Oklahoma tornado destroys homes, forces Air Force base to close

A powerful tornado in Oklahoma on Thursday ripped roofs off buildings, destroyed homes, knocked down power poles and forced an Air Force base to close.

US justice department blocking Met police investigation into Mandelson, reports say – UK politics live

The department of justice has refused to hand over key evidence from the Jeffrey Epstein files and could delay Scotland Yard’s criminal inquiry.

Meanwhile, Wales’s first minister, Eluned Morgan, has likened herself to a strawberry daiquiri as she warned constituents she could lose her seat in the Welsh parliament election, PA reports.

The Welsh Labour leader used canned cocktails to explain the new voting system in Wales in a video posted on social media. Constituents will be represented by six members of the Senedd, but Morgan said Plaid Cymru “is pretty secure, they’ve got at least two seats, maybe even a third”.

That experience changed how I see the debate. I consider myself broadly in favour of assisted dying because I believe in choice, in personal autonomy. But what I witnessed, and what I’ve learned since is what has happened to my mother happens quietly all the time across the country, informally and inconsistently, with no upfront oversight, no safeguards. The current ban does not prevent assisted dying. It simply makes it unregulated, unequal and unsafe.

I am sorry that we’ve let them down and all I can say and pledge, and I know I speak for many, many of our colleagues here, is that we will try.

We will try and we will try again to bring this bill back as soon as possible in the next session, to do what is right democratically, and most importantly of all, to give those people who are terminally ill hope and choice of a better way to die.

Middle East crisis live: Trump says Israel-Lebanon ceasefire extended by three weeks but claims he won’t rush Iran deal

US president orders navy to ‘shoot and kill’ boats laying mines in Hormuz and claims ‘total control’ over the strait

• Trump claims US has total control over strait of Hormuz after Iran seizes two container ships

• Analysis: Trump may talk of regime infighting, but Iran seems united by strategy born of war

The EU’s foreign chief has said that talks with Iran should include nuclear experts otherwise “we will end up with a more dangerous Iran.”

Speaking on Friday ahead of an informal summit of EU leaders in Cyprus, EU’s foreign chief Kaja Kallas said: “If the talks are only about the nuclear and there are no nuclear experts around the table, then we will end up with an agreement that is weaker than the JCPOA was.”

Millwall receive apology over use of club logo in racism booklet, Bob Wilson rails at Football Focus axe: football – live

⚽ All the latest football news heading into a huge weekend
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Here’s your quiz of the week, see if you can beat my 10/15.

Freddie Woodman’s dad, Andy, had to watch his Bromley team lose from the stands at Salford last night. A big home win for Gary Neville’s club, Paul Scholes was watching on, and automatic promotion might be on. Bromley have to wait and see if they win the League Two title. So much to play for in the EFL.

Epstein housed alleged victims in London after Met declined to investigate him, reports say

Six women who stayed in flats in capital have since accused disgraced financier of sexually abusing them, says BBC

Jeffrey Epstein housed some of his alleged abuse victims in flats in London after police in the UK decided against investigating him, according to reports.

The BBC said it had uncovered evidence of four flats in Kensington and Chelsea in receipts, emails and bank records contained within the Epstein files. Six women who stayed in the properties have since accused the late financier of sexually abusing them, the broadcaster said.

Oil prices rise as U.S. and Iran jockey for control over Strait of Hormuz

Oil prices rose as investors stayed cautious despite a three-week extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire.

US gambling addiction is ‘out of control’ as betting markets boom, policy expert warns

The gambling crisis ‘demands a public health response’ and should be regulated like alcohol or tobacco, expert says

Gambling addiction is spiraling “out of control” in the US, a leading campaigner for stricter guardrails has warned, as experts from around the world are set to gather in Boston to push for more regulation of the industry.

The rapid expansion of online gambling, prediction markets and sports betting platforms, “demands a public health response”, according to Harry Levant, director of gambling policy at the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), urging policymakers to intervene.

After Meloni’s law change, Americans hope Italian supreme court ruling will open door to citizenship

Sabrina Crawford among those refused because of rule change, which now also affects children of immigrants born in Italy

In 2025, after a long and arduous journey in her attempts to gain Italian citizenship, including a pivotal genealogical research trip to a village in Calabria, US-born Sabrina Crawford was hoping to fulfil her lifelong dream of building a life in Italy as she edged towards the final hurdle of the bureaucratic process.

But her plans were scuppered when Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government enacted a law stopping access to Italian citizenship via distant ancestry. Since May last year, only those with a parent or grandparent who was an Italian citizen at birth, and who did not take on dual nationality, are eligible to apply.

Trump cannot bear the judgments of Pope Leo | Sidney Blumenthal

The political gap between US evangelicals and Catholics is widening. And Trump won’t tolerate authority outside his own

“Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?” Henry II was reputed to have muttered. His knights heard his pointed remark as an order. They rode to confront Thomas Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury, who spoke too freely and critically about the king. When they failed to intimidate him into silence, they murdered him. Absolute rule demanded absolute fealty.

The representative of the holy trinity could not be allowed to stand above the unitary executive in 1170.

'Self-aware' robots can learn complex tasks by watching humans. Is that a good thing?

Scientists say they've made a key breakthrough that would allow robots to figure out complex tasks on their own — but experts say it raises questions about how much risk comes with letting robots be in charge of their own learning. 

Gen Z to the rescue! Zoomers are ditching doomscrolling and saving cinema

People born after 1997 are now the most frequent cinemagoers, defying fears that digital natives would lose interest in the big screen

Rumours about the imminent demise of moviegoing may have been overstated, with 2026 now forecast to be the best year at the global box office since the start of the pandemic. And it is generation Z at the forefront of the cinema revival. According to a US-based survey by Fandango, gen Z are now the most frequent cinemagoers, with 87% saying they have seen at least one film in a cinema in the past 12 months. Millennials are close behind at 82%, followed by gen X at 70% and boomers at 58%. Gen Z also go more often than other cohorts, averaging around seven trips a year.

Gen Z – people born between 1997 and 2012 – grew up with near unlimited streaming and social media as their default entertainment. But after spending their lives in algorithm-driven digital spaces, many are beginning to tire of them. “As the internet becomes ever more pervasive, and in many ways ever more annoying, gen Z are looking for experiences beyond the black mirror,” say Benedict and Hannah Townsend, hosts of the film and TV podcast Talk of the Townsends. What gen Z are looking for is a “third space”: a social environment away from home and work. And for many, the cinema can fill that role.

Digested week:Iranian embassy trolls the most ‘powerfool’ man on the planet | Emma Brockes

Diplomats poke fun at Donald Trump, while elsewhere Madonna loses her corset off the back of a golf buggy

The one upside to a rolling international crisis is that it can give backroom people a rare chance to shine. Witness, this week, the breakout stars of the Iranian diplomatic corps, who from two different diplomatic missions managed to poke fun at Donald Trump while maintaining the base-level decorum that so eludes the American president.

Syria arrests suspected leader of Tadamon massacre

Amjad Youssef one of most-wanted fugitives in relation to slaughter of almost 290 civilians under Assad

A Syrian former regime official suspected of leading a notorious civilian massacre revealed by the Guardian – and who became one of the country’s most-wanted fugitives after the fall of Bashar al-Assad – has been arrested by security forces, Syria’s interior ministry announced.

Amjad Youssef was captured in the countryside about 30 miles (50km) outside the city of Hama and had “been taken into custody following a carefully executed security operation”, the interior minister, Anas Khattab, said in a social media post on Friday.

‘Opening the hidden door within us’: how Exit 8 took a simple game to purgatory

Genki Kawamura’s eerie new film expands on a haunting video game that leaves players lost in endless subway tunnels. He explains how this makes viewers and players face their worst fears

Genki Kawamura is something of a polymath. A bestselling author, film-maker, script writer and producer – he is also a lifelong gamer who grew up playing and being inspired by the games of legendary Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto. His latest project Exit 8, now in cinemas, is a fascinating adaptation of the Japanese horror game, developed by a lone coder based in Kyoto, operating under the name Kotake Create. “I was captivated by its game design and the beauty of its visuals,” says Kawamura. “At the same time, I watched many streamers play it. As I did, I realised that although the game is incredibly simple, each player creates their own story, and each streamer brings their own unique reactions. It felt like a device that could reveal something fundamental about human nature.”

The concept behind Exit 8 the game is simple. The player finds themselves trapped in an endlessly looping section of a Tokyo subway station. Viewing the narrow, brightly lit corridors in first-person, you pass the same posters, the same silent commuter, the same locked doors over and over again. The only way to escape is to spot anomalies each time you pass through – maybe the eyes on a poster start following you, maybe the commuter stops and smiles – at which point you have to double back the way you came. Complete eight runs without missing an anomaly and you get to leave through the eponymous way out. There’s no story, no reason for it at all. The mystery is part of the appeal.

Wildfires in Florida after dry winter and spring lead to drought across US

One blaze broke out north-west of Fort Lauderdale in Florida, a state known for its wetlands and everglades

Much of the US is in the grip a widespread drought after a very dry winter and start to spring. South-eastern areas, in particular Florida and Georgia, are experiencing some of the worst of this prolonged bout of dry weather, with calls for the risk to be labelled a level 4 “exceptional” drought in the region, the most severe category. In recent days, strong winds and low humidity conditions have brought an increased fire risk. These ingredients combined with such unusually dry ground have led to multiple large wildfires, particularly across Florida, a state known for its wetlands and everglades.

A fire broke out early on Tuesday morning in Broward County, Florida, just north-west of Fort Lauderdale, scorching an area of more than 3,723 hectares (9,200 acres) as of Thursday afternoon. The National Guard helped Broward’s sheriff, fire and rescue service tackle the blaze, 50% of which has since been contained. Residents nearby and farther west have been warned of reduced air quality as a result of travelling smoke. Fires have been breaking out elsewhere, with multiple active blazes across northern Florida, Georgia and into Alabama. Abnormally dry weather is likely to continue over the next few weeks before the arrival of the rainy season, usually around June, with the drought and fire risk expected to last.

It’s crunch time for the scientists at Cern: the Stephen Collins cartoon

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Rebel Wilson accused of hacking fellow actor’s Snapchat, leading to nude photo leak

Charlotte MacInnes, who is suing Wilson for defamation, says alleged cyber attack was ‘completely terrifying and caused me a new kind of anxiety’

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A rising star who is suing Rebel Wilson says she felt mocked by the Hollywood actor’s wife appearing to reference her testimony in a social media post.

Charlotte MacInnes launched defamation proceedings against the Pitch Perfect star over social media posts that claimed she had made a sexual harassment complaint and retracted it to further her career.

Rule change could pave way for Véron Mosengo-Omba to become president of DRC football federation

• Former Caf general secretary sets sights on Fecofa role

• Swiss national is university friend of Gianni Infantino

Football’s governing body in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the DRC) has changed eligibility rules for its presidential elections, allowing a university friend of Gianni Infantino to stand.

Véron Mosengo-Omba, who was at university with the Fifa president in Switzerland, is a former general secretary of the Confederation of African Football (Caf), and confirmed his candidacy to be president of the DRC’s football federation, Fecofa, this week.

Joe Dunthorne: ‘Growing up in Swansea, I developed an allergy to Dylan Thomas’

The author on feeling Thomas Hardy’s pain, being duped by Donna Tartt and how reading his sister’s copy of Trainspotting made him want to write

My earliest reading memory
I only realised how well I knew the Alfie stories by Shirley Hughes when I started reading them to my own children. Every time we read one now, I’m suddenly back in my attic room in Swansea 40 years ago, watching my dad turn the same pages.

My favourite book growing up
At 10 years old, I read only Terry Pratchett. As far as I was concerned, there were no other authors. I loved everything he wrote but my favourite was Mort, where the eponymous protagonist is Death’s young apprentice. He learns the skills of the trade: traipsing between appointments, meeting the soon-to-die and reaping their souls. I liked how it made the afterlife seem ordinary, even bureaucratic, with the Grim Reaper more like a taxman – unwelcome wherever he goes.

Why Trump wants to spend $1 billion on Great Salt Lake

Utah's Great Salt Lake has been labeled an "environmental nuclear bomb" and it has the attention of the president of the United States.

After 2 failed votes, Mike Johnson unveils new plan to extend key U.S. spy powers

With an April 30 deadline fast approaching, Johnson unveiled his latest proposal to extend the controversial surveillance program known as FISA 702.

Morning news brief

Ongoing U.S. blockade of Strait of Hormuz strands thousands of seafarers, Trump administration eases rules on medical marijuana, Wildfires fueled by drought continue to spread in parts of Georgia.

Ice block stalls hundreds of Everest climbers at base camp

Officials assessing route after serac between base camp and camp one deemed unstable and too risky for climbers

A large ice block on the route just above the Mount Everest base camp has forced hundreds of climbers and local guides to delay their attempt to scale the world’s highest peak.

The serac between base camp and camp one was unstable and risky for climbers, said Himal Gautam of Nepal’s department of mountaineering on Friday.

Carla dal Forno: Confession review – spartan, sunlit post-punk strikingly contrasts the desperation of desire

(Kallista)
The Australian songwriter’s fourth album exists in the captivating chasm between the coolness of her music and the unrepentant obsession of the crush it explores

Across what is now four albums, Australian singer-songwriter Carla dal Forno has moved with an eerily light gait across spartan post-punk landscapes with the occasional spot of sunlight from dub or indie-pop. She has said her latest, Confession, is about “a friendship that became emotionally charged in an unexpected way”, a drama that plays out in a series of riveting scenes. Powered by a New Order-worthy bass line, opener Going Out confesses her shame as a romantic obsession hardens into brute determination; Dal Forno’s tone of voice is unrepentantly chilling as she makes up her mind to acquire her target.

That obsession continues on the title track, though it’s as if Dal Forno tries to brush off how deep it goes by using a bright, gently skanking rhythm (a style familiar to listeners of 2022’s Come Around). The coolly funky Nighttime crackles with erotic potential, but other songs contain hurt and regret – though again, it’s not always mirrored by the music, which takes in naive twee-pop melodies, peppy coldwave and more. All of her conflicted feelings rattle around the superb Under the Covers, about the inexorability of not just attraction, but also the stasis that can set in to a relationship.

Walter Smith III: Twio Vol 2 review – classic jazz is vividly alive in the hands of this incisive saxophonist

(Blue Note)
The redoubtable musician and guests including Branford Marsalis and Ron Carter make standard song-shapes sparkle with focus and rugged phrasing

As the passing of time undoes established norms, the contemporary music world keeps updating the meaning of that collection of styles often bundled up as “classic jazz”. In the 1940s, the modernist bebop movement was jazz’s uncompromising cutting edge, and the music’s early 20th-century roots in street music, plantations, saloons and red-light districts became its classic trad forms.

Thirty years later, bebop’s breakneck melodies and jarring chords became “classic jazz” themselves, overtaken by the free-improv avant garde of Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane, the jazz/rock fusions of Miles Davis, Weather Report and Frank Zappa, and new jazz-influenced folk and contemporary classical forms from all over the world. In those creatively dizzying years, jazzers still wanting to play song-tunes and old-school swing sometimes found themselves mocked by progressives as sad nostalgics. But now, in a 21st-century music world accepting of abundantly competing choices, all that has changed.

Saros review – you’ll strafe until your thumbs hurt in this primal alien shooter

PlayStation 5; Housemarque/Sony
As a fast-firing spaceman, one minute you’re invincible, the next you’re dead – with every battle like watching a firework show through a kaleidoscope

On the planet Carcosa, mangled, blackened trees and crimson flowers take root next to the ruins of some ancient alien civilisation, flanked by statues contorted in pain, tearing at their marble skin. There are metallic tunnels deep underground, chasms of impossible size snaked with cables, so you feel as though you’re exploring the intestines of some giant machine. There’s a House of Leaves quality to these spaces, which shift and change and clearly weren’t built for humans.

You are Arjun Devraj (played by Rahul Kohli), a space security guy who’s on a mission to find missing colonists on an alien world before it all goes a bit Event Horizon and you become the next lost expedition. Classic. There’s some unethical space capitalism happening out here, and Devraj himself is a bit of a traumanaut who brought way too much mental carry-on luggage for this extremely long-haul flight. But it’s nothing that shooting some aliens won’t fix, right?

Sports quiz of the week: title races, snooker drama and marathon records

Have you followed the big stories in football, snooker, cricket, NFL, athletics, rugby league and golf?

Week in wildlife: a tiny harvest mouse, bagel cats and a rhino out for a stroll

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

The Body Builders by Albertine Clarke review – a compelling debut of mental meltdown

A young woman’s dissociation from reality and her road to recovery are vividly rendered in this striking novel

Meet Ada, the anguished young narrator of 26-year-old Albertine Clarke’s radically strange and engrossing debut novel. Adrift in London, Ada occupies herself by swimming in her apartment’s basement pool and generally hiding from the world until she finds herself on the verge of a tumultuous mental collapse. If you’re allergic to the kind of novel in which characters exchange lines such as “I’m not real”, “Neither am I”, then it’s a case of diminishing returns. Otherwise, the book bears rich rewards.

The title refers to Ada’s father, an IT technician who is kicked out by Ada’s mother when he becomes obsessed with the gym – and much of the book explores how we create ourselves and others. Ada grows up surrounded by the marshy countryside near Norwich and early on experiences episodes of dissociation and ontological insecurity, including auditory and visual hallucinations. She imagines a voice on the radio saying her parents are getting divorced. The voice is “like a door swung open inside her head. Through it she could see a black tunnel, like a mine shaft, stretching down inside her.”

Sibelius: Violin Concerto, Lemminkäinen Suite album review – Ava Bahari is an enthralling storyteller

Bahari/Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra/Rouvali
(Alpha)
In this all-Sibelilus disc, violinist Ava Bahari’s account of the Violin Concerto has heft and exuberance, while Rouvali’s dramatic nous suits the drama of the Four Legends of Lemminkäinen

Santtu-Matias Rouvali continues his Gothenburg SO Sibelius survey with this latest instalment pairing a bracing account of the Violin Concerto by Swedish violinist Ava Bahari with the proto-symphonic Lemminkäinen Suite.

Bahari is an enthralling storyteller, investing every phrase with musical intention. The opening Allegro moderato is a silvery toned tour de force supported by Rouvali and the Gothenburgers’ gossamer textures, yet there is plenty of heft and a suitable darkness to the collective sound when required. The slow movement is a lyrical oasis before conductor and soloist kick up their heels in a chuckling account of the exuberant finale.

Widow’s Bay to Should I Marry a Murderer? The seven best shows to stream this week

Matthew Rhys stars in a genuinely creepy comedy horror from the maker of Parks & Rec. Plus, the woman who turned informant when her fiancé confessed that he’d killed a man

Homes for sale in England with smart storage – in pictures

From a country cottage with double-height bookshelves to a new-build flat in London with ‘period’ panelling hiding tech

2 young people arrested in alleged plot to attack Houston synagogue

Two young people have been arrested in an alleged plot to attack a Texas synagogue that involved driving through the congregation to "kill as many Jews as possible," according authorities.

‘You have to reflect the language to capture people’s souls’: Martina Laird on calypso, patois and the RSC

The former Casualty actor wrote Driftwood – a family drama set against the backdrop of Trinidadian independence – as a private act after reconnecting with her roots. It was like solving a crossword, she says

More than two decades ago, the actor Martina Laird took a trip back to her past. As part of the ensemble on the TV drama Casualty, in which she played paramedic Comfort Jones, she was a household face with a rewarding job, yet she felt stuck in her life. “Things weren’t developing,” she remembers. “I went: ‘OK, there’s stuff to go and face in the past.’”

She travelled to St Kitts, where she was born, to look for the Black Caribbean mother from whom she had been separated at the age of three, when her white British father took her to live with his family in Trinidad. “It was a relatively privileged upbringing but there’s always questions. So I went to St Kitts and I met the family that I had not known was there. I thought that I could keep myself shielded and not let people in but that was not the case. It all had to just crack open. Afterwards, the world seemed to me beautifully upside down. Everything I knew to be feared was loved and everything that was down was up.”

Trump administration vows crackdown on Chinese firms 'exploiting' U.S. AI models

The Trump administration is vowing to crack down on foreign tech companies' exploitation of U.S. artificial intelligence models, singling out China at a time that country is narrowing the gap with the U.S. in the AI race.

EU approves a $106 billion loan package to help Ukraine after Hungary lifts its veto

The European Union on Thursday approved a $106-billion loan package to help Ukraine meet its economic and military needs for two years, ending months of political deadlock.

‘I’ll keep doing it as long as I can’: Harry Newton, London Marathon’s oldest runner at 88

Retired grocer from Macclesfield is proof that running is not just a young person’s game after only starting his journey at the age of 57

At a time when running has never been more popular with generation Z, one man is proving that it is not just a young person’s game. The oldest athlete in this Sunday’s London Marathon is 88-year-old Harry Newton – whose remarkable running journey only started by chance when he was 57.

Since then Newton, a retired grocer from Macclesfield, has completed 31 marathons, including 21 at London and another by jogging 461 times around his garden during lockdown. And he has a simple message for nervous first timers this weekend. “Don’t try to run too quickly, and keep a steady pace,” he says. “And make sure your bowels are empty.”

Two men made mistakes over Mandelson – only one has lost his job. That should haunt Starmer | Gaby Hinsliff

As the bodies pile up and he continues to blame everyone but himself, respect for the prime minister is draining steadily away

A good leader never asks their people to do something they wouldn’t do themselves. Hold others to the highest standards, by all means, but only if you have equally high expectations of yourself: otherwise you may command obedience in politics but never respect, and over time even that grudging compliance may come laced with contempt. And so it is, less than two years into power, for Keir Starmer.

Nobody in government emerges well from the story of Peter Mandelson’s journey to Washington, and that includes Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office mandarin sacked for not telling Downing Street that its chosen ambassador had set off fire alarms inside the vetting process. Robbins could arguably have saved himself by kicking this intensely political decision upstairs, albeit to a prime minister famous for not really doing politics: he could have just let Starmer choose between the public humiliation of telling the Americans that the man he wanted to send into their highly classified midst was a potential security risk, or the gamble of sending Mandelson anyway but with added guardrails.

Gaby Hinsliiff is a Guardian columnist

Guardian Newsroom: Can Labour come back from the brink?
On Thursday 30 April, join Gaby Hinsliff, Zoe Williams, Polly Toynbee and Rafael Behr as they discuss how much of a threat Labour faces from the Green party and Reform UK – and whether Keir Starmer can survive as leader. Book tickets here

Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for orange, grapefruit and bay jelly | The sweet spot

You’re never too old for a jelly, especially if it has the rather grownup tang of grapefruit and the earthy notes of bay leaf

You’re never too old for jelly, and I think we should all be eating more of it. Unmoulding a jelly and immediately giving it a good wobble is by far the best bit, and makes me giggle every time. Infusing the mixture with fresh bay leaves brings a grownup feel and gentle, earthy notes. While jelly and ice-cream is a classic combination, I love this just with some lightly whipped, unsweetened cream.

Hat trick: what to wear with a baseball cap

The sun is out, and the sensible ones among us are already wearing hats and SPF. Not a hat person? Try a slogan cap. They work with almost anything

Country diary: The quiet vitality of a well-managed churchyard | Phil Gates

Brancepeth, County Durham: It’s nearly 30 years since St Brandon’s was devastated by fire. Today, both inside and out, it is full of light and life

“Please close the door. It conserves heat and keeps the organ in tune,” requests the notice inside the church door. It’s pleasantly warm inside, on this chilly April morning. But on the night of 16 September 1998, temperatures here exceeded 1,000C, when fire consumed the old organ, along with the floors, window, roof and 900 years of history, leaving a charred shell.

Seven years of reconstruction and renewal followed, creating a light, airy interior: simple pale oak has replaced the darker, more intricate furnishings, and a new east window portrays an exotic floral paradise.

NFL draft 2026: Mendoza goes No 1 as Rams surprise with move for QB Ty Simpson at No 13

• Pick-by-pick: all the selections from the first round

• Two quarterbacks go in Thursday’s first round

The story of the first round of the 2026 NFL draft surrounded a quarterback but it wasn’t No 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza.

As expected, the Las Vegas Raiders selected Mendoza with the first pick on Thursday after he led Indiana to the national title last season. But the shock of the night came when the Los Angeles Rams picked another quarterback, Alabama’s Ty Simpson, at No 13. The Rams current starting quarterback, Matthew Stafford, was named NFL MVP last season and Simpson was projected to be a second-round pick by many analysts. However, Stafford turned 38 in February and the Rams are starting to plan for life without him, although head coach Sean McVay insisted the veteran will remain the starter for the time being. “This is Matthew’s team,” said McVay.

‘I nearly quit to become a fencing teacher’: Iron Maiden on 50 years of heavy metal, hard living – and hopeless communication skills

As a career-spanning documentary hits cinemas and the band eye two nights at Knebworth, they revisit their path from pubs to stadiums – but how did they get through their crisis-filled 1990s?

When I ask Iron Maiden bassist and founder Steve Harris about the fact his band have lasted for more than half a century, he sounds bewildered, as if he’s put something down then forgotten where he’s left it. “It’s gone so quick. You go on tour for a few months and it seems to fly, but so much happens. Our whole career is an extension of that – for 50 years.”

He’s looking back on how he steered one of the most influential – and deeply idiosyncratic – British bands in history. Catapulted to the premier league of 80s metal on the back of galloping, theatrical, multi-platinum LPs including The Number of the Beast, Powerslave and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Iron Maiden not only survived the mid-90s slump that befell many metal bands, but got even more heavy and ambitious.

Experience: I’ve won £1m on the lottery – twice

The chances of that happening? Over 24 trillion to one

I have played the lottery since I was 18. I always felt I was going to win big one day. When my children were born, I started using regular numbers based on their birthdays and birth weights. In June 2018, I was doing a client’s colour at my hair salon in Talgarth in mid-Wales, where I live. While we waited for the colour to take, I got my lottery ticket and popped next door to the shop to check if I had won anything.

The shop was busy. It’s a small town, and as a hairdresser I knew everyone in the queue, so we started chatting away. The woman behind the till scanned my ticket. She said, “I’ll have to give you the ticket back. I can’t pay it.” The person from the Post Office counter said, “I can pay up to £50,000 if he wants to come here.” She replied, “No, it’s more than that.” Everyone in the queue was asking, “What’s he won?”

Europe is in a profound state of crisis. Luckily, we know what to do | Nathalie Tocci and Anu Bradford

We assembled a group of the continent’s leading thinkers to assess the threats: their warnings are stark, but the remedy is within reach

Caught between Vladimir Putin’s Russia, Donald Trump’s US and Xi Jinping’s China, Europe appears in a state of profound crisis, the narrative about its future often filled with fatalism. There is a paradox, however. Despite rising nationalism, the climate crisis and the economic slowdown, few would take issue with the claim that Europe still has a great deal going for it. Asked to choose where in the world they would want to live, there is a good chance that most Europeans would still pick Europe over other continents.

The news is not relentlessly negative either. While much of the political commentary in recent years has focused on the rise of far-right nationalism across the continent, its most prominent symbol, Hungary’s former autocrat Viktor Orbán, was ousted in a landslide election this month.

In ‘deep shit’: tourist stuck in excrement for hours after pit toilet collapses in Australian outback

The woman, who was visiting the Henbury meteorite crater near Alice Springs, was left feeling shaken by the ordeal

What started as a routine trip to the bathroom ended in horror after a long-drop toilet collapsed in the Northern Territory, stranding a tourist waist-deep in excrement for several hours before she was rescued by a tradesman.

The woman, who was visiting the Henbury meteorite crater about 120km south of Alice Springs with her partner and two children from Canberra, entered the long-drop toilet on Sunday afternoon and didn’t emerge for three hours.

How a simple consumer data breach spiralled into a national security crisis in US-South Korea relations

Washington’s focus on online retailer Coupang has led to accusations that the Trump administration is tying issues of national security to domestic corporate matters

When South Korea’s biggest online retailer revealed last year that a data breach had compromised tens of millions of customer accounts, it appeared to be a corporate crisis. But five months later the issue has grown into a diplomatic storm, threatening to further degrade relations between Seoul and the Trump administration.

Coupang – often described as South Korea’s answer to Amazon – is nominally a Korean company but operates from Seattle, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and is run by Korean-American billionaire Bom Kim. In November last year the company disclosed that a former employee had stolen an internal security key, enabling unauthorised access to data from 33.7 million users.

The 2026 NFL Draft: See the full list of first-round picks

The 2026 NFL Draft is taking place in Pittsburgh. Here is the full list of Round 1 picks.

Trump confirms he's weighing a taxpayer takeover of Spirit Airlines "for the right price"

President Trump said Thursday that he was weighing a taxpayer-funded takeover of Spirit Airlines​ with the intent of reselling the struggling budget carrier​ after oil prices drop.

4/23: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Trump gives shoot and kill order for boats putting mines in Strait of Hormuz; Chevron CEO expects air travel disruptions due to jet fuel shortage.

US special forces soldier who won $409K on Maduro bet is arrested

The soldier allegedly bet on Nicolás Maduro's removal as president of Venezuela before news of the raid was reported, sources told CBS News.

Planning a summer flight? Book now before prices surge, airline experts say.

"If you haven't booked for this summer, get busy," Atmosphere Research Group Airline industry analyst Henry Harteveldt told CBS News.

1 killed, 5 injured and 5 in custody in shooting at Mall of Louisiana, police say

Police said the shooting appeared to have happened after two groups of people got into an argument in the mall's food court.

Justice Department eases restrictions on some marijuana products

The order places FDA-approved products containing marijuana and state-regulated medical marijuana products at a lower drug classification.

India voices anger after Trump shares comments calling it a ‘hellhole’

Foreign ministry says remarks of conservative podcast host Michael Savage that were shared by US president were ‘obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste’

India on Thursday criticised as inappropriate a post by Donald Trump in which he shared comments that called the South Asian country a “hellhole”.

The inflammatory post on Truth Social comes ahead of a planned visit next month to India by the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who is seeking to ease recent tensions between the normally friendly powers.

The 2026 NFL Draft is happening now. Here's how to watch.

Here is what to know about where and when to watch the 2026 NFL Draft.

US soldier involved in Maduro raid charged over alleged bets on capture

Gannon Ken Van Dyke, who allegedly made more than $400,000 on Polymarket, could face up to 60 years in prison

A US soldier who played a role in the January capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro is now in custody after allegedly cashing in over $400,000 on wagers about the politician’s removal from office, federal authorities announced on Thursday.

Prosecutors say beginning in early December the soldier, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, was involved in planning for the military operation to capture and depose Maduro.

Dallas Police Department throws retirement party for K-9 after he and his officer were shot

Dallas Police Corporal Scott Jay has been in some dangerous situations on the job, but nothing like when he and his K-9 were shot. Tony Dokoupil has the story.

Summer travel costs are rising, analyst says book now

The surging price of jet fuel has driven domestic airfare up about 18% compared to last year, meaning customers are paying about $55 more per trip. Kris Van Cleave reports ahead of summer travel.

2 missing USF doctoral students are now considered endangered, police say

Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, both 27, were last seen in the Tampa area on April 16, the University of South Florida Police Department said​. Loved ones say their disappearances are out of character and they're concerned.

Government recategorizes marijuana to a lower drug classification

For the first time since 1970, the federal government has reclassified marijuana from the most dangerous category downward into a less dangerous category. Dr. Jon LaPook breaks it down.

Ukraine war briefing: Trump bristles at Prince Harry’s passionate plea for Ukraine

Duke of Sussex says US must ‘honour obligations’ as it persuaded Ukraine to give up nuclear weapons; US president retorts that Harry doesn’t speak for Britain. What we know on day 1,521

Donald Trump has said the Duke of Sussex “is not speaking for the UK” after Prince Harry told the US to honour its obligations in the Ukrainian conflict. “I think I am speaking for the UK more than Prince Harry … But I appreciate his advice very much,” said Trump, responding to the duke’s lengthy, impassioned speech at the Kyiv Security Forum on Thursday. Harry, an ex-serviceman, did not claim to be speaking for the UK. He said he was “not here as a politician” but as “a soldier who understands service” and a “humanitarian”.

Harry said: “The United States has a singular role in this story. Not only because of its power, but because when Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons, America was part of the assurance that Ukraine’s sovereignty and borders would be respected. This is a moment for American leadership, a moment for America, to show that it can honour its international treaty obligations – not out of charity but out of its own enduring role in global security and strategic stability.”

A Ukrainian MP has told how he flew a drone intercepter from thousands of kilometres away, throwing a spotlight on the effectiveness of Ukraine’s technology. Marian Zablotskiy said that in a “historic experiment … I piloted an FPV interceptor drone first from my office, then from right in front of the state border, and then from somewhere about 2,000km away from the drone itself – from abroad. I consider this breakthrough a decisive factor in finally stopping the Russian offensive.”

Ukrainian drone manufacturer Wild Hornets confirmed Zablotskiy’s involvement to Agence France-Presse and said it wanted the remote control system to “become the primary method of drone control”. Mykhailo Fedorov, the defence minister in Kyiv, said: “Ukraine is the first in the world to systematically scale up remote control of interceptor drones. Today, we have confirmed results – the downing of targets at distances of hundreds and thousands of kilometres.”

NTSB releases preliminary report about deadly LaGuardia collision

The National Transportation Safety Board just released its preliminary findings about what happened to cause the deadly runway collision at LaGuardia between a firetruck and a plane last month. Kris Van Cleave reports on the details.

U.S. soldier charged with using classified information to bet on Maduro's removal

It's the first time suspected insider trading on Polymarket has led to criminal charges in the U.S.

U.S. soldier arrested after allegedly using Maduro capture knowledge to make big bets

A U.S. Army soldier is under arrest on Thursday after allegedly helping to plan and execute the capture of Nicolas Maduro and using that advanced knowledge to make a series of big bets on the prediction platform Polymarket.

Trump says "I want to take my time" on negotiations with Iran

President Trump announced progress in the conflict between Israel and Iran's proxies in Lebanon, extending the ceasefire by three weeks. Ed O'Keefe reports on the latest from the war with Iran.

Police stop man allegedly planning mass shooting at Jazz Fest

Florida police say they stopped a mass shooting by arresting a man who was on his way to Jazz Fest in New Orleans with a handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Cristian Benavides has details.

2 rival groups open fire in Louisiana mall food court

A shooting broke out at a major mall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where police said a feud in the food court ended with bullets flying and at least five people in the hospital. Matt Gutman reports.

Florida and Georgia wildfires scorch acres

Dozens of wildfires burned across Florida and Georgia on Thursday. Mark Strassmann reports from the wildfire zone in Waynesville, Georgia, and Rob Marciano has the forecast.

DOJ office aiding indigent immigrants stalls after lawyers were reassigned

Attorneys for a DOJ program that accredits nonprofits to help provide legal help to immigrants were transferred last month, creating setbacks for a number of legal aid groups.

Premier League and FA Cup semi-finals: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Spurs face must-win game at Wolves, Arsenal fight to keep title hopes alive and Chelsea step into a post-Rosenior world

Maybe it is a case of fourth time lucky for Nottingham Forest. Certainly Vítor Pereira – manager No 4 in the most chaotic of seasons – is doing something right. The Europa League semi-finalists are unbeaten in their last five Premier League games and will arrive at the Stadium of Light knowing victory would move them within touching distance of safety. Their visit should provide an interesting tactical challenge for Sunderland. Régis Le Bris’ side often excel on the counterattack but Forest are likely to sit deep and invite their hosts to unpick their packed defence while hoping to hurt them on the break. Le Bris will surely need Nordi Mukiele to advance with typical verve from right-back, while, in midfield, Noah Sadiki and Enzo Le Fée will be required to demonstrate precisely why they are being watched by several leading clubs. This Sunderland team often play with real and refreshing personality. Can Forest subdue them? Louise Taylor

Sunderland v Nottingham Forest, Premier League, Friday 8pm (all times BST)

Fulham v Aston Villa, Premier League, Saturday 12.30pm

West Ham v Everton, Premier League, Saturday 3pm

Wolves v Tottenham, Premier League, Saturday 3pm

Spirit Airlines lawyer says cash 'not going to last for very much longer,' but government rescue on the table

Spirit Airlines confirmed it is in talks with the Trump administration for a rescue package.

Microsoft and Meta announce large staff reductions as they spend big on AI

Meta said it would cut 10% of it employees while Microsoft will offer voluntary retirement to about 7% of workers

Meta and Microsoft are trimming their workforces by thousands as they make heavy investments in AI and executives claim that the technology is meeting their companies’ productivity needs.

Meta told staff on Thursday that on 20 May it would cut some 10% of its personnel – just under 8,000 employees– to boost efficiency, part of a layoff plan made months ago. The company is also closing about 6,000 open roles. The same day, Microsoft announced to employees, for the first time, that it would offer voluntary retirement to about 7% of its American workforce of roughly 125,000.

The federal agents deployed in Trump’s immigration crackdown – visualized

These are the agencies detaining people across the US – mostly, but not all, under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security

When the Trump administration ordered a surge of armed federal immigration enforcement personnel on to the streets of Minneapolis, the Department of Homeland Security declared it the largest operation in its history and the liberal midwestern city became Donald Trump’s latest chosen hotspot.

Such escalations mark the US president’s agenda of mass arrests and deportations from the US interior. The highest-profile efforts involve officers from multiple agencies rushing to prominent Democratic-led US cities, against local leaders’ wishes. But coast to coast, federal officers have been raiding homes, businesses, commercial parking lots – even schools, hospitals and courthouses. The efforts have delighted the president’s hardcore Make America Great Again voter base, but are also tearing families apart and spreading fear and even death on the streets and in detention.

Trump says Americans should expect higher gas prices for 'a little while'

Trump's remarks came as most Americans say they have cut spending due to high gas prices, according to the latest CNBC All-America Economic survey.

4/23: CBS Evening News

Out-of-control wildfires burn thousands of acres; a deadly mass shooting at a Louisiana mall.

French police probe suspected weather device tampering after odd Polymarket bet

The incident is the latest eyebrow-raising bet on Polymarket, as allegations of rigging and manipulation continue to haunt the popular prediction market site.

Only one Trump "gold card" visa has been approved, Lutnick says

The Trump administration started accepting applications in December for foreigners willing to pay $1 million for the right to live in the U.S.

The FDA gives the green light to the first gene therapy for deafness

The treatment, developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, is for a very rare form of deafness. But it represents a medical milestone.

Chevron CEO: Aviation sector to "probably get worse over the next few weeks"

"Flights may not be as abundant as they otherwise would have been," Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told Margaret Brennan. "I think planes will probably be more full than they would have been. And yes, fares, fares could be higher."

Former federal prosecutors see legal flaws in DOJ's SPLC indictment

Former federal prosecutors think the indictment struggles to articulate the elements of the alleged crimes in the case, a problem that could lead to its full or partial dismissal.

Meta will cut 10% of workforce as company pushes deeper into AI

Meta plans to lay off 10% of its workforce, about 8,000 employees, as the company continues to ramp up investments in artificial intelligence.

Meta to cut 8,000 jobs as it charges into AI

Meta plans to lay off roughly 10% of its workforce as the technology giant steps up its spending on artificial intelligence.

Regeneron inks drug pricing deal with Trump, will offer new hearing-loss therapy for free

Regeneron is the latest in a string of major drugmakers to make pricing concessions for new and existing medicines under agreements with Trump.

World Cup final tickets listed for more than $2m on Fifa’s resale site

• Four seats are put on sale for $2,299,998.85 each

• Fifa doesn’t set offerings, but some go above $100,000

• Governing body takes 15% from both buyer and seller

Fifa’s resale site has four tickets on sale for the World Cup final for just under $2.3m each.

The $2,299,998.85 seats for the 19 July match at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, are located behind a goal in the lower deck of the arena.

Nvidia backs AI company Vast Data at $30 billion valuation

The chip giant has increasingly become an investor of companies involved in the AI boom.

Nearly 208,000 heated socks sold at Costco recalled due to burn injuries

The 32 Degrees Heated Socks can pose a burn risk due to the combination of heat, friction, moisture and pressure created during athletic activities.

DOJ watchdog investigating handling of Jeffrey Epstein files

Congress passed the Jeffrey Epstein files law in November after then-Attorney General Pam Bondi reneged on a promise to release the DOJ's investigatory file.

D4vd possessed child sexual abuse images, LA murder prosecutors say

Police allegedly found images on iCloud account of singer accused of killing 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez

A Los Angeles prosecutor said that the singer D4vd, who was charged this week in the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, was in possession of a “significant amount of child pornography”.

Police allegedly found the images on the iCloud account of the 21-year-old singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke.

Slovenia to air films about Palestine instead of Eurovision song contest

Ireland and Spain will also not broadcast Eurovision after decision to boycott live event over Israel’s participation

National broadcasters in Ireland, Spain and Slovenia will not air the Eurovision song contest this year, after they decided to boycott the event over Israel’s participation.

Having announced it would not submit a national entry, the Slovenian broadcaster RTV confirmed on Thursday it would implement a broadcasting blackout of the world’s largest live music event and instead show a series of films about Palestine.

Foreign Office unit tracking Israel’s potential breaches of international law closes due to cuts

Exclusive: Officials warn department will also lose access to database of 26,000 verified incidents due to cuts

The Foreign Office unit tracking potential breaches of international law by Israel in Gaza and more recently Lebanon has been closed because of cuts within the department, the Guardian can reveal.

The decision to shut the international humanitarian law cell follows a review by Olly Robbins, the permanent secretary at the Foreign Office dismissed last week by the prime minister over the Peter Mandelson scandal.

Microsoft plans first-ever voluntary employee buyout for up to 7% of U.S. workforce

Microsoft's inaugural voluntary buyouts will be open to workers at the senior director level and below whose years of employment and age add up to 70 or more.

White House warns of 'industrial-scale' efforts in China to rip off U.S. AI tech

The U.S. government has previously accused China of targeting American AI technology and intellectual property.

‘Kraken-like’ giant octopuses 100m years ago crunched bones of prey

Study of fossilised beaks shows patterns of wear and suggests some ancient species were up to 19 metres long

Giant “kraken-like” octopuses that used powerful beaks to crunch through bones of prey were among the most formidable predators of the Cretaceous oceans, according to research.

Analysis of dozens of newly identified fossils reveals that some ancient octopus species reached up to 19 metres in length, meaning they would have rivalled – and possibly even preyed upon – apex predators such as mosasaurs and plesiosaurs.

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts yet again

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupted again early Thursday, marking its 45th episode since December 2024.

Thousands call on UK ministers to cut ties with US tech giant Palantir

More than 200,000 have signed petitions urging the government to break contracts amid concerns about the company’s ‘supervillain’ manifesto

More than 200,000 people have called on ministers to break contracts with Palantir in an apparent groundswell of public concern about the US tech company’s role in the NHS, police, military and councils.

Two petitions have attracted 229,000 signatures, one calling for the government to end all public contracts with the company, the software of which is used by Donald Trump’s ICE immigration enforcement programme and the Israeli military, and another urging the health secretary, Wes Streeting, to cancel its £330m patient data contract with the NHS.

The Guardian view on Anthropic’s Claude Mythos: when AI finds every flaw, who controls the internet? | Editorial

Tech can scale cyber-attacks and defences alike, raising questions about private power, public risk and the future of a shared internet

Anthropic announced its latest AI model, Claude Mythos, this month but said it would not be released publicly, because it turns computers into crime scenes. The company claimed that it could find previously unknown “zero-day” flaws, exploit them and, in principle, link these weaknesses in order to take over major operating systems and web browsers. Mythos did so autonomously, writing code and obtaining privileges. The implications are significant. It’s like a burglar being able to target any building, get inside, unlock every door and empty every safe.

The Silicon Valley company has so far named 40 organisations as partners under Project Glasswing to help mount a defence – asking them to “patch” vulnerabilities before hackers get a chance to exploit them. All are American, sitting at the heart of the US-led digital system. Anthropic shared Mythos with only Britain outside the US, allowing the AI Security Institute to test frontier models. After seeing it up close, British ministers warned: AI is about to make cyber-attacks much easier and faster, and most businesses are not ready. Banks in Europe are likely to test it next.

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Starbucks' loyalty program changes are drawing value-conscious customers

Starbucks made some major changes to its long-standing loyalty program last month.

‘Extraordinary and original poet’ JH Prynne dies aged 89

The maverick writer and scholar was a pioneer in 60s avant garde circles, and emerged as a cult figure despite an aversion to publicity, and poetry that was hard to parse

Jeremy Halvard Prynne, known as JH Prynne, a maverick figure in British poetry, died on 22 April at the age of 89.

“Jeremy was an extraordinary and original human, which is no surprise because he was an extraordinary and original poet,” said Peter Gizzi, the American poet who introduced a reissue of Prynne’s 1969 collection The White Stones. “The word ‘genius’ gets tossed around, but if anyone was, he certainly was.”

Michael Tilson Thomas, award-winning conductor and composer, dies aged 81

Renowned artist, who won 12 Grammys, died at home after being diagnosed with an aggressive type of brain cancer

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Michael Tilson Thomas, a leading American conductor for a half-century who headed orchestras in Buffalo, Miami, London and San Francisco while also composing, died on Wednesday. He was 81.

Tilson Thomas had surgery for a brain tumor in 2021 and resumed his career, then said in February 2025 that the tumor had returned. He conducted his final concert with the San Francisco Symphony in April 2025 and died at his home in San Francisco, spokesperson Connie Shuman said.