Chiefs reportedly trade for Jets quarterback Fields with Mahomes’s return date uncertain

• Jets to receive sixth-round draft pick as part of deal

• Patrick Mahomes recovering from torn knee ligaments

The New York Jets have reportedly agreed to a trade that will send quarterback Justin Fields to the Kansas City Chiefs as a backup for the injured Patrick Mahomes.

The Jets will receive a sixth-round draft pick in 2027 for Fields and pick up $7m of his guaranteed $10m salary for this upcoming season. The deal, first reported by ESPN, is pending a physical.

The 27-year-old signed a two-year, $40m deal – with $30m guaranteed – with New York last March and was the starter for most of the season until he was benched in favor of Tyrod Taylor in Week 12. He didn’t play another game for the Jets, ending the season on injured reserve with a knee injury.

Fields went 2-7 as the Jets’ starter with seven touchdowns and only one interception for 1,259 yards. He threw for fewer than 55 yards in four games, including a season-low 27 in a loss to Buffalo in Week 2.

Israel’s planned expansion of Lebanon ground campaign fuels fears of prolonged occupation

Israeli defence minister says IDF instructed to destroy ‘terror infrastructure’ in southern villages

Israel’s announcement on Monday of a ground campaign in new areas of southern Lebanon is fuelling fears of a prolonged occupation among hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese.

Concerns intensified after Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, drawing comparisons with Gaza, warned displaced Lebanese forced from their homes would not be allowed to return until the safety of Israelis near the border was guaranteed, remarks that appeared to suggest the presence of Israeli troops could become prolonged.

3/16: Face the Nation

This week on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," as the U.S. launches airstrikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, Margaret Brennan speaks to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Plus, President Trump's envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, joins.

Trump complains about allies and claims US destroyed more than 30 mine-laying ships in strait of Hormuz – US politics live

President also says US has struck over 7,000 ‘mostly commercial and military targets’ across Iran

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Donald Trump drew a backlash on Sunday for suggesting US efforts to protect the Strait of Hormuz were unnecessary – and that “maybe we shouldn’t even be there at all” because his country has plenty of oil of its own.

The president made the contradictory comment to reporters on Air Force One after pleading with European and Nato allies to enter the war in Iran to help the US secure the strait amid the largest oil supply disruption in history.

Middle East crisis live: European countries resist Trump’s demand for help to clear the strait of Hormuz

Iran war ‘not a matter for Nato’, says Germany’s Merz as European countries react cautiously to Trump’s calls for assistance

• European countries reject Trump’s call for help to reopen strait of Hormuz

• How have you been affected by the latest Middle East events?

• Are fuel price increases making you cut back?

Continued from previous post:

Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has said she has no immediate plans to send her country’s maritime self-defence forces to help protect tanker traffic in the strait of Homuz.

We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done ⁠within the legal framework.

I would like to ⁠engage in solid discussions based on Japan’s views and position regarding the need for early de-escalation.

Tucker Carlson expresses fear that he may face federal charges for talking to Iranians

Carlson in video claims the CIA is preparing a ‘crime report’ against him and alleges US agencies have read his texts

Tucker Carlson, the conservative US political commentator, has publicly expressed fear that he may be facing criminal charges for “acting as an agent of a foreign power” by communicating with people in Iran.

The former CNN and Fox News host, who has established an alternative media career as online talking head and interviewer, claimed in a video posted on X that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was preparing “a crime report” for the Trump administration’s justice department.

Trump’s war is bringing economic calamity to the UK – and another shock to our politics | Gaby Hinsliff

Hard choices lie ahead for Downing Street if higher fuel prices spark resentment and trigger a renewed cost of living crisis

Seventy years ago this winter, the streets of Britain fell eerily quiet. After one last panic buying spree, many garages shut, and traffic even in the heart of London dwindled away. The formal introduction of petrol rationing had begun, limiting drivers to 200 miles’ worth a month – with exceptions for farmers, doctors and vicars – after the Suez crisis blocked fuel supplies from the Gulf.

Ancient history now, of course – or it would be if it weren’t for what looks increasingly like the US’s own version of Suez: a great power starting a war it seemingly doesn’t know how to finish, against an enemy it woefully underestimated. If the strait of Hormuz – the vital shipping lane now rendered unsafe for shipping by Iranian drones and mines – cannot soon be reopened, then Britain could be only weeks away from needing to ration fuel, the former BP executive (and government adviser) Nick Butler warned on Monday morning.

Trump’s threats to Nato reveal glaring absence of any strategy on Iran

White House seems to have failed to anticipate that Tehran would fight back by trying to impose costs on the west

• Middle East crisis – live updates

If there was a moment when the absence of a US strategy on Iran was exposed, then this was it. Donald Trump demanded on Saturday that the UK, China, France, Japan and others participate in a naval escort for oil tankers through the strait of Hormuz.

Despite launching the attack on Iran, with Israel, the White House does not seem to have fully anticipated what was likely to follow. Iran had few good military options for fighting back, but attacking US bases, US allies and merchant shipping in the Gulf was the most obvious response – to try to impose costs on the west.

French political parties seek alliances before final round of local elections

Candidates look for deals with rivals to boost chances as major seats including Paris, Marseille and Lyon appear tight

Political parties in France are hastily attempting to negotiate strategic alliances before the final round of local elections this weekend, after a strong showing by the far right and the radical left.

This Sunday’s final-round vote for mayors and local councillors in major cities including Marseille, Lyon and Paris is expected to be close.

Gasoline prices are still rising as the Iran war stretches into its third week

U.S. gasoline prices are up nearly 80 cents from a month ago, while diesel prices have shot up even more. Diesel is now just under $5 a gallon, according to AAA, up $1.34 from last month.

Ben Jennings on Donald Trump’s plea for European support for his war on Iran – cartoon

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Border Patrol's Gregory Bovino to retire from federal service, sources say

Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino​ was pulled away from a high-profile role leading immigration raids in major U.S. cities, including Minneapolis, earlier this year.

NFL, Paramount discussing media deal that could mean CBS pays an extra $1 billion or more

The NFL is discussing getting rid of its 2029-30 opt-out clause in exchange for an increase on TV rights that could push CBS to pay more than $3 billion a year.

‘Happy as can be!’ My Neighbour Totoro toasts first birthday in London’s West End

The spectacular stage version of Studio Ghibli’s much-loved film has spent a year at the Gillian Lynne theatre in London. To celebrate, photographer Tristram Kenton was granted backstage access

Trump urges other nations to help open Strait of Hormuz

In remarks ahead of a meeting with the Kennedy Center board of trustees, Mr. Trump provided an update on the ongoing conflict with Iran.

Face the Nation: Graham, Dingell, Moore

Missed the second half of the show? The latest on the Trump administration's foreign policy on Iran and the impact of tariffs on the U.S. economy

The Stop Asian Hate movement ‘galvanized political power’ in the US. Where is it now?

Five years after the deadly Atlanta spa shootings sparked protests and policy changes, the campaign is at a crossroads in Trump’s second term

Five years ago, a gunman went on a shooting rampage at three Atlanta-area spas, killing eight people, six of whom were Asian women. The brazen attacks on 16 March 2021 sent shock waves through Asian communities already under siege from a surge in violence during the pandemic.

The shooting – following a spate of attacks targeting Asian seniors – sparked protests, mutual aid organizing and sweeping policy changes. For a moment, Stop Asian Hate looked poised to become the social justice movement of the 2020s.

BBC asks US court to throw out Trump’s $10bn lawsuit and avoid ‘chilling effect’

Corporation’s lawyers argue expensive but ‘groundless’ litigation restricts ability to cover public figures

The BBC has asked a US court to throw out Donald Trump’s $10bn (£7.5bn) lawsuit over the way a documentary edited one of his speeches, warning that proceeding with the case would have a “chilling effect” on its reporting on the president.

In papers filed to the Florida court dealing with the case, the BBC’s US lawyers claimed Trump’s reputation had not been damaged by the documentary, given it aired in the UK a week before his re-election.

With gas prices still rising, experts recommend 3 ways to save fuel

Small adjustments, like maintaining a steady speed while driving, can help maximize fuel efficiency, experts say.

Omission impossible: why the Oscars can never get their In Memoriam tribute right

Why did Brigitte Bardot, Farrah Fawcett and James Van Der Beek not warrant a mention when Michael Jackson did? The history of the Oscars tribute snubs says a lot about why some stars are gone but not forgotten

The Oscars in memoriam segment is a firmly lodged Academy tradition – albeit one that is not as longstanding as you might think, having only been introduced in 1994. Almost as established a tradition is that of the outcry following a major film industry figure being omitted from the segment. This year seemed particularly notable in that regard, with Brigitte Bardot, TV stars James Van Der Beek and Malcolm-Jamal Warner, and the celebrated Bollywood actor Dharmendra among those left out, to varying levels of outrage on social media.

Critics of these omissions will usually imply they are down to forgetfulness or neglect on the part of the Academy. Such claims, though, overlook the fact that the in memoriam process is a painstaking one, adjudicated on by a committee tasked with whittling a longlist of hundreds down to a final list of around 30. As Bruce Davis, former executive director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences told the LA Times in 2010, the process “gets close to agonising by the end. You are dropping people who the public know. It’s just not comfortable.”

The Taylor Swift effect: US vinyl sales top $1bn for the first time since 1983

Swift leads with 1.6m vinyl sales of The Life of a Showgirl in 2025 while Sabrina Carpenter and Kendrick Lamar round out the LP charts

For the first time in over four decades, US vinyl sales have topped $1bn in annual revenue.

Vinyl purchases reached $1.04bn in 2025, per a new report by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) published on 16 March. It marks the 19th consecutive year of growth for the format that was once considered a niche interest.

Are fuel price increases making you cut back? We would like to hear from you

Perhaps you are limiting car journeys or reducing the amount of cooking you do. Tell us

The conflict in the Middle East has disrupted global shipping routes and caused a surge in global oil market prices.

The strait of Hormuz, one of the most important waterways in the world, through which about a fifth of international oil supplies usually travel, has been all but closed since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran.

Could Trump blow up Nato over Iran war? – The Latest

Donald Trump is pressuring European allies to protect the strait of Hormuz, warning that Nato faces a ‘very bad’ future if members fail to offer assistance.

The strait of Hormuz is one of the most important shipping routes in the world. A fifth of international oil supplies pass through the waterway, which has been disrupted since the start of the war.

Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s south Asia correspondent, Hannah Ellis-Petersen – watch on YouTube

Hyundai stops sales of some 2026 models after a child's death

Hyundai's announcement came after a child died in an incident involving a Palisade vehicle, which the car maker said is still under investigation.

Belgian PM condemned over call to repair relations with Russia to ease energy costs

Even Belgium’s foreign minister says Bart De Wever’s suggestion would give Putin ‘exactly what he wants’

Belgium’s prime minister, Bart De Wever, has been criticised for calling for the normalisation of relations with Russia to re-establish cheap energy supplies.

The Flemish nationalist leader’s judgment was questioned in Belgium and beyond after he said on Saturday that the EU needed to make a deal with Russia. “We are losing on all fronts, we must end the conflict in Europe’s interest,” he told the Belgian newspaper L’Echo.

Selfies, sniffer dogs and superstition – Peter Bradshaw’s big night out at the Oscars!

KPop Demon Hunters fans screamed with glee, Adrien Brody grossed out the audience and Timothée Chalamet broke all the rules. The Guardian’s film critic on a gobsmackingly glamorous ceremony

• Key takeaways from Oscars 2026: horror wins, tech loses and politics is hard to ignore

These were the Oscars for a life during wartime. President Trump’s still-to-be-explained attack on Iran meant warnings of a possible retaliatory drone attack from Tehran on the target-rich environment of downtown Los Angeles. The glittering Dolby Theatre was reportedly in the crosshairs.

It didn’t happen. But this was a ceremony aware of the distant politics of threat, and the politics of a nation that is rich enough to afford war and peace at the same time.

Strangers help 78-year-old DoorDash driver after viral doorbell video

A Ring camera video that showed a 78-year-old DoorDash driver making a delivery led to strangers donating nearly $1 million to him and his wife.

One no-show after another: Sean Penn joins an exclusive band of Oscar-winning refuseniks

The One Battle After Another star’s failure to collect his best supporting actor award – because he was visiting Ukraine – only serves to burnish his reputation

Last night’s Oscars might have been superficially modern (K-pop! Female cinematographers winning things! Jokes about YouTube interstitial advertising!), but there was one slightly charming old throwback: Sean Penn wasn’t there to collect his best supporting actor award.

Sure, this sort of thing happens all the time in other awards shows – you can barely get through a single Baftas without an A-lister revealing that they didn’t fancy braving the London winter – but not the Oscars. The Oscars are meant to represent the pinnacle of professional achievement. It’s your one chance to look all of your peers in the eye as one in the knowledge that you are better than the lot of them. Who’d turn down an opportunity that irresistible?

Realtime pollution alerts needed on Windermere, campaigners say after boy nearly dies

Exclusive: Claire Earley’s son Rex spent six weeks in hospital after contracting E coli from contaminated lake

Realtime pollution alerts are needed across Windermere urgently, campaigners have said, as the mother of a seven-year-old boy who kayaked on the lake described how he nearly died after contracting a dangerous strain of E coli from contaminated water.

Claire Earley’s son Rex spent six weeks in hospital, and underwent two emergency operations, after a family kayaking trip on Windermere last August.

"All the Empty Rooms" wins Oscar for memorializing kids killed in school shootings

The film follows CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman​ and photographer Lou Bopp through their seven-year journey to document the toll of America's school shooting epidemic.

John Oliver on JD Vance: ‘He’s become the archetype of the hyper-online conservative troll’

The late-night host dug deep into JD Vance’s political shift into a rightwing troll second in line to the US presidency

On the latest Last Week Tonight, John Oliver took a deep dive on JD Vance, the former Hillbilly Elegy memoirist turned US senator from Ohio and Donald Trump’s second-term vice-president. “I know to some, Vance might appear to be just another abrasive Maga asshole with a load-bearing beard,” Oliver duly noted. “But to many on the right, he’s a towering intellect.”

Tucker Carlson once called him “the smartest and deepest [senator] I’ve ever met”, which is “kind of like Ryan Lochte calling Cookie Monster his go-to guy for investment advice”, said Oliver. “I don’t trust any of the individuals involved on any of the subjects involved.”

Office hookworms: how to deal with colleagues who steal all the credit

They roam the workplace, promoting themselves loudly and incessantly – while undermining everyone else

Name: Office hookworms.

Age: A recent term for a very old complaint.

Durbin and Raskin call for perjury investigation into DHS' Kristi Noem

Ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified before Congress earlier this month.

Iran’s Hormuz blockade is its most powerful card against Trump and Israel. It won’t back down easily | Jack Watling

By imposing massive costs on the global economy, the Iranian government hopes to cause the US to back down

The US and Israeli decision to attack Iran has sent economic shockwaves around the world. About 20% of global oil supplies have been effectively blocked from transiting the strait of Hormuz since Iran began attacking ships, resulting in a huge jump in oil prices. Militarily, while the United States has the firepower to significantly reduce Iran’s capacity to strike ships in the strait, it is unlikely to be able to eliminate the threat entirely.

Reopening the strait, therefore, is not only a question of military capabilities but of diplomacy, and to negotiate it is necessary to understand what each party to the conflict is trying to achieve.

Nebius jumps 14% after company inks $27 billion infrastructure deal with Meta

Meta is planning capital expenditure of up to $135 billion related to AI this year.

Who won Oscars for 2026? See the full winners list here

"One Battle After Another" took home several big awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and the newly created Best Casting.

Football has not been ‘unfair’ to Manchester City. They just lack consistency

Pep Guardiola’s team have ground down other title contenders in the past with their relentless winning streaks. But those days appear to have gone

• Sign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson here

This has been a strange season for Manchester City. Every now and then, they’ve threatened to produce the sort of run that used to define them. They won eight games in a row from the end of November to the end of December, then six in a row in February. At which point the tendency has been for a sort of mental muscle memory to kick in and to think that, even if they haven’t been playing that well, even if this doesn’t look like the City sides of old, this is the start of one of those relentless bouts of form that has ground down challengers in the past. After all, some of those past runs began uncertainly.

But this is a very different City. Even Pep Guardiola sounded bemused after Saturday’s draw with West Ham, noting how “in the past always we found the way to win this kind of game … this season, the fact that we didn’t score goals for the amount of chances, it’s punished us”. He seemingly had no explanation for that, muttering about the “unfairness” of the world that his side had not got the results he feels their football has deserved.

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email [email protected], and he’ll answer the best in a future edition.

Team USA won the second-most medals at these Paralympics. See the standout moments

A mix of decorated veterans and rising stars won 24 medals for Team USA, 13 of them gold. The last one arrived Sunday, when the U.S. sled hockey team beat Canada to win its fifth straight gold medal.

Late winter blizzard slams upper Midwest while possible tornado tears through South

A late winter blizzard swept across the upper Midwest, bringing 20 inches of snow and winds up to 40 mph to parts of the region. Meanwhile, the same weather system hit southern Tennessee with a possible tornado. Ian Lee reports.

‘We kicked Bono’s arse’: Atomic Kitten on how they made Whole Again (with a little help from Kraftwerk)

‘Kerry’s spoken verse needed 39 takes spread over several months because she’d had her tonsils out’

People never believe me that Kraftwerk created Atomic Kitten. In 1996, my band OMD released Walking on the Milky Way, which I thought was one of the best songs I’d ever written. But in the age of Britpop, we were perceived as an 80s synthpop band, past our sell-by date. Radio 2 wouldn’t play the song and Woolworths wouldn’t stock it. I thought: “I’m functioning with one arm tied behind my back.” So my friend Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk said: “Why don’t you create a girl band as a vehicle for your songs?”

How should a woman dress in her 50s? Gwyneth Paltrow just changed the game

The red carpet raises all kinds of questions. What is the age range of a feather boa? Sequins: mutton or lamb? In the face of the carping and scrutiny, Paltrow has issued a bold sartorial retort

The 50s are an awkward decade for women on the red carpet. So, the Oscars, being the ultimate red carpet, are like a dramatisation of the awks, a silent movie told in One Dress After Another. It’s complicated by the convention that “over 50” and “in her 50s” are the same category for Hollywood, the existence of a greater age being so anathema to the condition of womanhood that it’s more tactful not to mention it. Sigourney Weaver (76) is an “Oscars over 50”, as is Goldie Hawn (80).

The case of Hawn was particularly confusing this year. When she was pictured alongside her daughter, Kate Hudson (46), they became the same age, it being semantically easier to pretend that “nearly-50 to 100” is a continuous phase of woman than to brook the idea of an age beyond “middle”.

US judge dismisses $100,000 suit over spiciness of New York taqueria’s sauce

A German tourist filed a lawsuit claiming he felt unpleasant symptoms after eating tacos with salsa at Los Tacos No 1

A German tourist’s attempt to pursue $100,000 in damages from a New York City taqueria whose salsa he found to be too spicy has failed after a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit.

In a complaint filed in October 2024, German national Faycal Manz said he was visiting New York City two months earlier when he stopped at the Times Square location of Los Tacos No 1.

Tributes paid to ‘lovely’ sixth-form pupil who died in Kent meningitis outbreak

Second victim named as Juliette as long queues of students wait for antibiotics at the University of Kent

Tributes have been paid to a sixth-former confirmed as the second person to have died after an outbreak of meningitis in Kent.

The sixth-form student was named as Juliette by teachers at Queen Elizabeth’s grammar school (QEGS) in Faversham, who described her as a kind and intelligent young woman.

Gas prices edge higher with Brent crude remaining above $100 per barrel

Gas prices have jumped almost 79 cents per gallon from a month ago, raising fresh inflation concerns.

PSG take a big step forward in the Ligue 1 title race – but was it fair?

PSG were given the weekend off to help them in Europe, with little consideration for how it would affect other clubs

By Get French Football News

Paris Saint-Germain do not need a helping hand but they were given it: first by the French football federation, who postponed their match against Nantes at the weekend so they could concentrate on the Champions League, and then by Lens, who lost 2-1 to Lorient and failed to retake top spot in Ligue 1.

The decision to postpone PSG’s game was one agreed upon by all parties, one taken to aid their preparations for their second leg against Chelsea, and one not without precedent. The same Ligue 1 fixture was postponed last season so PSG could focus on their European tie against Aston Villa.

Bessent says Treasury is not intervening in oil commodities markets and has no authority to do so

Bessent addressed rumors that the Treasury Department or some other arm of government might step in to try to lower oil prices.

Travelers face long lines at airports after TSA workers miss full paycheck

Travelers continue to face long lines at airports across the U.S. due to the partial government shutdown affecting TSA agents.

Six Nations 2026: our writers pick their tournament highlights

From the brilliance of Bielle-Biarrey to Carré’s jaw-dropping try, our highs and lows from a sensational championship

Player of the tournament Impossible to look past Louis Bielle-Biarrey who, among assorted records, has become the first player to score a try in every Six Nations game in successive seasons. But Italy’s Tommaso Menoncello and Ireland’s Stuart McCloskey also deserve a podium place.

‘They become part of people’s identity’: how Australia fell in love with the Skywhales

Patricia Piccinini’s bulbous creation first took flight in 2013, and was joined by a partner in 2021. They’ve inspired tattoos, crafts and wedding vows – and they’re coming to a region near you

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All around Australia, Patricia Piccinini has been approached by people who are rolling up a sleeve, tugging at a trouser leg, or even lifting their T-shirt. They’re revealing their tattoos of the Skywhales, hot air balloon creatures Piccinini dreamed up more than a decade ago when imagining what whales might look like if they’d evolved to live in the air.

My rookie era: After my panic attacks, woodworking became the one good thing I could count on

Limb-severing machinery and loud noises awaited my frayed nerves – yet the workshop became my safe space

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I had my first panic attack on New Year’s Day 2022. In the months that followed I experienced more of these episodes and increasingly craved serenity. Woodworking emerged in my mind as a place I might get some reprieve from the new psychological maze I was stumbling through after a traumatic event changed how I experienced the world.

The call of the timber was undeniable. I landed on the Victorian Woodworkers Association in North Melbourne for its price, emphasis on craft and the pedigree of its tutors. Here I was able to take an open class that let me make whatever I wanted from day one.

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‘We did Disneyland on mind-altering substances’: Primus frontman Les Claypool on being rock’s great joker – and why Metallica rejected him

After going platinum in the 90s and writing the South Park theme, bassist extraordinaire Claypool discusses the AI-themed concept album he’s made with Sean Ono Lennon

When Les Claypool wrote his first song for Primus in 1984, he faced a crisis of self-confidence. “I was too embarrassed to sing in my apartment,” he says on a video call. “But my roommate at the time was dating the preacher’s daughter, and had keys to the church across the street.” In the dead of night, the madcap bassist and singer took his recording equipment to the empty church, set up on the podium, and first sang his anti-war song Too Many Puppies, which recast soldiers as little dogs: “Too many puppies are being shot in the dark!”

It was the first oddball creation of many: Primus’s rubbery fusions of prog, metal and funk have made Claypool one of rock’s most unlikely success stories. Albums such as 1991’s Sailing the Seas of Cheese are cartoon lands filled with colourful misfits, largely drawn from Claypool’s upbringing in blue-collar California, and given voices inspired by Mel Blanc’s work for Looney Tunes. Today, Claypool has two platinum records, a legacy of influencing giants such as Deftones, and a global cult fanbase including Rush and Tom Waits. But his wackiness, along with his having written the South Park theme and popularised the fan catchphrase “Primus sucks”, has made it hard to peel off the label of class-clown. “There’s an iron hand in that velvet glove,” he promises.

Democrats blast FCC Chair Carr's broadcast license threats as anti-First Amendment, 'totalitarian'

Carr on Saturday blasted broadcasters shortly after President Donald Trump called reports that Iran struck five U.S. tanker planes "fake news." 

Chart shows what you're paying for when you buy a gallon of gas

U.S. gas prices are surging as the Iran war drives up the global cost of oil. But what exactly accounts for what you pay at the pump?

Weather threats bring blizzard conditions, early heat wave to different parts of U.S.

A severe weather front has dumped heavy snow on the Upper Midwest, caused thunderstorms in the South and threatens Mid-Atlantic states with rain and possible tornadoes.

Night prayers and a satirical sculpture: photos of the day – Monday

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

Why the United Arab Emirates is a target for Iran's aggression

Iran is looking to test a state that has positioned itself as the Gulf's safest bridge between East and West — and the future of the region.

Fàbregas outwits Gasperini to take controversial Como a step closer to Champions League | Nicky Bandini

The club by the lake are far from universally popular but the Como manager’s clever tactics brought a key win over Roma

For once the TV cameras at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia had not picked out a Hollywood A-lister in the stands, but a celebrity of calcio instead. Gennaro Gattuso, the Italy manager, as well as a World Cup and Champions League winner, had come to watch Como play Roma.

A crucial game in the race for Europe, the teams having started the weekend level in fourth place. And still a slightly surprising one for Gattuso to pick. Not because it lacked the history and traditional importance of Lazio’s game against Milan later that evening, but because Como do not have any Italian players for him to watch.

A petri dish of human brain cells is currently playing Doom. Should we be worried?

Scientists in the US have uploaded a fruit fly to a computer simulation, while an Australian lab has taught neurons on a glass chip to play a 90s video game. How long before we are all living in a sci-fi movie?

It sounds like the opening of a sci-fi film, but US scientists recently uploaded a copy of the brain of a living fly into a simulation. In San Francisco, biotechnology company Eon Systems created a virtual insect that knew how to walk, fly, groom and feed in its virtual environment. Researchers in Australia, meanwhile, have taught a petri dish containing 200,000 human brain cells to play the iconic 90s shooter Doom. One experiment has pushed a brain into a computer; the other has plugged a computer into brain cells.

Both stories have been hailed as scientific breakthroughs, but have also sparked inevitable fears about the prospects of lab-grown humans and digital clones. Should we be concerned?

Britons should strive to pay minimum tax legally possible, says Richard Tice

Reform UK’s deputy leader comments came as he was responding to questions raised about his own tax affairs

• UK politics live – latest updates

All Britons should do their best to pay the minimum tax possible, Reform UK’s deputy leader has argued as he dismissed a newspaper investigation over his own tax affairs as a smear.

Richard Tice, who was presenting a press conference on Monday about Reform’s claims to have saved large sums of money in the English councils it runs, faced questions about a Sunday Times story, which detailed a scheme the paper said had helped him avoid nearly £600,000 in corporation tax.

‘Evil’ paedophile jailed for 24 years after abuse of five children at Bristol nursery

Judge describes Nathan Bennett as ‘incorrigible and dangerous’ over string of offences including rape

A “dangerous paedophile” who sexually abused five children in his care at a nursery in Bristol has been jailed for 24 years.

Judge Hart described Nathan Bennett as “evil” and said that he had thought seriously about imposing a life sentence because it was difficult to assess whether he would ever not be a risk to children.

Discovery of 1949 whale recording could unlock mysteries of ocean

The song is that of a humpback whale and was recorded by scientists in March 1949 in Bermuda, researchers said.

Chelsea fined £10.75m and given suspended transfer ban over historical rule-breaking

• Club also hit with nine-month academy transfer ban

• Investigation covered period between 2011 and 2018

Chelsea have been fined £10.75m, handed a suspended ban from signing first-team players and given an immediate nine-month academy transfer ban by the Premier League over breaches of financial rules during Roman Abramovich’s ownership.

The club, who still face potential sanctions from the Football Association over 74 charges of breaching agent regulations, were investigated by the league over undisclosed payments to agents, non-licensed intermediaries and other figures, including players, around signings between 2011 and 2018.

Don’t Be Prey review – invigorating tale of swimming banker aiming to avoid being shark food

Mark Sowerby battles bad feelings by tackling brutal channel crossings – the Oceans Seven – around the world

The title of this invigorating documentary about open-water swimming seems at first to be a wry note-to-self regarding something competitors essentially have no control over: the possibility of becoming shark food. But, as practised by Australian waterman Mark Sowerby, it turns out to a surprisingly deep and empowering maxim about choosing to accept apprehensions and fears, and not being picked off by one’s inner vulnerabilities.

Sowerby is that oft-spotted species: the investment banker seeking redemption. Adrift among the 1%, he pivots to long-distance swimming and makes a traumatic crossing of the English Channel in 2015. Then his company becomes chum for short-sellers. His self-esteem in tatters, depression swallows him up. Realising he can process the trauma with intensive pool time, Sowerby decides that completing the other six stages of the “Oceans Seven” – a set of brutal channel crossings around the globe – is the tonic he needs.

Oldest-known whale song recording provides new insight into ocean sounds

Recording of humpback whale from 1949 could also provide new understanding of how the huge animals communicate

A haunting whale song discovered on decades-old audio equipment could open up a new understanding of how the huge animals communicate, according to researchers who say it is the oldest such recording known.

The song is that of a humpback whale, a marine giant beloved by whale watchers for its docile nature and spectacular leaps from the water, and was recorded by scientists in March 1949 in Bermuda, said researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

Oil prices are falling — gas prices aren't. Here's why.

Even if oil prices ease, they won't return to the levels they were at before the war started, according to Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy.

‘Like a DVD in the present tense’: are we ready for film distribution via USB drives?

As big tech continues to dominate the film industry, Video StoreAge is a uniquely crafted company that works with film-makers to sell independent films on USB drives

The streaming-skeptical cinephile faces a dilemma in 2026, especially when it comes to watching movies at home. Increasingly, movies are available via rentals that funnel money to mega-corporations including Amazon or Apple; digital “purchases” from those same companies that can actually be revoked at any moment; or, most enticingly but still somewhat inconveniently, well-curated physical media special editions that treat films with the respect they deserve (sometimes even respect they don’t, depending on the title) while taking up a lot of shelf space and hitting your wallet hard. Plus, as vinyl aficionados know, bespoke physical media can also be severely limited in terms of where you can actually play it. Basically, almost everyone in the home-video space is trying to either be Amazon or the Criterion Collection.

Ash Cook, the former Sundance programmer who founded the new distributor Video StoreAge (pronounced like “storage”), is trying to figure out a third way. He described Video StoreAge’s products – indie movies sold on USB drives – as “like a DVD in the present tense. It’s a way to have a physical copy of a movie, but in this case you can play it on your computer. It has digital utility.” Like almost anything else these days, Video StoreAge is available as a subscription, with quarterly collections of five features and five shorts. The first drop includes Vera Drew’s buzzed-about The People’s Joker, a homemade superhero comedy that reappropriates many elements of the Batman mythos into a trans coming-out story. (Honestly, it’s more fun than those Joaquin Phoenix movies and might understand the Joker character better, too.) But they also sell single films, including Drew’s, or any combinations of available films as a sort of digital indie-movie mix tape on those format-flexible USB drives. (The quarter’s shorts package is included with every movie regardless, an automatic special feature.)

Rory McIlroy will see how ‘body feels’ and assess schedule before Masters

• ‘We’ll see how I feel in practice,’ says world No 2

• McIlroy hampered by back injury before Players Championship

Rory McIlroy will weigh up whether to play another event before the defence of his Masters title next month after an underwhelming outing at the Players Championship. He was the defending champion at TPC Sawgrass, but his preparation was hampered by a back injury and he finished in a disappointing tie for 46th on Sunday.

“I’ll see how my body feels,” said the world No 2. “We’ll see how I feel in practice and at home and if I get itchy feet at home maybe add an event at some point.

Airline CEOs send letter to Congress to fund DHS as travelers face long waits at airports

As the partial government shutdown continues, travelers are dealing with flight cancellations and long security lines at some airports due in part to staffing issues. On Sunday, airline CEOs sent a letter to Congress calling on politicians to reach a deal to fund DHS.

Empreintes review – Jess and Morgs go off-piste at Paris Opera and Marcos Morau sets the chandelier swinging

Palais Garnier, Paris
Jessica Wright and Morgann Runacre-Temple’s Arena spills off the stage while Morau’s equally audacious Étude has balletic body snatchers

What a joy to find Jessica Wright and Morgann Runacre-Temple given full run of the grandiose Palais Garnier. The sparky duo from London, known as Jess and Morgs, bring their audacious blend of choreography and live camerawork to a gripping new creation, Arena, with video design by Jakub Lech. It peaks with a bravura sequence in which Loup Marcault-Derouard leaves the stage and is seen on a huge screen, racing around the opera house’s imposing halls and staircase. Arena gives the sense of choreographers in a candy store, seizing the real estate newly available to them after their hit, tech-centric reboot of Coppélia for Scottish Ballet in 2022.

The piece opens with understated, percussive coolness and shades of A Chorus Line – an athletic squad limber up with individual and collective confidence. “Next please!” barks the voiceover and a camera operator glides down the queue, capturing beady eyes, beating chests, glistening sweat. In the age of Instagram, dancers are ever-ready for their closeups and here the port de bras frequently results in tightly framed faces – but Arena exposes the perils of chronically online culture and the urge to compete, compare and conform. There is a gladiatorial element to Annemarie Woods’ costumes yet this is a dystopian contest that also feels rooted in the present day.

Trump signals possible delay to Beijing summit as U.S. pressures China to help reopen Strait of Hormuz

The remarks came as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng in Paris, paving the way for the summit scheduled for late March.

Africa particularly vulnerable as Iran conflict disrupts supply chains, say experts

Food production in many African countries depends heavily on fertiliser imported from the Gulf through the strait of Hormuz

Countries in Africa, where farmers depend heavily on imported fertiliser and a large share of household income goes on food, are particularly vulnerable to supply chain disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East, experts have said.

The conflict has drastically disrupted trade through the strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane not just for oil and gas but also for fertiliser, which is produced in vast quantities in the Gulf.

‘We cannot replace USAID, but we can do big things’: conservation plots a future without American money

The Trump administration’s cuts to biodiversity funding have imperiled species, habitats and the people who defend both. Now the world is seeking a new way forward

On 22 January 2024, at the inauguration of the current Liberian president, Joseph Boakai, the US-based Liberian poet Patricia Jabbeh Wesley paid tribute to the west African nation’s tropical forests – one of the places where, she said, “our fathers came / centuries ago, and planted our umbilical cords / deep in the soil”.

The forests of Liberia are among the most diverse on the planet, home not only to humans and their ancestral ties but also to rare species such as forest elephants, pygmy hippopotamuses and western chimpanzees. They are also chronically threatened by industrial development, including illegal logging and mining.

Better than Wuthering Heights? The Brontës’ novels – ranked!

As Emerald Fennell’s film sparks debate, we celebrate the pioneering brilliance of the siblings’ work

This was the first novel that Charlotte Brontë completed. It was rejected by publishers nine times. Written in the voice of a male narrator, William Crimsworth, it offers a downbeat story of everyday middle-class striving as the protagonist travels to Brussels to establish his career as a teacher. But the last publisher to see it thought it showed promise, despite being too short and insufficiently “striking and exciting”. Had the author anything else to offer? Luckily, Jane Eyre – which amply supplied the earlier book’s deficiencies – was already in train and was soon accepted with alacrity. Although The Professor remained unpublished in Charlotte’s lifetime, she continued to believe that it was “as good as I can write”; its subtly ironised male voice reveals her underlying literary sophistication.

Crossword editor’s desk: the joy of The Goodies and a setter deviates from the letter of house-style law

The comedian Graeme Garden celebrated and a look at misdirecting geographic capitals

Sometimes our puzzles have themes; sometimes they don’t. A solver might notice some of the themes while others may pass them by: it doesn’t usually matter, but there’s an extra gratification when we get feedback such as this letter:

Thanks to Soup for the splendid birthday compliment to Graeme Garden (Cryptic crossword, 18 February). It brought back joyous memories of The Goodies, and reminded me of how many years I’ve been hooting with laughter at I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue. Many happy returns, Graeme – and all power to your setting, Soup.
Julie Mottershead
Deal, Kent

4d Tense aquatic bird crushed by snake somewhere in South Africa (8)
[ wordplay: T (‘tense’) + SWAN (‘aquatic bird’), both inside BOA (‘snake’)
[ definition: somewhere in South Africa ]

Weather tracker: heavy snowfall and freezing rain sweep across US and Canada

Parts of US face another winter storm with severe conditions also pushing into Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland

Nearly two months since a major storm brought widespread heavy snow and freezing rain to eastern parts of the US, a new winter storm is sweeping across north-eastern US states and south-eastern Canada.

An area of low pressure, which first developed in north-western parts of the US late last week, intensified rapidly as it pushed north-east through central parts of the US.

Toto Wolff says Verstappen’s car is cause of driver’s misery, not new regulations

• Mercedes chief points to number of overtakes in China

• ‘All the indicators say that people love it’

Toto Wolff has dismissed criticism of the new Formula One regulations from Max Verstappen as a result of the “horror show” Red Bull car the four-time world champion is having to drive.

Verstappen has not been alone in his outspoken criticism of the new rules, and after he was forced to retire from the Chinese GP on Sunday he delivered his most damning condemnation yet of the emphasis on electrical energy deployment and recovery.

Share your thoughts on the 2026 Oscars from the winners to the snubs

One Battle After Another sweeps the Oscars but there were big wins for Michael B Jordan and Jessie Buckley – now we’d like to hear from you

One Battle After Another led the way at this year’s Oscars, scooping six awards, including best picture.

Hot on its heels was Sinners, which took home four statuettes, including a best actor win for Michael B Jordan.

Women's March Madness brackets are set

The top 16 seeds in the 68-team women's NCAA field will host first- and second-round games, with the regional rounds being played at two neutral sites for the fourth straight year.

Senate prepares to vote on Trump's SAVE Act. And, takeaways from last night's Oscars

Senate Republicans are gearing up to vote on President Trump's controversial voting overhaul, the SAVE America Act. And, key takeaways from the 2026 Oscars.

‘He’s definitely no Walter White’: former US academic charged with dealing meth

Alan Jay White, nicknamed ‘the professor’, arrested after raid of Indiana home found 78 grams of suspected meth

In a case that calls to mind the plot of the fictional crime show Breaking Bad, a former US educator with the last name White is faced with charges of illicitly dealing methamphetamine.

A 12 March statement from police in the town of Clarksville, Indiana, said officers searched the home of Alan Jay White five days earlier, finding 78 grams of suspected meth and counterfeit cash. They contended that the amount was too big for personal use, booking him with illegally peddling meth, counterfeiting and possessing drug paraphernalia, the agency’s statement added.

Officials ‘missed 99% of data’ before ending Covid vaccine recommendation, memos reveal

US based Covid vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant people on ideology instead of evidence, critics say

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There was scant data behind ending the Covid vaccine recommendation for pregnant people and children, according to internal memos made public because of a lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The memos overlooked hundreds of studies on the benefits and safety of Covid vaccination and set the precedent for making changes to vaccine recommendations based on ideology instead of evidence, critics say.

I couldn’t stop worrying – until I learned about the 6.30pm rule

My therapist told me that anxiety is a bully and, like all bullies, it needs to be put in its place. To my relief, she knew exactly how to do it

The second half of 2011 was not a good time for me. Work was very stressful, and what had been gearing up to be the Great Summer Romance had slowly and painfully fizzled out. My mother was unwell, and I was going through a phase of really missing my father, who had died a few years before. It was the perfect, uninvited storm.

Before, when I’d gone through bad patches, I’d been able to dig myself out fairly quickly. Not this time. Suddenly, I was living in a state of high anxiety. I was still getting on with my life – going to work, going out – but anxiety was running the show. Having to make even the smallest decision would send me into a panic.

Nicolas Sarkozy back in court for fresh trial over alleged Libya funding

Ex-French president, who was jailed last year for criminal conspiracy, to be tried at Paris appeal court on four counts

Nicolas Sarkozy appeared at the Paris court of appeal to face a fresh trial over allegations he conspired to receive illegal election campaign funding from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The former rightwing French president, who was in office between 2007 and 2012, denies any wrongdoing.

The pet I’ll never forget: Penny, the pigeon who never left my side

Why would anyone kick a bird? Penny was delightful company from the moment I rescued her from some bullies in a pub

A few years ago I was sitting in a pub beer garden when a scruffy little pigeon landed on the bench. After a while, the pigeon edged a bit closer to me, and before I knew it she’d hopped on to my lap.

One of the waitresses came over and explained that this pigeon had wandered inside, but sadly some customers kicked her around to get rid of her. She looked quite young. I thought maybe she was a baby. For the next three hours, this pigeon didn’t leave my side. Then I drove home with her on my shoulder.

Trump demands NATO and China police the Strait of Hormuz. So far they are refusing

With the Iran war in its third week and the price of oil reaching nearly $105 a barrel on Monday, President Trump again urged NATO and China to help secure the vital Strait of Hormuz.

‘A molten, mushy state’: scientists may have found a new type of liquid planet

Latest observations of L98-59d, about 35 light years from Earth, suggest it could be different to anything seen before

Astronomers have identified a planet composed of molten lava, suggesting the existence of an entirely new category of liquid planet.

The distant world, known as L98-59d, is about 1.6 times the size of Earth and orbits a small red star 35 light years away. Astronomers initially thought the planet might harbour a deep ocean of liquid water, but the latest analysis suggests that it could be fundamentally different to anything seen before.

I work with human trafficking survivors. Rich men like Bill Gates can do more to make amends for their Epstein ties | Bridgette Carr

Apologies won’t help the survivors still living with the echoes of abuse. But wealthy people have the resources to make a real impact

Years before there was a call for transparency with the Epstein files, I spent months reading the documents. Not the headlines – the documents: the emails, the financial records, the human suffering, and the internal communications that mapped how one man’s wealth and power built an ecosystem of exploitation that operated for decades. As a sex trafficking expert for more than 15 years, I’ve witnessed many men who abused their power and the system, but rarely have I seen wealth weaponized so effectively and for so long.

I read the files because I served as the expert witness for the US Virgin Islands in its litigation against JPMorgan Chase, which alleged that the bank maintained a financial relationship with Epstein despite evidence of his sex trafficking. The case ended in a 2023 settlement; the bank did not admit wrongdoing. I reviewed the messages from men with power and wealth in Epstein’s orbit. I saw what they said, what they didn’t say, and what they saw and didn’t see.

‘Another internet is possible’: Norway rails against ‘enshittification’

Absurdist video urges policymakers and users to resist deliberate deterioration of platforms and devices

The video’s opening shot shows a man hiding under a bed snipping in a hole in someone’s sock. Seconds later, the same man uses a saw to shorten a table leg so that it wobbles during breakfast. “My job is to make things shitty,” the man explains. “The official title is enshittificator. What I do is I take things that are perfectly fine and I make them worse.”

The video, released recently by the Norwegian Consumer Council, is an absurdist take on a serious issue; it is part of a wider, global campaign aimed at fighting back against the “enshittification”, or gradual deterioration, of digital products and services.

UAE’s Fujairah oil trading hub targeted by a drone attack, causing large fire

It comes after a separate drone strike at Fujairah on Saturday, underlining the vulnerability of the UAE's only export route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.

Howl by Howard Jacobson review – a tragicomic portrait of a Jewish man’s despair

A suburban headteacher navigates antisemitism in Gaza-outraged London in Jacobson’s latest novel

Howard Jacobson writes characters at their wits’ end; those characters are usually men, and those men are usually Jewish. Additionally, and problematically for both them and everyone around them, their collective wits are capacious: easily enlarged to allow idiosyncrasy to bloom into neurosis, preoccupation into obsession. And Jacobson’s men do the opposite of suffering in silence (although they do that too); they are much given to exhaustive and exhausting disputation, to arguing their point long after their interlocutors are longing for bed, and not in the fun way all parties might hope.

With its straightforward allusion to another Jewish writer’s witness to anguish, Howl appears to make its intentions apparent from the outset: we are located in the world of mental dissolution, of consciousness strained and subsequently fractured. But rather than Allen Ginsberg’s would-be seekers of enlightenment, disappearing into the volcanoes of Mexico and “scattering their semen freely” through rose gardens and cemeteries,Jacobson’s avatar is a somewhat prim, suburban primary school headteacher, driven to distraction not by free love and copious hallucinogens, but by fizzing anger and agonising guilt.

Naima review – triumphant note of hope fuels engrossing insight into the immigrant experience

Documentary about a Venezuelan migrant’s struggles in Switzerland is a timeworn tale of marginalisation and financial precarity

Naima, the charismatic subject of Anna Thommen’s engrossing documentary, and is always on the move. The film opens with her taking a deep plunge into a bright blue swimming pool, an image that embodies her struggles as a Venezuelan migrant in Switzerland. Naima dives deep into life goals with a fierce passion, yet she often finds herself buffeted by currents.

Sixteen years ago, she had moved to the country for love, only to be mistreated by her Swiss husband. Since her diploma was not recognised in Switzerland, she went from managing a team of 48 to being wholly dependent on her partner. Then, left in a financially precarious position after her divorce, she subsequently lost custody of her two children.

The Iran war is making it harder for Fed officials to cut interest rates

Some economists think the Fed, facing inflationary pressures from rising energy prices, may not cut interest rates at all this year.

Changes in organ donor status can fall through cracks in the system

Patchwork state policies and limited federal oversight have led to a fragmented system for tracking organ donor status.

As parents clamor for a treatment touted for autism, doctors hesitate to prescribe it

After leucovorin got public attention as a potential autism treatment, families rushed to get it. Many doctors are torn about prescribing an unproven drug but don't want to lose patients' trust.

Influencers push 'parasite cleanses' but doctors say to steer clear

Some people online believe many of us have dangerous parasites in our gut and need to flush them out with herbal supplements. Here's what doctors say about the trend.

Morning news brief

The war with Iran enters its third week, as Trump and his top aides refocus their messaging on "winning" to regain faltering support, in the Senate, Republican lawmakers take up the SAVE Act this week.

Cherry on the top: Jessie Buckley pulled off a stunning double Oscar win for herself … and Chanel

The best actress winner was a red carpet triumph in her blood red and rose pink gown, the colours bringing an emotional warmth and a singularity that stood out among the familiar choices of black or gold
• Oscars 2026 red carpet – in pictures
• Oscar winners 2026: the full list

There are two ways to win at the Oscars: go home with a statuette, or be crowned on the red carpet. Jessie Buckley did the double.

Buckley’s best actress award seemed pretty much in the bag by the time the night rolled around, and she pulled off a red carpet triumph to put the cherry on top of a stellar award season. In her acceptance speech, she said her role as a grieving mother “cracked a kind of tenderness” in her. Buckley’s Chanel gown, blood red satin-backed leather and rose pink chiffon, chimed with that message. The colours brought an emotional warmth and a singularity that stood out among the familiar choices of flattering black, or glamorous gold. The silhouette put the focus on her face rather than her body, the wide crimson neckline was a visual echo of her broad lipsticked smile. There was a smart nod to Oscar history, too: the juxtaposition of a shawl-wrapped top with a waisted, full gown was in part inspired by an Edith Head gown worn by Grace Kelly to the 1956 ceremony. The reach of the Oscars is an opportunity for actors to embed themselves in the culture, telling a huge audience who they are and what they are about, and Buckley did just that.

The Plastic Detox review – a film so terrifying you will want to change your life immediately

In this affecting documentary, an epidemiologist asks six couples struggling to conceive to reduce their exposure to plastics and see if it helps. The results are startling – and prove that we should all make changes now

Get up, after a restless sleep. Shower, using products that contain plastic and are in plastic containers. Fix your hair and deodorise your body using sprays smoothed by plastics, before putting on clothes woven from synthetic (plastic) fibres, picking up your plastic phone and heading out, sipping water from a plastic bottle. Chew plastic gum. Buy a snack wrapped in plastic and receive a receipt printed on plastic-covered paper. Come home, take food out of its plastic packaging, cook it with plastic utensils, then store the leftovers in plastic tubs and clean up with detergents that contain plastics and come in plastic bottles. Clean your teeth with a plastic toothbrush and plastic-infused toothpaste. Go to bed.

The list of ways in which humanity is committing species suicide may be long and growing, but The Plastic Detox is here to suggest that room should be found for the overwhelmingly widespread use of petrochemical-derived plastics. It focuses on one way we are affected by microplastics (the tiny particles that enter our bodies, having broken loose from the surface of plastic), which is called endocrine disruption: these minuscule invaders mess with the body’s hormones and contribute to all kinds of health problems, among them infertility. That’s the main concern of this documentary’s protagonist, epidemiologist Shanna Swan, whose 2021 book Count Down claimed that chemicals in plastic are a factor in falling sperm counts. (The programme doesn’t go into the debate about the difficulties of measuring exactly how vulnerable we are to microplastics: some studies have produced unlikely numbers.)

Google scraps AI search feature that crowdsourced amateur medical advice

Exclusive: Revelation comes as company faces mounting scrutiny over use of AI to provide health tips

Google has dropped a new artificial intelligence search feature that gave users crowdsourced health advice from amateurs around the world.

The company had said its launch of “What People Suggest”, which provided tips from strangers, showed “the potential of AI to transform health outcomes across the globe”.

The Infinity Machine by Sebastian Mallaby review – the story of the man who changed the world

A journalist charts the progress of AI pioneer Demis Hassabis from child chess prodigy to Nobel prize winner

It was March 2016, and at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, the world was gathered to watch the culmination of a battle 2,500 years in the making. On one side was the South Korean Lee Se-dol, the second-highest ranking Go player in the world. On the other was AlphaGo – a computer program developed by London-based artificial intelligence research company DeepMind.

“Chess is the greatest game mankind has invented,” game designer Alex Randolph once said. “Go is the greatest game mankind has discovered.” Something about the ancient Chinese duel, where players place stones on a grid, trying to capture territory, feels fundamental – inevitable, even. Chess had fallen to the robots nearly 20 years earlier, when DeepBlue beat Kasparov, but Go, with its vast decision space (there are far more legal board positions than atoms in the observable universe) remained a plucky holdout.