Salah to miss Old Trafford trip; Newcastle ‘supportive’ of Howe; World Cup latest: football – live

⚽ Buildup to the weekend’s action across the leagues
⚽ Ten things to look out for | Fixtures | Standings | Mail Tom

And with that, I’m handing over to Luke McLaughlin, who’ll take you through to lunchtime. Laters.

One of the biggest games of the bank holiday weekend doesn’t come until Monday night, when Hearts host Rangers knowing they could practically end the visitors’ title hopes – and massively boost theirs – with a win, turning the title race into a two-way fight with Celtic (IF the Hoops beat Hibs on Sunday). The Jambos’ manager, Derek McInnes, is trying not to think about it: “Every team in with a chance of the title will see themselves as right in it, which makes it even more exciting. We’ve got a good enough record in this fixture but we need to concentrate on ourselves and not focus too much about what the opposition are thinking.”

Video shows Cole Allen casing hotel, storming checkpoint in alleged Trump assassination attempt

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said there is no evidence that a Secret Service shot during the incident was the victim of friendly fire.

Trump threatens to withdraw US troops from Italy and Spain – Europe live

The US president said he would carry out of a review of US military presence in Europe after public criticism of the US-Israeli war on Iran

In another “it’s an extended weekend everywhere but not in the UK” development, we have this crazy story about a missing Oscar statutette.

The statuette belonging to Pavel Talankin, star and co-director of the Academy award-winning documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin, has disappeared after officials at New York’s John F Kennedy airport confiscated it before he boarded a flight, claiming it could be used as a weapon.

The world’s most expensive losers: the New York Mets are very rich … and very, very bad

The Mets have the second-highest payroll in baseball. They also own the worst record in the major leagues

A franchise once known as baseball’s lovable losers are, for the moment, merely baseball’s most expensive losers.

The New York Mets wrapped a shocking April by losing 5-4 to the Washington Nationals on Thursday, dropping to a major league-worst 10-21 and burrowing even deeper into last place in the National League East – making them somehow even worse than their old rivals the Philadelphia Phillies, another wealthy-yet-terrible team. The Mets will (probably) not play at their current 52-win pace all year but their sordid first month has done immense damage to their postseason hopes. Their chances at October baseball were 87% on Opening Day, according to the analytics site FanGraphs. They are now less than three-in-10 to make the playoffs, and that projection seems pretty generous for a team who have lost 17 of their last 20 games.

CEO pay soared in 2025, 20 times faster than workers’ pay

Analysis finds real wages fell 12% since 2019, with inequality widening in the US beyond global levels

CEO pay increased 20 times faster than worker pay around the world in 2025, according to a new analysis from Oxfam and the International Trade Union Confederation, the world’s largest trade union federation.

When adjusted for inflation, global worker pay declined 12% between 2019 and 2025, the equivalent of 108 days of free work during that time period. In comparison, CEO compensation increased by 54% between 2019 and 2025.

Too good to be true: on the road with Nigel Farage – photo essay

Guardian photojournalist Sean Smith has been following the Reform UK leader as he criss-crosses the country on a busy schedule of walkabouts and meet-ups with prospective councillors and supporters before the May elections

Nigel Farage and Reform are campaigning around the country in the local elections and consistently polling higher than the other parties. Reform’s campaign started with a series of rallies for supporters and candidates, where they asked attenders who were not already members to join the party and put their names forward as candidates. Now Farage is on a busy schedule of walkabouts and meet-ups with prospective councillors and supporters around the country.

Nigel Farage shows his colours.

Man charged with attempted murder in connection with Golders Green attack

Essa Suleiman, 45, faces three counts after two men injured in north London and ‘another man attacked in a different location’

Essa Suleiman has been charged with attempted murder after two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, north-west London, the Metropolitan police has said.

The 45-year-old faces three counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article in a public place.

Louisiana suspends House primaries for May 16 elections

Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry said Thursday that the state will suspend its May 16 House primaries in the wake of the Supreme Court striking down​ the state's Congressional map.

Post your questions for Harry Potter and Fast Show star Mark Williams

The patriarch of the Weasley family in seven wizarding films has also been prolific as a small screen detective and comedy catchphrase master. Assuming it suits you, he’ll be here with answers

Twenty-five years have now passed since the first Harry Potter film and, with the HBO reboot due out this Christmas, Warner Bros is ramping up the celebrations. Key among them is the unveiling of a new feature at the studio tour showcasing key moments, costumes and props from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

And this is why Mark Williams is now taking your questions – although, as Potter purists will know, his character doesn’t actually appear in the first film. Arthur Weasley does, however, play a pretty big role in the other seven movies, so let’s muggle through regardless.

Praise be to those who go straight to bed with no faff: the Stephen Collins cartoon

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Engine trouble ahead? How the Strait of Hormuz standoff threatens luxury auto giants

Supercar engines rely on base oils because they can withstand extreme heat, high revs and intense pressure.

How to talk to boys about looksmaxxing

The trend among boys and young men of optimizing their physical appearance includes dangerous practices. Experts offer advice on how to talk to their sons about body image and healthy behaviors. 

Fill in the blank for the quiz: The Trump admin took aim at _____ this week

This week, the federal government's been busy. There are paint jobs, fresh indictments, commemorative items and more. If you've been paying attention — good job!

Out of tune: why does Hollywood struggle to capture pop stardom?

Pop psychodrama Mother Mary might look and sound the part but it’s the latest failed attempt to turn the life of an arena-touring singer into a compelling movie

For anyone with even the slightest interest in Hollywood, it is not entirely surprising that Anne Hathaway recently appeared on Popcast, the New York Times critics’ podcast that has become a premier destination for music promotion. After all, the actor – whose last appearance in a musical bagged her an Academy Award – is a major part of one of the best recent movies to show pop stardom on screen. No, it’s not Mother Mary, the new A24 psychodrama for which Hathaway is making the press rounds as a world-famous diva in the midst of a spiritual and sartorial crisis. I’m thinking of The Idea of You, the improbably glossy 2024 romance in which Hathaway’s 40-year-old divorcee hooks up with a much-younger singer who looks suspiciously like Harry Styles.

The Idea of You successfully conveyed the idea that Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine) was the breakout star of a crushable 2010s boyband with a feral fanbase called August Moon. And by “successfully conveyed”, I mean the film remixed a string of One Direction-esque iconography – the jaunty rock-lite choruses, fizzy cheerfulness and class clown antics – into actual music videos and convincingly banal bops. The bar is low; many, many films have created bespoke pop stars and/or music for alternate cultural histories, but vanishingly few transcend pastiche. To be an echo is, generally, enough.

I touched a ZX Spectrum for the first time in decades – and I liked it | Dominik Diamond

Meeting ‘my people’ – video gamers with very long memories – took me back to an era of machine play that lacked megabytes but had far more tangible presence

I want to tell you about the game that has made me the happiest this month. It’s a game I didn’t complete. It’s a game I didn’t even start. I just held it. And smiled. I have played the game before, but not for many years. Forty of them to be precise.

The game is Daley Thompson’s Super Test for the ZX Spectrum.

Working Americans are taking the streets for May Day. Will Democrats pay attention? | Claire Valdez

Americans are fed up with an establishment that has abandoned the working class. It’s time to organize for change

On Friday, more than 3,000 May Day protests will take place across the United States – more than double last year’s number. Workers, students and families are calling for a strike: no school, no work, no shopping, and an end to billionaire rule. I’m headed to the streets with members of my own union, the United Auto Workers, in New York City.

Americans are fed up – and not just with Donald Trump. People are angry at a Democratic party establishment that has abandoned the working class, that treated the labor movement like a turnout machine instead of the pillar of democracy it is, that funded a genocide in Gaza while ignoring a cost of living crisis, and that took its own base so completely for granted that it pushed millions out of the political process entirely.

Claire Valdez is a New York state assemblymember, union organizer, and Democratic socialist running for Congress

Could the FCC really yank ABC's TV licenses amid Trump spat with Kimmel?

Federal telecom regulators can revoke broadcast licenses, but legal experts say the FCC would face a tough road in forcing ABC to go dark.

Meet the horses running in the Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby will see a full field of 20 horses in the first leg of the 2026 competition for horse racing's Triple Crown.

It's Day 1 of Medicaid work requirements in Nebraska. People are worried

Starting May 1, many people covered by Medicaid in Nebraska have to prove they are working. It's a requirement most states will have to implement under President Trump's budget law, beginning in January.

'Decimate' means much more today than it did in ancient Rome

Today, most people know the word as a synonym for "destroy." But fewer realize its origins — or that it's come to mean something strikingly different than it once did.

Morning news brief

Negotiations between the U.S. and Iran at a stalemate, Congress votes to end record DHS shutdown, Trump announces new nominee for surgeon general.

Myanmar attempts to rehabilitate image with Suu Kyi move

State television in Myanmar says detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been transferred from prison to house arrest, more than five years after the military coup that removed her from power.

Man charged with attempted murder after stabbings of Jewish men in London

A 45-year-old man was charged with attempted murder in the stabbings of two Jewish men in London, the latest in a string of attacks that have sparked fear and anger in Britain's Jewish community.

Serokolo 7: Maramfa Musick Pro review – lose yourself in a high-speed, relentless mapanta masterclass

(Nyege Nyege Tapes)
Reinvigorating the South African mapanta subgenre, producer Serokolo 7 blends folk vocal melodies with seething 180bpm rhythms, creating a barrage of sound

South Africa pulses with electronic music. From the slow-bubbling feel of amapiano to the frenetic pace of Durban’s gqom, Soweto’s marimba-heavy shangaan electro and the sample-heavy 90s house of kwaito, each region seemingly lays claim to its own sound. The latest subgenre to reach international ears is mapanta. Originating in villages of the Marota people in Limpopo, this intensely fast and highly compressed music was originally an adrenaline shot for the early hours of 1980s wedding parties. It faded at the turn of the century, but mapanta has recently been updated by 27-year-old self-taught producer and sound system operator Serokolo 7.

On his debut album, Serokolo presents a masterclass in mapanta’s rural celebratory sound. Splicing together samples of animal howls with hammering marimba rhythm, scatter-gun electronic percussion and snatches of vocals, the initial impression is of relentless cacophony. Opener Naba Ba Papedi sets the tone, its folk vocal melodies blended with a cranked-up drum’n’bass beat that fizzes without reaching a cathartic crescendo or drop. That sense of seething tension continues on the breakbeat cymbal splashes and chopped vocals of Zoro and the glittering video-game melodics of Dinaka.

King Charles has saved the special relationship – for now | Ted Widmer

The King charmed Americans – including the president – while artfully asserting his views on climate and executive power

In the end, it was a royal triumph, as King Charles and Queen Camilla managed to avoid all the mines in their path (the strait of Hormuz is not the only place where they exist), and deftly repair the “special relationship”. For another few weeks, anyway.

There were plenty of reasons to be anxious, on both sides of the Atlantic, before the king’s visit to Washington and New York. It is no secret that Donald Trump’s war of choice against Iran has alienated Great Britain, and all of the Nato allies, who were not consulted in advance of the decision and have since been browbeaten for what Trump perceives as insufficient fealty.

Ted Widmer is a former presidential speechwriter, and the author of a forthcoming book in June, The Living Declaration: A Biography of America’s Founding Text (Library of America)

Israel navy to release six Australians in Greece after intercepting Gaza flotilla

The activists’ vessels were intercepted off the coast of Crete on Wednesday evening while travelling as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla

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Six Australians who were detained by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) while attempting to transport aid to Gaza as part of a global flotilla are to be released on a Greek island, Israel’s foreign minister says.

Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) are in Crete to provide consular assistance to Australians transferred there as part of the flotilla, a Dfat spokesperson confirmed.

Kacey Musgraves: Middle of Nowhere review – weary, rootsy and wry, it’s her richest album since Golden Hour

(Lost Highway)
After two underwhelming pop-leaning records, the country star gets back to basics on this sparsely produced gem filled with wit and hard-won lessons

Kacey Musgraves’ seventh album feels like a sigh of relief. Since 2018’s prismatic country-pop marvel Golden Hour, the Texan has struggled to maintain a foothold in pop: 2021’s Star-Crossed wed overly high-concept breakup songs to indistinct music; 2024’s Deeper Well was a weak latte of coffee-shop folksiness and impersonal therapy speak. Middle of Nowhere sacks off all the pageantry. Subtly arranged, tinged with western swing and traditional Mexican music, the low-key sound gets back to Musgraves’ rural roots and makes a smart backdrop to these beautifully weary songs about reckoning with delusion: on the title track, Musgraves sounds gorgeously like Aimee Mann, master of the subject.

But her hooks still hit. The warm, sparky I Believe in Ghosts feels made for tired stoics to kick it together on a dusty dancefloor; femcel anthem Dry Spell pairs an unwavering rhythmic canter with a thousand-yard stare as Musgraves rues “I’m so lonely with a capital H” – she means horny, a line that doesn’t work until you figure: maybe it’s been so long she can’t even remember the word. And the spartan arrangements let more of Musgraves’ conversational wit and side-eye shine through. The hopeful romance of Back on the Wagon, where a woman swears her busted man has changed, and the sweet pedal steel breeze of Loneliest Girl, where another insists she’s happy alone, are two sides of the same tenderly flipped coin: how many ways do we have to kid ourselves to get by? Horses and Divorces is country’s Girl, So Confusing: a reconciliatory – but raucous – duet with old foe Miranda Lambert that resounds with the lightness of letting go.

Republicans say they will defer to Trump on Iran war despite arrival of deadline

Republican lawmakers say they will continue to defer to President Donald Trump, for now, during the fragile ceasefire with Iran.

5 wounded in possible stabbing attack at Washington high school

The suspect, a student, was detained at the scene, police said.

Swapped review – animated Netflix adventure plays like off-brand Pixar

Michael B Jordan and Juno Temple voice indistinctive body-swap caper for kids with muddled empathy message

This March’s Pixar adventure Hoppers might not have been a vintage offering but it was a minor, much-needed victory for a studio whose magic touch had faded over time. It was a rare non-sequel that appealed to both critics (a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (with $164m it was Pixar’s biggest original hit domestically since Coco) and had just about enough of the head plus heart formula many of us had grown to love and, recently, miss.

Its success has reminded us just how it should be done right (or at least right enough) and how many, many others have failed to get even close to that place. Smarter competitors have found their own lanes – the maximalist mania of Illumination’s Minions movies, the specific, zeitgeist-y superhero stories of Sony’s KPop: Demon Hunters and Spiderverse – but there’s been a weak yet constant flow of obvious attempts to replicate what Pixar does so well. What nudges Swapped – a Skydance film once intended for Apple that now lands on Netflix – that much further into the shadow is not just how it follows the general template but how it also seems to be a closer copy of Hoppers itself. It’s more unfortunate timing than anything but it’s hard to watch without thinking briefly back with even a less memorable Pixar film seeming like a stone cold classic in comparison.

‘Major labels are trying to scoop up everything’: the chaotic future for indie music companies – and why vinyl isn’t working

As stalwarts Sub Pop and Rough Trade celebrate big anniversaries, insiders speak candidly about the challenges they face. Can streaming ever ensure their survival?

In the late 1980s, the fledgling Seattle record label Sub Pop was a mess. It struggled to pay the phone bill; staff would race to cash their wage cheques before they bounced; and the management couldn’t even cover studio time that had been booked for their artists. “We were a big train wreck,” laughs Megan Jasper, who was then the label’s receptionist. “But the funnest train wreck you’d ever want to be on.” One of the label’s mottos became: “Going out of business since 1988.”

Then Nirvana released their debut album on Sub Pop and their success saved the company in the 1990s. Now, as the company celebrates its 40th anniversary, Jasper is the chief executive. “Is it rewarding and is the label still working? Yes,” she says. “But it’s never been easy – there have always been challenges and now there are more of them. Plus, it’s harder than ever for artists.”

Chess: England fail to win senior team world medals for first time in five years

USA retain the world 50+ title, while Germany-Lasker SGK win the 65+ equivalent, with England fourth in both events

England finished out of the medals for the first time in five years in this week’s world senior team championships for over-50s and over-65s, played at Durres, Albania, as the US, fielding a largely former USSR squad, retained the over-50 gold medals, while a nominally German team, which also included a former Soviet star, won the over-65s event.

The US victory was clear but had a controversial aspect in the team’s use of package deals, which are forbidden in Olympiads but still allowed in senior events.

Week in wildlife: a clever orangutan, a cheeky frog and a dramatic whale rescue

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

Sports quiz of the week: world records, heavyweight clashes and speedy shoes

Have you been following the big stories in football, darts, rugby union, boxing, athletics, swimming and horse racing?

Producer believed Charlotte MacInnes was ‘fudging’ her story, court hears in Rebel Wilson defamation trial

The Hollywood star is being sued by the 27-year-old lead actor of her directorial debut, The Deb

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A producer who suspected a rising star was walking back a sexual harassment complaint she made to Rebel Wilson says she was stuck in a “tricky situation” between Wilson and her other boss.

Charlotte MacInnes is suing Wilson after starring in the Pitch Perfect actor’s directorial debut film The Deb.

The climate crisis is making our hay fever worse – and affecting our enjoyment of nature

In this week’s newsletter: the European pollen season is now up to two weeks longer than it was in the 90s – just one more way global heating is causing millions to suffer

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Here’s a confession that may alarm faithful readers of this newsletter: I am an environment reporter who does not love nature.

Before I get cancelled, yes, I do care about the fate of the natural world – scientists are clear that wrecking it hurts us – but the weird wonders of wildlife have always occupied a smaller place in my heart than those of most people I interview. One reason for that, I realised last week, is that hay fever has seriously dampened the pleasure I get from ambling through forests or squelching through wetlands.

BP profits more than double as oil and gas prices soar in Iran war

Inside Chornobyl: 40 years after disaster, nuclear site still at risk in Russia’s war

Nordic heatwave part of record year that saw temperatures scorch most of Europe, report finds

Legends to Citadel: the seven best shows to stream this week

Steve Coogan stars as a cop infiltrating a heroin-smuggling ring in the nerve-jangling new show from the creator of The Gold. Plus: more silly espionage fun!

Grade II-listed homes in England for sale – in pictures

From a quintessential ‘chocolate box’ cottage to part of a grand stately home

My advice to Hannah Spencer? Before calling out MPs’ boozing, try to understand the reasons behind it | Gaby Hinsliff

The new MP is right that parliament’s drinking culture is fundamentally weird. But to change it, we need to reset the whole institution

Seven o’clock on a Monday night and I am standing in the House of Commons, nursing a glass of vinegary white wine.

All around me are people doing the same, though it’s polite sipping rather than getting sloshed. Waiters ferry bottles between the terrace function rooms, where MPs are hosting dinners or campaign launches like the one I’m at. Between the clanging division bells summoning MPs for votes that will go on tonight until gone 11pm, the Strangers’ bar is doing its usual trade.

Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist

Helen Goh’s springtime spinach sponge cake with cream cheese icing – recipe | The sweet spot

Bright green, tangy and tender, this cake is a delicious way to sing in the spring

There is a particular green that belongs to spring: pale and luminous, it’s softer than the dark foliage of winter, and quieter than the glossy abundance of summer herbs. Spinach, the colour of new growth, captures this moment perfectly. Tender and almost impossibly vivid, this cake loses its metallic edge in the heat of the oven, leaving a gentle, vegetal brightness. Baked in a shallow tin and spread with cream cheese icing, when sliced into squares, it produces the perfect ratio of cake to icing and tastes uncommonly good.

Claire’s expected to return to UK high streets with about 50 stores from June

Exclusive: Accessories chain will be reopened in the UK by its operator in France, Austria, Portugal and Spain

The jewellery and accessories chain Claire’s is expected to return to UK high streets with about 50 stores to be reopened from June onwards by the operator of its shops in France, Austria, Portugal and Spain.

Julien Jarjoura, the French entrepreneur behind jewellery company Une Ligne, which sells online and via museum stores including the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles, said he had the blessing of the US owner of the Claire’s brand, Ames Watson, to open stores in the UK and was signing new leases with UK landlords.

Slip into summer: what to wear with a return-to-the-90s ‘It’ dress

There’s more to this classic look than simply wearing your nightwear as daywear. Try it with a T-shirt or a silky bomber – and always with a slick of lipstick

Myanmar’s former leader Aung San Suu Kyi moved to house arrest in Naypyidaw

Suu Kyi, 80, has been detained by the junta since a deadly civil war erupted after the February 2021 coup

Myanmar’s former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved to house arrest in the capital , more than five years after her government was ousted in a coup.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 80, has been detained since the military took power in 2021, plunging the country into conflict and economic turmoil. Very little is known about the conditions in which she has been held.

The devil wears Primark: is the romcom reporter about to get the sack?

Glamour? Money? Hope? They’re so last season. With fashion magazines on their knees, where does that leave The Devil Wears Prada 2 – and its famously relatable heroine?

Runway magazine is collapsing. Miranda is eating in the cafeteria and flying economy. Andy is the new features editor. Emily is dating a billionaire. Somebody dies. Amelia Dimoldenberg makes a cameo. But the one unexpected detail in The Devil Wears Prada 2 that I can’t stop thinking about is this: Andy worries that she’ll never be in a position to unfreeze her eggs.

“Left New York for 15 years, not married – never found the right person, and my kids are at a doctor’s office on 85th,” she breezily reports to Emily when they reunite after 20 years. “They’re eggs,” she clarifies, adding that she is excited to have children. And in that moment, I couldn’t help but wonder: was the woman who once had the job “a million girls would kill for” always this relatable?

Danish treatment of Greenlandic mother may be ‘ethnic discrimination’, says UN

Exclusive: Letter sent to government about case of Inuit woman whose baby was removed after now-banned test

The United Nations has warned Denmark that the treatment of a Greenlandic mother whose newborn child was removed by Danish authorities as a result of controversial parenting competency tests “may amount to ethnic discrimination”.

Keira Alexandra Kronvold’s daughter, Zammi, was taken away from her when she was two hours old and placed in foster care in November 2024 after Kronvold was subjected to so-called FKU (parental competence) psychometric tests. At the time, she was told that the test was to see if she was “civilised enough”.

The best theatre to stream this month: David Harewood has unfinished business with Othello

The actor commands the stage in Tom Morris’s striking production of Shakespeare’s tragedy, while Rachel Zegler and Ben Platt unite for The Last Five Years

When David Harewood was offered the lead in Othello in a new West End production, he found he still knew his lines from almost 30 years earlier, when he became the first black actor to play the role at the National Theatre. Harewood brings profound depth to the part, alongside Toby Jones as Iago and Caitlin FitzGerald as Desdemona, in Tom Morris’s striking staging, now on Marquee TV. Harewood’s documentary on blackface, with observations on Othello, is on iPlayer.

‘He’s probably good’: Donald Trump Jr gets muted endorsement from his father for The Apprentice reboot

Speculative reports say Amazon is considering relaunching the reality show once hosted by the US president, with his eldest son floated as a possible host

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Amid speculative reports that Donald Trump Jr is being considered by Amazon to lead a reboot of The Apprentice, he’s already received a slightly muted endorsement from the reality show’s former host: his father.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Amazon was considering rebooting The Apprentice, which was hosted by the now US president Donald Trump between 2004 and 2015, for its streaming service Prime Video.

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2 employees killed in Kentucky bank robbery, suspect at large, police say

Kentucky State Police said a man went to a U.S. Bank in Brea, Kentucky, and shot and killed a man and a woman, both employees at the bank.

60 Minutes journalist decries ‘spread of corporate meddling and editorial fear’ at CBS News

Sharyn Alfonsi, whose report on Cecot prison was pulled by Bari Weiss, admits uncertainty over her future at network

The veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi expressed concern about “the spread of corporate meddling and editorial fear” at CBS News and her uncertainty about whether she will keep her job after she pushed back on a directive to change her December segment on Venezuelans who were sent to the Cecot prison in El Salvador.

Alfonsi spoke about the incident for the first time on Thursday evening after receiving the Ridenhour prize for courage at the National Press Club in Washington. Her comments come as the Trump administration has piled pressure on US media and follow CBS News editor Bari Weiss’s decision to shelve the segment on the flagship news program.

China warns US about Taiwan ahead of Trump’s visit to Beijing

Beijing urges Washington to ‘make the right choices’ on Taiwan to maintain ‘stability’ between the two powers

China’s foreign minister on Thursday urged the US to maintain “stability” between the two powers and warned that Taiwan posed the biggest risk, weeks ahead of President Donald Trump’s scheduled visit to Beijing.

In a call with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, foreign minister Wang Yi said that Beijing and Washington should “safeguard the hard-won stability” in China-US relations, China’s foreign ministry said.

Scientology ‘speed running’ trend has LA abuzz and church unhappy

Religious group ‘reviewing all available remedies’ after clips of young people rushing its buildings in ‘raids’ go viral

On any given day, Los Angeles’s Hollywood Boulevard teems with tourists and street performers clustered near the area’s many landmarks. But in recent months, the strip has been set abuzz for a new reason.

Throngs of mostly adolescent boys and young men have been rushing the Church of Scientology’s international headquarters on the famed street.

북한 or 조선? South Korea debates what to call North Korea

For Seoul, what to call the North is difficult when you view it as a rebel-held region awaiting reunification

On a mild spring morning in central Seoul this week, a room of academics and lawyers gathered to debate a question: what should South Korea call North Korea?

The task sounds deceptively simple but the answer is far from straightforward, and has provided fodder for columnists in recent years. The answer could even have repercussions for South Korea’s constitutional position.

Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv claims victory over ‘shadow grain fleet’ shipment to Israel

Panama-flagged Panormitis turns away without unloading as Kyiv vows to treat carriers of ‘stolen’ grain the same as Russian oil tankers. What we know on day 1,528

Trump signs bill funding DHS, ending record-breaking 76-day shutdown

The longest shutdown of a federal department in U.S. history came to an end on Thursday when President Trump signed a bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security following a breakthrough on Capitol Hill.

‘Don’t fall!’: foil boarders describe hair-raising shark chase caught on video off California coast

Foil boarders were pursued by shark – likely a great white – off Santa Barbara before it lost interest and swam away

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Ron Takeda and Tavis Boise were a few miles off the coast of Santa Barbara when they noticed the large mass trailing behind them.

“Tavis, is it a dolphin?” asked Takeda as he stood on his foil board, a specialized form of surfing, propelling himself through the waves. Boise, who was filming their run, recognized the question as an ominous sign – the veteran surfers are familiar enough with dolphins that Takeda should have recognized one immediately.

Chanel sends internet into frenzy with controversial sandal design

Chanel sent a pair of controversial sandals down the runway in France and the internet has thoughts. Tony Dokoupil has the story.

Thank you and farewell to Elizabeth Palmer after nearly 3 decades at CBS News

Senior foreign correspondent Elizabeth Palmer is retiring after nearly three decades at CBS News. Here are a few of her highlights.

Police say burglary, fraud targeting deceased NASCAR veteran Greg Biffle may be an inside job

Within hours of the plane crash that killed Hall of Fame NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, along with his wife and kids, authorities say someone was trying to break into his accounts and steal his money. Mark Strassmann has more details from police.

Oil prices hit wartime peak, with Brent crude touching $126 a barrel

Brent crude surged past $126 a barrel early Thursday, while U.S. gasoline prices jumped to $4.30 a gallon.

No gas price relief in sight as Strait of Hormuz stands still

President Trump said again on Thursday that oil and gas prices will drop after the war with Iran is over. But for now, they are back to levels last seen around the start of the war in Ukraine during the Biden administration. Jo Ling Kent reports from Los Angeles.

Alleged Jeffrey Epstein suicide note tied up in court for years, New York Times reports

The New York Times reported that the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein may have left a suicide note following an earlier incident about three weeks before his death. However, that note has been sealed in a separate case for nearly seven years and remains out of public view. Meg Oliver reports.

Iran war cost may be close to double what the Pentagon claims, officials say

U.S. officials told CBS News that the estimated price tag delivered to lawmakers on Wednesday is only about half the true cost of $50 billion. Ed O'Keefe has more.

New details about correspondents' dinner shooting emerge as suspect appears in court

The man accused of trying to assassinate President Trump last weekend appeared in court on Thursday as new details are still emerging about the attack at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Caitlin Huey-Burns reports.

Powerful blast sends NYPD officers into the air

Police say a man forced his way into a home in the New York City borough of Queens, where his family was, and then, when police arrived, he intentionally set off an explosion. Tom Hanson reports.

A friend I’ve known for 50 years has become a self-absorbed, petulant know-all. Should I cut off contact? | Leading questions

This is a fairly common problem with decades-long friendship, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Do you respond to the person you knew, or the one you’re tired of knowing?

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An old friend – we first met over 50 years ago – used to be kind, supportive and good company. But she has become a self-absorbed and petulant know-all. She is the centre of her own little world, and all her friends – me included – are expected to run around after her and cater to her needs.

She constantly brings up her health issues, disregarding the fact that other people in our friendship circle also have health worries. The label “narcissist” has been mentioned by some!

Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Eddie Howe is under pressure, Rayan needs protection at Bournemouth and John Stones returns to Everton with City

• Premier League top scorers: latest standings

The equation is simple. If Leeds beat relegated – and now managerless - Burnley at Elland Road on Friday they will reach 43 points and be extremely unlikely to meet the same fate as their opponents. Daniel Farke’s losing FA Cup semi-finalists are then scheduled to travel to Tottenham, but victory against Burnley, who they pipped to the Championship title last season, would settle nerves in West Yorkshire. Farke, though, does not necessarily expect a straightforward match. “There’s definitely no complacency,” he said, speaking before the news of Scott Parker’s departure. “I’ve got so much respect for Scott. I’d say there’s not one time this season Burnley were played off the field. They’re always very competitive, they’ve had many tight games.” As Mike Jackson takes caretaker charge at Turf Moor, Farke hopes another three points will persuade Leeds to extend his own contract. Louise Taylor

Leeds v Burnley, Friday 8pm (all times BST)

Brentford v West Ham, Saturday 3pm

Newcastle v Brighton, Saturday 3pm

Wolves v Sunderland, Saturday 3pm

Arsenal v Fulham, Saturday 5.30pm

Bournemouth v Crystal Palace, Sunday 2pm

Manchester United v Liverpool, Sunday 3.30pm

Ringleader of $250M fraud scheme leaked protected documents from jail, prosecutors say

The United States Attorney's Office filed a motion on Tuesday that says Aimee Bock, since at least February, has been directing her college-age son to "download large volumes of material related to her federal prosecution," and disseminate them to lawmakers and members of the media.

Reddit reports 69% jump in revenue, topping analyst estimates

Reddit reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded Wall Street expectations.

Former Spandau Ballet singer jailed for 14 years for multiple rapes and sexual assaults

Ross Davidson, who sang with group in 2018, was convicted of offences committed against six women

Musician Ross Davidson, a former singer for Spandau Ballet, has been jailed for 14 years for multiple rapes and sexual assaults.

Davidson, 38, was convicted across two trials of two counts of rape, an attempted rape, three sexual assaults and two charges of voyeurism, in offences committed against six women between August 2013 and December 2019.

Veeva Systems to join S&P 500 index, replacing Coterra Energy

Veeva's stock has been hit this year along with the rest of cloud software as investors fear the impact of AI.

Gianni Infantino’s attempt at Israel-Palestine handshake backfires

• Jibril Rajoub refuses handshake at Fifa congress

• Infantino to seek third term as president

The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, confirmed his intention to stand for re-election for a third full term next year after an attempt to orchestrate a handshake between the Palestinian and Israeli delegates at the governing body’s congress backfired.

The Palestinian Football Association’s president, Jibril Rajoub, refused to stand alongside the Israel FA’s vice-president, Basim Sheikh Suliman, in an awkward moment towards the end of the 76th Fifa congress after both men had been called to the stage in Vancouver by Infantino.

Texas mother of 4 released from ICE custody after more than a month in detention

Meenu Batra, a single mother of four adult U.S. citizens, was arrested on March 17 by federal immigration officers while traveling for a work trip.

4/30: CBS Evening News

NYPD officers were injured in an intentional home explosion; D.C. shooting suspect agrees to remain detained until trial.

Rivian renegotiates DOE loan down to $4.5 billion, adjusts capacity plans for Georgia plant

The DOE loan was previously set to support two phases of production for a total of 400,000 units annually.

‘Come and speak to us’: Hamilton calls for more driver involvement in F1 rules

• ‘It needs to change,’ insists seven-time champion

• Lance Stroll labels rules ‘fundamentally flawed’

Lewis Hamilton believes Formula One drivers should have a “seat at the table” in discussion on directions the sport should take in future, to have an input alongside key stakeholders such as the teams and the FIA. Hamilton’s view was largely echoed across the paddock including by the current world champion, Lando Norris.

Hamilton was speaking before this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix where the rule changes implemented after driver dissatisfaction with this year’s new regulations are taking effect for the first time.

Trump officials flew on 1st non-stop commercial flight from US to Venezuela in years

The trip comes nearly four months after U.S. forces seized Rodríguez's predecessor, Nicolás Maduro​, and his wife in a daring special forces raid.

"Ozempic breath" is boosting Hershey's sales of mints and gum

Hershey says it's benefiting from the growing use of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs even as people cut down on snacks. Here's why.

Details revealed on where Cole Allen is being held in D.C. jail complex

Cole Allen, 31, is charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump and two firearms-related offenses stemming from the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night.

Cole Allen agrees to stay in jail before Trump assassination attempt trial

Prosecutors say Allen was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and several knives when he tried to storm the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

Trump drops Casey Means as surgeon general nominee, names Nicole Saphier

President Trump picked Dr. Nicole Saphier as his new nominee for surgeon general, and blamed Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy for Casey Mean's nomination stalling in the Senate.

Trump says 'I don't think about' another assassination attempt

Trump also said he was not inclined to wear a bulletproof vest, as some people have suggested after the arrest of a gunman over the weekend.

U.S. senators ban themselves from prediction markets trading

The move came after Democratic lawmakers asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to prohibit event contracts on elections, war and military actions.

FISA Section 702: Congress passes short-term surveillance program extension just before deadline

The controversial foreign surveillance program was due to expire by the end of Thursday.

Oscar belonging to co-director of Putin film missing after TSA makes him ship it

Agents would not allow Pavel Talankin to carry statuette for Mr Nobody Against Putin on to flight from New York

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The Oscar statuette belonging to Pavel Talankin, star and co-director of the Academy award-winning documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin, has disappeared after officials at New York’s John F Kennedy airport confiscated it before he boarded a flight, claiming it could be used as a weapon.

Talankin, whose documentation of Russia’s propaganda machine in grade schools won international acclaim, told Deadline that he had brought the statuette on several flights without incident. But when he arrived at JFK’s terminal 1 on Wednesday morning, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents said he could not take the 8.5lb trophy on board because it posed a security risk.

4/30: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Trump signs bill funding Department of Homeland Security, ending 76-day shutdown; Louisiana postpones House primaries after Supreme Court ruling.

Trump admin. faces critical 60-day Iran war deadline, but floats ceasefire loophole

The U.S. and Israel began their war against Iran Feb. 28, and U.S. law requires congressional authorization for a war to go beyond 60 days.

Trump signs DHS funding bill, ending shutdown for most of agency, including TSA

Trump on Thursday signed legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security after the House approved the bill earlier in the afternoon.

Google wraps up best month since 2004 as earnings push Alphabet stock up 34% in April

Both Alphabet and Meta said they expect their capital expenditures to keep growing this year, but investors sent Alphabet's shares up, while Meta's stock slid.

Google cloud growth tops Microsoft and Amazon as all three beat estimates on AI demand

Amazon, Google and Microsoft all reported better-than-expected first-quarter cloud results, signaling an acceleration of AI demand

A Rising of the Lights by Steve Toltz review – a darkly funny take on the male loneliness epidemic

A miserable misogynist is on a quest for redemption in Toltz’s fourth novel, which fizzes with dynamic prose but struggles to engender empathy for its protagonist

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In his fourth novel, Steve Toltz – best known for the Booker prize-shortlisted A Fraction of the Whole – takes on the story of one man’s loneliness to deliver a satirical and surprisingly moving ode to human connection. Much like his earlier works, this one is filled with con men, tall tales and black humour, making for a bitingly funny exploration of life’s misfortunes.

A Rising of the Lights opens with an absurd premise: two ne’er-do-well parents, in the middle of their divorce, roll dice to split up their twin children; one child will go with each parent. After winning him in this cruel game, Russell “Rusty” Wilson’s mother tells him they’ll be moving to Melbourne from Sydney – only to deem it “too much hassle”, circle the block and bring him right back to where they started. It’s an arresting opener that foreshadows the following 300 pages of Rusty’s life.

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A Rising of the Lights by Steve Toltz is out now in Australia (Penguin, $34.99)

Supreme Court weakens Voting Rights Act, voiding Louisiana congressional map

The Supreme Court rule 6-3 in a decision that has implications for the scope of the landmark Voting Rights Act.

Spotify's new badge identifies human artists, as AI music floods in

As AI-generated music spreads, Spotify says it wants to help users "trust the authenticity" of what they're listening to.

Funding cuts for fentanyl test strips raise concerns: "It doesn't make sense"

Test strips cost about $1 each and can be used to check drugs for dangerous contaminants, including fentanyl and xylazine.

Inside the Fed: Powell vows he won't be a 'shadow chair,' but a Warsh clash will be tough to avoid

When the Fed gathers again, it will mark the first time a sitting and former chair conduct business together in nearly 80 years.

Senate rejects 6th Iran war powers resolution ahead of 60-day deadline

The Senate rejected Democrats' sixth attempt to limit President Trump's authority to wage war on Iran.

Is this the end for LIV? Where does Saudi withdrawal leave golf and the players?

Can LIV find new backers and what are the options for Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Lee Westwood and others?

Confirmation that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will cease funding the LIV Golf tour will have huge ramifications, for the future of the tour itself, the players and across golf’s traditional heartlands. Where does PIF’s withdrawal leave them all?

Trump taps Nicole Saphier for surgeon general after pulling Casey Means nomination

Means' nomination had stalled in the Senate over concerns about her controversial stances on vaccines, birth control, pesticides and psychedelics. 

Hegseth ‘dangerously exaggerated’ US military triumph in Iran, Senate hears

Senator Jack Reed says at hearing that defense secretary failed to give Trump accurate picture of war in Iran

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Pete Hegseth has failed to give Donald Trump an accurate picture of the war on Iran while resorting to “dangerously exaggerated” statements to create an inaccurate picture of a US military triumph, a senior Democrat told a Capitol Hill hearing on Thursday.

Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate armed services committee, told Hegseth, the defense secretary, that far from victory, US citizens were having to bear the cost of a war they did not support in the form of increased fuel prices.

Thermos recalls 8.2 million containers after stoppers caused vision loss

The Thermos Stainless King Food Jars and Thermos Sportsman Food & Beverage Bottles were sold at Walmart, Target and Amazon.com.

‘In every slurp of paint, you see the Holocaust’: the genius and torments of Georg Baselitz

The German artist lived through Nazism and communism – and his horrific, shaming works, including a masturbating Hitler, forced his country to face its past. Yet in later life, he beautifully captured human frailty, portraying himself and his wife nude

Georg Baselitz was a living thread of history and his death robs us of the truth he knew when we need it more than ever. He was one of the only two people I have spoken to for whom Nazi Germany was a living memory: Baselitz was born in 1938, making him far too young to bear any personal guilt but old enough – seven when the Third Reich fell – to retain direct experience and images of it.

In his art, he cut those images up, gored and eviscerated them in paintings of uniformed young enthusiasts with blood spurting from mangled limbs or entire bodies fed through some hellish grinder and roughly remade. Into the woods they went, these ironically titled “Heroes”, chopping and being chopped in the guilty depths of the German forest.