before 2035 to lift defence spending to 3.5% of GDP, in an unusually pointed intervention a day after he met prime minister Andy Burnham.

Accused Oregon serial killer indicted in connection with death of sixth woman

Grand jury indicts Jesse Calhoun, 41, on charge of first-degree manslaughter in the death of Elizabeth Gibson

An Oregon man accused of killing five women has been indicted in connection with the death of a sixth woman, officials announced this week.

Jesse Calhoun was indicted by a grand jury on a charge of first-degree manslaughter in the death of Elizabeth “Libby” Gibson, said the Multnomah county district attorney on Wednesday. Calhoun is accused of causing Gibson’s death and acting “unlawfully and recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life”.

Charles sounded 'giddily elated' after Diana’s death, claims Earl Spencer

In latest extracts from upcoming memoir, Diana’s brother suggests some in Buckingham Palace were ‘relieved’ at her death

The brother of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, has claimed in published extracts of his new memoir that King Charles sounded “giddily elated – like a lottery winner” in a phone call to him immediately after her death.

Earl Spencer also says he believed Buckingham Palace wanted William and Harry and himself to walk behind Diana’s coffin because the then prince was “adamant” he was going to walk and palace officials feared “members of the public might shout abuse at him”.

Senate Democrat blocks bill to shield Americans from data center energy costs

One Senate Democrat scuttled a Republican-led effort to pass legislation aimed at shielding Americans from energy costs attributed to data centers, saying it didn't go far enough.

AI is making it easier for adversaries to target U.S. military, experts say

An Iran-linked adversary used Claude AI to try to target U.S. naval forces, Anthropic revealed in a recent report.

‘I’m genuinely sorry’: Australian Hyrox athlete who soiled herself apologises to China and rivals

• Joanna Wietrzyk ‘regrets’ decision to keep racing

• She forfeits points from her win in the Beijing race

The Australian athlete who caused a storm by winning a Hyrox event in China despite soiling herself during the race has apologised to the “people of China” and rival athletes in a statement online.

Posting on Instagram, Joanna Wietrzyk offered a “sincere apology” to the “people of China, my fellow competitors, the spectators and the Hyrox organizers for what happened during the race in Beijing”.

Body of last missing hiker found after Grand Canyon flooding

Human remains found in the Grand Canyon this week have been identified as Timothy Allen Smith, the last person missing after deadly flash flooding in late August.

Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris’ guide to 49 threatened British birds wins Wainwright book of the year

The Book of Birds is a twist on classic field guides from the creators of bestseller The Lost Words

The Book of Birds by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, an illustrated guide to Britain’s threatened bird species, has been named as the Wainwright prize book of the year.

Meanwhile, the prize’s children’s book of the year award went to Otherlands: An Illustrated Journey Through Earth’s Lost Worlds by Thomas Halliday, illustrated by Gavin Scott.

The Guardian view on EU-Canada relations: strategic ambition with lessons for Britain | Editorial

Mark Carney’s response to the challenges posed by an unreliable US president contains a clarity of vision that is lacking in post-Brexit Britain

There is no “associate membership” of the European Union, nor any blueprint for what such a thing might involve. It is a political hypothesis, describing a relationship of intimate strategic alignment with the EU, stopping short of actual membership, in ways that are significant but undefined.

This week, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, invited Canada to be the first country to enjoy this putative status. In her state of the union speech, she spoke of a future relationship elevated “to the highest level possible”, reflecting an affinity of interests and values. Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, reciprocated the sentiment in a speech on Wednesday. Addressing the European parliament, he said the two sides should secure “strategic autonomy through deep cooperation” across a broad spectrum of interests: trade, defence, industrial capacity, science, space and AI. He proposed Canadian participation in the EU’s Erasmus student exchange programme and Horizon research scheme.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

The Guardian view on the Nepal-Tibet floods: a spur to action on climate | Editorial

New research links last month’s disaster to fossil fuel pollution. Supporting disaster-hit countries must be at the centre of climate politics

Following a familiar pattern, coverage of the glacier collapse on the Nepal-Tibet border three weeks ago has subsided with the initial shock. But while the world’s attention has shifted, Nepal remains in the midst of an appalling tragedy. As well as at least 1,300 people who are known to have been killed, more than 5,000 are missing, some of them trapped in tunnels linked to the 13 hydropower plants that were damaged by the floods. On Wednesday four bodies were recovered from one of these tunnels, with searches ongoing. Families of the missing people are desperate for news.

Last week the country’s foreign minister, Shisir Khanal, said that it would ask the UN’s loss and damage fund for $20m (£15m) towards a total rebuilding cost of around $5bn (£3.75bn) – including the replacement of up to 20,000 homes. The first academic study linking the disaster to the climate crisis will now be added to that application. Scientists at Imperial College London, along with international collaborators on the World Weather Attribution project, found that a number of drivers of the glacier fall had been made worse by atmospheric heating. While not the sole cause, fossil fuel pollution was judged to have destabilised the geology of the mountain environment.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

With Kemi’s new shadow chancellor, the Tories must hope for a bout of public amnesia

Andrew Griffith is keen on clearing red tape. Good job he wasn’t part of a Treasury team that abolished the Office for Tax Simplification

On days like this, it’s not hard to be overwhelmed by existential futility. At the current rate of progress, the UK looks on course to wipe itself out far sooner than it would with any interference from AI. Everything feels hopeless. Years of minimal growth and a cost of living crisis. The tech bros and the bankers may be getting richer. The rest of us? Not so much.

And there’s no end in sight. Andy Burnham may offer better vibes, but he is fighting a losing battle against global forces – wars, energy prices, borrowing costs – that he can’t control. You can feel the hope drain out of him as each day passes. Mr Congeniality is not quite so congenial as he once was. All the economic forecasts suggest things are going to get even worse in the next year.

Ben Jennings on the collapse of Ed Sheeran’s tour – cartoon

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Greens urge Zack Polanski to take stance on proposed policy declaring ‘Zionism is racism’

Exclusive: The Green leader has not spoken publicly about the motion, which is likely to be debated at the party’s conference in October

The Greens are pushing Zack Polanski to take a stance on a potential party policy stating “Zionism is racism”, with some fearing it could alienate Jewish supporters if it was passed.

Polanski, who leads the Greens in England and Wales, has not spoken publicly about the motion, which came top of a members’ vote of policy motions to be debated at the party conference in Brighton at the start of October, and is thus almost certain to feature.

US passenger duct-taped to plane seat says: ‘I don’t remember any of it’

After being read charges, Layne Lundeen said: ‘I assaulted a police officer? Is that what it says? I don’t have my glasses’

An American Airlines passenger who was duct-taped to his seat following an alleged outburst including racial and homophobic slurs said that he does not recall the incident.

On 3 September, 67-year old Layne Lundeen was restrained in his first-class seat with duct tape and zip ties over alleged unruly behavior. The American Airline Flight 618 was originally traveling from Dallas, Texas, to Newark, New Jersey, and was diverted to the Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall airport in an emergency landing.

Grand Teton park forced to kill bear due to visitors' "poor decisions"

A black bear was euthanized in Grand Teton National Park after "poor decisions" made by human visitors, according to park officials.

A year ago, President Trump pledged to lower Medicaid drug prices. Has that happened?

The Trump administration's efforts to lower drug prices included promised changes to Medicaid. But it's still unclear which drugs will be affected. And each state has to opt in.

Sway, Mobo-winning British rapper, dies aged 44

Rapper won prestigious award as an unsigned artist before breaking UK Top 10 and nurturing artists including KSI

The British rapper Sway, who proved inspirational to a generation of Black British musicians thanks to his independence and frank, dextrous storytelling, has died aged 44.

The news was announced by the Mobo awards, with whom Sway won best hip-hop act in 2005, the first unsigned act to do so. “Proud to have him as part of our history. Our love goes out to his family, loved ones and fans,” the statement read.

'American Scoundrel' traces Roy Cohn's playbook from McCarthyism to Trump

In Kai Bird's biography of Cohn, he looks at how the lawyer taught Trump how to deny, delay, attack, sue and countersue, never admit defeat, side-step paying bills and avoid a paper trail.

Netflix content chief Bela Bajaria defines event strategy as streamer eyes more live sports

Bajaria said Netflix would be open to a package of international NFL games if one becomes available when the league renegotiates its media rights agreements.

All smiles in Strasbourg but uncertainty clouds Canada’s EU membership plan

Although Mark Carney welcomed offer to become bloc’s first associate member, no one seems to know what that means

• Europe live – latest updates

Mark Carney received a rapturous reception in the European parliament when he gave his speech on Thursday welcoming a proposal for Canada to become the EU’s first-ever associate member.

Politicians queued to shake his hand and take selfies. One described the speech as a historic moment. “Europe has extended a hand, and Canada has taken it,” said the German Green MEP Terry Reintke, who borrowed a Canadian ice hockey shirt for the occasion.

Analysis: How Trump could reignite the Fed independence fight after Warsh's rate hike

The Federal Reserve unanimously raised interest rates by a quarter point despite repeated calls from President Donald Trump for lower rates.

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story review – it’s like Ryan Murphy’s new series was written by adolescent boys

The latest Monster instalment, about the 1892 Borden axe murders, is packed with periods and beheadings, and feels like it was made up as they went along

Okaaay – here’s what I think must have happened. Some time in the past year or two, Ryan Murphy discovered that women menstruate. Incredulous but enthralled, he rushed off to share the news with his soon equally incredulous and enthralled little friends. After confirming the basics they all looked at each other for a moment in silence as they contemplated this crazy, secret habit of the wimminz. And then Ryan said: “You guys? We have got to make a show about this!” The others nodded in fervent agreement and off they all ran.

The result is the utterly bonkers, blood-soaked, borderline-fetishistic fever dream that is The Lizzie Borden Story – the latest entry in Murphy’s popular anthology series Monster. This one is written by Ian Brennan and directed in the main by Max Winkler, the pairing responsible for the series’ previous offering, last year’s lamentable The Ed Gein Story. As, I presume, a gesture to the sex of this one’s subject, there is a female director for two of the Lizzie Borden episodes – Sarah Adina Smith – but it doesn’t really dent the vibe. Think: the gleeful disgust of a roomful of adolescent boys being taught about the female reproductive system in PSHE. It is now an eight-hour miniseries starring Rebecca Hall. We live in strange times.

Sweden’s PM resigns after centre-left bloc wins slim majority in election

Ulf Kristersson has stood down from his post, paving way for Social Democrats leader to form a government

Sweden’s centre-right prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, has stood down, clearing the way for Magdalena Andersson, the Social Democrats leader, to attempt to form a government.

In a victory speech on Thursday, Andersson said the Swedish people had “voted for a new direction for our country, voted for unity and against division”.

Fire, ice and family: Australia’s 2026 Bowness photography prize – in pictures

Here are 26 images by the shortlisted artists who submitted works for the 21st William and Winifred Bowness photography prize.

Tamara Dean has been named the winner. The judges says her photograph is ‘operatic and poetic: an opus that is the culmination of a sustained body of work evident not only in its conception and process but also in its exquisite execution and presentation’

I’m nearly 30, a virgin and feel lonely. The manosphere is trying to draw me in – where else can I seek assurance? | Leading questions

The manosphere says this type of suffering is targeted neglect, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. But your suffering gives you the ability to make your part of the world better.

• Read more Leading questions

I’m approaching 30 and I’m still a kissless virgin.

I’ve suffered with depression and anxiety since childhood and my family isn’t the most functional or supportive. I don’t really have friends either, as I find it hard to connect with others due to being bullied and feeling that I’m not worthwhile or wanted. I was also homeschooled from 14 and moved to a different part of the country at 15 and a few more times since then, so I feel quite rootless and alienated.

Meta ordered to remove UK deepfakes as oversight board criticises ‘inadequate’ safeguards

Facebook told it was wrong in leaving up AI-generated videos of a Labour councillor and Muslim campaigner, amid calls to curb fakes

Meta’s “supreme court” has ordered the tech company to take down deepfake videos of a UK politician and a young Muslim woman from Facebook and do more to tackle AI-generated fake imagery.

A fake video showing a Labour party councillor in Scotland making inflammatory comments about refugees should not have been left up by Facebook, the board said. It also ruled that an AI-generated video of a Muslim campaign volunteer should have been removed after it falsely depicted her offering health advice while carrying out absurd exercises or eating junk food.

GM touts new V-8 engines in revived ‘truck wars’ with Ford, Ram amid lackluster EV sales

The large, gas-guzzling models continue to sell well in pickup trucks thanks to their ability to tow and haul heavy things.

A harvest ballgown and a West Bank raid: photos of the day – Thursday

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

'Hostile act': Trump threatens EU with tariffs over Canada associate membership proposal

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said EU is opening the door for Canada to become the first associate member of the 27-member bloc.

Pentagon CTO says U.S. government shouldn't take stakes in AI giants, questions adding AI rules

President Donald Trump has angrily pushed back on the calls from industry and lawmakers for an AI slowdown or greater regulation.

Beck: ‘What does a devil’s haircut look like? Anything with a lot of architecture and wild flights of fancy’

The genre-fluid singer answers your questions on being funky v lonesome, his infamous MTV interview with Thurston Moore and why he said yes to performing with a chain-smoking alcoholic robot

• Read Alexis Petridis’s 5* review of new album Ride Lonesome

You’ve been performing since the late 80s. What keeps you going? AmongstTheWaves
It’s a good question. I don’t really know any other life. I’ve spent a lot of my time trying to create a body of work, and out of that, maybe there’s a few songs at the end that are not bad. So I just keep going down into the mine, trying to come back with a couple of things worth keeping. It’s a lot of digging. If I had to stop and get a job painting houses or something, I would still make songs just for myself, because that’s how it started.

You tend to alternate between styles from album to album. What do you feel is closer to your intrinsic self, funky Beck or lonesome Beck? Mazzini
Probably lonesome. But the other side of things gets me out of my shell, stops me from being a little too ponderous, which I’m apt to do. The other side of what I do – Loser or Odelay – was more of a fluke. At the time that was what people liked. Now it’s kind of reversed – they prefer the more introspective, quiet songs, and stuff that’s a little more genreless. I don’t have any songs that they play at weddings, like Uptown Funk. I remember telling Mark Ronson, “Hey, you made a wedding song.” He was like, “Yeah, finally.” That’s a very elite category of song.

My Year in Paris With Gertrude Stein by Deborah Levy audiobook review – gripping vision of a fearless writer

A fictional British author in Paris sets out to explore Stein through the lens of her own friendships, in this inventive, perfectly paced portrait

It is late 2024, and an unnamed British author living in Paris is trying to write an essay on Gertrude Stein, the modernist writer and art collector. The author has been distracted by her friend Eva’s cat, who is lost and whose name is “it” in lower case, which inevitably leads to confusion – has Eva lost her cat or her mind? (Her other friend, Fanny, has rechristened the cat Bob, to make talking about him easier.)

The Pennsylvania-born Stein was painted by Picasso, hung out with Hemingway and wrote strange, stream-of-consciousness prose long before James Joyce embarked on his masterwork Ulysses. Commercial success didn’t come until she was in her 60s with The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas, a biography of her partner and one of her more accessible books. Our narrator is an admirer of Stein’s work, yet she can be exasperated by it. “Sometimes, when I read her baffling and beguiling writing I want to smack it in the chops. [Stein] longed for her readers to find her, yet there was a part of her that could not bear to be found.”

Greetings from Beijing, where baozi are worth the wait in line

The popular fluffy steamed buns are filled with pork, vegetables, tofu — and in one trendy Beijing shop, chocolate and red beans.