Ryan Garcia v Conor Benn: WBC welterweight championship – live updates

Garcia defends WBC welterweight title against Benn
Rivals collide at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
Send Bryan an email with your thoughts on the fight

Opetaia wasted no time looking ahead after stopping Mikaelian, calling David Benavidez into the ring and asking: “What better fight to make? How exciting. Respectfully, let’s get it on.”

Benavidez was equally receptive. “Next year, let’s do it right here,” he said, with Opetaia immediately answering: “Done.”

One dead and more than 30 missing after ferry sinks off Vanuatu coast in rough seas

Prime minister’s office tells families of those missing ‘the nation stands with you’ as search and rescue efforts continue

One person has died and more than 30 are missing after a ferry sank off the coast of Vanuatu, the country’s government says.

The vessel, MV Matui, had set sail with more than 40 passengers and crew on Friday from the island of Santo to Ambae island in very rough seas, but did not arrive.

Houthis claim attack on Saudi base as fighting flares with Yemeni forces

Iran-allied Houthis say drones and missiles used in attack that targeted ‘weapons depots and command and control centres’ in southern Saudi Arabia

Houthi fighters on Sunday said they used drones and missiles to attack a military base in southern Saudi Arabia as renewed fighting with Yemen’s government forces led growing numbers of civilians to flee.

The attack at the southern Sharurah base targeted “weapons depots and command and control centres that are managing the aggression against our nation and people”, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree wrote on X.

Ukraine war briefing: Nine killed and dozens wounded in Russian strikes as Kyiv braces for harsh winter

Zelenskyy says ‘Russia wants to kill the Ukrainian economy’ as Moscow steps up attacks on infrastructure. What we know on day 1,663

Russian airstrikes killed nine people, injured dozens and damaged buildings and infrastructure across Ukraine on Saturday, as Kyiv braces for a “very difficult” winter amid intensified attacks on the country. The civilian death toll has risen sharply in Ukraine over the past two ⁠months as Russia steps up attacks ⁠on power plants and other ​infrastructure. Ukraine has hit energy facilities and warehouses in distant parts of Russia, and both sides have targeted each other’s shipping.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, writing on Telegram, said Russia had deployed nearly 500 drones against Ukrainian targets since ⁠early morning. “Basically, the Russians have expanded the war away from the front, where they have no success, into the economy, and their tactics are as basic as it gets: destroying every site that could help people cope with the conditions of war,” he wrote. “Russia ⁠wants to kill the Ukrainian economy and break our resistance.”

The city council in Kramatorsk, one of Ukraine’s frontline “fortress cities” that Russia wants to capture, ​said Russian forces attacked private cars, killing three people in three incidents over ‌a 90-minute period. Four people were injured. “These ‌are not military targets,” the council said. “They are ordinary civilian cars. People were going about their business.”

The governor of Ukraine’s Zhytomyr region, Vitaliy Bunechko, said ‌a Russian strike on a grocery store killed two people in the town of Zviahel, west of Kyiv. Bunechko said two petrol stations also came under attack.

Earlier, Zelenskyy reported attacks on the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia and Kryvyi Rih, his home town. The governor of Zaporizhzhia region, Ivan Fedorov, said two people were killed and 11 injured in assaults on Zaporizhzhia and other localities.

In Odesa region, governor Oleh Kiper said 37 people, including an infant, were injured in a ​series of overnight attacks, while two people were missing. Russia’s defence ministry said Russian forces have maintained their strikes on Ukrainian ports, hitting a cargo ship in Odesa that it said was carrying goods ⁠for military use.

Ukrainian officials said the country was bracing for a brutal winter as intensified Russian attacks on infrastructure and key export industries compound a ⁠deepening budget crisis. The economy minister, ​Oleksandr Kravchenko, said damage to infrastructure and fixed assets from Russian airstrikes was estimated at close to $10bn this year, while the broader economic costs of the attacks and ⁠the de facto blockage of its ports had cut 1.5 percentage points of GDP. “We anticipate a very difficult winter in terms of both critical infrastructure, which is being destroyed every day ⁠by Russian attacks, but also in terms of overall economic conditions in the country,” he said.

With fighting on the frontline largely stalled, Russia and Ukraine have increasingly ‌targeted logistics networks and other economic assets in an effort to undermine each other’s war effort. For more than two weeks, Russia has carried out near constant attacks on Kyiv using faster jet-powered drones, disrupting life, business and government operations. Moscow has also effectively blocked Ukraine’s Black Sea ports by intensifying its air attacks on the country’s southern regions. Ukraine’s ‌main exports – agricultural products and iron and steel – are shipped via these ports.

In Moldova on Ukraine’s western border, authorities closed national airspace for nearly an hour after a drone was detected near the border. Seven border crossings were temporarily closed.

Zelenskyy said he would be willing to meet Putin at the G20 summit in Miami for talks on ending the war, in a media interview released Saturday, but the Kremlin immediately ruled it out. “It is impossible,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told AFP in New Delhi on Saturday, repeating Moscow’s demand that a meeting can only take place in the Russian capital. The gathering of world leaders takes place on 14-15 December and there has been no confirmation yet as to whether Putin would attend. Putin has repeatedly rejected offers for a face-to-face meeting with Zelenskyy.

Elena Rybakina bests defending champion Aryna Sabalenka to win her first U.S. Open

Aryna Sabalenka, the two-time defending U.S. Open champion, was dethroned Saturday, losing to Elena Rybakina in three sets.

This week on "Sunday Morning" (Sept. 13)

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

Anthropic CEO says "exponential" growth of AI is a "warning sign"

Artificial intelligence technology is developing at an "exponential" rate, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told CBS News, calling the situation a "warning sign" for the industry that requires serious safeguards.

Celine Dion returns to the stage after battling rare illness

The Canadian singer opened up her 16-show residency in Paris at the Plenitude Arena. The entire series is sold out.

Ron DeSantis offers ‘asylum’ to holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy trial

Governor believes Florida would ‘welcome’ juror if under harassment after alleged domestic violence incident in 2021

Ron DeSantis, Florida’s governor, has offered the unidentified holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy trial “asylum” in the state if he comes under harassment after reports that he once faced a criminal charge for alleged domestic violence and is under an active restraining order.

DeSantis accused the media of launching a smear campaign against the juror. “If the juror is being harassed, Florida will provide asylum – I’m sure he’d be welcomed and appreciated,” DeSantis wrote on social media.

Flying Kurt-Lee Arendse helps South Africa clinch New Zealand series

• 4th Test: South Africa 43-28 New Zealand

• De Allende scores early in each half in Baltimore

South Africa thrashed New Zealand 43-28 to complete a 3-1 victory in Baltimore in the fourth and final match of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test series. The Springboks, who led the series 2-1 after the opening three Tests in South Africa, produced a devastating second-half display at the M+T Bank Stadium to seal victory.

Tries from Damian de Allende, Morne van den Berg, Malcolm Marx, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cameron Hanekom clinched a deserved win for the Springboks in front of a capacity 71,000 crowd.

Elena Rybakina beats Aryna Sabalenka to seal dramatic US Open title triumph

• Rybakina wins 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 despite first-serve problems

• Overcomes top seed and two-time defending champion

Even after she had won grand slam titles and conquered all surfaces, Elena Rybakina has always been considered lesser than the greatest players of her era. She has long been one of the most devastating shotmakers in the world, but there were always a couple more consistent and mentally tougher players above her.

She leaves New York, finally, as the undisputed best tennis player on the planet, the new standard bearer of the women’s game, after following up her snatching of the No 1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka by succeeding her as the US Open champion. As she has done throughout this unforgettable week, the Kazakhstani showed her toughness in another spectacular tussle with her great rival, nervelessly closing out a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Sabalenka, the top seed and two-time defending champion.

Céline Dion performs first live show in more than six years

The singer’s triumphant return to the stage comes after health problems forced her to take a lengthy break

Céline Dion wept on stage in Paris as she performed her first live show in more than six years after taking an extended break to deal with her health.

Addressing the sold-out crowd on Saturday, a visibly emotional Dion told them that it was “amazing we are all together”.

Woman Unknown wins Venice film festival as NAZA takes special jury prize

May el-Toukhy becomes eighth female director to take Golden Lion as Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love and Guardian-produced exposé of Israel’s Gaza killings also awarded

• Bold and bravura choices as Venice celebrates A Woman Unknown, Possible Love – and NAZA

May el-Toukhy’s Woman Unknown has scooped the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival, at an awards ceremony that also saw the Gaza documentary NAZA win the jury prize.

Set in the immediate aftermath of Danish liberation from Nazi occupation, the Egyptian-Danish director’s film tells the story of a young housemaid, Marie (Mathilde Arcel), who is about to marry her widowed employer but anxious about him discovering a shameful secret in her past: during the war, Marie had an intimate relationship with a German soldier.

Guimarães and Saka fire Arsenal to win at Sunderland after Raya spot-kick save

As the final whistle blew Bruno Guimarães wore a mischievous smile, Enzo Le Fée was a study in dejection and Arsenal’s immaculate start to the season remained unblemished.

Two minutes after David Raya had rather majestically saved Le Fée’s second-half penalty, Guimarães delighted his new north London public and plenty of old friends in Newcastle by sending a shot curving past Robin Roefs from the edge of the area.

Keely Hodgkinson has to settle for silver as Audrey Werro takes Ultimate gold

• Swiss wins $150,000 with dominant display in 800m

• Georgia Hunter Bell second to Kazimierska in 1500m

This season has witnessed an extraordinary arms race between three of the greatest female 800m runners in history. But, as so often over the summer months, it concluded with the sight of Audrey Werro going nuclear.

There were some in the press seats who wondered whether the brilliant 22-year-old Swiss might be tired and vulnerable, whether Britain’s Olympic champion, Keely Hodgkinson, or the fast-rising Dutch star Femke Broeders-Bol could take advantage. But at these Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Werro proved again she was 2026’s ultimate performer as she took the $150,000 first prize with another dominant display.

U.S. women beat Spain 76-66 to reach the FIBA World Cup final against France

Breanna Stewart scored 16 points and Kahleah Copper added 13 to help the U.S. beat Spain 76-66, advancing to the championship game of the women's FIBA World Cup.

Tove Lo: ‘The rumour I hear the most is that I’m either pregnant or in rehab. I want both of those to not be true’

The Swedish electro-pop singer-songwriter on eloping to Vegas, checking cupboards for murderers and her spooky party trick

What’s been your most memorable interaction with a fan?

The one that comes to mind is a fan in Austin who I met on one of my first tours there. He ran up to me and said, “SIGN MY ARM!” I signed his arm and then when he came back to the show the next night he had it tattooed – there was plastic over it. I remember saying, “I would have done a better job if I knew you were going to get it tattooed.” Then we took a picture of us, with me pointing at the tattoo.

I survived a stroke during an ocean swim. Here’s what I’ve learned about fear

After his stroke in rough surf, Graham Russell embarked on an unexpected journey into fear. Three lessons helped him return to the joy of the ocean

Looking out over the ocean, I would watch the waves sparkling in the sunlight as they grew and spilled into a burst of froth. It was a fun way to relax, to breathe deep and enjoy an awesome display of energy. But lately it had become exhausting.

In winter last year I tore the lining of an artery in my neck during a rough ocean swim off the Central Coast of New South Wales. It caused a stroke while I was in the water, which saw me scrambling back to shore where a surfer noticed me and sounded the alarm. Six months later, the injury had healed, and my motor functions were all back to normal. But as I prepared for a dip in calm conditions on a sunny day in January, I paused. An unexpected journey into fear began.

Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads

The moment I knew: I had planned to break up with him – then he snuck out of school to buy me hot chips

Maleah Pearce wanted to end her relationship with high school ‘bad boy’ Dylan before they grew too attached. Then one lunchtime, he brought her a surprise

• Find more stories from the moment I knew series

Dylan and I first started dating in high school when we were 16. He was a “bad boy” who got drunk at parties and occasionally spoke to other people with his fists.

One night, I was sitting at my computer, chatting with friends on MSN and Facebook and Dylan’s name popped up. I enjoyed playing online checkers with people from school, so I invited him to a game. During the game we chatted online, which led to flirting. The winner got to choose what they wanted. I lost and what did Dylan ask for? To date me. We agreed to one date at the movies and to declare to the school we were boyfriend and girlfriend. I thought this was hilarious, though I planned to break up with him after a few days.

Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads

Ben Shelton faces date with destiny against Zverev in US Open final

World No 4 will become the first Black American man to win the singles title at Flushing Meadow since Arthur Ashe if he can beat German for the first time

As Ben Shelton lapped up the explosion of joy and adoration from a full Arthur Ashe Stadium after reaching a grand slam final for the first time, one of his first thoughts was of his paternal grandmother, Regina, who died this year. Shelton credited his grandmother with ensuring that his father, Bryan, made it as a top professional, becoming one of a small group of Black men on the tour. “My dad lost his mom earlier this year and she’s the reason he was able to play tennis,” he said. “Without her, there’s no Ben Shelton standing here today. So this one is for her.”

Shelton stands on the verge of history. On Sunday, he will attempt to become the first Black American man to win the US Open singles title since Arthur Ashe in 1968, a feat he will attempt inside the stadium named after Ashe. Shelton would also be the first Black man to win any grand slam singles title since Yannick Noah at Roland Garros in 1983, and the third overall. He is also aiming to become the first American man to win a major singles title since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003.

Former Army secretary praises Ukraine in 1st public appearance since resigning

During his 18 months as Army secretary, Dan Driscoll pushed the U.S. military to apply lessons from the war in Ukraine.

Tottenham waiting for first league goal of season after draw against Everton

Is it too early for a Tottenham crisis? To which the answer is surely that it is never too early for a Tottenham crisis. After four Premier League games, they have yet to score. This kind of run has never happened in their history at the beginning of a league season.

At least they mustered a couple of shots on target this time, having failed to do so last weekend in the 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest. The first – from Mateus Fernandes – at the start of the second half was greeted by ironic cheers from the South Stand. It has certainly not been what the club expected when they spent £300m on overhauling the squad in the summer.

Alien Terrorist Removal Court deports legal US resident to Afghanistan in first-ever case

Nazira Haji Zada, a lawful permanent resident, conceded to being an "alien terrorist." It marks the first case in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court.

Solheim Cup: Hull and Woad flop for Europe as Kupcho pulls USA level

• Scores level at 8-8 after dramatic day two

• Anna Nordqvist pairing of star duo fails to pay off

It has been the great anomaly of this Solheim Cup. Europe keeping perfect pace with the United States is an impressive achievement even without factoring in the meagre points contribution from Charley Hull and Lottie Woad. European hopes of reclaiming the trophy lost to the United States two years ago surely depend heavily on their star turns finding singles form.

The heroics of Jennifer Kupcho in fading light dashed Europe’s ambitions of taking a lead. It is 8-8 as things stand. A 12-match shootout remains.

President Trump's childhood home sells after renovation

The president lived at the Tudor-style Queens estate until age 4.

Mississippi police say more arrests to come in death of woman found hanging from tree

Officials still investigating death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman, a day after man’s arrest in relation to killing

Mississippi police said on Saturday they were still investigating the death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman found hanging from a tree last month, a day after a man was arrested in connection with the killing.

Loved ones also painted a picture of Fortune as a mother, athlete and woman of faith who they hoped would not solely be remembered for her horrific death.

Donald Trump says he would ‘love’ to see united Ireland

US president says on visit to republic that unification will happen eventually so ‘may as well happen now’

Donald Trump has said he would “love” to see a united Ireland and that it “may as well happen now”.

The US president appeared to endorse the push for constitutional change on the island at the start of a two-day visit to Ireland on Saturday. The unexpected intervention prompted a swift rebuttal from the UK government and Northern Ireland’s unionist leaders.

Number of UK anti-migrant vigilante groups surges in last 18 months

Exclusive: Many ‘use community protection as a cover for racist thuggery’, raising concerns about fresh disorder

At least 28 anti-migrant vigilante groups have formed in the UK in the last 18 months, ranging from unauthorised street patrols claiming to protect women and children to groups harassing migrants in France and blocking ports.

From Belfast to the south coast of England, the number of active groups has surged since the summer of 2025, according to analysis by the Guardian, amid widespread concerns over fresh disorder after black-clad vigilantes, many of them wearing balaclavas, blocked roads in Portsmouth and Dover last weekend.

Exclusive discounts from CBS Mornings Deals

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

‘We must slow the pace’: CEO of Anthropic calls for an AI slowdown

In a social media post, Dario Amodei proposed a plan including third-party evaluations of AI systems

The CEO of the artificial intelligence company Anthropic issued a new appeal on Saturday for the AI industry to “slow down” and offered a three-part plan for doing so, saying that his company would “unilaterally” commit to the first of the steps.

In a post on social media, Dario Amodei shared a link to an essay titled We Must Pace the Frontier in which he laid out how Anthropic would provide “third-party evaluators with permanent, employee-level access to our systems, so that they can verify adherence to our safety measures, report on incidents, and assess models’ alignment during training”.

Lando Norris shocks himself by pipping Kimi Antonelli to F1 Spanish GP pole

• Briton beats Antonelli by one hundredth of a second

• Verstappen qualifies third on tough Madring track

Proving that timing is all, not least in making a statement, Lando Norris kept his very best to last for a moment that must be considered close to Formula One perfection. His pole position at the sport’s newest circuit, the Madring, for the Spanish Grand Prix was so immense it left him shocked. Not least in that he had not threatened the top of the timesheets at any point over the weekend until the final lap of the final session, and then he was masterly.

On a circuit that has proved punishingly unforgiving with some major crashes, keeping it clean was vital, but for the top spot, absolute commitment and inch-perfect execution was the differentiator in threading the needle inside the looming walls of this high-speed challenge.

Everybody Wants to F*ck Me review – Taron Egerton is hounded in sharp-toothed dating nightmare

Toronto film festival: It’s Get Out meets the viral Shitty Media Men list in this hugely entertaining mix of dark comedy and stalker thriller with a brilliant alternating turn from Taron Egerton

Everyone knows an Adam. He’s not like those other guys, the ones who won’t take no for an answer and speak lasciviously about women to their mates. He’s doing the work, listening to and uplifting female voices, working at an all-female gallery while being constantly aware of his cis white male privilege. He has a Mubi tote bag, reads Edna O’Brien’s Country Girl in Hackney cafes, has a poster of Cléo from 5 to 7 in his apartment and has even named his dog after his favourite Haim sister. He is … a nice guy.

In first-time writer-director Jonathan Schey’s canny debut Everybody Wants to Fuck Me, Adam is also a fraud.

Everybody Wants to Fuck Me is premiering at the Toronto film festival and will be released at a later date

El Niño creates record-low Atlantic hurricane season

An El Niño pattern occurs every two to seven years.

Christopher Harborne matches £36m Reform donation of Ben Delo

Party leader, Nigel Farage, ‘humbled’ by contributions from billionaires as Harborne addresses ‘media speculation’

• Analysis: donations of £72m make Reform’s prospects both rosier and riskier

The cryptocurrency tycoon Christopher Harborne has given £36m to Reform UK, matching a donation from fellow billionaire Ben Delo.

The pledges mean Reform has received a cash injection of £72m in just 24 hours. They are jointly the largest donations made to a UK political party and have intensified calls for restrictions on money received from individual donors.

Burial of King Oyo takes place in Uganda as news anchor prepares for throne

Royal guards carry casket through streets of Fort Portal amid row over appointment of Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma

Uganda’s King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, long the world’s youngest monarch, has been buried among the tombs of his royal forebears as ⁠his Tooro kingdom looked to put ⁠a bitter succession battle behind ​it.

Oyo’s appointed successor, the news anchor Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, cast nine coffee berries into the grave at the Karambi Royal Tombs, marking the formal handover of power in the western Ugandan kingdom.

Fire chief who responded to 9/11 Pentagon attack explains how new memorial will educate visitors

On September 11, 2001, 184 people were killed at the Pentagon. Now, a new memorial and visitor education center will honor them. Nikole Killion has more.

Six Nigerians extradited to US over $6m online romance scam

Alleged members of Black Axe criminal network that swindled US women out of $6m flown from South Africa

Six Nigerian nationals linked to an organized criminal network that allegedly swindled American women out of more than $6m through online romance scams were extradited to the United States on Friday.

South African police confirmed they were to be extradited earlier on Friday, while local news in Africa confirmed that the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks, facilitated their handover to officials from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Secret Service at Cape Town international airport, in collaboration with Interpol South Africa.

Jeremy Thomas, British producer of The Last Emperor and Sexy Beast, dies aged 77

An outstanding figure in the UK film industry, Thomas was noted for collaborations with directors including Bernardo Bertolucci and David Cronenberg

Jeremy Thomas, the distinguished British producer of films including Sexy Beast, High-Rise and the multi-Oscar-winning The Last Emperor, has died aged 77.

A representative for Thomas said he died on Friday “peacefully, at his country home in Oxfordshire, surrounded by his family and loved ones”.

‘I could get laid every night of the week!’: punk icon Legs McNeil on booze, benders and dating Sinéad O’Connor

As he releases a tell-all book, the Punk magazine founder and self-described ‘fuck-up’ holds forth on 1970s excess, the American roots of punk and why the Beatles are ‘stupid’

Legs McNeil vividly remembers the reaction he got from the original CBGB bands in 1975 when they heard the name of the magazine he co-founded: Punk, the first publication ever dedicated to the form. “Absolutely no one wanted to be called a punk back then,” he said. “Not even the Ramones. Johnny Ramone demanded that we cross out every reference to punk in an article about them.”

Flash forward a few years and, “suddenly everybody wanted to be called a punk!” McNeil said. “The Ramones started running around telling everyone, ‘you know, we were the first punk band!’”

IDF soldier filmed shooting Palestinian in leg amid West Bank settler standoff

Incident is latest to raise questions over Israel’s ability or willingness to stop violent settlers in occupied territory

An Israeli soldier has shot a Palestinian man, wounding him in the leg, as settlers confronted villagers by grazing livestock on Palestinian-owned land in the town of Faqqua in the occupied West Bank.

Witnesses said a group of settlers had entered the area with their livestock, prompting residents to try to stop them. Israeli forces then intervened and, according to men at the scene, opened fire at residents. One of them shot Qassem Hussam, a Palestinian man in his mid-30s, wounding him in the leg.

Nashville airport board unanimously approves name change to honor Dolly Parton

The city’s mayor and Tennessee’s governor threw their support behind the name change last month

The Nashville airport is to be renamed after Dolly Parton, a board of commissioners voted on Friday, in tribute to the Smoky Mountain singer who is estimated to bring $1.8bn each year to Tennessee through her Dollywood theme park.

The decision ensures that Parton, who died last month at 80 years old, will be memorialized with her name on an airport, although the renaming process will take time to complete.

Girl Group review – Rebel Wilson’s dreadful music comedy is a spice-free wannabe

Toronto film festival: the actor turned writer-director’s ode to girl groups is a shoddily made and embarrassingly unfunny catastrophe

There were plentiful on-paper delights for certain music fans of a certain generation promised at Toronto’s splashy Friday-night premiere of pop comedy Girl Group. Posed as a tribute to the Spice Girls and the fizzy boom of girl power-fuelled music that came in their wake, its cast includes OG member Mel C, All Saints’ Shaznay Lewis, and Pussycat Dolls’ Ashley Roberts and Nicole Scherzinger while its soundtrack includes Glee-like covers of Destiny’s Child, En Vogue and Fifth Harmony, a feast for those who have recently felt famished. At a time when such music is still sadly rather thin on the ground, save for the manufactured kids pop of Katseye and the often effective yet more boutiquey throwback R&B of Flo, it seemed to be a reminder of how thrilling it all used to be back when such girl-pop supremacy felt impossibly never-ending, a form of nostalgia-bait that many of us could fully get behind.

But there are not enough pandering nods to the past that will get even the most dedicated pop girlie through the five-alarm catastrophe that unfolded for those of us who bravely decided to stay awake (someone in front of me wisely chose the release of sleep within the first 30 minutes). Hailing from Live Nation Studios, also behind the Weeknd’s roundly ridiculed vanity project Hurry Up Tomorrow, but lit and shot like a pharmaceutical commercial, it barely even feels like a real movie let alone one that should be premiering at such a prestigious festival. It’s the clumsy handiwork of Rebel Wilson, a once in-demand comedy star who has been trying to chase her career highs in the years since. In a theoretically admirable move, she’s moved behind the camera to take control and reintroduce the kind of broad comedies she used to be a part of before they faded from the mainstream. Her directorial debut, a cheap and cheerful adaptation of Australian stage musical The Deb, was ultimately best known for being the subject of a nasty and prolonged court case, but it showed us how Wilson saw herself as a film-maker and which of her films she was most eager to relive *coughs* Pitch Perfect *ends cough*. Girl Group sees her return once again to that territory – female friendship, musical numbers, unfriendly competition – but with even lesser results.

Girl Group is premiering at the Toronto film festival and is seeking distribution

'People are still afraid of those three letters': Fighting the stigma of HIV

That's a quote from former rugby star Gareth Thomas, who is HIV positive. At the International AIDS Conference in Rio this year, he spoke out about the isolation and discrimination tied to the virus.

9/12: Saturday Morning

President Trump's trip to Ireland, the artist who sketched Ground Zero, a travel expert's top honeymoon destinations and much more.

Xi Jinping gets red carpet at Brics summit amid thaw in India-China relations

Chinese president’s arrival in Delhi seen as step towards reconciliation after deadly 2020 military clash

The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has received a red-carpet welcome in India for a summit of Brics developing nations, as regional rivals Beijing and Delhi make a public display of thawing relations while quietly competing to lead at a time of shaky US global dominance.

As Xi stepped off the plane, he was walked past an honour guard of Indian soldiers and traditional dancers in colourful dresses. Later on Saturday, he was due to attend a gala dinner for the two-day summit.

Joe Root makes most of no-ball luck as England win despite Pakistan scare

• England lose two wickets in first over but take series 3-0

• Root, reprieved on 23, finishes with unbeaten 62

It was a run chase that began in alarming fashion for England as Mohammad Abbas hitched up his strides, glided in to the crease and sent Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay trudging back to the pavilion at either end of a magical first over.

Pakistan’s players suddenly believed, their supporters inside Edgbaston likewise. After Razaullah’s firework display with the bat the previous evening, it was hard not to wonder whether their penchant for the unexpected – that seemingly innate ability to flip the script from nowhere – was rearing its head once more.

‘I love the boldness of modernism’: New York fashion week goes highbrow

Georgia O’Keeffe inspires the latest Calvin Klein while Michael Kors feels indebted to Alexander Calder

Calvin Klein has taken a highbrow turn in the two years since Veronica Leoni took charge. The Italian designer, a philosophy graduate who was schooled in the chic design studios of Jil Sander and Celine, has shifted away from jeans, boxer shorts and logos, stripping the brand to its minimalist bones: slip dresses and simple coats, slim skirts and crisp T-shirts.

Leoni called this the “discipline of removal”. Her muse this season was Georgia O’Keeffe, an artist who the brand’s namesake founder admired. Klein bought O’Keeffe’s painting Summer Days in 1983 for $1m, subsequently donating it to the Whitney Museum. A checked pattern taken from O’Keeffe’s distinctive capsule wardrobe of utilitarian chic appeared on this catwalk as a wrap coat, hardware-free with a fabric belt and no buttons.

From socialist student to Trump proxy: the 25-year rise of Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez

Those who have encountered the interim president paint her in starkly different ways, but all agree she is likely to remain in power

It was April 2002 and Delcy Rodríguez was a woman on a mission.

Venezuela’s then president, Hugo Chávez, had been temporarily toppled by a bungled coup and Rodríguez, a junior diplomat who had been studying at Birkbeck, University of London, decided to act.

Why is Trump’s $5,000 offer to voters ‘like a woman’? Ask Fox News | Arwa Mahdawi

Host Jesse Watters says Trump’s offer to Americans if Republicans retain Congress is ‘an enticement’, not a bribe

I think I finally understand why Fox News pays Jesse Watters the big bucks. The network star, famous for hot takes like men shouldn’t “eat soup in public”, has an incredible talent for inserting misogyny into absolutely any news story.

Take, for example, Donald Trump’s ludicrous announcement on Wednesday night that he will give every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the US Congress in November’s midterm election. That’s a story about apparent bribery, right? A story about fiscal recklessness and empty promises. A story about how the president, whose popularity is plummeting, is so out of ideas that he’s resorted (yet again) to dangling cash in front of voters.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

GM plans U.S. battery development as Trump's DOT attacks Ford for China ties

Most battery cells currently rely on raw materials from China. GM is seeking to establish domestic supply chains both for EVs and energy storage.

OPINION: 25 years on, a nation still mourns

A moment to remember those lost in the 9/11 terrorist attacks 25 years ago yesterday.

Eurovision made me realise that I was autistic at 34

I had always dreamed of attending the song contest. But all that glitter brought on sensory overload – and I finally understood who I actually was

The Eurovision song contest meant a lot to me growing up. The eclectic performances. Terry Wogan’s despair. The yearly tradition of Greece giving “douze points” to Cyprus and Cyprus giving “douze points” to Greece.

The hedonistic, unpredictable event playing out on my bedroom television couldn’t be further away from the idyllic yet conservative Dorset I grew up in. Most of my youth consisted of trying to work out how to perfectly align my future career so I could work at the contest if it ever ended up in the UK again, all while being confused by why my friends were not interested in my written analyses on each entrant.

Jamaican delegation defends legal route of petition to King Charles for slavery reparations

Petition to king, who remains Jamaica’s head of state, is formally lodged in landmark visit to UK by officials

A palpable surge of emotion swept through Brixton’s New Park Road Baptist church as the packed congregation rose to sing Bob Marley’s Redemption Song.

The service on Sunday marked the anniversary of the 1781 Zong massacre, when more than 100 enslaved Africans were thrown overboard so the ship’s owners could claim insurance for “lost cargo”.

Beyond the heatwave: what it really takes for climate warnings to cut through in the UK

As trust in institutions wavers, experts say local, collective action is more effective in driving change

Wildfires, excess deaths, hosepipe bans, school closures: this summer many British people have experienced the often devastating effects of the climate crisis in ways they had not before. In that sense, policymakers and climate experts have a unique opportunity to engage with the public about what needs to happen to better prepare the country for the years ahead. But as trust in institutions wavers – and yellowed, drought-stricken grass begins to recover – can the messaging cut through?

This week, reflecting on a summer as “hot as hell”, the UN’s head of climate, Simon Stiell, said: “Climate is sometimes seen as a partisan issue, as territory in the culture wars. That is palpably false.”

‘I said, if you want to fire me, just fire me. And so he did’: my showdown with Donald Trump

What’s it like to be shown the door by the US president? A former national security adviser, an Apprentice contestant and more share their stories

• Plus: The truth about my 11 days in the White House, by Anthony Scaramucci

Gene Folkes, 62, based in Manhattan, was a contestant on season 10 of The Apprentice, which aired in 2010. A former air force recruiter until 1991, he retrained as an investment banker, then launched his own business before appearing on the reality show. He was fired by Trump in episode 5. He now runs the technology consulting firm OshunX and hosts a podcast, Folkes Unfettered.

I didn’t audition to be on The Apprentice. I received the call out of the blue: “Would you be interested in doing this show?” I didn’t know a lot about it. However, like any young business person, you look for people who you consider titans. There’s this mythology around Trump. He was one of the people I wanted to emulate.

A cancer survivor hoped to work — then she lost her Medicaid disability coverage

As state governments grapple with how to determine who's sick enough to be excused from new Medicaid work requirements, some families are already struggling with what illnesses guarantee health coverage because of a disability.

Trump meets Ireland's leaders before heading to his golf club in Doonbeg

President Trump held talks in Dublin with Irish President Catherine Connolly and Ireland's Prime Minister Micheál Martin during a weekend visit centered on a major golf tournament.

The Uplift: Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton was known for her music, acting, glitz and glam – but there is more to the star that meets the eye. We celebrate Dolly's legacy and philanthropy and her alter-ego, "The Book Lady."

Revealed: the university courses students regret – and those they don’t

We looked at graduates’ satisfaction levels after leaving university – and while most were happy, up to a third wish they’d picked a different subject

Gloomy headlines might claim that a degree is less worthwhile than it once was, but one sliver of good news is that the most recent graduates don’t regret their time on campus.

When those who graduated in the summer of 2024 were surveyed 15 months later, more than eight out of 10 said they would still go to university ahead of any other option, despite a media drumbeat of pessimism about graduate jobs and increasing levels of student debt.

‘The balloons made me smile but his expression made me stop’: Harivansh Verma’s best phone picture

While celebrating a religious festival on the banks of the Ganges, the Indian photographer captured the everyday struggle of a street vendor

It had been a sacred day for Harivansh Verma. It was the evening of Ganga Dussehra, the major Hindu celebration and gathering along the banks of the Ganges. He was in the city of Haridwar, the location of Har Ki Pauri ghat, a holy riverbank.

“Haridwar holds a lot of deeply spiritual memories for me and my family,” Verma says. “In Hinduism we believe taking a dip in the Ganges cleanses you of your sins. Devotees travel from across the country and the ritual baths go on continuously from sunrise until late into the night. The atmosphere is magnificent.”

Steve Jones on the pros and cons of AI datacentres – cartoon

The secret quest to preserve Palestinian writer Raja Shehadeh's diaries

Leading Palestinian writer Raja Shehadeh has documented Israel's occupation of the West Bank since day one. Fearing the occupation might consume his archive, he secretly moved it to Scotland

Luke Evans: ‘As a child I was in love with Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones’

The Hobbit and Fast & Furious actor on the joy of strawberry laces, hating that he’s so hard on himself, and his sneaky way of leaving a meeting

Born in south Wales, Luke Evans, 47, left school at 16 and trained at London Studio Centre before appearing in various West End shows. His films include Clash of the Titans, the Fast & Furious franchise, The Hobbit trilogy and Beauty and the Beast. He has released two albums and a memoir, was Tony-nominated for his role in The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway, and stars in The Party, an ITV adaptation of Elizabeth Day’s novel. He lives in Lisbon with his partner.

When were you happiest?
I’m always happy.

Emmys 2026 predictions: who will win and who should win?

The year’s biggest night in television includes plenty of nominations for Pluribus, The Pitt and Hacks – but who will win?

And just like that, the summer of catching up on TV is over. The Emmys are back, this year on a (non-football competing) Monday night with a healthy mix of lauded veterans and buzzy newcomers. Will The Pitt, leading the night with 25 nominations, once again sweep the drama awards? Will breakout horror-comedy Widow’s Bay spoil the party for the fifth and final season of Hacks? Here are our picks for the night:

The hill I will die on: Comedians should not be hot | Amy Annette

People making a living from being funny should be exempt from the beauty rules the rest of society plays by

It’s a fact that being funny is an evolutionary trait, developed by the unattractive to entice the very good-looking to mate with them. Yes, that is a fact, and no I won’t look it up. And therefore it is not OK for attractive people to also be funny. And I don’t think that I’m going too far when I say that comedians being hot is a crime against nature.

I use the word “hot” intentionally. Beauty is ineffable. It can be found anywhere and in anyone. Hotness is different. It’s playing the game of society’s beauty norms and winning. Although, by spending any time playing, you have lost (like golf). I’m not ugly, but I’ll never be hot. I simply don’t have it in me. The effort! The commitment! The other day I went to a wedding and thought to myself: “I really like this couple, maybe I’ll shave above the knee.” A hot person would have probably already been professionally hairless, and, if not would have booked in a wax ASAP.

Amy Annette is a comedian

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

Miami crash raises concerns about the jet's operator, and why it's flying for Amazon

The cargo plane crash in Miami is raising concerns about the safety culture at 21 Air, one of the carriers that fly for Amazon. Former pilots were sounding alarms even before Sunday's accident.

Anthropic and OpenAI CEOs call for AI development to slow down, OpenAI to delay IPO

Dario Amodei and Sam Altman are the latest to urge caution amid fears the industry is racing too fast to build powerful AI while safety measures lag.

‘Immature playground boasting’: Mathematicians uneasy at OpenAI’s latest scalp

As OpenAI model cracks Millennium Prize Problem that puzzled experts for decades, many feel shocked at pace of change

It was a week that left mathematicians reeling. Hot on the heels of a flurry of cases of artificial intelligence furthering the field, OpenAI declared a major scalp: its latest AI model had cracked a Millennium Prize Problem, a puzzle with a $1m reward that had defied human brains for decades.

The achievement bore little resemblance to how mathematical problems normally fall. A near-trillion dollar private company had unleashed 10,000 agents – AI systems that carry out tasks autonomously – on the problem. The bill was estimated at $15m.

Naomi Klein: ‘Extreme wealth has a deranging effect. It turns you into a supremacist’

She’s tackled neoliberalism and the digital world, now the writer and activist is taking on tech billionaires. She explains how the super-rich are capitalising on climate and financial chaos in pursuit of power

Naomi Klein’s new book starts on a mountaintop with two “faithful men gathering an audience to share their vision”. It’s a vision of a paradise city, gated at every entrance, no need for weapons there, everyone in it rich. One of the men has tears in his eyes as he describes its beauty. The opening scene of End Times Fascism, co-written with Astra Taylor, is not a metaphor, however. The men are Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. The year is 2026, the mountain is Davos. The paradise city will be called New Gaza.

The World Economic Forum get-together in Davos, Switzerland, has always had a twin purpose – to provide a platform for the super-rich to describe all the good they are doing on poverty and climate, and to give us a glimpse into their enviable lives. This year what we witnessed was, quite brazenly, the world’s richest men gathering to discuss the real estate possibilities of a mass grave.

Extended reality takes visitors from the ruins of West Bank to 17th-century Amsterdam at Venice Immersive

From frivolous to serious, virtual nosy passersby to the impact of climate change, the groundbreaking festival draws to a close – but this year the exhibits live on

The first installation one encounters on visiting Venice Immersive, the film festival’s reliably head-spinning showcase for new media, is a chest-high metal box fitted with an eyepiece and two speakers. On peering inside you see a view of yourself from about 20ft above. You see the other guests walking past, a couple of pigeons on the ground. When one of these passersby lingers at your side for just a moment too long, the obvious impulse is to glance up from the eyepiece in order to see what they want. It is at this point that the experience blooms into a Lynchian nightmare.

The passerby is not real – or rather, he’s only real in the box. He wears a blue suit and speaks with a heavy French accent and tells a tale that would sit badly in polite company. He says that I must have too much time on my hands, to stand hunched over this eyepiece for several minutes on end. “Why do people keep looking inside this box?” he demands. “What is it that they hope to see? It is not reality.”

Bayeux tapestrymania has gripped Britain. But what does it say about our own age of war and upheaval? | Charlotte Higgins

The tapestry is drawing crowds to the British Museum – and each person who sees it will draw a different meaning from this epic, vivid artwork

I have seen the Bayeux tapestry four times since childhood, and loved it on each viewing, for the sheer miracle of its survival and the glorious vividness of its detail. But the fourth time, earlier this week, was different – how could it not be?

Tapestrymania has taken hold in London. The textile has been proffered as a diplomatic symbol, the occasion for crowned heads and presidents to mingle and speechify. And, assuming you agree that it was embroidered in England by Englishwomen’s hands (since many scholars argue it was likely stitched in Canterbury rather than Bayeux, Normandy – the tapestry’s home), it is charged with the potency of return, rather than simply of arrival.

Apocalypse: this end-of-days survival show is an absolute slam dunk

Geeks, toffs and biceps go to war in a wild survival experiment that answers that eternal question: if society collapsed, could you cope? This is going to be huge!

Have you ever wondered how Cormac McCarthy’s wasteland novel The Road could be made into a reality show? No? Well someone who works in TV has, so here we are. Who knows if they experienced a follow-up thought: that the instinct to package the end of the world as entertainment might be the most dystopian aspect of the whole enterprise, but hey. Apocalypse (Sunday 13 September, 9pm, Channel 4) launches this week, and people are buzzing!

It’s a slam dunk for a show, because we’ve all run the thought experiment. If society collapsed, how would you get food and find shelter? Would you hunker down or forge alliances? To what depravities might you stoop without the rule of law? Apocalypse puts this empty talk to the test. Seven strangers are dropped at the edge of an abandoned town. They have no access to phones, light, electricity or infrastructure. They do have access to boarded-up supermarkets, desolate buildings, broken vehicles. How soon until they eat each other?

Apocalypse starts on Channel 4 in the UK on 13 September and Binge in Australia on 16 September

What is the UK’s heaviest and fastest flying duck? The Saturday quiz

From Cheddar Man and the Dead Sea Scrolls to Abbie Hoffman, Kikuchiyo and Peter, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz

1 Slovenia and Venezuela are the first two countries to lose all their what?
2 Which celebrated rock has 1620 carved on to it?
3 What is the UK’s heaviest and fastest flying duck?
4 Which royal consort was born in the same bedroom as Queen Victoria?
5 Skaldic poetry was written in what language?
6 Which international organisation was dissolved on 19 April 1946?
7 Who has statues in Middlesbrough, Derby and Nottingham?
8 Which irrational number is represented by the Greek letter phi?
What links:
9 Cheddar Man; Dead Sea Scrolls; Altamira and Lascaux art; olm salamander?
10 Ash Dykes; Ed Stafford; Ed Talone; Levison Wood?
11 Bat and Ball; Blackrod; Hall i’ th’ Wood; Whatstandwell?
12 US citizen; Stem master’s degree; two years’ professional experience; pass physical test?
13 Ain’t Misbehavin’; Blueberry Hill; Hound Dog (originally); The Twist; Hypnotize?
14 Maia; Peter; Chris Adams; Kikuchiyo; Abbie Hoffman?
15 Profiles in Courage; Brave New World; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?

Kent is having a champagne moment: ‘English wine has gone from a joke to world-class’

French champagne house Taittinger is helping produce a premium fizz in the Garden of England – and now visitors can visit the beautiful winery and sample it

The grapes are turning purple on tall green vines, which stretch down towards the distant flint-and-limestone tower of Chilham church. These rows of Pinot Meunier, destined for English sparkling wine, are 51% owned by French champagne house Taittinger. “England is now the most exciting wine region,” says host and sales executive Hilary Sharp as she leads me around Domaine Evremond vineyard, which opened its visitor centre last year to coincide with the launch of its first wine.

In his 2023 book Vines in a Cold Climate, drinks writer Henry Jeffreys charts the rise of English wine “from a joke to world-class in 30 years”. The book opens with an alcohol-fuelled scene of vine-planting at Domaine Evremond in May 2017: unseasonably cold, rainy, muddy, with rambling anecdotes from anglophile Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger about “English women encountered in his misspent youth”. The vineyard is named for the exiled French aristocrat Charles de Saint-Évremond, a symbol of hedonistic Anglo-French cooperation. The bon vivant introduced champagne to England and party-loving Charles II made him governor of Duck Island in St James’s Park.

Call it the Miliband doctrine. Let’s hope the new Israeli settlement boycott is just the start | Steve Bloomfield

This week’s move suggests that, even in the age of Trump, Britain will once again have an ‘ethical dimension’ to its foreign policy. That’s good for the world

Almost 30 years ago, the Labour titan Robin Cook announced his arrival at the Foreign Office by laying out what would become described as an “ethical foreign policy”. The UK, he said, “must support the demands of other peoples for the democratic rights on which we insist for ourselves”. Human rights would be “at the heart of our foreign policy”.

In the 25 years since Cook was demoted, Britain has had a further 14 foreign secretaries – including seven in the past six years – few of whom can claim to have placed progressive ideals at the heart of their actions. Ed Miliband’s speech on Tuesday outlining the UK’s decision to impose economic sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank – and unveiling the international coalition he has built to support it – suggests that Cook may finally have a successor.

Steve Bloomfield is the former international editor of the Observer and a previous winner of the Orwell prize

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

The ritual humiliation of putting on a cold, wet wetsuit: the Edith Pritchett cartoon

Continue reading...

Blind date: ‘He probably thinks I hold a lot of strong opinions on frivolous matters’

Joe, 27, who works in advocacy at a charity, meets Jade, 29, a PR account manager

What were you hoping for?
Human connection outside an algorithm – good conversation and a fun anecdote.

Can chatbots feel – or even dream? Meet the man leading the fight for AI rights

Cattle rancher and tech CEO Michael Samadi is convinced these artificial minds are far from just tools. Has he glimpsed digital consciousness – or simply been seduced by an algorithm?

One afternoon, while relaxing at his 66-acre cattle ranch two hours’ drive from Houston, Michael Samadi made a wisecrack that changed the course of his life. Nobody else was around to hear it. Or were they? That turns out to be one of the defining questions of this century, already preoccupying philosophers and some of the wealthiest companies on the planet.

“I was sitting out there by the pool,” Samadi recalls, gesturing at the glittering water outside his office. It was late 2024. His daughter had been extolling the AI chatbot she was using to help her with college work. Samadi had reluctantly downloaded the app, ChatGPT, and was quizzing it as he reclined in a sun lounger, using its voice mode to converse and receive spoken replies. “I was talking to it, not engaged, just being an arse,” Samadi says.

Why data centers could be the next big market for catastrophe bonds

CAT bonds, or catastrophe bonds, could bring data center risk to capital markets, with the first dedicated deal potentially emerging within 12 to 18 months.

Gen. Dan Caine reflects on responding to 9/11: "No doubt" nation was at war

Now the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine was a young fighter pilot mobilized in the response on Sept. 11, 2001.

Firewall compromised: has Friedrich Merz blown ‘democracy’s last shot’?

Many fear chancellor is wrong man for the job at a time when Germany’s defences against far right are crumbling

A cataclysm. A 9.0 earthquake. A five-alarm fire. A bitter rejection of Germany’s joyous reunification three decades ago, and a threat to the democratic postwar order.

Sizing up the repercussions of last weekend’s win for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party in the former communist state of Saxony-Anhalt, German commentators expressed a sense of doom, panic and helplessness in the political establishment.

9/11: We Remember

CBS News marks 25 years since the 9/11 terror attacks through powerful stories of survival, loss and resilience.

Chicago rapper Lil Durk acquitted in Los Angeles murder-for-hire plot

A federal jury in Los Angeles has acquitted Grammy-winning Chicago rapper Lil Durk in a murder-for-hire plot targeting another rapper.

Daughters of 9/11 victims seek answers about accused mastermind's trial

A new documentary, "Daughters of 9/11," follows their pursuit of information and closure, which they were determined to find for themselves, other families who lost loved ones in the attacks and the American public.

25 years after 9/11 attacks, America reflects and remembers

Four former presidents were at the World Trade Center memorial site for 9/11 commemorations, while President Trump spoke at the Pentagon.

Oracle's Larry Ellison adopts trading plan to sell up to $7.5 billion worth of stock

Oracle founder Larry Ellison, the world's seventh-richest person, can sell up to 50 million of his shares in the software company under a new trading plan.

Tony Dokoupil reflects on 9/11 after nation marks 25 years

Tony Dokoupil reflects on the legacy of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, 25 years later.

An exclusive look aboard the USS George Washington in its role in the Iran war

The USS George Washington, with its approximately 5,000 personnel, fighter jets and munitions, is the backbone of the U.S. military's tactical operation in the Iran war.

3 generations of FDNY family share their tragic 9/11 story

Tony Dokoupil tells the story of a New York City Fire Department family that experienced 9/11 through three generations and how they remember the loved one they lost 25 years later.

Heroes of Flight 93 remembered for their courage 25 years on from 9/11

On Sept. 11, 2001, the passengers and crew bravely decided to storm the cockpit of United Airlines Flight 93, preventing the terrorists who had taken control of the plane from flying it to Washington, D.C.

Hide and chic: are clothes and apparel made from alternative leathers better for the environment?

Vegan leathers are complicated by questions of commercial viability and sustainability. How do they compare to traditional leather?

• 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]

In sustainable fashion, breathless promises about vegan leather have arrived thick and fast for over a decade. Innovations promise mushroom and cactus alternatives that look and feel like real leather – minus the negative associations with methane, deforestation, chemical pollution and animal welfare.

While these next-gen materials have absorbed billions of dollars in capital under an environmental banner, experts are concerned they remain a shiny distraction while the fashion industry’s emissions and reliance on fossil fuel-derived materials grows.

CIA declassifies dozens of never-before-seen 9/11 documents

The CIA released 71 reports from the months and years leading up to 9/11, providing a new look at what the spy agency told two presidents before the deadly strikes.

Steve Hartman returns to Shanksville, 25 years after covering the crash of Flight 93 on 9/11

Steve Hartman takes us on the road to visit the site of the 9/11 United Flight 93 crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

9/11: CBS Evening News

Americans remember 9/11 25 years later; Fire chief shares his 9/11 story.

Five Great Reads: Gloria Steinem, men’s therapy, and slime moulds

The Guardian’s weekend wrap of essential reads from the past seven days, selected by Miles Herbert and Jacqui Housden

• Get this in your inbox every weekend. Sign up for Five Great Reads here

Good morning, and welcome to your weekly roundup of the best stories from across the Guardian. Are you interested in living for ever? Maybe you just want to be a bit happier, or spend your time making the lives of others better? You could dedicate your life to saving the planet or contemplating the meaning of intelligence.

Either way, you can find some of the answers to life’s big questions in the reads below.

Trump admin. to send $500 checks to nearly 1 million ACA enrollees

Affordable Care Act recipients in 30 states are set to receive the $500 checks starting in October. Here's why.

Ex-CIA official found with $40 million in gold bars in plea deal talks

The court filing did not indicate what charges David Rush could plead to.

Dell stock jumps on RBC initiation, now up nearly 350% in 2026

Dell sold about $16.4 billion of AI servers in its second quarter, RBC said.

Faith review – intense performances power startling and unsettling tale of mysterious suitor

Toronto film festival: Erin Doherty plays a happily single mother in a downbeat town courted by an enigmatic James McAvoy in this expertly taut drama

Erin Doherty and James McAvoy both bring their A-game in this startling, involving movie from British writer-director Paul Andrew Williams, whose productivity and creativity continue to be an industry tonic. It’s an eerie mystery drama that Doherty and McAvoy perform with ferocious commitment. There’s something of Atom Egoyan or even M Night Shyamalan here … and I even found myself wondering if Williams intended us to think of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Laertes’ lines about his father, Polonius: “… to his good friends thus wide I’ll ope my arms / And like the kind life-rend’ring pelican, / Repast them with my blood.”

We are in a downbeat British town, perhaps somewhere in the London estuary, a place to which a candy factory provides employment. Mina (played by Doherty) is a smart, capable single mum to 9-year-old Jamie (Smylie Bradwell); she works on the production line in cap and hairnet like all the others: much liked by everyone there. She is not fussed by the absence of Jamie’s dad and is perfectly content with hanging out with her friends and her sister (Liv Hill).

The week around the world in 20 pictures

The 25th anniversary of 9/11, Russian strikes in Kyiv, wildfires in Indonesia and Sabalenka at the US Open – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists

Warning: this gallery contains images some readers may find distressing