Tommy John, MLB All-Star pitcher who had a surgery named after him, dies at 83

One of Tommy John's biggest legacies to MLB was his comeback elbow reconstruction surgery that now bears his name.

Tommy John, known in baseball as the "bionic man," dies at 83

Tributes poured in on Sunday for Tommy John. The baseball legend known as the "bionic man" has died at age 83. Shanelle Kaul reports from Yankee Stadium.

Tropical Storm Lala drenches Hawaii as flash floods sweep away Big Island homes

As a hurricane, Lala skirted past Hawaii's Big Island, where it brought heavy rain and the possibility of life-threatening flooding and mudslides.

Majority of Americans not satisfied with U.S. economy, CBS News poll finds

A new CBS News poll found 69% of Americans are not satisfied with how the economy is working. With the Iran war in its sixth month, there's still pain at the pump. Aaron Navarro has more.

Hurricane Lala hits Hawaii, weakens to tropical storm

The Big Island of Hawaii was sideswiped by Hurricane Lala this weekend. While it avoided a direct hit, the governor said at least 100 homes were damaged or lost. Lala is now a tropical storm, but the danger is not over for the island chain. Jonathan Vigliotti reports.

Trump orders cuts to South Korea joint drills despite warnings of North’s growing battlefield experience

President says move is based on ‘very good relationship with Kim Jong-un’ but US military officials have said Ukraine war is boosting regime’s combat capabilities

Donald Trump has said he is scaling back joint US military drills with South Korea aimed at deterring North Korea, despite military officials from both countries warning that Kim Jong-un’s regime was learning new battlefield tactics from the Ukraine war.

The drills under Ulchi Freedom Shield, one of two major annual exercises held by South Korea and the US, start on Monday and run until 27 August.

Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo now deadliest in country’s history

At least 2,325 people have been killed, according to government data, surpassing the death toll from 2018-20 outbreak

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now the deadliest in the country’s history with at least 2,325 people killed, according to government data, surpassing the toll from the 2018-20 outbreak.

Congo’s public health institute said on Sunday that confirmed cases had risen to 4,945, including 101 new cases detected in the previous 24 hours.

After Hormuz, China looks to the promise – and peril – of the Arctic’s ‘ice silk road’

China has established the first scheduled transit through the northern sea route, but questions remain over the environmental and political risks

When Marco Rubio suggested that the world should look to new shipping lanes to bypass the logjammed strait of Hormuz, it’s unlikely he had the Arctic’s northern sea route in mind.

And yet in recent months the promise of this 5,500km channel – cleaved through frozen seas by nuclear-powered icebreakers and illuminated by a sun that never dips below the Arctic horizon – has grown.

25 Years in Afghanistan review – the extraordinary life of an optimist

Mir Hussain has been followed by TV cameras since he was a child, and managed to deliver love and laughter alongside his struggle. Now his previous Bafta-winning documentary gets an update

Mir Hussain remembers the first time he saw a video camera: “I looked at it and it looked straight back at me.” His relationship with this all-seeing eye has broadened and deepened in the years that followed. Since 2002, when Phil Grabsky and Shoaib Sharifi first started documenting his story, Mir has lived an extraordinary life: grinding poverty and impossibly hard work, eking out a living in the mountainous Bamiyan province and then in urban Afghanistan, but combined with a remarkable level of exposure to the world, via modern media.

Mir and his family first appeared on our screens in 2021, in the Bafta-winning film My Childhood, My Country – 20 Years in Afghanistan. This updated reversioning of that film contains plenty of the same footage but also, in a telling update, hits very differently in the light of what happened that year. In April 2021, US president Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of American soldiers from Afghanistan. Essentially, the US (and their allies, including Britain) abandoned the country to the Taliban extremists. The knowledge of this incipient horror looms unavoidably large; the whole film now feels like foreshadowing.

Jared Kushner meets with Hamas ahead of talks with Netanyahu on Gaza

Trump’s son-in-law and envoy held rare meeting with Hamas chief in Egypt in push for progress on ceasefire

Donald Trump’s son-in-law and envoy, Jared Kushner, held a rare meeting with Hamas’s political chief on Sunday in Egypt, in a new diplomatic effort to make progress in the stalled Gaza ceasefire. Kushner will meet on Monday with Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under pressure after rejecting the new 15-point, US-backed road map.

The talks aim to salvage the plan for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territory shattered by war.

Five teenagers killed after car driven on wrong side of Irish motorway

Head-on collision between two vehicles on M9 in County Kildare also injured four other people, say police

Five teenagers have died and four other people have been seriously injured in a crash involving a car driving in the wrong direction on a motorway in the Republic of Ireland, police said.

Gardaí confirmed the bodies of the youths, all male, had been removed from the scene of the two-vehicle collision, which happened at about 3am on Sunday on the M9 in County Kildare.

Wildfires kill two in Greece and torch Belgian nature reserve

Couple die in Salamis, while multinational forces and local farmers tackle Belgium’s biggest fire in a century near Liège

An elderly couple died in fires on the Greek island of Salamis on Sunday and a fire ravaged Belgium’s largest nature reserve, in the latest wave of European wildfires.

The couple died outside their home in the Peristeria beach area of Salamis, Greece’s coastguard said. More than 500 people were ordered to evacuate.

Indiana storms linked to 7 deaths as floods trigger rescues and evacuations

Nearly 130,000 utility customers statewide remained without power as of Sunday afternoon.

Amy Hunt’s ‘dream comes true’ with fourth European Championships gold

• British sprinter first to win four titles at single event

• Dina Asher-Smith hits record 11 European medals total

If there was any remaining doubt that this has been Amy Hunt’s summer, it was dispelled over 10 seconds of controlled fury at the European Championships, as Britain’s newest sporting superstar completed an unprecedented quadruple.

When the baton was slapped into the 24-year-old’s hand on the anchor leg of the mixed 4x100m relay, she was a fraction behind Gina Lückenkemper of Germany. But then Hunt became the hunter, and a record-breaker.

Reform accused of targeting the most vulnerable with £50bn benefit cut

Robert Jenrick takes aim at disabled people and foreign nationals after saying UK guilty of ‘suicidal empathy’

Reform UK has been accused of excluding the most vulnerable from society and punishing non-Britons living in the UK as it prepared to outline £50bn of cuts to benefits for disabled people and foreign nationals.

Robert Jenrick, Reform’s finance spokesperson, will detail the plans for £20bn of cuts to disability benefits overall, as well as another £21bn from stopping foreign nationals – including EU citizens with settled status – claiming almost any benefits, among other cuts.

Seifert demolition job sets up Manchester Super Giants for maiden men’s Hundred title

• Manchester Super Giants, 162-5 beat Trent Rockets, 158-8 by five wickets

• Old Trafford-based side win men’s final at third attempt

A new name has done the trick. The Manchester Super Giants – once known as the Originals, now part of the tournament’s IPL-ification – triumphed in the final of the men’s Hundred, surviving a late wobble to beat Trent Rockets by five wickets. Tim Seifert set up victory with 72 off 38 balls; Liam Dawson completed it with two balls remaining, a six to seal it.

New Zealand’s Seifert turned Jos Buttler, his captain, into a support act in a chase of 159, his scarily high backlift producing seven sixes and a 23-ball half-century. The 31-year-old launched far higher than any of the Rockets, their innings defined by useful cameos. Noor Ahmad fizzed the ball down for the Super Giants, taking three for 33, but this was Seifert’s night as the Manchester side won the tournament for the first time after two previous runners-up finishes.

Rodri set to complete Barcelona move after Manchester City accept £65.4m bid

• 30-year-old said to favour a move back to Spain

• Maresca chasing Lille’s Bouaddi as replacement

Rodri looks set to complete a move to Barcelona after Manchester City accepted a bid of £65.4m from the Spanish club.

The 30-year-old World Cup winner had entered the final year of his contract at the Etihad Stadium and made it clear he would like the opportunity to move to Barcelona. City, who are now closing in on a deal to sign Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi, were reluctant sellers but had little choice with the Spanish international out of contract next summer.

Multiple people dead as flooding continues in Indiana

Some parts of Indiana received more than 11 inches of rainfall over three days, beginning Aug. 11, causing record floods. Several suburbs of Indianapolis also underwater.

Kushner meets with Hamas on the Gaza road map ahead of talks with Netanyahu

Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, held a rare meeting with Hamas leadership Sunday in Egypt, in a new diplomatic effort to make progress in the stalled Gaza ceasefire.

Top U.S. commander acknowledges mental health issues on USS Lincoln

Cooper's visit and statement come after reports of widespread morale and mental health concerns aboard the Lincoln.

Suspect in Virginia State University shooting found hiding in dorm closet

Suspect, 19, who is not enrolled at the university arrested in connection with shooting of five people, authorities say

A young man suspected in connection with the shooting of five people on Saturday on the campus of Virginia State University (VSU) hid in a dormitory closet for more than 14 hours before being found and arrested, according to authorities.

The suspect – identified as 19-year-old Camron Harris – was found in Seward Hall on VSU’s campus at 4pm, local police Lt James Lamb said, according to the Virginia news outlet WTVR. The shooting occurred at about 1.30am on Saturday.

‘That’s the standard’: Mikel Arteta hails Arsenal’s desire on blue day for Maresca

• Champions delight manager by ‘winning the first trophy’

• Maresca wants Manchester City signings to arrive soon

Mikel Arteta said his Arsenal players demonstrated their hunger to defend the Premier League title in their Community Shield triumph over Manchester City. Arsenal, who ended their 22-year wait last season and are seeking to win back-to-back top-flight titles for the first time since 1934-35, beat City 3-0 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff in Enzo Maresca’s first significant match in charge.

Riccardo Calafiori opened the scoring after 24 seconds, the fastest goal in the competition since Bobby Owen’s strike for City in 1968, before Kai Havertz doubled Arsenal’s lead and their captain, Martin Ødegaard, completed the scoring on 48 minutes. The 3-0 defeat represented the joint-heaviest loss for a City manager in their first game in charge, with Harry Newbould the most recent to suffer a three-goal opening defeat – 4-1, also to Arsenal, in 1906. It is also Maresca’s joint-heaviest defeat as a manager in England.

At least six people dead from days of storms and record flooding in Indiana

Four-year-old boy, two men and three women among those who died since storms began on 11 August, officials say

Days of storms and flooding in Indiana left at least six people dead as flood waters peaked in Indianapolis’s White River – and rains were expected to ease in the state capital region and other parts of the state on Sunday.

A four-year-old boy, two men and three women were among those who had died since the storms began on 11 August, state homeland security department spokesperson Liz Woods said.

Djokovic’s medical malaise in Cincinnati exposes fraying edges of ageing great’s game

First-round exit for 24-time grand slam winner made for a difficult watch but there is an emerging pattern of saving his best for the big occasion

Novak Djokovic walked from the ­stadium court in Cincinnati to the corridor reserved for post-match press interviews practically without breaking stride. The 39-year-old had been cruising up a set and well on his way to a seemingly comfortable victory when he began to feel the full force of the elements. Djokovic would devote much of his time during the final two sets to crouching on all fours between points, vomiting into towels and desperately struggling to perform.

Such was his disappointment with his ageing body failing him once again that Djokovic, who is usually one of the most loquacious on the tour, briskly answered four questions in about a minute before offering his thanks and striding to the locker room. He wanted nothing more than to get out of there.

Tommy John, namesake for a pioneering elbow surgery that saved his career, dies at 83

The left-handed MLB pitcher was 31 years old when he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow in 1974, an injury that had been a death knell for pitchers' careers up to that point.

Brazil’s Lula launches historic fourth term bid – but son of jailed Bolsonaro stands in his way

President, 80, vows to keep far-right from power as Flávio Bolsonaro tells supporters he will ‘fight this system’

Brazil’s leftwing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has launched his campaign for a historic fourth term and vowed that as long as he lived he would not allow the “shameless” right to return to power.

Addressing a sea of supporters in São Bernardo do Campo, the industrial city where his political career began nearly half a century ago, the 80-year-old politician reminded voters of the chaos and violence that unfolded during the 2018-22 presidency of his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, whose son Flávio Bolsonaro will face Lula in October’s presidential election.

Full transcript of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Aug. 16, 2026

On this "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" broadcast, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Rep. Don Bacon join Margaret Brennan.

Beshear says he's "heard absolutely nothing" from McConnell

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he hasn't heard back from Sen. Mitch McConnell following formal requests for an update on his health last month amid a weekslong hospitalization.

Scotland appoint Pocognoli as successor to Clarke in fresh approach

• Belgian is the first non-Scot in role since Berti Vogts

• SFA welcomes ‘aggressive, front-foot style of play’

The Scottish Football Association has appointed the Belgian Sébastien Pocognoli as the successor to Steve Clarke as manager. The 39-year-old, who was sacked by Monaco in June, will become the country’s first non-Scottish manager since Berti Vogts, who was in charge from 2002 to 2004.

Clarke’s abrupt departure came after Scotland were knocked out of the World Cup at the group stage. He had signed a four-year contract extension immediately before the tournament. It quickly became clear the SFA would turn towards a foreign manager with the Danes Jon Dahl Tomasson and Kasper Hjulmand being linked with the position.

Cyclists criticise ‘catastrophic’ safety measures after Finlay Tarling’s death

• Riders’ union expresses fury about Volta a Portugal

• Tarling died after collision with non-race vehicle

The professional cycling community has reacted with fury to the death of the teenage Welsh rider, Finlay Tarling, in the Volta a Portugal, with a leading former professional describing the race’s safety measures as “catastrophic”.

Tarling, the younger brother of the Netcompany Ineos professional Josh Tarling, was in collision with a non-race vehicle driving towards the peloton while he competed in the Portuguese race’s eighth stage. The 19-year-old’s death on Friday has led to a surge of anger, with the riders’ union, the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), describing itself as “furious”.

The Guardian view on the changed world of job interviews: missing the human factor | Editorial

Andy Burnham’s doubts about Zoom interviews apply more widely to a hiring process being transformed by AI

Almost half of UK jobseekers have found themselves pitching to an AI bot, according to recent research, leading many to give up in frustration. As one despairing applicant lamented in the pages of the Guardian a few months ago: “The hiring process has become so mechanised, both figuratively and literally, that it’s hard to believe that the people who end up getting hired aren’t merely the best at gaming the system.” For young people especially, experiencing repeated rejection without interacting with a single human being is alienating as well as disappointing.

It was encouraging, therefore, to hear Andy Burnham voice concerns about online recruitment processes on a recent employment-focused podcast. Describing the jobseeking environment for young people as “harsh”, the prime minister criticised the widespread use of interviews on Zoom and Microsoft Teams, and questioned whether applicants could properly convey their personal qualities without a face-to-face meeting.

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.

Bacon says Congress "should have oversight" amid concerns about USS Lincoln

GOP Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska said Congress should conduct oversight following concerns about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is being replaced after a nearly nine-month deployment.

Todd Blanche declines to pledge independence from White House

US attorney general says no one in his role ‘should ever’ make this vow amid concern over Trump steering DoJ

US attorney general Todd Blanche on Sunday declined to assure that the federal justice department he helms would always act independently of the White House and Donald Trump.

“No, I’m not going to pledge that,” he said when asked about the topic by NBC’s Meet the Press host, Kristen Welker. “And no attorney general should ever pledge that.”

A good – and bad – week for Italy's art police and museum security

On Friday, Italian police said they'd recovered three paintings stolen from a museum near the city of Parma. By Saturday night, thieves in Sicily had made off with four more masterpieces.

Ukrainian drone attack on Russia kills at least six, says Moscow

Kyiv launches what may be its largest attack wave of war, with fire breaking out at warehouse near Russian capital

Ukraine has launched one of its largest drone attacks since the start of the war, causing a fire at a distribution warehouse near Moscow and killing at least six people overnight, according to Russian authorities.

The defence ministry in Moscow said it had shot down 1,478 Ukrainian drones in the past 24 hours – the highest ever total claimed – in an escalating air war in which seven Ukrainians were also killed as Russia bombed 13 locations inside the country.

Can exercise really help improve my sex life?

Here’s what experts say about how sex and exercise are linked, and whether the type, timing and intensity of movement matter

Here’s a reason to put your sneakers on: exercise can improve your sex life.

It’s not necessarily about changing how your body looks, or being strong enough to swing from the chandelier. Regular movement improves smaller, less visible bodily functions that increase your desire and capacity for sex – like the release of arousal-promoting hormones and enhanced circulation in the nether regions. Perhaps just as critically, it gets your mind in the right frame to do it.

Short pants: The long and the short of it

The summer of 1936 saw a heat wave so dangerous at least five thousand people died. It also saw the popularization of a cooler fashion alternative – shorts – which, in some jurisdictions, were illegal.

8/16: Sunday Morning

Hosted by Jane Pauley. Featured: Weather becoming more extreme; Rahm Emanuel; The Eagles' Don Henley; ex-Amish, now social media creator Lovina Zook; trophy bull riding belt buckles; the iNaturalist app; and the long and short of short pants.

This week on "Sunday Morning" (Aug. 16)

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

Lala is again a tropical storm, sending drenching rain and winds across Hawaii

Hurricane Lala weakened to a tropical storm Sunday after skirting Hawaii without making landfall, but it wasn't done punishing the Big Island with hurricane-force gusts.

Olga Soffer obituary

Professor of anthropology whose approach to archaeology centred on crafts executed by women 40,000 years ago

Olga Soffer, who has died aged 83, brought a revolutionary idea into the conversation about prehistoric ice age people: women mattered. Inspired when working on archaeological excavations in the former USSR, and by remains from a dig in Moravia, in the 1990s she presented a case for women as makers of textiles, baskets and nets, critical to survival in bleak northern conditions 30,000 years ago.

Her achievement was the more remarkable for her career path. By then a professor of anthropology at the University of Illinois, she had obtained her three degrees over three decades, partly while also working as a cosmetics buyer and fashion promoter for a New York department store.

What really happened in Ceuta? Why we may never find out

Hundreds of migrants have again attempted to cross from Morocco into the Spanish territory of Ceuta. This time, Moroccan officials fended them off, raising new questions about the crossing of July 30.

‘The kids were right’: 30 years of Pokémon, from school-wide bans to multimillion-dollar trading cards

Pokémon outlived the moral panic of its early days in Australia and its staying power has proved that simple joy can cross borders

There’s a generation of Australians for whom Cheez TV was a religion. Every morning before school, I’d sit in my little white plastic chair about three feet from our big wooden television and watch 90 minutes of cartoons “curated” by the show’s teenage hosts, Jade and Ryan.

Premiering in 1995, Cheez TV dominated the children’s breakfast market by 1998, stealing the crown from Channel Seven’s bogan-muppet icon Agro. A daily dose of Cheez TV was such an important ritual to me that I remember feeling active resentment towards Princess Diana’s death because the news coverage bumped Earthworm Jim.

Ali came to me seeking help for disordered eating. The real issue was a relationship built on control | Ahona Guha

She second-guessed herself and was eager to please. She ‘felt frozen’ when she believed she displeased someone

• The modern mind is a column where experts discuss mental health issues they are seeing in their work

Ali* initially came to therapy for disordered eating. She was a young and diffident woman. She described recurrent cycles of restricted eating followed by attempts to exercise it away. We used cognitive behavioural therapy for eating disorders to unpick her “food rules” – the underlying beliefs which can drive eating disorders, such as “the less I eat the better” or “carbs are bad”.

As we worked on understanding and shifting her beliefs and behaviours around food, we noticed that most of her assumptions around eating, shape and weight coincided with the start of her relationship with her ex-partner. She told me he was a “gym junkie” and spent hours working out and encouraged her to do the same. “He got angry if I ate carbs,” she said, “and created a couples meal plan for us so I could shred and look hot when we were out together.”

Nature: Sunflowers in South Dakota

We leave you this Sunday lost in a field of sunflowers in South Dakota's Lyman County. Videographer: Kevin Kjergaard.

8/16: Face The Nation

This week on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," amid a number of socialist candidates in the Democratic Party, President Trump has found his rallying cry for the midterm elections. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky and GOP Rep. Don Bacon join, plus a new poll from CBS News executive director of elections and surveys Anthony Salvanto.

This 'n' That: Updates from "Sunday Morning"

Jane Pauley with updates of recent reports for "Sunday Morning" viewers.

Passage: In memoriam

"Sunday Morning" remembers some of the notable figures who left us this week, including former NBA player and Hall of Fame coach Don Nelson.

Ariana Grande Eternal Sunshine tour review: pop illusion at its most effective – for good and bad

The O2, London
On her last live dates before she steps back from the public eye, Grande holds her own – but it’s also impossible to avoid feeling concerned for her wellbeing

There’s a thrum of excitement in the air as an eight-minute countdown starts and Ariana Grande’s unmistakable silhouette appears on a giant backlit curtain on the stage of the O2. Is it actually her? Posing there for eight minutes before the show starts? It can’t be. But is it? It’s the first time we question what is and isn’t real at this Eternal Sunshine tour stop, a 10-night residency and a robust arena show that ultimately wants us to see one thing and experience another.

Collectively, we’ve been scolded for talking about it – the “endless, ongoing public scrutiny” of Ariana Grande’s body has pushed her to “[take] a step back from visibility” when this tour ends. It can’t be nice or fun to have your body examined and discussed for any reason but it is impossible to witness the 33-year-old’s frame on stage and not be gripped by genuine concern for her. Two songs in, a lump forms in my throat, which is not the intended effect of Positions, the zippy title track of her 2020 album. As the set around her is engulfed in digital flames, Grande sings about her infinite flexibility vis a vis relationship boundaries and sexual olympics and all I can think is: she looks like a little kid.

The iNaturalist app – Mixing science with fun

The iNaturalist cellphone app not only helps users identify plant, animal and insect species; it also provides invaluable data to scientists studying biodiversity, species decline, and habitat loss. It also provides opportunities for fun: David Pogue joins iNaturalist fan Martha Stewart in a "bioblitz" – a timed competition with other users to spot and ID species. (Originally broadcast March 22, 2026.)

Cambridge University defends its mental health support for Jason Arday

University says it continued to provide support after resignation of academic, who was found dead on Friday

The University of Cambridge has defended its mental health support for the academic Jason Arday.

The university said it had continued to provide Arday with extensive mental health support and security measures, including installing panic alarms and screening racist emails and post, after he resigned from his post as professor of sociology of education this month.

"Kiss your mom": Freshmen at Oklahoma high school face rite of passage

For incoming freshmen at Bishop Kelley High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, it's hard to imagine a more mortifying tradition on first-day dropoff: All the seniors surround their cars and don't let them out until they do one specific thing – give their mothers a goodbye kiss. Steve Hartman reports on how a tradition of senior pranks turned into a show of thanks, and an emotional milestone for kids and their parents.

Book excerpt: Modesty on the line in "The Summer of Death"

Geoff Williams' account of the deadly heat wave of 1936 includes one Kentucky city's efforts to arrest young women whose warm-weather attire was considered too revealing.

Short pants: The long and the short of it

The summer of 1936 saw a heat wave so dangerous at least five thousand people died. It also saw the popularization of a cooler fashion alternative: shorts. Correspondent Mo Rocca looks at the long history of short pants; how at one time, in Yonkers, N.Y., the wearing of shorts was illegal; and how hot pants and Daisy Dukes became high fashion.

Renaissance paintings by Antonello da Messina stolen from Sicilian museum

Theft of four works on national holiday described as wound to historical memory and cultural identity of city of Messina

Four of the most important works of art by the 15th-century Renaissance master Antonello da Messina were stolen during a national holiday from a museum in the Sicilian port city of Messina.

Thieves gained access to the Regional Museum of Messina, or MuMe, on Saturday evening, possibly capitalising on attention being focused on La Vara, a huge religious festival that takes place in the city on 15 August, when Italy marks the Ferragosto national holiday.

Trophy belt buckles: The highly-prized currency of cowboy culture

From bull riding to barrel racing, trophy belt buckles, worn by champion rodeo riders, tell stories of grit, accomplishment and honor. Correspondent Ian Lee visits the Professional Bull Riders World Championship in Fort Worth, where an elite group of cowboys competes to win a trophy buckle; and talks with the artisans of Montana Silversmiths, who carry on this century-old tradition.

A Madonna installation and wildfires in Europe: photos of the weekend

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

How Lovina Zook left the Amish and found an online audience

This 23-year-old who grew up in a conservative Amish community and had never used a cell phone or computer is today an unlikely social media influencer, sharing stories and recipes of the Amish with her six million online followers.

Ex-Amish Lovina Zook finds an online audience

Twenty-three-year-old Lovina Hershberger Zook is an unlikely social media influencer: she grew up in a conservative Amish community and had never used a cell phone or computer or driven a car. But she left the faith, and her family, five years ago, and today shares stories and recipes of the Amish with her six million online followers. Faith Salie reports on a very un-traditional TikTok sensation.

A summer of extremes: Weathering a hotter world

July was the hottest month ever in the Lower 48 States – another escalation of our world into a hotter, more dangerous planet, where extreme weather events – such as heat waves, wildfires and hurricanes – will become more common and more extreme.

A summer of extremes: Weathering a hotter world

July was the hottest month ever in the Lower 48 States, breaking a record last set during the Dust Bowl – just another step in the escalation of our world into a hotter, more dangerous planet. Correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti talks with climate journalist Jeff Goodell and atmospheric scientist Maria Molina about how changes in Earth's climate are increasing the likelihood that extreme weather events – such as heat waves, wildfires and hurricanes – will become more common and more extreme.

Taliban threaten former Afghan police worker after MoD leak reveals identity

UK has refused resettlement application despite ‘years of loyal service’ that have resulted in ‘constant fear’ of reprisals

A man has received threats from the Taliban after his work for the Afghan police was revealed by a Ministry of Defence leak and the UK refused his application for resettlement.

Hamid* worked for the Afghan national police special unit and received certificates for his work signed by senior British figures praising his “dedication, unparalleled service and leadership”. His details were also included in an accidental 2022 leak by an MoD official that identified 18,700 Afghans who had worked with or for the British government.

‘It was barbaric. I was crying my eyes out’: why are so many women left in agony by routine womb examinations?

There are more than 70,000 hysteroscopies every year in England alone. The NHS calls them ‘low complexity’ – yet a shocking number of patients complain of inadequate pain relief and medical staff who refuse to take them seriously

In February this year, Beth Harris sat in the day surgery waiting room of her local hospital and tried to steady her nerves.

She was there for a hysteroscopy, in this case to remove a fibroid. A thin surgical instrument with a lens, a light, a blade and an irrigation system for pumping saline solution would be inserted through her vagina and cervix, into her womb. The saline solution would widen the womb and the fibroid would be shaved away. Her hospital had advised taking paracetamol or ibuprofen an hour before the appointment, which Harris had done. However, the appointment was for 1pm, and by 4pm, she was still waiting in her hospital gown, surrounded by other patients.

Florida sets record for sea turtle nests but Trump move could stall recovery

Loggerhead turtles abound this season but rollback of Endangered Species Act protections could threaten future

Wildlife groups in Florida are celebrating record numbers of sea turtle nests this season, but experts warn Donald Trump’s recent gutting of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) could reverse decades of their recovery from the edge of extinction.

With more than two months of the summer nesting season still to run, loggerhead turtles have already made 13,770 nests, hundreds more than recorded in any previous year, along an 8.5-mile stretch of shoreline monitored by the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, on Florida’s Atlantic coast.

How to make quesadillas – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

A cook-your-own adventure meal, with all manner of fillings and servings to explore

The Mexican equivalent of a cheese toastie, but even quicker to make, these are the perfect summer holiday or weekend lunch, because everyone can choose their own fillings and help cook. Plus, this recipe is just a jumping-off point – once you’ve mastered the method, you can fill them with anything you like … grated chocolate and mashed banana are pretty good!

Prep 5 min
Cook 4 min each
Makes 8

'What are we going to do?' The mom of a trans teen grapples with Trump's Medicaid move

A longtime Republican living in California says the Trump administration's continuing actions to target transgender youth take a personal toll.

Bus carrying Polish pilgrims crashes in Hungary, leaving 12 dead

Another 10 people in serious condition after bus veers off motorway and overturns

Twelve people have died after a bus carrying a group of Polish tourists overturned on the M3 motorway in Hungary on the way back from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Local police said the bus crashed near the town of Mezőkeresztes after it “went off the straight road into a ditch and overturned” at 1am local time. Early reports suggested the driver had probably fallen asleep. He survived the crash and was taken into custody.

Joy in Hollywood as historic Cinerama dome to reopen: ‘People still want to go to the movies’

Sony Pictures in July announced that the celebrated theater, built in 1963 and shuttered during Covid, will reopen in 2028

Drive down Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and you’ll see a movie theater straight out of The Jetsons.

Built in 1963, the Cinerama dome is instantly memorable: a white, geodesic construction that looks like a giant golf ball cut in half and plopped down in the middle of the city.

‘It is not only a future certainty – the disaster is already here’: why we need climate fiction

As wildfires rage across Europe and Britain swelters through its hottest summer on record, literary fiction has a vital role to play in capturing the severe consequences of climate crisis

Earlier this summer, I travelled through Europe on a book tour. Everywhere I went, the heat broke records. In Italy, Germany and Spain, I sought refuge from the afternoon sun in air-conditioned hotels. In normally temperate Zurich, it averaged 37 degrees. I jumped into the Limmat for relief. On my final day in Warsaw, Poland had never been hotter – one of 14 countries to hit a historic high. In June, when I left to return to the US, Europe was scorching. At the end of July, as I write this, it is burning.

Since the heatwaves began, there have been more than 10,000 excess deaths. Yet for many, myself included, the high temperatures brought nothing more than inconvenience – uncomfortable commutes, heat rash, less time outdoors. This seems to be a defining feature of today’s climate crisis; deadly for some, banal for others. Even when the world is on fire, it somehow doesn’t feel like an emergency for everyone.

‘I don’t always go full banana!’ From the yellow man to a playful shrink, stylish people on what they wear every day – and why

How does a rabbi choose her shoes? Why does a psychoanalyst like slogan tees? And why does a doctor avoid wearing scrubs at work? Seven striking dressers share their surprising style stories

Andrew Geldart, 65, retired engineer, Cornwall

Destroyed crops, riverbed cyclists and a ‘Rock of Starvation’: how drought has devastated the Danube

The Guardian travelled 100 miles along the EU’s longest river, where some residents are struggling to secure drinking water

For centuries, the rock was seen as a warning. When it began to emerge from the Danube, beneath Gellért Hill in Budapest, it meant the river had fallen so low that floating mills could no longer operate, crops were probably failing, and hunger would almost certainly follow. That is why, in the Hungarian capital, where over time the boulder became little more than a legend, it was named Ínség-szikla – the Rock of Starvation.

Today, amid record-low water levels on the Danube, the rock has not only emerged from the water, but surfaced almost in its entirety, along with the sandy riverbed on which it rests, astonishing geologists and government scientists sent to examine it. And, much as the rock was said to warn, Hungary is now facing an unprecedented energy crisis that has forced the country to shut down all but one of its Danube-cooled nuclear reactors for the first time in 44 years.

Ukraine launches one of its largest aerial attacks of the war, killing at least 6 people in Russia

Ukraine launched hundreds of drones across Russia Sunday, killing at least six people in one of Kyiv's largest aerial attacks of the war.

This is how we do it: ‘Sex was our glue – now if we fight, we can’t just screw and come out glowing’

Pam and Mike couldn’t keep their hands off each other when they met. But as aging and biology have taken their toll, their sex life has suffered

• How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

We haven’t had sex in two years. Mike says it’s because his dick is dead

King Charles and Prince William face £10m energy upgrade bill for estates

New rules could affect nine in 10 rental properties in duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster and at Sandringham

King Charles and Prince William could be forced to spend up to £10m upgrading hundreds of rental properties on their private estates to meet planned energy-efficiency rules.

The government has announced that landlords will need to ensure their properties have energy performance certificate (EPC) ratings of C or higher by 2030 – up from the current requirement of an E.

‘I thought – if I die, I’ve had a good innings’: producer James Ford on life, death and making an album from his hospital bed

The Arctic Monkeys, Pet Shop Boys and Pulp collaborator was at the height of his powers as Britain’s most in-demand music producer when leukaemia struck. ‘I realised life is exceptionally fragile,’ he says

There was a moment outside the door of a recording studio in rural France, staring at a half-eaten apple that he believed possessed psychedelic properties, when James Ford knew things had really got out of hand. He was stood with Klaxons; all of the band members were hypnotised by this rotting fruit which throbbed on the floor with kaleidoscopic intensity. They were convinced that its blooming mould was in fact their spiritual guru.

The band had been riding the wave of their huge, scene-defining debut album, 2007’s Myths of the Near Future – which was produced by Ford – and were now trying to record the interminably difficult follow-up, aided by daily doses of a concoction they’d taken to calling “the five-star general”.

NPR Senior Podcast Challenge: Official Rules

Billions of sea stars have died. A Northwest tribe is trying to save the species

Sunflower sea stars are critically endangered in the Pacific Ocean. University of Washington researchers are working with the Samish Indian Nation to bring this 24-armed creature back from the brink of extinction.

New UK cost of living crisis looms with soaring energy bills forecast to lift inflation

Latest reading on Wednesday likely to frame scale of challenge for new PM to ease pressures on households amid Iran war fallout

British households are facing a renewed cost of living squeeze, with official figures expected to show this week that soaring energy bills drove up inflation in July to close to 3%.

As the Iran war continues to send shock waves through global energy markets, economists predict the surge in UK gas and electricity bills last month will push Britain’s headline inflation rate to 2.9%.

‘Have I tried having sex to my own music? God, no!’: Natalie Imbruglia’s honest playlist

The singer was wooed with some knocked-off Joni Mitchell and might even be persuaded to sing Torn at karaoke. But what fan comment winds her up the most?

The first song I fell in love with
My dad gave me California Dreamin’ by the Mamas & the Papas on vinyl for my fifth birthday. I said: “Oh thanks, Dad,” but really, I thought: “Who is this weird bunch of people?” Obviously, the present was really for him.

The first single I bought
I remember begging my mum to buy me Beat It by Michael Jackson at a record shop in the ’burbs of Sydney. I mean – he’s Michael Jackson.

From tourism to power generation and productivity, Europe feels economic cost of heatwaves

Low river levels have stalled German freight traffic and forced closure of nuclear plants in France

Across Europe this scorching summer, workers have struggled in the heat as wildfires raged and critical infrastructure was shut down.

Here we look at the impact of the heatwaves on several major economies across mainland Europe – with the help of analysis from economists at the Dutch bank Triodos, who estimate a total of €180bn could be wiped off EU GDP by the heatwaves. In the UK, the green thinktank Verdant said this week that the heat had already cost the economy £4.4bn by the end of July.

Move over, Odysseus: time for the women of ancient Greece to have their moment in the sun | Natalie Haynes

The hottest ticket in theatreland will soon be Cate Blanchett in Electra/Persona. Caged female rage continues to capture audiences

It feels like a very Greek summer here in the UK. The ground is scorched, it last rained months ago, and the giant publicity machine for Christopher Nolan’s billion-dollar-grossing The Odyssey – from red-carpet frocks to professorial disapproval – is a Charybdis, swallowing all other cultural events in its gaping maw. Mere Mortals – San Francisco Ballet’s astonishing work inspired by the story of Pandora – runs in Edinburgh this month before going to Sadler’s Wells in September. And Greek tragedy continues to fill London’s theatres.

Last week, I went to see Simon Stone’s reworking of Aeschylus’s Oresteia at the Bridge theatre in south London, and it was packed. Even on a Thursday afternoon, there was a huge audience for the story of a family who turn on one another, wreaking intergenerational violence until their whole house lies in tatters and madness. Partly that is because of the excellent cast: David Morrissey and Mary-Louise Parker play Christopher and Montie – a modern Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, their marital squabbles fizzing back and forth until he cracks and she snaps. Their children are the ones who will have to try to reconcile the impossible: duty to their murdered father, respect to their murderous mother.

AI cheating, leaked papers and marking errors: how exam protests went global

Student unrest sweeps India, Portugal and Mexico as grievances and pressure for good grades in tough job market collide

Families with teenagers in education know the private, hidden pain of exam season. But this year, what might have been a summer of quiet family anxiety has erupted in several countries into public unrest.

Exam-related turmoil has led to mass student protests in Mexico after nearly 60,000 university applicants were forced to resit tests amid suspected cheating, while Portugal’s disastrous attempt to digitise school exam marking sparked the country’s worst education crisis in decades.

Police race to save murder evidence from being turned into scrap metal

Police say the driver of the minivan — who wore a mask, glasses and a hard hat — sprayed security cameras with blue paint to hide his crime inside an Oregon parking garage.

Security video helps lead to a masked killer who tried to hide the crime

Dr. Steven Milner, a well-respected Oregon veterinarian, was accused of stalking and disguising himself before murdering Kenny Fandrich — the husband of a former employee. Security cameras played a key role in how detectives pieced the case together.

‘The spirit of resistance’: De Gaulle biopic turns into surprise hit for France’s younger viewers

Historians argue box office enthusiasm shows desire for unifying figure as country faces political division

On 18 June 1940, Charles de Gaulle, then a little-known army officer, sat in a BBC studio in London and made his famous rallying call for the French to resist the Nazi occupation and its puppet Vichy government.

In the eyes of the British prime minister Winston Churchill, De Gaulle was an arrogant, stubborn and defiant thorn in his and the allies’ side, but the Frenchman never stopped believing in the greatness of France and the need for resistance.

Gorging on bearcam: the livestream of big beasts eating that draws millions

Ahead of Fat Bear Week, avid fans are glued to the spectacle of brown bears devouring salmon at Brooks Falls in Alaska

One of this summer’s biggest onscreen hits has had big beasts, great escapes and choppy waters, but it’s not Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey – it’s a livestream of Alaskan brown bears catching salmon.

The Brooks Falls bearcam at Katmai national park in the US was watched 7.3m times between 22 June and 4 August – up 70% from the same period last year and more than double the views it attracted in 2024.

‘We detected unusual activity’: the scam that uses AI to exploit your holiday photos

Fraudsters use pictures posted on Instagram or Facebook to create emails seeking bank account details

You are on a short break in Porto and post some pictures of your family on Instagram or Facebook. With a small section of the Douro river in the background, you think it could have been taken anywhere.

A few days later, you get a text saying that your card was compromised. “We detected unusual activity while you were travelling in Porto – please verify immediately,” says the message.

Torrential rain and flood kill nine in Japan amid wettest month in decades

Downpours in Japan’s east have snarled roads, caused power outages and destroyed homes in Chiba prefecture

Heavy rain that battered eastern Japan has left nine people dead, the public broadcaster NHK said on Sunday, after an “unprecedented” deluge that flooded more than a thousand homes and snarled up roads and rail services.

Torrential downpours that started late on Thursday have triggered landslide warnings and power outages, with forecasters issuing the highest-level heavy rain warning for the Chiba region for the first time.

Marco Rubio has unique power to promote peace, but he hasn’t. He is almost as bad for the world as Trump | Simon Tisdall

As chief US diplomat, Rubio could do great good. His pandering and neglect are a disgrace we shouldn’t ignore

Viewed from the state department in Washington DC, the world is on fire – but record heatwaves are not to blame. The unresolved Iran war has badly burned Donald Trump. His military campaign conclusively failed, energy and food prices are still rising, and a Republican rout in November’s midterm elections looms. Humiliatingly, Israel this week flatly rejected his latest Gaza peace proposals, days after Trump congratulated himself on a “historic breakthrough”. In Europe, Russia’s attacks on Nato allies grow increasingly brazen, threatening a wider escalation. The Ukraine war, which Trump vowed to end, is now well into its fifth year, with civilians on both sides caught in the killing fields. And these are just the bigger firestorms. There are plenty more.

Rarely has the need for effective, professional diplomacy been more pressing. So step forward Marco Rubio, US secretary of state and chief American diplomat. These are challenges that, if successfully tackled, could propel the 55-year-old son of Cuban immigrants and the former US senator for Florida into pole position in the 2028 Republican presidential nomination race. Here is a chance for Rubio to defy critics who dismiss him as a lickspittle and Trump dogsbody, and transform himself into respected global statesman. His boss mocked him as “little Marco” and a “loser” when they were election rivals in 2016. (Rubio called him a conman.) Now is Rubio’s opportunity to go big, be brave and prove he’s a winner.

I haven’t dated for years and want to try again. How do I prepare for the storm | Ask Annalisa Barbieri

Do you really want to date, or do you just feel you should? Be kind to yourself, and maybe try real-world dating and avoid the apps for now

I haven’t been on a date in eight years and want to start next year. How can I prepare for the storm?

I want to love and care for someone. I long for a supportive, funny life partner. Should I say that to a man? And is that too much in a dating profile?

‘My electric toaster is more than 100 years old’: readers on their ancient appliances

After news that a couple from Gloucestershire are still using an Electrolux fridge from the 1930s, we asked readers about their experiences. From a 50-year-old TV to a 75-year-old vacuum cleaner, here are the old faithfuls

I have a 1974 Janex Batman and Robin wind-up talking alarm clock. Amazingly, it still works even though it’s more than 50 years old. It plays audio of Batman and Robin having a discussion on why should really get up and out of bed. I love it. Every time I see it, I smile. Jason Connolly, 57, district nurse, Macandrew Bay, New Zealand

Rescue teams search for survivors in Indonesia after powerful earthquake

Searchers dig through collapsed buildings and debris after 7.7 magnitude quake killed at least 53 people

Rescue crews dug through collapsed buildings and landslide debris in eastern Indonesia on Sunday as they searched for bodies and possible survivors a day after a powerful earthquake killed at least 53 people, injured more than 100 and displaced thousands.

At least 24 people died in Manggarai regency and 17 in neighbouring East Manggarai, with additional fatalities reported in Sikka, Ngada and Ende regencies, the national disaster management agency said. Rescuers were still searching for people feared buried beneath landslides triggered by the quake across six regencies on Flores, a predominantly Catholic island in Muslim-majority Indonesia.

‘I longed to play the Bach violin double with my daughter – but then I got MS’

When multiple sclerosis began to affect her fine motor skills, Shakira Hussein found a way to redesign her dream, rather than give it up altogether

At first, I failed to recognise the significance of the deterioration in my violin technique.

I was preoccupied by other concerns – the crushing exhaustion that I would describe to my doctors as “not normal tiredness”, the unexplained falls from my bike. I did not draw any connection between these issues and my out-of-tune violin playing. Only when the right side of my body detached itself from my central nervous system to the point where I could no longer pick up a pen or walk without a stick to support myself did the words this feels neurological cross my mind.

Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads

Australia’s ‘pioneer’ colonists profited from slavery. That truth must be acknowledged | Paul Daley

The veil is slowly being lifted on the forced or coerced migration – ‘blackbirding’ – of Pacific Islanders for labour

What’s in a name? If that name happens to be Townsville, the coastal north-east Queensland city, the answer is: slavery.

While he scarcely went to the place that still bears his name, Robert Towns, the 19th century British-born Australian colonist, has largely been warmly and sentimentally regarded as a genteel, civic-minded merchant and entrepreneur. Like so many bastards of Australian colonisation, history has coddled him in soft biography, and continues to celebrate him in nomenclature and statuary.

American Kate Douglass sets 50-meter freestyle world record at Pan Pacific

Kate Douglass, 24, is a five-time Olympic medalist.

Moroccan police arrest more than 100 people as they attempt to enter Ceuta

Border security tightened after social media posts call for another mass crossing into Spain’s north African territory

Moroccan police have arrested 111 people as they tried to enter Spain’s north African territory of Ceuta, amid ⁠tightened security on both sides after social media posts ​called for another mass crossing.

The attempted crossing on Saturday came two weeks after more than 72,000 migrants surged into Ceuta, causing tensions within the EU and prompting anti-immigration rhetoric among far-right parties worldwide. At least 96 people died trying to ⁠reach European soil.

Alarmed by the alarm: people react to ‘severe alert’ on phones over UK wildfires

Many complained online that piercingly loud tone was ‘overreach’ while others lamented lack of action on decarbonisation

On Friday at 7pm, Thérèse Coffey was nine miles away from a nuclear power station when her phone made a loud, piercing and very worrying sound: it was a “severe” emergency alert. “Was expecting [a] much more specific alert, not a generic message on wildfires,” the former Conservative cabinet minister said on X.

She wasn’t alone in being alarmed by the alarm sent to phones in England and Wales. In the aftermath, thousands of social media users expressed their shock at the alert. Some shared funny memes and others lamented what they viewed as lack of government action on decarbonisation. Academic John Ritzema called it a “massive overreach” and said the alert system should be “for ‘drop everything and prepare for something terrible’ situations”, something Coffey echoed, saying alerts should not become commonplace to avoid “Peter cries wolf situations”.

Anthropic revenue reportedly jumps to more than $11.5 billion in second quarter

The jump in revenue underscores the rapid growth of the Claude chatbot maker as it prepares for a potential blockbuster initial public offering.

Missed out on tickets to see the Bayeux tapestry in London? A £1,000 hotel stay will get you in

British Museum’s £33 tickets sold out in a day but some slots have been reserved for guests at five-star One Aldwych

Those hoping to snare a glimpse of the Bayeux tapestry when it comes to the British Museum this September faced nine-hour online queues, with the £33 tickets sold out within a day.

But the monied guests of a five-star hotel in Covent Garden have not had to go to such arduous lengths to get a view of the nearly 1,000-year-old depiction of William the Conqueror’s victory over King Harold II of England at Hastings in 1066.

I drove Tesla FSD, Rivian Autonomy+ ‘hands-free’ driving systems. Here’s how they compare

Rivian is trying to catch up to Tesla's "hands-free" capabilities, but with additional safety guardrails that the Elon Musk company doesn't have.