Arsenal sweep Coventry aside to start Premier League title defence in style

What a difference a title makes. The last time Arsenal played in front of their own supporters, you could cut the nervous tension with a knife as Mikel Arteta’s side scraped to a 1-0 victory over already relegated Burnley. Ninety-five days on and, Arsenal having ended their long wait to be crowned champions the following night when Manchester City slipped up against Bournemouth, Coventry were given a rude awakening in their first Premier League game for 25 years.

It is now 46 matches since Arsenal lost at home to a promoted side and there was never any doubt about the result as soon as Kai Havertz – who scored the only goal against Burnley that turned out to be priceless – picked up where he left off by giving Arsenal the lead in the 15th minute. A tap-in from Bukayo Saka and then Martin Ødegaard, the captain, matching his Premier League tally from last season just after half-time made it almost the perfect start for the champions.

US supreme court lets Trump continue work on White House ballroom for now

Chief justice signs temporary order to permit work while court considers emergency appeal from administration

The US supreme court has allowed Donald Trump to continue construction of his controversial White House ballroom for now, temporarily pausing a lower court order that would halt much of the project.

Supreme court chief justice John Roberts signed a temporary order on Friday, permitting work to continue on the planned White House addition – a top priority of the president – while the court considers an emergency appeal from Trump’s administration.

Supreme Court allows Trump to continue White House ballroom construction for now

President Donald Trump had the White House's East Wing demolished in 2025 to make way for his controversial planned ballroom.

Lindsay Clancy killed her children. Why do many women support her? – Stateside with Kai and Carter

The trial of Lindsay Clancy, a former nurse accused of murdering her three children, is wrapping up its fifth week. On Friday morning, the defense rested, and the public attention to the case is at a fever-pitch — especially on social media. Clancy, 36, does not deny that she strangled her children, but has pleaded not guilty due to lack of criminal responsibility, also known as an insanity defense. She argues that she was in the throes of postpartum psychosis, a rare and devastating condition that can go unrecognized and untreated. Host Carter Sherman speaks with Jenna Amatulli, deputy head of news for Guardian US, about how the case has renewed attention on the fundamental shortcomings in the US's maternal healthcare system, and about why Clancy's story has captivated – and polarized – so many people

Walmart to let shoppers use Apple Pay and other tap-to-pay methods

Walmart will let shoppers use tap-to-pay methods, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, beginning later this month.

Pentagon moves to fire publisher and editor of Stars and Stripes

The Pentagon has given separation notices to both the publisher and the editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, according to people familiar with the matter.

TikTok agrees to pay $400 million to settle child privacy lawsuit

The Justice Department sued TikTok in 2024, alleging that it violated a U.S. law prohibiting the collection of kids' data.

Supreme Court temporarily allows work on White House ballroom to continue

Chief Justice John Roberts issued a stay that will remain in place until the Supreme Court takes further action.

New Mexico man killed in rare fatal bear attack, only second in state in a century

Police department for Navajo Nation neither identified the victim nor said what type of bear had killed him

In a rare kind of attack, a bear killed a man in Crystal, New Mexico, on Thursday, local police said.

The police department for the Navajo Nation said officers within its Window Rock district received a call at about 1pm that a bear had attacked a man.

Nearly 25% of workers are "functionally unemployed," analysis finds

An alternative measure of unemployment that accounts for wages suggests the U.S. labor market is weaker than it looks.

Dutch regulator fines Uber $966m for automating driver suspensions

European regulators have imposed billions in penalties on US technology companies due to privacy, competition and digital market rules

The Dutch data protection authority has fined ⁠Uber €825m ($966m) for deactivating driver ⁠accounts through automated systems without ​adequately informing them, according to a 17 August decision.

The penalty would be the second-largest issued yet under Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

As GOP warns data centers put Ohio Senate seat at risk, Husted defends energy policy

Vice President JD Vance joined Sen. Jon Husted and other GOP leaders at a Middletown, Ohio, steel plant, as data center fears loom.

You’re Killing Me review – did an AI monkey write this terrible Brooke Shields crime caper?

I desperately wanted this show to be Gilmore Girls meets Murder, She Wrote – but the story of a novelist turned amateur sleuth is just so lazy. And yet, I still have high hopes for the confirmed second season

Look, we all want Brooke Shields to be in gainful employment. We all want her to have a fabulous third act to her career. God knows, the child model turned star of prurient fever dreams Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon (and the “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins” jeans ad campaign when she was 15) has earned it. Plus, she did a fine turn in Friends and a number of us remember Suddenly Susan very fondly.

But she’s terrible in the terrible new thing she’s in, which is a six-part comedy drama called You’re Killing Me. Shields plays successful cosy mystery novelist Allison Chandler, who lives in the picturesque town of Founder’s Cove, Maine. It’s Murder, She Wrote vibes all right, but please lower your expectations.

Lindsay Clancy murder trial: rebuttal witnesses called after defense rests

Closing arguments could come on Monday as prosecutors seek murder conviction over deaths of three young children

Lindsay Clancy’s defense in her murder trial rested on Friday after calling witnesses to testify about the ailing mother’s mental state and attempts to seek help before she killed her young children.

The defense wrapped more quickly than some expected given that the prosecution rested their case on Monday.

Controversial pro-Trump attorney Ed Martin leaving administration

Ed Martin, the pro-Trump lawyer who has been at the center of several controversies, is departing the administration, the president announced.

People are scrambling to find wads of cash dropped all over American cities

Cash drop social media accounts have people racing to find money hidden across the country. Here's what's behind the viral videos.

The US has a plan to save the Colorado River. Experts say it won’t be enough to stop the crisis

The 10-year blueprint mandates water cuts of up to 40% for California, Arizona and Nevada

It’s official: after years of tense negotiations and missed deadlines, there is finally a plan to govern the future of the imperiled Colorado River - or at least the makings of one.

With the previous framework set to expire in October, the US Bureau of Reclamation publicly released its proposal for a new plan on Friday.

Tesla recalls 3 million vehicles in China over doorhandle safety, driver monitoring

Tesla will voluntarily recall about 3 million of its vehicles in China to address doorhandle safety concerns and deficient driver monitoring systems.

Woman covertly filmed by Meta smart glasses raises privacy concerns

One woman is speaking out after she was secretly filmed, saying that technology like Meta's AI-powered smart glasses threatens personal privacy.

Most Americans aren't anti-vaccine. They're uncertain — and that's a growing public health challenge

The bigger issue at hand may be that many Americans fall into a large, uncertain middle ground – neither firmly pro-vaccine nor staunchly opposed.

Drug mix-up at Nashville hospital causes dire complications in 4 patients

Four patients at Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown received incorrect medications last week, CBS affiliate WTVF reported.

AI companies accused of hoarding and destroying millions of books

Consumer advocates are urging the FTC to examine whether AI developers are hurting competition and reducing public access to source material.

Supreme Court allows Trump's ballroom construction to continue for now

The ruling comes after months of back and forth between the Trump administration and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Court says prosecutor who subpoenaed Letitia James was unlawfully appointed

A federal appeals court said the top federal prosecutor in the Northern District of New York was unlawfully serving when he subpoenaed state Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump tariff deadline looms as Canada says it's working to resolve 'trade issues' with U.S.

Businesses have warned that Trump's new 50% duties could cripple their U.S. sales if they take effect.

Meghan reportedly in talks to join Guy Ritchie’s TV series The Gentlemen

The Duchess of Sussex is said to be discussing a return to acting in the third season of Netflix’s hit crime series

The Duchess of Sussex is in talks to make her acting return in Netflix’s hit series The Gentlemen.

According to Variety, Meghan is in discussions to join the third season, which has yet to receive an official greenlight. The Gentlemen is a spin-off from the 2019 crime comedy of the same name with Guy Ritchie acting as creator of both.

National Weather Service confirms tornado struck N.Y.'s Atlantic Beach

The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado struck Long Island's Atlantic Beach Thursday evening. It's the first confirmed tornado in Nassau County since 2021.

Bessent's bond gambit aimed at calming markets is instead stirring inflation worries

The so-called breakeven rate hit its highest levels in more than two months.

8 dead in charter plane crash near remote military radar site in Alaska

The crash of a small plane in Alaska chartered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is under investigation.

Human remains found in Lake Powell amid shrinking water levels

Another set of human remains was found in Lake Mead earlier this week. Both reservoirs are dealing with low water levels.

The week around the world in 20 pictures

Wildfires in Europe, Russian strikes in Kyiv, the Meta trial and swimming in Gaza – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists

IndyCar is holding its first race in D.C. this weekend. Here's what to know.

Twenty-five cars traveling at top speeds approaching 180 mph will zoom around the National Mall this weekend when IndyCar takes over downtown D.C.

Former 1500m world champion Jenny Simpson steps away from running after cardiac arrest

• 39-year-old collapsed during event in June

• American won world title in 2011

Former 1500m world champion Jenny Simpson says she will not return to running after she collapsed during a track event in June.

Simpson, a three-time Olympian and one of the most accomplished American female runners in history, was pacing a mile group at an event in North Carolina when she went into cardiac arrest. She was given CPR before she was rushed to hospital, where she was placed on life support due to issues with her heart and lungs.

Why is Trump’s ‘human printer’ aide Natalie Harp suddenly in the spotlight? - The Latest

One of Donald Trump’s closest and most devoted aides, Natalie Harp, has faced intense media scrutiny this week, after a Democratic senator, Jon Ossoff, name-checked her in a speech that went viral. So what do we know about Harp, who is often referred to as the ‘human printer’? And why is everybody talking about her relationship with Trump? Helen Pidd speaks to international news editor Paul Owen

This week on "Sunday Morning" (Aug. 23)

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

Trump to allow import of 300,000 metric tons of ground beef without tariff

Beef prices in the U.S have soared in 2026 due to a reduction in the nation's cattle herd.

Beatty files emergency request to stop Trump's name from returning to Kennedy Center

Joyce Beatty, a Democratic representative from Ohio, asked a federal judge to stop the Kennedy Center trustees from putting President Trump's name up in three places at the arts complex.

Jannik Sinner and Jack Draper out of US Open as injuries take their toll

• World No 1 makes ‘difficult decision’ to miss slam

• Draper still recovering from bone bruise in left arm

Jannik Sinner will miss the US Open with a right knee injury. The world No 1 has not played a match since beating Alexander Zverev last month to successfully defend his Wimbledon title, missing the Masters 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati. Great Britain’s Jack Draper is also out of the event.

The news comes a day after his great rival Carlos Alcaraz, whom the Italian lost to in the final in New York 12 months ago, revealed he will make his comeback at Flushing Meadows after four months out with a wrist injury.

Texas slashes $50m judgment against Alex Jones over false claim Sandy Hook shooting was hoax

Appeals court slashes judgment to $1.5m in a significant legal victory for the rightwing Infowars founder

A Texas appeals court has slashed the $50m judgment to $1.5m against Alex Jones, founder of the rightwing platform Infowars, over falsely calling the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, a hoax.

The ruling does not affect a $1.4bn judgment against Jones in Connecticut, but is a significant legal victory for Jones after he and his company, Free Speech Systems, were found liable for damages for claiming the mass shooting didn’t happen.

The Guardian view on the export of fossils: they deserve national treasure status | Editorial

Scientific specimens are being sold to foreign museums or snapped up by the super-rich. They should have the same legal protections as works of art

As Sir David Attenborough has observed, “there’s nothing more magical than finding a shiny shell and knowing you’re the first person to have seen it for 150 million years”. Senior museum figures are campaigning for fossils to be classed as national treasures, according to the Waverley criteria, which control the export of objects considered culturally important to the nation. But the rules only cover natural treasures that are “made”, excluding fossils.

These calls come after a private collection from the Jurassic Coast was sold to the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi for a reported eight-figure sum. Both the Natural History Museum in London and Amgueddfa Cymru (Museum Wales) were offered the 318 fossils, but they didn’t have the funds. Unlike countries such as Brazil and Mongolia, where fossils belong to the state, Britain relies largely on a voluntary code of conduct.

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

Texas court slashes $50M judgment against Infowars' Alex Jones

A Texas appeals court cut a $50 million judgment against Infowars founder Alex Jones to $1.5 million. A much larger $1.4 billion judgment in Connecticut still stands.

Tornadoes pummel New York’s Long Island and Delaware capital

First responders also rescued flood-stranded people after storms unleashed heavy rains in the US north-east

Residents in Delaware’s capital and on Long Island, New York, were picking up the pieces on Friday after tornadoes touched down during sudden storms that battered the north-eastern US with heavy rains and left dozens of people stranded in their cars during flash flooding.

In Atlantic Beach on Long Island, which stretches out into the ocean to the east of New York City, images posted on social media showed a large funnel cloud over the water and small buildings torn apart at a beach club.

Trump faces backlash over reports US navy carrier could be named after him instead of Black war hero

Sources say US navy is working to rename carrier originally planned to honor second world war sailor Doris Miller

The Trump administration has been accused of delivering a “slap in the face” to US military veterans after reports that a navy aircraft carrier set to honor a Black war hero may, instead, be named after Donald Trump.

The US navy had previously announced that the carrier under construction would be called the USS Doris Miller, in tribute to a sailor celebrated for his heroism during the attack on Pearl Harbor in the second world war.

Contenders primed to chase down Antonelli as F1 season resumes

The young Italian has a substantial lead but his rivals will not see him as being out of reach going into the Dutch GP

The Dutch Grand Prix may be hosting its final meeting on the Formula One calendar this weekend but its farewell heralds the opening of a championship run-in that is far from over. Rested, reset and ready to rumble, the title contenders in Zandvoort have an anticipatory air as they enter the sharp end of a fight which, as last season demonstrated, could yet be taken to the finale.

Resuming after F1’s summer break there is, as always, a sprightly atmosphere to the sport. Team members have had time with their families and drivers have had a chance to decompress, assess, heck, even have a bit of fun, with Mercedes’s George Russell becoming engaged to his partner, Carmen Montero Mundt, and Lando Norris out and about in Ibiza with pals. Lewis Hamilton got his head down and trained hard, proclaiming himself fitter then ever, energised and refreshed, while Max Verstappen emerged at his home race to announce a new contract with his Red Bull team.

Martin Rowson on the El Niño warning – cartoon

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David Harbour has blown Tony Stark’s cover in Avengers: Doomsday. It might just be what Marvel needs

The actor, who plays Red Guardian in the film, made a cryptic comment to Variety that raised more Robert Downey Jr-shaped questions than answers. But was it a clanger, or expert trolling?

Nobody knows exactly what solemn blood oaths Marvel uses to prevent spoilers. But we do know that Andrew Garfield spent most of the run-up to 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home – in which he would eventually turn up as one of two secret Spideys – behaving as if Kevin Feige was standing behind him, holding up a giant card saying: YOU HAVE NEVER MET TOBEY MAGUIRE. So we can imagine it’s pretty full on. Why, then, has Avengers: Doomsday star David Harbour this week apparently blurted out the biggest Marvel secret since Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin in Iron Man 3?

Invited by Variety magazine to offer up a line from Doomsday “completely out of context”, Harbour thought for a moment, adopted the Russian accent of his Red Guardian character and came out with: “You … are Tony Stark.” Which is quite a thing to say about a film whose entire marketing campaign so far has depended on us accepting that Iron Man remains dead, and that the actor who used to play him, Robert Downey Jr, is playing Victor von Doom instead.

JD Vance reportedly mocks Carney for trying to ‘out-tough’ Trump on trade

Audio recording of US vice-president apparently made at New York fundraiser and shared with Canadian Press

Leaked audio from a private event has reportedly captured the US vice-president, JD Vance, mocking Canada for apparently capitulating in a trade deal and taunting the prime minister, Mark Carney, for trying to “out-tough” Donald Trump.

The recording, which was reportedly made at a fundraiser and shared with the Canadian Press, comes in the last stretch of a difficult negotiation in which the US president has threatened to impose 50% tariffs on Canada.

Trump temporarily waives higher beef tariffs in bid to lower prices

Ground beef prices, now averaging nearly $7 a pound, remain historically high due to shrinking cattle herds.

Firebombs thrown at supercars outside Birmingham wedding venue

Police investigating after two cars set alight in attack caught on CCTV

Firebombs were thrown at supercars outside a wedding venue in Birmingham, setting two alight and prompting guests to sprint out of the building.

West Midlands police said they were investigating the incident, which happened in the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham at around 8.30pm on Wednesday.

Neutrogena responds to criticism over how brand deal with Hayden Panettiere ended

Late actor in May said beauty brand cut off its relationship with her after she spoke out about postpartum depression

The beauty brand Neutrogena has acknowledged making its former ambassador Hayden Panettiere “feel unsupported during a very difficult time” – alluding to when the late Hollywood actor said the company severed ties with her after she spoke about enduring postpartum depression (PPD).

Neutrogena issued a statement addressing the situation four days after Panettiere, 36, was found dead on Sunday at an apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina.

‘Shameful’: UK, Australia and Canada criticise Israel over Gaza aid convoy killings decision

Joint statement issued after IDF said it will not pursue criminal investigations into April 2024 strike that killed seven humanitarian workers

Britain, Australia and Canada have called the decision of the Israeli military authorities not to open a criminal investigation into the April 2024 airstrikes that hit a convoy of aid vehicles in Gaza “shameful”. The strikes killed seven humanitarian workers from the US-based World Central Kitchen (WCK) organisation.

WCK staff from the three countries were among the casualties of the attack, which prompted global outrage.

I am often asked how young boys could be rapists. For many adolescent men, the answer is entitlement | Chanel Contos

Violent pornography and algorithmic feeds are teaching young people to prioritise their own sexual gratification. As the problem evolves, so too must our solutions

This week, the Australian public has borne witness to another devastating string of sexual assault allegations. While the alleged perpetrators vary in age – some are as young as 13 – they have something in common.

They are immersed in elite institutions like private all-boys’ secondary schools – places that can socialise entitlement, exceptionalism and impunity in those within them. Of course, to the extent charges have been or are laid in these cases, those accused must be entitled to the presumption of innocence.

Chanel Contos is the founder of Teach Us Consent and the author of Consent Laid Bare

‘We’re barely above porn’: why would a film-maker choose to make a deliberately bad ‘mockbuster’?

With a tiny budget and six days, Anthony Frith directed a film for the studio behind Sharknado – and then made Mockbuster, a documentary about the experience

Directors don’t tend to appreciate having their films eviscerated by critics. And us critics, well practised in lobbing proverbial grenades from the safety of our pretentiously book-lined, Cahiers du Cinéma-strewn offices, don’t tend to look an artist in the eyes and tell them that their work sucks.

This is, however, exactly what I do to the Australian film-maker Anthony Frith. I’ve even prepared a zinger for the occasion. “Your film is a lemon that’s been eaten by a turkey then dumped into a vat of curdled mayonnaise,” I say.

England’s bowlers tear through Pakistan to seal crushing innings victory in first Test

• 1st Test, D3: England, 409, bt Pakistan, 171 & 135, by inns & 103

• Archer, Robinson and Tongue all take three wickets

The sounds heard coming from the Headingley area at 3.38pm on Friday were not simply the belching roars of the Western Terrace as England wrapped up a one-sided victory over Pakistan. A pressure valve had also been released.

One win against a team as ragged as this Pakistan one might not have been reason for Joe Root to hang bunting off the Dickie Bird balcony at his home ground. But given events this year – events that have thrust Root back into the Test captaincy under an interim head coach – the alternative was unthinkable.

Gun stash in German forest believed to be linked to Russia, say reports

Germany seeking to extradite suspect from Romania over guns it is feared could have been used ⁠in assassinations

Germany is seeking to extradite a suspect from Romania over the discovery of an underground stash of weapons in a forest near Berlin that German media reports have linked to Russian intelligence.

Two weeks after German authorities found a drone carrying explosives at Leipzig airport, the interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, confirmed federal prosecutors had opened an investigation related to the secret cache of guns “on suspicion of preparing a serious act of violence that threatens national security”.

FTC says "personalized pricing" based on consumer data could violate law

The FTC warned businesses against changing prices based on their analysis of a customer's personal data, which could violate consumer law.

How to exploit the value gap between the S&P 500 and everything else in the market

Staying in the market with less risk but still significant return potential from stocks can be accomplished in multiple ways, according to investing experts.

Airbus bows to remote working demands after series of strikes

Aeroplane maker said to have watered down plans to restrict working from home to one day a week

Airbus has bowed to employee demands on remote working, after a series of strikes over its chief executive’s return-to-the office orders.

The world’s largest aeroplane maker is said to have watered down plans to restrict remote working to one day a week from September. At present, staff are able to work remotely for two.

Exclusive discounts from CBS Mornings Deals

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

Biggest El Niño for a century forecast to bring UK more autumn rain and storms

‘Unprecedented’ weather pattern over Pacific Ocean to be felt worldwide, with severe droughts expected in some areas

The El Niño event developing over the Pacific Ocean is likely to be the strongest for more than a century and make 2027 another record-breaking year for heat, the UK’s Met Office has said.

Increased rainfall and storms are forecast to hit the UK this autumn as a result of the “unprecedented” weather pattern, while the pulse in heat it generates means the global temperature will temporarily exceed 1.5C above the preindustrial average, according to the national weather service.

Nashville teen Kingston Kharif turns the volume up on his musical dreams

High school senior and singer Kingston Kharif has dreams of making it big beyond the Nashville, Tennessee, scene. Nicole Valdes spoke with Kingston about his early successes and future goals.

Ditch the giant handbag, don’t overdo the botox and 16 other ways to extend your ‘hotspan’

If ‘lifespan’ is the time you’re alive and ‘healthspan’ the years you’re disease-free, then ‘hotspan’ is the period you’re attractive and vibrant. Want to increase yours? Experts share their tips

Forget 12-step skincare routines, red light therapy and injectables – the single most important thing you can do for your skin is wear UV protection. “Not just sun protection, but UV protection, every single day, regardless of weather or season,” says Dr Jennifer Owens, resident aesthetic expert at the Reborne Longevity clinic in London. “Up to 90% of visible skin ageing is caused by UV exposure – nothing else comes close in terms of impact.”

‘Such adept cover stars’: why dogs are taking over fashion in the ‘AI face’ era

Cute, egoless canines offer a break from a world that feels dominated by ‘nepo babies’ and ‘Maga lady aesthetic’

What do Nicole Kidman, a pair of “nepo babies” and a beagle called Sansa Martínez Berlingeri have in common? They all appear on the covers of the all-important September issues of Vogue and Dogue. But the winner of the unofficial battle of the covers? The one with the keenest sense of smell and a penchant for playing with socks.

The September covers of British Vogue and Vogue US have come under intense scrutiny after their recent release, while their canine counterpoint, Dogue, has been almost unanimously celebrated.

Patients severely injured after being given the wrong drug at Nashville hospital, families say

An investigation is underway after several patients were severely injured when a pharmacy allegedly gave them the wrong medication at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Nicole Valdes reports.

Surrogate who had baby against parents' wishes unlikely to win custody battle, attorney says

A surrogate rejected a request from the biological parents to end her pregnancy after they discovered the baby had a severe heart condition. Baby Rumi underwent the first of three surgeries after being born. Now, the surrogate says the biological parents are suing her. Alexis Cirel, an attorney specializing in family and fertility law, weighs in on the custody lawsuit.

What is salmonella, how does it spread and are eggs safe to eat?

UKHSA says imported eggs eaten in restaurants are source of outbreak that has infected more than 200 people

Contaminated eggs have infected 207 people with salmonella across the UK, killing one and hospitalising 34.

Eggs imported into Britain and eaten in cafes and restaurants were the source, the UK Health Security Agency has said. The outbreak has prompted public concern. But what is salmonella, and are eggs safe to eat?

‘I could have put a deposit on a house or do this crazy experiment’: the British musician playing 365 gigs this year

Isaac Neilson is burning through his savings to play a gig every day in 2026 in a bold bid to break through – and champion Britain’s struggling grassroots music scene

In a lively pub in Oxford this week, Isaac Neilson picked up his guitar and performed live for the 231st day in a row.

The singer-songwriter’s performance at the Old Bookbinders is part of a marathon effort to play a gig every day this year. The challenge has seen him put nearly 20,000 miles on the clock of his Peugeot 208 and cost him the best part of his life savings. “I was in a position where I could maybe put a deposit on a house or I could do this crazy experiment,” says Neilson, 26. “I chose to go all in on the music.”

Prince Harry and others ordered to pay interim £9.5m to Daily Mail publisher

Judge orders payment within seven days towards legal costs in failed case over alleged unlawful information gathering

The Duke of Sussex and six other high-profile claimants must make a £9.54m interim payment within seven days towards the Daily Mail publisher’s legal costs after losing their high court case over allegations of unlawful information gathering, a judge has ruled.

Associated Newspapers Ltd strongly denied the claims made by Prince Harry and co-claimants including Doreen Lawrence and Elton John.

WNBA commissioner says ‘haters’ trying to stir up debate about trans athletes and league

• Transgender woman has never played in the league

• Engelbert says league being used as ‘political football’

The WNBA commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, has denounced people she said are trying to “sow divisiveness” as the league grapples with a debate over transgender athletes.

Engelbert made the comments on Thursday before the Indiana Fever’s loss to the Dallas Wings at the home of the Dallas Mavericks. Demonstrators showed up outside American Airlines Center, as they have at other venues since the Fever’s Sophie Cunningham voiced support for barring transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s sports.

Bessent's efforts in the Treasury market so far haven't worked. Here's what else he can try

Market experts showed skepticism at whether the push would succeed against a bevy of factors working against Treasurys.

Smoke and mirrors fill the vacuum as Springboks and All Blacks brace for battle

South Africa welcome New Zealand for their Greatest Rivalry series with the suspicion that they plan on beating the tourists at their own game

The problem with Test weeks is that they can feel long. Cricketers can play for days on end, footballers every few nights, but rugby players step on to the international stage for just 80 minutes per week. The result is a drawn-out vacuum in the buildup and if it’s not a “war of words” unfolding, it tends to be head coaches ramming home their points to the referee.

We lap it up, of course we do as we wait for Saturday to come, and though the pre-match sparring between South Africa and New Zealand is tedious to some, it is all part of the fun to others. This week in Johannesburg has been lively without crossing the line into poisonous. Suffice it to say that the referee Matt Carley is in for one hell of an afternoon in Saturday’s series opener at Ellis Park but the very fact that both Rassie Erasmus and Dave Rennie have stepped on to the offensive demonstrates the magnitude of the coming four-Test series. It promises to be a barn-burner.

Snowboarding in the Andes and a twin panda birthday: photos of the day – Friday

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

No more doom scrolling or Instagram Stories? A Meta trial loss could end the social media we know

"These trials are often compared to the Big Tobacco lawsuits of the 90s, and the outcome will likely be analogous as well," one analyst told CNBC.

With ICC sanctions, Trump wants to make the world safe for war criminals | Kenneth Roth

The US is engaged in a lawless quest to protect American and Israeli officials

The Trump administration has taken another step in its crusade against the international criminal court by imposing sanctions on two more senior ICC officials. The growing number of sanctioned jurists – now 13 – does not change the lawless nature of this quest.

Donald Trump and his henchman, Marco Rubio, want to make the world safe for US and Israeli war criminals. No one should let them.

‘It could only have been one person’: top former detective says system failed the murdered journalist Lyra McKee

Jason Murphy believes he knows who killed McKee in Derry, but culture of silence and mistrust of police is denying her family justice

When Lyra McKee was shot and killed on the night of 18 April 2019, approximately 150 people were in her vicinity. The 29-year-old journalist had watched in a crowd as rioting broke out in Derry, Northern Ireland. Police footage captured the grainy outline of a man firing a handgun.

“Someone’s fucking shot,” a bystander could be heard crying in mobile phone footage shown as evidence in court. “There’s a fucking kid shot in the head.”

When TV turns sour: the shows we simply can’t stomach any more

They were once the hottest shows on television – gripping, sexy, hilarious, zeitgeisty. But for our writers, the likes of America’s Next Top Model, House of Cards and The Office are now part of their viewing history they feel tainted by

When I think of the summer holidays when I was a teenager, I think of watching America’s Next Top Model for hours on end, critiquing each contestant with my sister. The makeover episode was always my favourite: girls sobbing as their hair was cropped short, or even shaved off. At the time, Tyra Banks seemed like a big sister, giving the contestants the tough love they’d need to succeed in a ferociously competitive industry. Now I feel differently. I hadn’t watched America’s Next Top Model since I was young, but like many, I recently watched Netflix’s excellent series, Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model. It was the strangest sensation, rewatching episodes I hadn’t seen in more than two decades. At times I felt almost teleported back. How could I not find these scenes of models collapsing with hunger utterly abhorrent? I wondered what influence watching a show that celebrated eating disorders had on my own brain. I think it had an impact. I think the residual taint of it is still there. I can’t watch America’s Next Top Model any more, nor do I want to. Ironically, it’s all too ugly. Sirin Kale

It’s Harry and Meghan in Finding Freedom 2: Back in Blighty | Marina Hyde

Hard to fathom exactly why Megxit is over and the self-exiled wonder generators are leaving California. Luckily, the internet sleuths are on the case

Wednesday night brought an absolute cloudburst of psychic rain for our parched land, as it emerged that Prince Harry and Meghan were reversing their self-styled “freedom flight” to California and returning to live in the UK. Nature is healing! Is that … is that how the expression goes? Either way, all humans in Britain have taken the announcement brilliantly, while fatted calf prices climbed steeply at the news that the reverse Megxit is imminent, with only an adequate headline soubriquet yet to be found. Megain? Megraine?

Inevitably, thoughts turned swiftly to what it all meant. One of the funniest aspects of Meghan and Harry coverage is how their decisions are always analysed as though we were parsing the 4D chess moves of 19th-century master strategists. We are forever imagining we are dealing with a couple of Bismarcks or Clausewitzes, as opposed to a resting actor and the “chief impact officer” of a firm designed to offer tech-based solutions to men crying in their cars or something.

Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist

What a Time to be Alive! by Marina Hyde (Guardian Faber Publishing, £20) is released in September. To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.

Top Iran official says U.S. focus on economic warfare shows it has failed militarily

The Iranian regime has dismissed President Trump's threats to crush Iran economically, saying that years of U.S. sanctions have failed.

Are you a Gen Z entrepreneur who has started your own business? We’d like to hear from you

We want to hear from young people who have chosen to start their own businesses rather than follow a traditional career path

A growing number of Gen Z are starting their own businesses, with the number of Start Up Loans taken out by young founders rising by 132% over the past five years, according to analysis by the British Business Bank. Meanwhile, Hiscox analysis of Companies House data found nearly 400,000 Gen Z directors are now running UK-registered businesses.

We’d like to hear from people aged between 18 and 29 who have started a business about what inspired you to do it and how you got started. How is your business going? What have been the biggest challenges and rewards? Do you see yourself continuing to run your own business in the future?

Trump declares economic warfare on Iran. And, SCOTUS to rule on White House ballroom

President Trump has declared economic warfare on Iran in an effort to pressure the country back into negotiations. And, the Supreme Court is set to decide on the future of Trump's ballroom. 

The best recent translated fiction – review roundup

The Red Book of Farewells by Pirkko Saisio; Short Circuit by Wolf Haas; Cosmos by Lucia Odoom; The Fallen Trees Are Also the Forest by Alejandra Kamiya

The Red Book of Farewells by Pirkko Saisio, translated by Mia Spangenberg, Penguin Classics (£14.99)
Following Lowest Common Denominator and Backlight, this book completes Finnish author Saisio’s autofictional trilogy. It covers her young adulthood in the 1970s, where she comes out as lesbian (“The electricity doesn’t go out. The Richter scale remains still”) and falls in love. One of her lovers, Havva, is a communist who’s engaged to a man; she relies on his rich parents for funding, but pees in their private pool as a protest. Later, Saisio is voted vice-president of a political drama company, as “she has the skills to bring about the revolution, specifically via theatre” – despite half-baked productions such as the “napalm opera” Vietnam-a-Go-Go. As that suggests, this is a story with a sense of both the ridiculous and the serious. Told in clear prose, it playfully shifts between third and first person as Saisio recounts her memories then analyses them. This enchanting series deserves to become a modern classic.

Short Circuit by Wolf Haas, translated by Jamie Bulloch (HarperVia, £20)
“We think [time] goes in one direction. But really you need to think of it as a loop”. This, well, loopy novel opens with jigsaw aficionado and “merciless hair-splitter” Franz Escher getting an electrician in to fix his power – then accidentally killing him. As Franz waits for the ambulance, he reads a novel about Elio, a man who helped put his own mafia family behind bars. Elio, who’s now on witness protection, kills time by reading a novel about … Franz Escher. The two stories pursue one another, accelerating until they collide, incorporating courtship by car alarm, rival funeral orators and multiple identities for many characters. Oh, and what if the electrician Franz killed turns out to be Elio? Short Circuit, recalling the slipstream fiction of Christopher Priest and the light-touch experimentations of David Mitchell, is an entertaining literary hall-of-mirrors.

Daily Mail accused of stalking woman mistaken as White Stripes drummer Meg White

The tabloid boasted in a now-deleted article that they found White and promised to reveal her ‘secret new life’

The Daily Mail newspaper secretly tailed and photographed a woman in Detroit and then published an article and photographs falsely accusing her of being former The White Stripes drummer Meg White, even after she told the newspaper it had mistaken her identity, multiple sources have told the Guardian.

The rightwing British tabloid quietly removed the article and photographs, first published on 6 August, from its website last week. The Mail did not issue a correction or editor’s note explaining the removal.

The Odyssey becomes highest grossing R-rated film of all time

Christopher Nolan’s epic has achieved $1.35bn at the global box office, overtaking 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine

The Odyssey has overtaken Deadpool & Wolverine to become the highest grossing R-rated film of all time.

According to figures compiled by the Numbers, Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s epic poem has achieved $1.35bn (£990m) at the worldwide box office, compared with the Ryan Reynolds/Hugh Jackman superhero movie, which stands at $1.34bn (£980m) since its release in 2024.

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol 2 review – once more unto the mercenary breach

PC, Nintendo Switch/Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X/S; Konami
This second collection remasters another three titles from the illustrious stealth espionage series, but their world has changed little since the original releases

‘War has changed,” claims Old Snake in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Back in 2008, the team at Kojima Productions waxed poetic about people recruited to fight in proxy wars they have no political or ideological stake in. As these mercenaries follow their orders, traders get rich out of the so-called war economy. The more disastrous the conflict in a specific area, the higher the bidding price.

I expected my time with Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol 2 to be nostalgic and, in good old MGS fashion, abundant with fictional events that sound eerily familiar to our current reality. Twenty minutes in, I was having an existential crisis.

New York unseats San Francisco as the top market for tech talent, CBRE reports

AI-related roles now account for nearly one-third of all tech-talent job listings in the U.S., per the new CBRE report.

‘If you’re just interested in answers, you are missing out’: philosopher Lani Watson on the power of asking questions

The author and academic explains how an open, questioning mindset can bring people with opposing views closer together – and even change history

Asking a question can change your mood, and having a questioning mindset can change your life – or, as the philosopher Lani Watson, an honorary fellow at the University of Edinburgh, is more likely to put it, “create change in your life”. When you live in an answer-oriented world, your phrasing tends towards the glib certainty, which is one of the things Watson – speaking to me from her home in Edinburgh – seems quite naturally to avoid.

Questioning fosters exploration and curiosity, she says. It changes your relationship to yourself and to others: it can make you fall in love; it can stop you going to war. Watson’s challenging book, Q: The Hidden Power of Questions in a World that Wants Answers, is written with a deceptive simplicity and an almost kindly encouragement, so you’re knee-deep into her proposition before you have even considered that it might turn out to be quite hard work.

Proposed London datacentre ‘incompatible’ with net zero with 1m-tonne carbon footprint

Exclusive: Planning documents show annual emissions from North Ockendon project would be equivalent to 8,480 flights to New York

A “hyperscale” datacentre in outer London would generate more than 1m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to the carbon footprint of 8,480 flights from London to New York, planning documents show.

The East Havering Data Centre Campus (EHDCC) in North Ockendon would be one of the largest datacentres in Europe if approved by Havering council, using 218 hectares of green belt to run servers and data storage systems for AI and cloud computing. Its developer, Digital Reef, has described the scheme as “a unique opportunity to create a sustainable datacentre campus of the future”.

Strangers in their own land: Mexicans deported from Trump’s America find refuge in ‘Little LA’

With plentiful jobs and community support, one Mexico City neighbourhood has become a haven for those who have lived much of their lives in the US

With its wide avenues lined with tall palm trees, its quaint cafes and old-school cantinas, as well as the mix of English and Spanish spoken on the street, the Tabacalera neighborhood in downtown Mexico City has a certain US feel – so much so that it is has become known as Little LA.

The nickname is about more than appearances, however. In recent years, this corner of the metropolis has become a haven for many Mexicans deported from the US, particularly those who spent years or decades living across the border and for whom Mexico feels like a foreign country. In Little LA, they have found a more familiar place to belong.

What to know about this weekend's IndyCar race on the National Mall

Why is the car race in this part of D.C.? Will it be streaming? Who's paying for it? Here's what to know before the Freedom 250 Grand Prix hits the National Mall this weekend.

‘She had this divine calling’: the incredible and transporting art of Minnie Evans

Just over 50 years after she was one of the first Black artists to have a solo show at the Whitney, the museum gathers some of her most remarkable paintings for a new exhibition

Surprisingly, the term “outsider art” was coined fairly recently – in 1972, when the art historian Roger Cardinal made it the title of the book with which he introduced the idea to the English-speaking world. Since then, debates have raged as to whether it’s really justified to use such a term to describe art made beyond the confines of the art world, and if any of the other competing terms – among them naive art, folk art and raw art – are really any better.

The Whitney Museum of American Art’s new show, The Lost World: The Art of Minnie Evans, offers audiences an opportunity to contemplate just how its subject may – or may not – have been an outsider to the art world, and to also revel in Evans’s increasing insiderness in the decades since her death in 1987. A comprehensive retrospective with nearly 100 pieces covering the entirety of Evans’s artistic output, the show occurs almost exactly 50 years after the Whitney first introduced the artist’s genius to New York’s art elite.

Alice Roberts: ‘By the time I’d finished Richard Dawkins I’d left faith behind’

The TV presenter and author on the evolutionary biologists who inspired her, the genius of George Eliot – and fun with Frog and Toad

My earliest reading memory
The first books I remember were from The Village with Three Corners series Sheila K McCullagh. I loved the – literally – colourful characters, like Johnny Yellow Hat. I was reading with my Grandma, in her garden perhaps, sitting on a small patio, surrounded by bright begonias and busy lizzies.

My favourite book growing up
Arnold Lobel’s wonderful Frog and Toad stories. Toad would get himself tied up in knots, trying to find a button or fly a kite, but Frog was always there – a constant, caring and funny friend. I enjoyed reading these stories to my own children when they were young, and we still sometimes go back and revisit them. They’re so full of humour, heart and simple humanism.

Uefa and Concacaf discuss joint Nations League in latest challenge to Fifa

• Biennial tournament could launch as early as 2028

• Confederations are seeking to oust Gianni Infantino

Uefa and Concacaf have begun talks about setting up a combined Nations League tournament featuring all 96 European and North and Central American and Caribbean countries, in another direct challenge to Fifa.

The Guardian has learned that having come together to push for Gianni Infantino’s removal in the light of the World Cup sell-off controversy, the two confederations are now working on creating their own biennial tournament, which could launch as early as 2028 after the next European Championship.

Federal government thins the herds of wild horses in Colorado

U.S. officials say the ever-growing population of wild horses that roam federal lands in Colorado is depleting natural resources. But some activists say efforts to remove the horses are inhumane.

As USS Lincoln heads home, mental health experts tally the stressors of life at sea

The USS Abraham Lincoln is now on its way home after spending nine months at sea. Experts weigh in on the mental health challenges of prolonged confinement and isolation aboard an aircraft carrier.

Morning news brief

Trump threatens economic pressure campaign against Iran, SCOTUS to weigh in on whether Trump's ballroom project, investors dump stocks and bonds despite government's efforts to calm market.

Tadej Pogacar looks unstoppable as he sets sights on another slice of history at Vuelta

Slovenian is aiming to become the ninth rider to win all three Grand Tours, and it doesn’t look as if anyone can stop him

Who’s coming second? That’s the question being most frequently asked as the peloton convenes for the final Grand Tour of 2026, the Vuelta a España, which rolls away from the start line in Monaco on Saturday.

The unrelenting Tadej Pogacar, making his first appearance in the Spanish race since 2019, is the overwhelming favourite to take the top spot on the podium in Granada on 13 September, with his cowed rivals already seemingly accepting of his supremacy.

Weather tracker: Extreme rain deluges Japan and South Korea

Downpours break records and cause transport chaos, evacuations and deaths, as people get trapped inside vehicles

South Korea and Japan were hit by extreme rain late last week and into this week. On 13 August in the city of Chiba near Tokyo there was a record-breaking 115mm of rainfall in just one hour, while the nearby city of Sakura broke its own record with 97mm in one hour. Local authorities issued a level 5 emergency warning for heavy rain, the highest alert level and the first time one has been issued since the system was implemented in May.

More than 100,000 households were asked to evacuate, with more than 20,000 in the Chiba prefecture left without power, while thousands of people were stranded at Tokyo’s Narita airport. Thirteen people have been confirmed dead, at least three of whom were found trapped inside their vehicles. One person is still missing.

Footage shows clash with French police on beach as dinghy tries to leave for UK

Film emerges as France says it has stopped 185 small boat ‘events’ in three months since new £660m deal with UK

Footage has captured the moment French police officers clashed with people on a beach in northern France as the authorities tried to intercept a dinghy attempting to reach the UK.

Men wearing lifejackets appear to throw objects at the police to try to keep them away from their dinghy. The officers then use Pava spray before slashing the inflatable boat with a knife.

Gaia Wilmer Large Ensemble: Parabólico review – gorgeous reinvention of Gilberto Gil’s grooves

(Sunnyside)
Saxophonist and composer Wilmer brilliantly transforms Gil tunes, changing tempos and adding breathy melodies, flourishes of horns or undulating rhythms to luscious effect

Over the past three years, Brazilian saxophonist and composer Gaia Wilmer has reimagined the catalogues of her country’s virtuosos so radically that it’s become a signature art. Folia: The Music of Egberto Gismonti transformed his finger-picked melodics into an almost prog-influenced cacophony; Trem das Cores, celebrating tropicália pioneer Caetano Veloso, found the eerie tenderness in his lilting melodies. Now returning with the first part of a three-volume homage to singer Gilberto Gil, Wilmer and her 20-piece ensemble produce luscious new works from their deconstructions.

For listeners familiar with Gil’s music, hardly any of Wilmer’s arrangements are recognisable from the originals. Her Overture transforms the 25 seconds of strummed guitars and group vocals that open Gil’s 1985 album Dia Dorim Noite Neon into a slowly unfurling four minutes of breathy trumpet melody and twinkling piano accents. Oriente replaces Gil’s wavering, emotive vocal harmony from the 1972 original with flourishes of horn fanfares and jazz swing that bolsters singer Mônica Salmaso’s lightly tripping bossa nova vocalisations. Eu Vim da Bahia even slows one of Gil’s best-known tunes to experimental flute-heavy ambience, transmuting his sprightly melody through the brassy weight of a big-band horn section.

Stella Lefty: Long Way Home review – Boston singer’s debut is bland, boilerplate and beyond banal

(Atlantic Outpost)
The breakout 24-year-old country star’s debut is stunningly unremarkable, offering little in the way of artistic identity or her peers’ originality

Anyone railing against nepo babies taking over culture has already lost: the rage they engender is as key to the publicity plan as their ready-made profile. But once in a while, you meet one so egregious that it’s hard not to want to flip a table. The breakout 24-year-old country star Stella Lefty is the daughter of a multibillionaire Groupon co-founder. Given her stunningly unremarkable songwriting, you wonder whether that might explain a few things.

After gaining notice for posting clips of her music, Lefty wanted to work as a songwriter-for-hire until music execs insisted she was an artist. It’s hard to tell what her USP is: her huge hit Boston sounded so much like Noah Kahan’s Stick Season that she had to add a retrospective credit. Her writing has none of his introspection or regional specifics, nor the wry country literacy of close competitor Ella Langley. In Lefty’s songs, she’s often catching some guy’s eye at the bar. Maybe they get together but then she runs, because she always does – but maybe this time, she doesn’t? She knows it’s good when he’s nice to her, or they look good in photos. Props: whiskey, neon lights, bar stools. It’s relatable, right? Right??