Controversial FDA official leaving drug center post in latest departure at agency

Dr. Tracy Beth Høeg, leader of the Food and Drug Administration division responsible for regulating prescription and over-the-counter drugs, is leaving her post, a senior FDA official confirmed.

A longtime Atlanta principal retired, then returned to his school as a handyman

David White retired as the longtime principal at the Burgess-Peterson Academy in Atlanta, and then returned to the school as its handyman.

School principal retires, but returns as a handyman: "I'm contributing meaningfully"

58-year-old David White retired after 33 years in education, the last 15 spent as an elementary school principal in Atlanta. But after "just hanging out with the cat," he decided to go back to school as a handyman. Steve Hartman goes "On the Road" with the story.

2 senators call on FAA to study impact of reduced flight attendant staffing

Sens. Tammy Duckworth​ of Illinois and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin say their concern is there may be more emergency exit doors than flight attendants in the event of an evacuation.

Prominent N.Y. synagogue targeted in alleged terror plot, prosecutors say

An Iraqi national allegedly plotted to carry out terror attacks in the U.S., including at a prominent synagogue in New York, prosecutors said Friday.

Iraqi accused of terrorism attacks and plots in US and Europe arrested and charged

Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi appeared in US federal court to face six terrorism-related charges

The US justice department has arrested and charged an Iraqi national accused of involvement in nearly 20 alleged terror attacks and attempted attacks across the US and Europe.

The wave of violence attributed to Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi has caused huge concern in many European countries but especially the UK, where Jewish community centres, charities, synagogues and other sites have been targeted in recent weeks.

Despite what social media tells me, I’m looking forward to getting older and earning my greys | Eleanor Burnard

I’m relishing the exploits of older women online who are proving that age does not mean you have to dim your whimsy or lose your style

About a decade ago, on the eve of my 20th birthday, I was paralysed with an impending sense of existential doom. With my teenage years now behind me I believed that my youth (and therefore my life) was essentially over. A truly asinine thought to look back on as I approach another milestone birthday – 30.

As it turns out, I wasn’t suddenly transformed into a haggard crone as soon as the clock hit midnight like some kind of grotesque Cinderella; I was still a fresh-faced baby turning into an ever-so-slightly older baby who had no idea on how to operate in the world – who among us does at that age?

Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads

Australian fashion week 2026: best looks – in pictures

From a dress you’ll never regret, to one with an entire table inside it, here are the highlights from Australian fashion week’s 2026 collections

***

From bottles to bars: easy swaps to cut plastic from your personal care routine

Almost all cosmetic packaging is thrown away. But with a bit of forethought, it’s not hard to keep both your skin and your conscience squeaky clean

• Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint

• Got a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at [email protected]

Who hasn’t opened a bathroom cupboard on a cleaning spree, scanned the shelves of half-full volumiser, long-forgotten eye shadow palettes and blunt razors and tossed them in the bin – one guilty, satisfying clunk at a time? Very few of us, since 95% of cosmetic packaging is thrown away.

Given the Australian cosmetics and beauty industry was valued at $17.25b in 2025, this amounts to an incredible volume of waste. To add insult to injury, almost 60% of beauty packaging is made from plastic, with the complicated makeup of spray bottles, pumps and tubes meaning they are difficult to recycle.

Scheffler remains in hunt at halfway despite ‘absurd’ pin positions at US PGA

• Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy lead on four under

• Rory McIlroy makes progress after poor opening day

“Golf should be a pleasure,” wrote Donald Ross, the man who designed Aronimink, “not a penance.” And a fine sentiment it is, too, even if it wasn’t immediately clear that any of the many men competing here for the PGA Championship were having very much fun doing it. Shane Lowry didn’t seem to be when he shanked the ball into the water at 17, nor did Scottie Scheffler when he threatened to slam down his wedge after hitting one thick on the 6th, and Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley didn’t look too enthused when they were busy ranting at the rules officials who put them on the clock for slow play.

The pleasure, such as it was, seemed to be mostly in purists’ appreciation of the high standard of lag putting on show, and everyone else’s schadenfreude at watching the world’s best golfers endure the same sort of frustrations amateur hackers suffer every weekend.

Trump says China and Taiwan should 'both cool it'

President Donald Trump spoke about Taiwan after a two-day visit to China, where he said he discussed Iran, and trade deals with Chinese President Xi Jingping.

Trump talks up trade deals with China, but experts see no big wins for U.S.

President Trump's trip to China could bolster economic relations, but failed to deliver a breakthrough deal, some trade and energy experts said.

1 firefighter dead, 10 other people injured in fire and explosion at lumber mill

Firefighters responded to a fire at Robbins Lumber in Searsmont, Maine, about 95 miles from Portland.

Driverless Waymo cars get into traffic jam in Atlanta

Atlanta residents woke up to Waymo traffic jams on Friday. The driverless cars took over a quiet cul-de-sac. Skyler Henry has more details.

What did Trump, Xi accomplish from China summit?

President Trump has wrapped his high-stakes summit with China, calling it "very good," but it's hard to tell exactly what the takeaway is. Ed O'Keefe has more details.

SpaceX launches cargo ship to International Space Station

The International Space Station-bound SpaceX Cargo Dragon is loaded with 6,500 pounds of needed equipment, research gear and crew supplies.

Health officials battle new Ebola outbreak: Doctor who survived virus speaks out

Doctors are monitoring an Ebola epidemic in Africa that may be to blame for dozens of deaths so far. Lilia Luciano reports and spoke with a U.S. doctor who recovered from the virus.

Wind-driven wildfires rip across Texas Panhandle

Powerful winds fueled wildfires that raced through the Texas Panhandle this week. Firefighters are working around the clock to get the upper hand. Jason Allen reports and Rob Marciano has the forecast.

Trump’s lack of focus on human rights in China is big departure for US diplomacy

Change reflects both transformation of US in Trump era and China’s increasing confidence on world stage

Asked before he departed for Beijing if he would raise with the Chinese president the case of Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy activist jailed in Hong Kong, Donald Trump said: “I’ll bring him up.”

But, the US president added: “It’s like saying to me, ‘If Comey ever went to jail, would you let him out?’ It might be a hard one for me.” Trump was referring to James B Comey, a former FBI director and a frequent target of Trump’s ire.

Explosion rips through historic Maine lumber mill, injuring at least 11

A massive explosion at a historic lumber mill in Maine injured multiple people on Friday. Ash-har Quraishi reports.

Terror plot targeting Jewish institutions foiled, suspect under arrest

A terror plot targeting Jewish institutions in New York, California and Arizona has been foiled, and a man linked to the alleged scheme is under arrest on Friday. Prosecutors say the Iraqi suspect is tied to other global attacks and claim he wanted payback for the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran. Tom Hanson reports.

Supreme Court rejects Virginia Democrats' bid to revive new congressional map

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a bid by Virginia Democrats to revive its new voter-approved congressional map that was drawn to advantage the party for the upcoming midterm elections.

Where is Dela Rosa? Philippine senator outmanoeuvres president in evading arrest

Chaotic week in which enforcer of ‘war on drugs’ flees senate building leaves government looking ‘incompetent’

The wanted man outran security agents, rallied protesters and even serenaded the media with a military hymn. Then, after a sudden exchange of gunfire, the Philippines’ most controversial lawmaker slipped out of the heavily guarded senate building in the middle of the night.

Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who is wanted by the international criminal court for crimes against humanity, is now nowhere to be seen.

UK joins European deal to send rejected asylum seekers to third-country hubs

All 46 Council of Europe members sign agreement ‘deplored’ by human rights organisations

The UK and 45 other European countries have signed an agreement that explicitly endorses plans to send unwanted asylum seekers to third country hubs.

A political declaration from the 46 members of the Council of Europe, the body that oversees the European convention on human rights (ECHR), said states had an “undeniable sovereign right” to control their borders.

Supreme Court is death knell for Virginia's Democratic-friendly congressional maps

The new map was drawn by Democrats and approved by Virginia voters, but the state Supreme Court declared the referendum null and void because lawmakers failed to follow the proper procedures to get the issue on the ballot.

Increasing bear encounters across U.S.

The U.S. is seeing more bear encounters that have gotten so dangerous that the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has closed some of its popular hiking trails. Mark Strassmann reports.

5/15: CBS Evening News

An Iraqi national was charged with plotting terror attacks in the U.S.; several were injured in a massive explosion at a Maine lumber mill.

Pep Guardiola swears he’s not leaving Manchester City before contract ends

• FA Cup final will be 24th trip to stadium as City manager

• Spaniard aiming to win 17th major honour in decade

Pep Guardiola has described his ­decade managing Manchester City as “fucking fun”, and suggested Saturday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea might not be the last time he leads the team out at Wembley.

While Guardiola’s contract expires in summer 2027, there is increasing expectation that he will depart the club in the close season. Saturday’s final will be City’s 24th cup appearance at the national stadium under the Spaniard, with Guardiola aiming to claim the 17th major trophy of his 10 years in charge.

Gentle Monster review – disquieting drama about two women facing the truth about the men they love

Cannes film festival: Léa Seydoux is a wife and mother whose life unravels when police arrive to quiz her husband; Jella Haase is a detective dealing with her ailing father’s misdeeds

Marie Kreutzer is the Austrian director who created impressive and stylish pictures such as the psychological thriller The Ground Beneath My Feet and the Habsburg biopic Corsage. Now she brings us this coldly eloquent and disquieting Franco-German drama about two women who find themselves imprisoned by a duty of care and loyalty to the men in their lives. One discovers something terrible about her husband and immediately goes into a state of negotiated denial, the other loves her demanding job as a police officer, and is all the more dependent on the live-in cleaner/care worker who looks after her difficult elderly father.

Léa Seydoux plays the first, Lucy Weiss, a French musician who has built up an enthusiastic, though niche following for her experimental pop-classical hybrid performances. Her mother, played in cameo by Catherine Deneuve, was a more conventionally successful concert pianist. Lucy has a comfortable home in Munich with her German TV director husband, Philip (Laurence Rupp), and their lively nine-year-old son, Johnny (Malo Blanchet). But Philip has had a breakdown, collapsing sobbing in Lucy’s arms, apparently due to overwork and drug problems. She agrees to move to the countryside to soothe his emotional pain, and for a while things look better. Philip is evidently devoted to Johnny, playfully filming him and Lucy for some little personal project, and manfully building his son a trampoline in the garden.

U.S. reups $6M reward for American missing in Afghanistan for 12 years

Paul Edwin Overby Jr. vanished in May 2014 while researching a book in Khost province, Afghanistan, the FBI said.

Aston Villa back in Champions League as Ollie Watkins double sinks Liverpool

It almost felt like Aston Villa were trolling Liverpool as someone inside this throbbing stadium pressed play and the operatic Champions League anthem blared over the speakers. Villa had just qualified in style, a stirring victory superbly spearheaded by Ollie Watkins that exposed the kind of blind spots that have undermined Arne Slot’s meek title defence. For Villa, this was the perfect tonic before Wednesday’s Europa League final in Istanbul and for Unai Emery, arguably his greatest triumph yet given the financial muscle of their rivals. Well, for a few days at least.

Somehow, Emery was left off the Premier League’s six-strong manager of the season shortlist. Afterwards Villa basked in the achievement and Emery yelled into a microphone: “Up the Villa!” And then: “We’re going to Istanbul!” It was a rare break from Emery’s cold laser focus; after the final whistle he shook hands with Slot and clenched his left fist in celebration as he marched towards the tunnel.

Colorado governor commutes sentence of election denier Tina Peters

Former election clerk who allowed unauthorized access to voting systems was convicted and sentenced to nine years

• US politics – live updates

• Sign up for the Breaking News US email

The Colorado governor, Jared Polis, commuted the nearly nine-year prison sentence of a former Colorado clerk who allowed unauthorized people to access her county’s voting systems in a case that had been an intense focus of Donald Trump and other allies who sought to overturn the 2020 election.

Tina Peters, who is currently incarcerated, will be released on parole on 1 June after Polis reduced her sentence from eight and a half years in prison to about four and a half. “This is an extremely unusual and lengthy sentence for a first time offender who committed non-violent crimes,” Polis wrote in a clemency letter to Peters.

5/15: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Iraqi national charged with planning terror attacks; President Trump touts "fantastic trade deals" as Xi summit ends.

Which college majors offer the best long-term return on investment?

College grads outearn people without a degree within 15 years, even after paying for tuition, study finds.

What we know about hantavirus cases tied to deadly cruise ship outbreak

Health officials have identified at least 10 confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus tied to an outbreak on the M/V Hondius cruise ship.

Colorado's Democratic governor will let Trump ally Tina Peters out of prison early

Gov. Jared Polis' controversial commutation follows a pressure campaign by the Trump administration to free Tina Peters, an ex-county official who was convicted of tampering with election equipment.

Cerebras stock falls 10% in first full day of trading after blockbuster debut

Cerebras Systems' shares were lower in early trading Friday, after its blockbuster stock market debut on Thursday.

How will Jerome Powell be remembered as he exits as Fed chair?

As Powell steps down after more than eight years leading the Federal Reserve, economists say he helped steer the U.S. through historic shocks but misread inflation.

Trump went big on tech stocks in first quarter of 2026, new filings show

Trump bought shares of Amazon, Meta, Oracle, Broadcom, Motorola and Dell worth millions, new ethics disclosure filings show.

Democrats blast Trump over 'slush fund' in possible IRS lawsuit settlement

ABC News reported President Donald Trump could settle a lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for a $1.7 billion fund to compensate his allies.

Man accused of killing two people outside Washington DC Jewish museum could face death penalty

Prosecutors have described fatal shooting outside of DC’s Capital Jewish Museum last year as calculated and planned

The US justice department will seek the death penalty for the man accused of fatally shooting two staff members of the Israeli embassy in Washington outside a Jewish museum, prosecutors said in a court filing on Friday.

Elias Rodriguez faces federal hate crime and murder charges in the killings of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim as they left an event at the museum last May. Rodriguez shouted “free Palestine” during the shooting and later told police, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza,” according to his indictment.

This week on "Sunday Morning" (May 17): "By Design"

"Sunday Morning" presents its annual edition touching on all aspects of design, hosted by Jane Pauley.

Hantavirus countdown: U.S. cruise passengers settle in for 42 days of waiting

The hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship has potentially exposed passengers to a deadly disease. Most returning Americans are now housed in Nebraska. Some may be cleared to quarantine at home. 

Shakira returns to official World Cup song duty, this time with Burna Boy

FIFA's official 2026 World Cup song is "Dai Dai" from Shakira and Burna Boy. There are a number of factors that shape which songs define a tournament — and endure beyond it.

Thirteen years in the making: Madrid’s search for a saviour set to end in Mourinho return

The idea that one day Mourinho might return to the Bernabéu had hung in the air, if not really as a serious possibility. Now the impossible is probable

The last time José Mourinho was at the Santiago Bernabéu, he parked up in the bus. That night in late February the Benfica manager was suspended, a red card from the first leg of the Champions League playoff meaning he wasn’t allowed on the touchline he had prowled 13 years and a lifetime ago, so Real Madrid prepared a media booth for him to watch from. Situated on the eighth floor, Spanish radio to the left of him, Portuguese to the right, Cabin No 6 had been supplied with nuts, fruit, salad and jamón sandwiches. As kick-off approached, a crowd gathered by the door. But if the camera phones were out, he wasn’t.

Mourinho never showed. Instead, he stayed in the basement 10 floors below, watching from an iPad on board the bus and leaving the post-match press conference to his assistant, João Tralhão. The next time he comes, which could be as soon as this season ends, it is likely to be different, poised to be welcomed back as a saviour and their manager now, not hidden away. For a while his has been the only candidate’s name that has remained constant and never dismissed from within, seeming more real with every day.

Chaotic underdogs Chelsea have shot at glory to close out season of disruption

A defiant performance against Manchester City could deliver silverware in a year in which the club has already sacked two head coaches

Chelsea fared well as underdogs in their most recent outing in a final. They surprised Paris Saint-Germain in last summer’s Club World Cup, racing into an unassailable 3-0 lead by half-time and disrupting the European champions thanks to a clever tactical approach from Enzo Maresca.

Perhaps there will be more of the same at Wembley. Chelsea have form when it comes to upsetting the odds in a big game, although the one problem with bringing up the PSG win before Saturday afternoon’s FA Cup final against Manchester City is that the challenge of coming up with a plan smart enough to beat Pep Guardiola is no longer Maresca’s responsibility.

Stephen Miran exits the Fed. How he set the stage for Kevin Warsh.

The outgoing Fed governor shares big ideas with the incoming chair.

Traders now see next Fed interest rate move as a hike following inflation surge

The fed funds futures market is pricing in an increase as soon as December.

Pentagon's rush to counter drone threat may pose safety risks, specialist says

The safety specialist's warning appeared in a memo describing how a mini-drone had detonated and injured an Army Special Forces soldier.

The week around the world in 20 pictures

Russian drone attacks on Kyiv, Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Trump in Beijing and a mural of Lamine Yamal – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists

Ebola outbreak kills 65 people in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

Uganda also reports outbreak and health officials say cases were caused by Bundibugyo strain of virus

An outbreak of Ebola has killed 65 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, health officials said.

There have been 246 suspected cases of the haemorrhagic fever reported so far in the conflict-hit Ituri province, which shares borders with Uganda and South Sudan.

Harvey Weinstein’s New York retrial ends in mistrial with jury deadlocked

Weinstein has been convicted of other crimes in the US and is already behind bars but move leaves rape charge in limbo

Harvey Weinstein’s retrial in New York on a rape charge ended in a mistrial on Friday after the jury deadlocked in the closely watched criminal case that another jury had already failed to decide last year.

The disgraced former Hollywood mogul has been convicted of other sex crimes on the US east and west coasts and is already in jail. But Friday’s declaration of another mistrial leaves the New York rape charge in limbo after three trials.

Doe d’oh! Wild deer rescued after escalator escapade in Norwich M&S

Female muntjac given nickname of ‘lucky’ Lucy after being freed from department store’s moving staircase

“There’s a deer trapped in an escalator” was not a phrase anyone at Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norfolk was expecting to hear when staff at a Marks & Spencer department store in central Norwich called last Tuesday.

“In Norfolk, deers often get themselves in trouble,” said the sanctuary’s founder, Wendy Valentine. “They get stuck between walls and sheds, and in gates. It’s quite common for deer to get trapped … but ‘trapped in an escalator’ was a first.”

Inflation rate projected to hit 6% in the second quarter, top economic forecasters say

The recent surge in inflation is likely to get worse over the next several months, according to a survey Friday.

The Trump administration is planning a prayer event on the National Mall. All but one of the speakers is Christian

The event comes as a new survey finds that many Americans aren't comfortable mixing religion and politics.

Harvey Weinstein's third sex crimes trial in New York ends in mistrial

It was the second time in a year a jury was unable to reach a verdict on a rape charge brought by Jessica Mann.

Andy Burnham will push to become PM before Labour conference, allies say

Autumn conference in Liverpool targeted for victorious homecoming but Reform UK to fight hard in byelection

Andy Burnham will push to become prime minister in time to address Labour’s autumn party conference in Liverpool, his supporters have said.

The Greater Manchester mayor cleared his first hurdle to becoming the candidate in the Makerfield byelection on Friday when Labour’s ruling body gave him permission to stand for the seat.

Threatened indictment of Raúl Castro ratchets up US pressure on Cuba

Trump administration move echoes indictment of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro as fuel crisis racks Cuba

Tensions between Cuba and US seem set to rise further amid reports that
Raúl Castro, the country’s 94-year-old former president, may soon face the type of indictment that led to the US abduction of the Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, in January.

Although Raúl is officially retired, he remains the most potent figure in Cuban politics following the death of his brother Fidel in 2016, and by targeting him Washington appears to be heaping pressure on Cuba’s communist leadership at the end of an already extraordinarily intense week.

Maine might boot Sen. Susan Collins. It could hurt the state's wallet for years

Sen. Susan Collins is the lone New England Republican left in Congress and chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Met police preparing for large scale far-right and pro-Palestine protests in London

Officers said to be granted extra powers as marches through capital set for same day as FA Cup final

British police are preparing to mount one of their largest operations in recent memory as more than 100,000 protesters are expected to march through the streets of London on the same day as the FA Cup final in Wembley.

The Guardian understands that officers in vast swathes of central London will be granted extra powers to police the far-right Unite the Kingdom (UTK) march organised by Stephen Yaxley Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson.

Burnham byelection: the small town that could decide next PM – The Latest

Andy Burnham may have a route back to Westminster – and a path to the Labour leadership. But first the Greater Manchester mayor must win the byelection in Makerfield after Josh Simons agreed to step down as the constituency’s MP. Meanwhile, Nigel Farage has vowed Reform UK will ‘throw absolutely everything’ at the contest in an attempt to derail the ambitions of one of Labour’s most high-profile figures.

Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s north of England correspondent Hannah al-Othman, who has been talking to voters in the constituency

Ice vests or daily cold showers could help people lose weight, study finds

Researchers say daily exposure to cold activates brown fat and could help speed up body’s burning of calories

Wearing an ice vest or taking daily cold showers could help people lose weight, according to researchers.

Despite the growing popularity of cold-water swimming and freezing plunges, to date there is minimal data on the health benefits of cold exposure. But a study of 47 adults with obesity or overweight has found that regular exposure to cold temperatures led to fat loss.

The Guardian view on Trump in Beijing: the US and China are playing the waiting game | Editorial

The president’s meeting with Xi Jinping was superficially cordial, extending a truce borne of necessity

“American strength back on the world stage,” crowed the White House social media post: a curious remark, when the attached video showed the stars and stripes fluttering beneath a long row of Chinese flags, and People’s Liberation Army soldiers marching in unison.

This week’s visit to Beijing offered the kind of style that Donald Trump enjoys – parading troops, a banquet and a polite if not markedly enthusiastic welcome from a strongman he called “really a friend” – but little apparent substance. The public account of the encounter will be partial: Mr Trump’s former adviser John Bolton has claimed that in previous conversations the US president begged Xi Jinping for help to win re-election and urged him to “go ahead” with internment camps for Uyghurs in Xinjiang. But this meeting appears to have been about stabilising the relationship, not shifting it.

Scottish FA criticises McInnes and media after referee requires police protection

• Official under watch after personal details leaked online

• Hearts manager called Celtic decision ‘disgusting’

The Scottish Football Association has vehemently criticised a “hysterical media narrative” and taken a swipe at the Hearts manager, Derek McInnes, while revealing one of its match officials and his family spent Thursday night under police protection after controversial incidents which have dominated the conclusion to the ­Premiership season.

McInnes called the stoppage-time award of a penalty to Celtic in Wednesday’s win at Motherwell “disgusting”, with that, plus the denial of a spot-kick for Hearts during their fixture at the same stadium days earlier, dominating discussion. Hearts visit Celtic on Saturday needing a draw to become the first non-Old Firm title winners in 41 years.

Cantona review - Beckham and Ferguson keen defenders as Eric gnomically quotes Baudelaire

Cannes film festival: This lively documentary about everyone’s favourite hot-headed footballer/unlikely Ken Loach star will give more than just fans a kick

Here is a fervent, but repetitive fan-service documentary, perpetually re-using iconic “bad behaviour” clips, all about the tempestuous king of Manchester United (formerly and briefly the tempestuous king of Leeds United).

Eric Cantona was the Frenchman who won the hearts of English football fans in the 90s for his stunning skills, filling the silverware cabinet to bursting having been picked up cheap by Man U having effectively flounced out of French football. He was mentored in those days by that kindly teddy-bear of a man, Sir Alex Ferguson, who is interviewed extensively here, along with David Beckham, Eric’s elderly parents Albert and Éléonore, and of course the gloweringly pugnacious man himself, appearing in what appears to be a deserted church and gnomically quoting Baudelaire.

Pirro threatens charges against parents if their teens violate local curfew

In a move aimed at curbing the growing problem of "teen takeovers," D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is threatening to bring charges against parents if their teens violate the local curfew.

German leader Merz says he ‘would not advise my children to go’ to US

Chancellor says he no longer views US as land of opportunity amid ‘deeply polarising’ social climate

Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, already embroiled in a row with Donald Trump over the Iran war, has said he would not advise his children to study or work in the US in the current climate.

Speaking to a conference of young Catholics in Würzburg, the conservative leader, viewed by many as a transatlanticist, said he no longer saw the US as the land of opportunity.

In the Grey review – Guy Ritchie’s bizarrely buried action caper is a blast

There’s a great deal of fun to be had in the director’s sly and surprisingly serious thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Henry Cavill and Eiza González

While the actual quality might never threaten to float him above a three-star rating, I’ve grown an odd, outsized fondness for Guy Ritchie’s recent run of solidly enjoyable lower-tier action films. Whether deadly serious (Wrath of Man), entirely unserious (Operation Fortune) or somewhere between the two (The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare), there’s been a real snap to them, one that’s usually missing from other recent films of that ilk. Ritchie is more deeply invested in the thought-through craft of making a B-movie than many of his peers and there’s a smooth sensuousness to how he moves, each of them looking, feeling and sounding like films he genuinely cares about.

If only audiences, and the companies releasing them, felt the same. While Wrath of Man, a more marketable Jason Statham revenge thriller yet containing more grit than one would expect, managed to make enough money overseas, he’s otherwise struggled to justify his unusually high budgets. Operation Fortune was renamed, resold and pushed around the schedule before misfiring at the box office (it went straight-to-streaming in many countries) while The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare couldn’t even make half of its budget back after another botched release. The trend may well continue with his latest In the Grey, another slick action thriller that was made back in 2023, bought and then sold by Lionsgate before being similarly redated three times, the film now heading for an underwhelming opening weekend (In the Red would be perhaps more appropriate). What’s strangest here is that even critics were kept away this time with no press screenings (I paid for a ticket), suggesting that even those reliable three stars might be out of reach for this one.

Where Cerebras' monster debut puts it among tech's biggest IPOs

Cerebras narrowly missed out on joining Facebook-parent Meta and Alibaba with market cap of over $100 billion on the market close of IPO day.

Martin Rowson on the battle for the Labour leadership – cartoon

Oman caught between US and Iran after Tehran’s claims of joint strait of Hormuz plan

Muscat silent about plans – opposed by US – to charge fee and demand details on nationality of all transiting ships

Oman has been caught in geopolitical crossfire after Iran said it was coordinating with the Gulf state over the future management of the strait of Hormuz, including Tehran’s plans to impose fees on commercial shipping.

The Omani exclave of Musandam lies to the south of the contested waterway, which normally carries a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil traffic but has been blockaded for 10 weeks since the US-Israeli attack on Iran in February.

The Guide #243: Ear-splitting gigs that were worth the after-ring

In this week’s newsletter: Sometimes they were enough to send our music critics and readers straight back out the door again – but mostly just noisy enough to make their clothes shake

Bowel-shuddering basslines. Drum fills that bounce off the walls like gunfire. Guitars resembling a pneumatic drill drilling into another pneumatic drill. A truly loud gig stays with you, figuratively and literally, as anyone who has spent the days after one accompanied by a troubling ringing in their ears can confirm.

Last week, prompted, strangely enough, by an old Alistair Cooke column suggesting that Janis Joplin’s group Big Brother and the Holding Company was noisy enough to cause permanent hearing damage in guinea pigs, we asked Guide readers to share their own loudest gig experiences. We had a huge response, with tons of you sharing memories of eardrum-piercing encounters with all manner of bands and artists, across genres and decades. So we thought we’d devote this week’s newsletter to your stories of extreme noise terror, along with a few from the Guardian’s music critics, who are often on the frontlines when it comes to aural assault.

Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen drops reelection bid after redistricting

Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee announced Friday that he's retiring from Congress at the end of this term after his district in Memphis was redrawn.

‘So much of it resonates’: The Pitt strikes a chord with UK A&E medics

Doctors and nurses say hit drama paints a mostly realistic picture of the frontline of emergency medicine

It’s the hospital drama that is adored by critics and fans alike, with its hard-hitting, action-packed episodes binged the moment they’re released by HBO Max. The Pitt depicts events in the Pittsburgh trauma medical centre, where the waiting room is always overloaded, cases are more complicated than they first seem and the medical consequences of America’s many ills – fentanyl, shootings, vaccine denial – need urgent attention.

While medical dramas are much loved by the lay viewer, clinicians who are used to seeing fictionalised versions of their daily grind are notoriously hard to please. This, notably, is where The Pitt stands apart. In fact, doctors and nurses in UK A&E units are among some of the show’s most committed devotees.

Giro d’Italia: Jonas Vingegaard makes statement to conquer Blockhaus summit

• Dane goes for broke 5km from top for stage seven win

• Decathlon’s Felix Gall is only other rider to get close

Jonas Vingegaard, the pre-race favourite, proved his Giro d’Italia credentials by going alone to conquer the Blockhaus summit finish and win stage seven on Friday as the Dane made his first telling move of this year’s race.

The Visma-Lease a Bike rider, on his Giro debut, went for broke with just over 5km to the top, with the Austrian Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) the only rider to get close as he came in 13 seconds behind the winner.

No more chancers or failures – the coming contest must produce a British PM worthy of the name | Jonathan Freedland

Labour must rise to a historic responsibility by choosing a leader who can win over the nation. The alternative is Farage on the steps of No 10

They’re looking like the gang that couldn’t shoot straight. Labour’s upper echelon, both the prime minister and his rivals, have served up a performance of such political ineptitude, walking into doors and tripping over their own feet, that it’s hard to argue with the cabinet minister who glumly told me this was the week when the government did itself damage that can never be repaired, if not the week that Labour confirmed its defeat at the next general election.

As so often, the lead was set from the top. Keir Starmer’s allies had billed his speech on Monday as a major address, one that would meet the scale of the moment and recognise the need for Labour to chart a new course, given the shellacking the party had suffered at the hands of voters in England, Scotland and Wales on 7 May.

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist

All of a Sudden review – care home drama is tender, meditative and a little too precious for its own good

Cannes film festival: Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s ocean-hopping treatise on love and mortality is undeniably beautiful – but it works best in its quieter, compassionate moments rather than the flurries of self-conscious solemnity

Falling seriously ill, like falling in love, can happen all of a sudden – although this film is not exactly about either. Drive My Car director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s new movie, co-scripted by Hamaguchi with the Franco-Japanese screenwriter Léa Le Dimna and his first not set entirely in Japan, is a bold and high-minded if rather pedagogic work that spreads itself over three hours. It’s tender and sometimes beautifully made, but also contrived and occasionally features some too-good-to-be-true caring characters. Frankly, it’s rather precious.

Hamaguchi and Le Dimna have taken as their starting point the nonfiction book You and I: The Illness Suddenly Get Worse by Makiko Miyano and Maho Isono, a meditative correspondence between a philosopher and medical professional on the subjects of love and mortality. Hamaguchi has opened this out to create a drama set in Paris and Kyoto, and it’s incidentally hard not to suspect that Hamaguchi, like many a celebrated movie director spending so much time on the international festival circuit, has been led to create an uneasy international mixture.

Belle and Sebastian write Scotland anthem after dramatic World Cup qualifier

Self-deprecating It Only Takes One Lion is partly inspired by team’s current song, Yes Sir, I Can Boogie

The lyrics came to Stuart Murdoch in the hazy aftermath of Scotland’s dramatic qualification for the World Cup.

The Belle and Sebastian frontman had watched his side’s playoff victory over Denmark through his fingers before deciding to write his own anthem to a team he has followed for more than 50 years. “Most people recognised instantly the next day that they’d witnessed the most important Scottish game ever,” says Murdoch. “That was our magic moment.”

Can the NFL's Rooney Rule survive the DEI backlash?

Florida's attorney general says the NFL's Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates for top jobs, is discriminatory. Trump's EEOC has challenged such policies elsewhere.

Drake: Iceman / Maid of Honour / Habibti review – ​triple-album comeback is a boring, bloated disaster

(OVO/Republic)
It’s possible that the world’s biggest rapper is using this epic content drop to get out of his record deal, but aside from some bright spots on Iceman, should the public really be subjected to it?

It is easy to over-estimate Drake’s fall from grace. True, he was unanimously declared the loser in the most high-profile rap beef of recent times, and is currently engaged in a protracted legal battle with his own record company over said rap battle that everyone except Drake and his lawyers seems to think smacks of the worst kind of bad loserdom. He is also fighting lawsuits alleging that he illegally misled viewers during gambling livestreams – pretending to bet his own money while actually using funds from an online casino he promotes – and that he furthermore channelled funds from said online casino into artificially inflating streaming figures (Drake has not commented on the allegations; Stake, the casino, described one of the lawsuits as “nonsense”). Also in the lawsuits is Adin Ross, a denizen of the manosphere who Drake has been palling around with, unbothered that the other guests on Ross’s stream have included Andrew Tate and Nick Fuentes.

Equally, Drake is still the most-streamed rapper in the world. Had all this really impacted on his mainstream popularity, his last album – Some Sexy Songs 4 U, 2025’s collaboration with PartyNextDoor – would have died at the box office, rather than entering the US charts at No 1 and going on to sell a million copies. If his public reputation is looking a little tarnished, well, we live in an era of short attention spans and shorter memories: it would probably only take one unequivocal banger – a One Dance or Hotline Bling 2.0 – for the slate to be wiped clean.

Czech police find stolen skull of medieval saint encased in concrete

Man arrested after admitting to taking relic from church and planning to throw it in river, say police

An 800-year-old relic believed to be the skull of Saint Zdislava, stolen this week from a Czech church, has been recovered encased in concrete as experts work to extract it, police have said.

A suspect has been arrested, who allegedly confessed to taking the skull of Saint Zdislava of Lemberk from a glass shrine in the basilica of St Lawrence and St Zdislava in the town of Jablonné v Podještědí on Tuesday.

What was Trump’s favourite topic on his trip to Beijing? | Fiona Katauskas

He was having a ball

• See more of Fiona Katauskas’s cartoons here

‘I couldn’t believe we weren’t falling over ourselves for it’: Asia-Pacific art finally conquers Britain

Britain seems to finally have an eye for art from the Asia-Pacific, with several big recent exhibitions, including the new Rising Voices show at the V&A. Why did it take so long?

An imposing new figure is greeting visitors inside the main entrance of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in South Kensington. Standing on one side of the domed hall, across from the galleries dedicated to medieval and Renaissance European art, is a lifesize, fibreglass sculpture of a burly bouncer. The Māori nametag hanging from his belt loop suggests he has travelled a long way from home.

This character, Kapa Haka (Whero) by Michael Parekōwhai from Aotearoa New Zealand, is a symbolic guardian for the exhibition Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific. Produced in partnership with the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) in Brisbane, the show includes more than 70 works which have never before been exhibited in the UK, by artists from 25 countries who have featured through the decades in QAGOMA’s Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT).

It’s the latest in a recent wave of shows that have brought works from Australian galleries to international institutions. Last year, Tate Modern hosted Emily Kam Kngwarray in collaboration with the National Gallery of Australia, and the National Gallery of Victoria’s exhibition The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art is now touring the US.

Mali’s forces target rebel alliance in junta’s fight to keep power

Army supported by Russian mercenaries launches airstrikes after offensive by coalition of Islamist extremists and Tuareg separatists

Mali’s armed forces, supported by Russian mercenaries, have launched airstrikes targeting a rebel alliance of Islamist extremists and Tuareg separatists as the ruling junta struggles to maintain its hold on power in the unstable west African country.

Earlier this week warplanes targeted the key northern town of Kidal, which was lost when the rebels launched a surprise offensive across much of Mali in late April.

Starbucks to lay off 300 U.S. employees, shutter some regional support offices

Starbucks said the moves will help the coffee chain return to profitable growth.

‘Super-glamorous’: older women in the spotlight at Cannes film festival

Joan Collins, Catherine Deneuve, Isabella Rossellini and Jane Fonda among those representing wider age diversity on red carpet

The Cannes red carpet is, without question, a home of glamour. But in 2026 that glamour has a different spin. The women gaining the most headlines for style are, for once, over 70.

Joan Collins, 92, walked the red carpet this week in a white sculptural strapless gown by Stéphane Rolland. Jane Fonda, 88, wore a floor-length sequined Gucci dress. Isabella Rossellini, 73, has been seen wearing a striking patterned two-piece, while Catherine Deneuve, 82, was chic in forest-green satin and hoop earrings.

Three’s a crowd: what to do when you hate your friend’s partner

Can’t stand your friend’s other half? You could be walking into a minefield, warn experts. Here they share advice, from owning jealous feelings to blowing off steam (with the right person)

Years ago, my best friend fell in love with a man I disliked. He had a habit of looking over my shoulder when I tried to talk to him, and I thought he was too possessive. He spoke to her using a special high-pitched baby voice, and the worst thing was that my friend absolutely loved it, and would baby-talk right back. Thinking that our friendship was bound to outlive her infatuation, I made it obvious that I disliked him. I very pointedly made plans without him, and when I was forced to spend time in his presence I made so many private jokes I was essentially talking to my friend in a horrible baby language all of my own.

To no one’s surprise but mine, this behaviour didn’t have the desired effect. My friend started avoiding me. Her boyfriend won and eight years later he’s still winning. They are getting married next year, and I am not invited.

What was actually achieved at Trump and Xi’s ‘stalemate summit’ in Beijing?

US president has said he and Chinese leader ‘settled a lot of different problems’ but has given little detail on solutions

• Trump China visit live – latest updates

Donald Trump’s whirlwind trip to Beijing – the first US presidential visit in nearly a decade – wrapped up with much fanfare but little clarity about what was actually achieved.

Trump said on Friday he and Xi Jinping, China’s leader, “settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to solve”. But he didn’t provide much detail on what those solutions were.

The 100 best novels of all time

A countdown of the greatest literature ever published in English, as voted for by authors, critics and academics worldwide, 40-21. How many have you read? On Saturday we reveal the full list. What’s number 1? Come back at 6am UK time to find out

Blackout protests and a butterfly boom: photos of the day – Friday

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

Trump says he will soon make a decision about sanctions on Chinese companies buying Iranian oil

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he will make a decision over the next few days about lifting sanctions on Chinese oil companies that buy Iranion oil.

X to block UK access to accounts linked to terrorist groups in Ofcom agreement

Media regulator announces commitments by Elon Musk’s platform to crack down on terrorist and hate content

Elon Musk’s X platform has promised to block UK access to accounts linked to banned terrorist groups under an agreement with the communications regulator to crack down on terrorist and hate content.

X will also review suspected illegal terrorist and hate content within 48 hours and seek expert advice on how to handle user reports of such content.

From men on dog leads to public breast-fondling, Valie Export’s art demanded a total feminist revolution

The performance artist was a brilliantly subversive pioneer whose work exposed the predicament of women living in a world that was not made for us
• Renowned feminist artist and film-maker Valie Export dies aged 85

Punk, intellectual, feminist, theorist, brave as hell, vulnerable, funny, Valie Export was a hero to many women. Since the 1960s, she was driven by a fierce conviction that art and media would play an essential role in women’s liberation: that women must picture their own reality in the name of social progress. In Women’s Art: A Manifesto (1972), she wrote that women must “use art as a means of expression, so as to influence the consciousness of all of us”. What she demanded was revolution.

I keep returning to her work. Can’t stay away. I have written about her in relation to violence in women’s art. Her work was heavy with explicit threat and pain, and she made evident the violence of forcing women’s bodies to inhabit structures that were not designed for them. For the 1973 performance Hyperbuliashe crept naked through a corridor of electrified wires, exposing herself voluntarily to shocks.

Detroit automakers have cut more than 20,000 U.S. salaried jobs as AI threat looms

Reasons for the job declines vary by automaker, but are generally tied to evolving technological changes in the industry — including the rise of AI.

‘I haven’t had a loo break since 2009!’ The truth about Eurovision – as told by its biggest icons

How did Lordi sing in a giant condom? How many sex lives has Epic Sax Guy helped? And what will push Graham Norton to retire? As Eurovision hits 70, legends of the song contest spill the beans

Not many 70-year-olds spend their nights with pop singers in sparkly catsuits. Or nightmarish monsters barking out heavy metal. Or 160,000 giddy Europeans staring at them as they get progressively more drunk. There’s only one, in fact – the Eurovision song contest. To celebrate its uniqueness, we’ve spoken to some of the most interesting people ever involved with the contest to tell their tales. Happy seven decades of Eurovision!

Why is the Democratic party still hiding its 2024 election autopsy? | Norman Solomon

No one has more at stake than Kamala Harris – who has ‘signaled’ support for its release without saying so publicly

After several months of heated arguments over whether the Democratic National Committee (DNC) should release its autopsy report on the 2024 election, the dispute has neared a boiling point. With one recent media appearance after another, the DNC chair, Ken Martin, has set off fierce criticism and even derision, while offering notably illogical explanations for keeping the autopsy secret.

As the controversy simmers, no one has more at stake than the party’s latest standard-bearer. Kamala Harris, apparently preparing for another run, leads in polls for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. One of the last things she needs is a widely publicized narrative from the DNC about failures of her 2024 campaign. A maxim from George Orwell applies: “who controls the past controls the future” and “who controls the present controls the past”.

Cocktail of the week: Cafe Kowloon’s shiso daiquiri – recipe | The good mixer

A daiquiri endowed with citrussy lemongrass syrup and a welcome waft of herbal shiso

A daiquiri is a cocktail that shows just how far you can get with only three ingredients: rum, sugar and lime. Our version includes fresh shiso leaves for herbal notes you don’t expect, but absolutely want with rum (and if you use red shiso, the vibrant pink colour it imparts just makes everything cooler). If you have time – even just half an hour – it’s worth chucking a few shiso leaves into the rum ahead of time, then giving it a good shake and leaving it to steep. The syrup can be made with white sugar, but soft light brown sugar will remind the rum of home, and add a warmer, richer finish that works well with the lemongrass.

Abie Lamin, general manager, Cafe Kowloon, London E8

SCOTUS upholds abortion pill telehealth access. And, Trump returns from China visit

The Supreme Court kept access to the abortion pill mifepristone available via telehealth. And, Trump says he made multiple trade deals during his state visit to China.

‘I didn’t want to be the guinea pig’: inside tech’s AI-fueled manager purge

Tech workers say AI-driven restructurings are eroding mentorship, support and paths to promotion across Silicon Valley

As tech companies pour billions into artificial intelligence bets and slash their workforces, middle managers are squarely in the crosshairs.

A trend is emerging: when tech CEOs announce that AI is making it possible to do more with fewer workers, they promise to flatten their structures by cutting away what they call unnecessary management layers and bureaucracy. Just last week, the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase laid off 14% of its workforce while gesturing to the thrill of AI-fueled, minimal-management efficiency. In doing so, it joined companies including Amazon, Block and Meta that in the last year have laid off tens of thousands of employees with a specific focus on removing management layers.

‘You look at it and you just feel better’: this year’s Photoville festival highlights

The annual New York-based display of photography contains moving pictures from behind bars and a revealing look at trans lives back in the 1990s

For the 15th installment of the annual Photoville festival, which sees more than 90 exhibits of photographic portfolios from all around the world, festival co-founder Sam Barzilay is thinking about apples – specifically the bizarre and at times cosmic-looking ones in the exhibit Old Apples.

“I was so delighted it got selected,” he enthusiastically told me. “It’s the most whimsical thing we have, it’s about apples and how there are no two apples in nature that are the same.”