Shrey Parikh of California wins 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee in spell-off

Shrey Parikh of Rancho Cucamonga, California, emerged victorious Thursday in the 98th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Trump DOJ 'lawfare' fund temporarily blocked by judge as suit proceeds

The DOJ has face strong criticism for the creation of a $1.8 Anti-Weaponization Fund which could compensate allies of President Donald Trump.

Blue Origin rocket explodes on launchpad during ground test

Jeff Bezos' rocket maker suffered a setback on Thursday as its New Glenn rocket went up in flames.

5 dead, dozens injured as bus plows into 6 vehicles in Virginia

The five deaths came in vehicles that were struck by the bus when it did not slow down for traffic.

Teen released by ICE wants to stay in U.S.: "Doing the right things"

Ricardo Hernandez-Navarrete graduated from high school after being released by ICE, but he and his mother still face the possibility of deportation.

French Open 2026: Djokovic v Fonseca, Rublev and Swiatek win, Muchova out – live

Updates from the sixth day’s play at Roland Garros
How players are feeling the heat | Mail Daniel

Now then. Swiatek is brilliant at coaxing herself through the rounds, but she’ll not be happy to be broken immediately, Linette leading 2-0 … er, make that 2-1, the advantage immediately confiscated. Meantime, Rublev has also been broken, the serving that settled set one forsaking him in two, and that, really is the difference; he hammers his racket into the clay, which is better than doing so into himself, and he leads 7-5 1-3.

Borges, who’ll feel unlucky to have lost the first set, breaks Rublev immediately for 5-7 2-0, while Linette holds in game one of her clash with Swiatek.

Joe Biden book author reacts to Jill Biden's comments on 2024 debate: "Cut her some slack"

Vanity Fair contributor Chris Whipple, who has written books and reported extensively about former President Joe Biden's time in office, joined "CBS Mornings" to talk about former first lady Jill Biden's "CBS Sunday Morning" interview, where she shared she was "frightened" watching her husband's 2024 debate performance.

SpaceX skeptics have added reason for concern after Musk comments diverge from IPO filing

In a post on X, Elon Musk offered details about SpaceX's deal with Anthropic that weren't included in the company's IPO prospectus.

Champions League final buildup, Neymar injury concern, transfer news, and more: football – live

⚽ News and previews before big weekend of football
⚽ Arsenal owners promise to strengthen | Mail John

The aforementioned Qatar played Ireland last night in Dublin, and lost 1-0.

The game was played against the backdrop of mounting controversy over Ireland’s forthcoming Nations League fixtures against Israel, with the game scheduled for October 4 in Dublin a particular focus, and protesters hurled tennis balls bearing the message “stop the game” onto the pitch on several occasions during the first half.

The 22-year will make a shock switch of allegiance from Italy to Australia four years after turning down the opportunity to represent the country of his birth at the tournament in Qatar.

Football Australia is still awaiting confirmation from Fifa that the formalities surrounding Volpato’s change of heart can be completed before Socceroos coach Tony Popovic names his 26-player World Cup squad by 1 June.

Bret Michaels becomes latest artist to drop out of Trump-affiliated concert series for US’s 250th anniversary – live

At least seven of nine musical acts set to play in a concert series to mark 250th anniversary of US dropped out within 48 hours of the lineup being announced

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Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s mayor, said he won’t be marching in this year’s Israel Day Parade, during a news conference Thursday.

“I said on the campaign trail that I wouldn’t be attending, and I’ve made my views on the Israeli government clear,” Mamdani said, adding that ample security measures will be in place. He said:

As the mayor of our city, I take seriously the responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of every New Yorker at every event, regardless of my attendance.

Could a decades-old DNA sample solve the yogurt shop murder case?

The 1991 murder of four teenage girls in a Texas yogurt shop remains unsolved, but there's hope that advancing DNA technology will change that.

Are 2 never-identified customers key to solving yogurt shop murders?

Two men were seen in a Texas yogurt shop just before four teenage girls were killed there in 1991, and some wonder whether identifying them will lead to answers in the unsolved case.

Men wrongfully accused of yogurt shop murders declared innocent

One of the four men who was initially convicted was sent to death row in the killing of four teenagers in a crime that haunted Austin for decades.

Bullet casing at yogurt shop links serial killer to the infamous murders

"48 Hours" can exclusively report there has been a huge break in the 1991 murders of four teenage girls in a Texas yogurt shop.

If CMAT is an affront to the male gaze and Olivia Rodrigo is indulging it, how exactly should women dress? | Laura Snapes

The loud online hate aimed at two pop stars with polar-opposite styles suggests a shrinking realm of acceptability in which women can exist. That is, you suspect, the point

For an eye-catching spring/summer 2026 look, why not try one of the infinitely fun ways you can dress up misogyny? There’s buttoned-up faux concern. The haughty pince-nez of high dudgeon. The splashy feather boa of outrage. If you’re really bold, why not the full birthday suit of naked disgust? There are far more acceptable options, apparently, than there are for actually dressing as a famous female pop star in 2026. Between the parallel uproar over extremely different outfits worn recently by CMAT and by Olivia Rodrigo, it almost seems as though there are in fact no options at all for how a woman should look in public. Funny, that.

Yesterday, the Irish and American musicians each commented on recent backlash over their appearances that came from the scummy bottom of the internet. On Sunday, CMAT performed at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Sunderland. When the BBC posted clips of her performance on Instagram, comments about her body were so vile that the broadcaster had to disable them; tellingly, clips from the same festival featuring smaller-bodied female performers still have comments enabled. “It’s been very hard to try and describe how difficult the last few days since the bbcr1 big weekend have been,” CMAT posted, saying the commentary caused her “deep sadness”.

Pain is the spur: Rafael Nadal reveals chronic foot problem plagued career

• ‘Tennis became a race against time’ after 2005 diagnosis

• ‘The suffering was less than my passion,’ says tennis great

Rafael Nadal has revealed he spent most of his career in pain as he willed himself to play through a chronic foot injury and went on to win 22 grand slam titles while spending two decades ruling men’s tennis alongside Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

The Spaniard, who retired in 2024, said he took immense risks with his health to keep his career going, after a Netflix series called Rafa provided an in-depth look into his physical and mental struggles to pursue greatness.

Families, investigators remain haunted by unsolved Texas yogurt shop murders

Could new information lead to answers in the brutal murder of four teenage girls in Austin, Texas, more than 30 years ago?

Kimmel on Trump: his approval numbers ‘like his testicles have sunk to an all-time low’

Late-night host spoke of more bad news for the president while also criticizing his ‘nonstop multi-victim retribution tour’

Jimmy Kimmel ridiculed Donald Trump over his falling approval rating while also taking shots at his crumbling anniversary concert event.

The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host reminded viewers that the midterms are not too far away and a new poll has shown that 57% of Americans will definitely vote, up from the average of 40%.

Eight students rescued after being stuck at top of rollercoaster for hours in Texas

Group was unharmed after dangling for almost four hours on ride that malfunctioned at Pleasure Pier in Galveston

Eight students were rescued unharmed after dangling for hours at the top of a rollercoaster ride that became stuck in Texas.

Pictures and news footage of the incident showed a rollercoaster car stalled at the peak of a huge almost vertical drop on the Iron Shark rollercoaster overlooking the Gulf of Mexico at the Pleasure Pier in Galveston.

Fed Governor Michelle Bowman warns against hiking interest rates because of inflation spike

Bowman said reacting to the inflation surge, driven primarily by energy prices and tariffs, has proven ineffective.

Judge temporarily blocks DOJ work on $1.7+ billion "anti-weaponization" fund

The Justice Department announced the $1.7 billion fund as part of a settlement of a civil lawsuit President Trump brought against the IRS.

New Yorkers irritated by proliferation of London members’ clubs on their doorsteps

Upper East Side residents fighting Maison Estelle’s plan for venue with roof terrace next to ‘nice townhouses’

The New York City elite are growing irritated by a proliferation of private members’ clubs from London’s Mayfair opening stateside branches on their doorsteps.

Over the last year, London clubs have started popping up like unexpected guests in the US city. The entrepreneur Robin Birley, who owns 5 Hertford Street – where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly had their first date – and Oswald’s in Mayfair, has opened Maxime’s on New York’s Upper East Side. Grosvenor Square newcomer the Twenty Two has now opened its NYC outpost and others are swiftly following suit, including Mayfair stalwart Annabel’s, which plans to open a site in the downtown meatpacking district.

Shrey Parikh wins 2026 Scripps spelling bee after correctly spelling 32 words in 90 seconds

Shrey Parikh, a 14-year-old eighth grader from Rancho Cucamonga, California, won the 98th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. Lilia Luciano reports.

Fish prints and shapes have UK shoppers hooked this summer

From sardines and sprats to crabs, marine life-themed fashion and homewares are making a splash

Three years after declaring the death of florals, John Lewis has discovered a new print that is making a splash among shoppers. At the launch of its new high summer collection, the retailer said fish were quickly becoming its customers’ catch of the day.

From sardines and sprats to crustaceans including crabs, its latest haul across fashion and homeware is rich in fish prints and shapes. Sales of starfish-shaped earrings are up 300% month on month, while high demand for a silky blue skirt smothered in shoals of fish has resulted in a waiting list. In homeware, sales of a set of glass tumblers that stack together to form the shape of a fish are up 400%, while a “gluggle jug” – a ceramic pitcher shaped like a fish that makes a gurgling sound as the water is poured – is becoming an outdoor dining essential. Sales of versions from Wade Pottery are up 129% month on month.

Bright and breezy: Yotam Ottolenghi on simple summer entertaining

Summertime, and the cooking is easy – or at least it should be. This is the season to spend less time in the kitchen and more round the table. Here’s how

This year, 22 February happened twice for me. The first time, I was flying from Auckland to San Francisco, crossing the international date line somewhere over the Pacific. I’ve never fully understood what actually happens at the date line. There’s an explanation – something about a group of men in Washington deciding where one day would end and another begin, drawing a line down the middle of the ocean. Knowing that doesn’t make it feel less strange. You fall asleep, and when you wake up it’s still yesterday.

Groundhog Day, except the groundhog was me, in my plane seat, eating something that had been described on the menu as a “warm pasta dish”.

Woman without right hand ticketed for holding phone says she "felt very uncomfortable"

Katie Thomas, a Florida woman who is missing her right hand, is reacting to a stunning traffic stop video that emerged showing an encounter where an officer alleged she was texting and driving - using her right hand. Cristian Benavides has more.

Nato ready to defend ‘every inch’ of territory as Russian drone hits Romania

Mark Rutte says Moscow’s ‘reckless behaviour is danger to us all’ after drone hits apartment building, while Russia denies involvement

• Europe live – latest updates

The Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, has said the alliance is “ready to defend every inch” of its territory after a Russian drone hit an apartment building in Romania, a member state, during an overnight attack on neighbouring Ukraine.

The incident in Galați, which injured two people, prompted swift condemnation and the threat of repercussions, even as Russia denied the reports of the involvement of a Russian drone as “groundless”.

EU to release €16bn to Hungary previously frozen under Orbán

Decision comes as police announce policy U-turn to allow Pride parade to take place in Budapest

• Europe live – latest updates

The EU is to release more than €16bn to Hungary that had been frozen under the rule of Viktor Orbán, with Ursula von der Leyen hailing the “winds of change” in the country since the election of Péter Magyar last month.

The decision, described as a “historic breakthrough” by the new prime minister, comes as police in Hungary have said they will allow next month’s Pride parade in Budapest to take place. Last year they sought to block the event on the orders of the government of the rightwing Orbán.

Data center frenzy is spurring a jobs boomlet for blue-collar workers

The rush to build thousands of U.S. data centers is driving demand for some workers, though economists project fewer permanent jobs.

Chicago teen detained by ICE, taken to 6 states, describes arrest: "They didn't tell me why"

Ricardo Hernandez-Navarrete, 18, was detained by ICE when he and his mom attended a routine immigration appointment. He just graduated high school after months in custody in six different states. Camilo Montoya-Galvez reports.

Labour reports alleged Farage hack to security officials after Reform leader fails to do so

Request follows claims actors linked to Moscow accessed Reform UK leader’s data and leaked information over £5m donation

• UK politics live – latest updates

Labour has reported the alleged hacking of Nigel Farage’s phone to police and government cybersecurity officials after the Reform UK leader failed to do so himself.

The Labour chair, Anna Turley, has asked the Metropolitan police and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to investigate Farage’s claims that his phone was compromised by hostile actors linked to Russia.

Bondi testifies behind closed doors in House Epstein probe

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is testifying before the House Oversight Committee on Friday about her handling of the Epstein files.

Michael Dell courted Trump early. His company has reaped rewards

The dynamic is emblematic of how business is seeking to sow favor with the president in his second term, and has departed from the norms of big business philanthropy.

Putin's cabal must be brought to trial for crimes in Ukraine. With this plan, the world can do that | Gordon Brown

A special tribunal akin to Nuremberg will not only force Russia to explain its culpability, it will show how vital it is to uphold international law

Vladimir Putin should be worried. Not since the trials of the Nazis at Nuremberg and the Japanese war criminals in Tokyo have so many world leaders made common cause to bring to justice the perpetrators of crimes that have brought terror, death and misery to defenceless millions.

The decision to prosecute Putin’s cabal for the crime of aggression, reached this month after an agreement between the Council of Europe and the European Union, is historic and offers hope in an age of chaos and fracture. This special tribunal is a mechanism of practical intent but, more than that, it is a statement: that there will never again be any hiding place for those guilty of war atrocities and the needless destruction of civilian life.

Many artists drop out of Freedom 250 concerts shortly after lineup announced

Many artists announced for the Freedom 250 concert series in Washington, D.C., this summer, say they won't be performing.

What can the Dutch teach the UK about how to tackle the youth jobs crisis?

The Netherlands has the lowest rate of young people not in education, employment or training in the EU

A shock government-backed report this week warned of the danger of a “lost generation” of young people in Britain, as the number of 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training (Neets) rose to more than 1 million.

According to official UK statistics, roughly 13.5% of young people are not in work or college. Among 18- to 24-year-olds the share rises to 15.8% – nearly one in six.

EU seeks to 'intensify' talks with U.S. on advanced cyber AI models, official tells CNBC, amid Mythos concerns

Anthropic's Mythos model, which has advanced cyber abilities, has prompted a wave of concern from governments and businesses.

Blue Origin rocket explodes on launch pad in Florida

Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, was gearing up for a June launch to put a batch of Amazon "Leo" internet satellites into orbit.

Jill Biden says Joe Biden "was slowing down," but she never saw him in cognitive decline

Former first lady Jill Biden told CBS Sunday Morning's Rita Braver she didn't see signs her husband, former President Joe Biden, was in cognitive decline during his reelection campaign, but said, "he was slowing down." Ed O'Keefe has more.

Trump's Oman outburst throws 'Switzerland of the Middle East' into the spotlight

The Trump administration has threatened sanctions and military action against Oman, a longtime ally and close security partner.

At least 3 dead in Dallas apartment complex explosion

An apartment complex in Dallas exploded following a report of a gas leak. At least three people were killed and some are missing, officials say. Jason Allen reports.

Blue Origin rocket explodes in spectacular fireball

An unmanned rocket owned by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin exploded on a Cape Canaveral launchpad as testing occurred before a planned June launch. Mark Strassmann reports.

Don’t shoot for the moon: aiming for ‘above average’ is key to success, maths suggests

Model created by researchers shows better outcomes are often more likely when people are not too ambitious

It is the end of an idiom for motivational speakers. Instead of shooting for the moon when pursuing life’s goals, researchers say people should be advised to aim a little lower if they want the best outcome.

The tip may lack the punch of uncompromising drive, but aiming for merely above average tends to work out better, according to a mathematical model the team created to explore how ambition pans out.

Kvara d’Or? Tbilisi dreaming of more glory for ‘special’ Kvaratskhelia

In the streets where he grew up the PSG winger’s success is an inspiration and a continual source of pride

The cage where Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s love for football began is still buzzing with life today. Sandwiched between the vast Soviet apartment blocks of Dighmis Masivi, children scream, “Kvaraaaa!” as they strike the ball, replica shirts bearing his name stretched proudly across their backs.

This same “stadium”, as locals call it, fills each evening – like many across Tbilisi – with children playing football for hours, stopping only when mothers lean from balconies and shout that dinner is ready.

Asia defense summit opens amid doubts over U.S. priorities

The Shangri-La Dialogue, hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, will also address tensions in the Middle East and Russia's war on Ukraine.

‘It’s an obsession’: one man and his family on a mission to save Europe’s glutinous snail

Ian Hughes is boosting one of the continent’s most at-risk species with science, his sons and some homemade T-shirts

Ian Hughes and his son, Ben, are driving through the hills of north Wales with an array of homemade animal artefacts rattling around their car: diagrams, plaster casts, hand-printed T-shirts. They finally reach Llyn Tegid – Bala Lake in English – where, knee-deep in the water, Ian brandishes two glutinous snails.

It is a mollusc the size of a fingertip. It is also one of Europe’s most endangered species, which Ian has dedicated himself to protecting. “It’s beyond passion,” he says. “It’s an obsession.”

4 climbers fall on America's tallest peak as rescuers try to reach them

The climbers' conditions weren't immediately known, and rangers were seeking a weather window to reach the area by helicopter.

Liverpool unveil new memorial to Heysel Stadium tragedy on 41st anniversary

• Ian Rush among those from Liverpool and Juventus at ceremony

• New Anfield Road monument replaces original plaque

Liverpool have unveiled a new memorial on the 41st anniversary of the Heysel Stadium tragedy to the 39 fans who died.

Representatives from Juventus, Liverpool’s opponents in the 1985 European Cup final, attended the unveiling ceremony at Anfield on Friday along with the Liverpool ambassador Ian Rush and the chief executive, Billy Hogan. Entitled Forever Bound, the memorial is in a more prominent location behind the Anfield Road Stand and replaces the original plaque on the wall of the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand, which was felt to be inadequate.

US designates Brazil’s two largest gangs as terrorist organizations

Announcement by Marco Rubio is being widely seen as setback for Brazil’s president, and a boost for his far-right challenger

The United States has designated Brazil’s two largest criminal gangs, the First Capital Command (PCC) and the Red Command, as foreign terrorist organisations.

The announcement, made by Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, on Thursday, is being widely seen in Brazil as a setback for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president who had strongly opposed the designation – and a boost for Lula’s main challenger in October’s presidential election, the far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro.

Teenage boys avoid jail after rape and sexual assault of girls in north-east England

Exclusive: Calls for urgent change after rehabilitation orders and ‘laughable’ £26 in court fees in three separate cases

Three teenage boys convicted of the rape and serious sexual assault of girls as young as 14 were given rehabilitation orders and paid £26 in court fees, the Guardian has learned.

The three separate cases all took place over the past year in north-east England. They were tried under youth court rules that deal with suspects aged 17 or under and place a greater emphasis on rehabilitation than adult courts.

‘I lived near a serial killer’: Steven Shearer on turning teen angst and death metal into high art

He rarely gives interviews and hates explaining his work – yet his stunning paintings, inspired by subcultures and German Romanticism, reveal a lot about this reclusive Canadian

Steven Shearer is a quiet man. He’s elusive, too, shy and reclusive. He is difficult to pin down for an interview. And once you have, it is tough to get him talking. Maybe the Canadian artist thinks his work – spanning 40 years and multiple media, including stunning paintings of long-haired teens, collages of appropriated images, and billboard-sized poetry inspired by heavy metal lyrics – speaks for itself. But Shearer’s work doesn’t really speak, at least not clearly; it mumbles awkwardly into its sleeve like a goth at a family Easter picnic.

“I wrote down lots of potential things to say,” he says from his immaculate white studio in Vancouver, ahead of his show at David Zwirner Gallery in London, his first UK exhibition since 2007, “but it’s not my nature. All the hope or will to be able to communicate kind of goes into the pictures. And I try to stay out of the way once that’s happened.”

‘How often I’m called a paedophile online is shocking’: inside Russell T Davies’s horrifying drama about rising hatred

The creator of It’s a Sin is back – and he’s furious. His new series, Tip Toe, explores the rise of homophobia through a feud between two Manchester neighbours. He and stars Alan Cumming and David Morrissey talk death, fear and ‘joy as a form of protest’

Late at night on Manchester’s Canal Street, the heart of the city’s famous queer scene, two neighbours are at war. An escalating feud between gay bar manager Leo (Alan Cumming) and reserved, judgmental neighbour Clive (David Morrissey) shows no sign of abating. Yells from Leo are so loud they echo down the canal. The street is not closed to the public as their altercation plays out, so you can’t tell who in the background is an employee at Leo’s bar, Spit & Polish, who is a regular, and who is a member of the public out for their midweek pint. In the background, an ambulance’s lights flash while unflappable drag queens continue to flyer for their neighbouring bars.

Russell T Davies’s Tip Toe, a new Channel 4 drama, looks at how political rhetoric, toxic online bullying and misinformation can add jet fuel to a feud between neighbours. The location of the series won’t be lost on viewers of Queer As Folk. The 1999 classic, which regularly featured scenes shot in Canal Street, followed the lives of three gay men, in a way that not only made being gay seem cool, it also reflected a new era of tolerance. Viewers took from it that the future could only be bright.

Nitrogen gas executions are constitutional, federal judge rules

A federal judge has ruled that execution by nitrogen gas doesn't violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment, rejecting an Alabama inmate's claim that it causes excessive suffering.

Trump Accounts app is now available. Here's what to know.

The Trump Accounts app allows parents to open new tax-preferred investment accounts for their children, including a $1,000 government contribution.

Digested week: Is it pedantic to point out Trump is ‘ending’ a war he started? | John Crace

Plus, Nicola Sturgeon’s marital relations, the hell of burnout, Tony Blair’s saviour complex and Spurs

I was at Chequers for Donald Trump and Keir Starmer’s joint press conference last September and remember being open-mouthed when the US president declared he had personally ended eight global conflicts. Trump followed this by claiming one of the wars he had ended was between Azerbaijan and Albania. My eyes switched to Starmer who just nodded as if to say: “Yes. He did that.” Either the war between Azerbaijan and Albania is the least reported war in modern history or it was a total fiction. Just as much as Trump’s later claim to have never met Peter Mandelson, just days after footage of him sharing a joke with the Prince of Darkness in the Oval Office led many of the news bulletins. Keir didn’t bat an eyelid at that either. But maybe I am being pedantic because it seems the US president is now getting round to ending a war that actually is taking place.

At least 3 killed and 5 injured in Dallas explosion, officials say

The number of victims could change as details continue to unfold and crews search through the debris.

Cocktail of the week: 2210 by Natty Can Cook’s scotch bonnet margarita – recipe | The good mixer

A margarita with an aromatic kick from south London’s coolest Caribbean eatery

Don’t be put off by the name, because this isn’t blow-your-head-off hot – the scotch bonnet infusion is quick, so the flavour is subtle and aromatic, rather than aggressive. The chilli-infused base would also work in other classic tequila cocktails, especially a spicy vampiro.

Nathaniel Mortley, chef/owner, 2210 by Natty Can Cook, London SE24

‘I should not be allowed to do interviews’: Nish Kumar on courting controversy and clashing with comics

The former Mash Report star’s latest show takes aim at his manosphere-courting, Saudi comedy festival-attending peers. Could he be the angry progressive standup we need right now?

Nish Kumar – mop of curly hair, Jimi Hendrix T-shirt, fancy coffee shop cookie in hand – is sitting centimetres away from me in a meeting room in his publicist’s offices in Soho, central London. Nevertheless, another comedian is drawing the eye. On the wall is a massive poster promoting Prime Video’s Last One Laughing UK – and looming over us from the centre of the frame is the show’s host, Jimmy Carr.

This feels, let’s just say, a tad ironic. In Kumar’s last standup show, he recalled the time he furiously confronted Carr about his decision to appear on manosphere influencer Jordan Peterson’s podcast. (“This is a radicalisation event that’s happening on an unprecedented scale,” he told Carr.) Then there’s the blurb for his upcoming tour, Angry Humour from a Really Nice Guy, in which Kumar expresses concern that comedy has been “co-opted by charlatans in service of autocrats” – partly a reference to last autumn’s Riyadh comedy festival, where Carr performed.

Israel, Lebanon officials to meet. And, judge won't block Trump's mail-in voting order

Israel and Lebanon officials are set to meet today as U.S.-Iran peace talks continue. And, a federal judge declined to block Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting.

Cause of deaths of three sisters found in sea at Brighton still unclear, inquest hears

Medical investigations ongoing ‘to finalise the cause of death’ but police say they do not suspect foul play

The cause of the deaths of three sisters found in the sea off Brighton beach is yet to be ascertained but police say they do not suspect foul play at this stage.

The bodies of Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, from Uxbridge, west London, were found earlier this month.

Tell us: have you had a holiday disaster that could have inspired a TV show?

We would like to hear your stories of nightmare holidays that wouldn’t be out of place on screen

With the release of Two Weeks in August, along with new series of Four Seasons and White Lotus, it seems we can’t get enough TV about holidays from hell.

With this in mind, we would like to hear your own stories of holiday mishaps. Do you have a nightmare holiday story that could have inspired a TV show? Tell us all about it below.

Baby otters make a splash and a JD Vance chest bump: photos of the day – Friday

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

Air traffic control run by Compaq computers is safe but inefficient, FAA head says

As the summer travel season starts to take off, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford tells CBS News he has confidence in the system, despite hundreds of FAA facilities being run on decades-old technology.

Gullah Geechee people offered chance to save family properties passed down through generations

A new South Carolina act will exempt some heirs’ property owners from increased property taxes

In a move that protects vulnerable people from forced property sales, South Carolina recently enacted an act that could help families keep land that has been passed down for generations. The Heirs’ Property Tax Relief Act, signed into law by Henry McMaster, the state’s governor, on 15 May, prevents counties from reassessing property values when heirs clear their property titles, or resolve disputes about the ownership.

The act allows families with heirs’ properties – land inherited by multiple owners who are not listed on the title – to transfer the title between family members without their real estate taxes increasing. Gullah Geechee people, the descendants of formerly enslaved west Africans who retained their culture and customs, are especially vulnerable to heirs’ property issues. They can lead to their homes being sold at annual auctions for delinquent tax payments, predatory development and interfamily fighting.

Add to playlist: the whimsy and warped electronics of duo Ear and the week’s best new tracks

There’s nostalgia to the New York/London duo’s lo-fi laptop sound, but their second album pushes them into vivid, weirder new territory

From Hudson valley, New York, and London
Recommended if you like the Books, Leila, Worldpeace DMT
Up next Rumspringa released 29 May

Jonah Paz and Yaelle Avtan recorded their first ever track as Ear on an iPhone in the Bard College library. That song, Nerves, pits their murmuring voices against weightless strings and barely perceptible drums. Just as it seems poised to float away altogether, the track is suddenly overtaken by a blaring bass synth that cleaves the first act’s aching plea into an emotionally fraught, black-lit banger.

Trump should come clean about his all-too-obvious decline | Margaret Sullivan

The public is concerned. Fewer than half of US adults believe that Trump now possesses the mental acuity or physical health to be an effective president

American presidents don’t have a stellar record of transparency about their health problems.

After a polio diagnosis that caused paralysis of his lower body, Franklin Delano Roosevelt used a wheelchair to get around, but went to great lengths to conceal it from the public. John F Kennedy suffered debilitating back pain, but most Americans never had a clue, seeing only a vigorous and youthful politician.

Meteorologists were central to D-Day. 'Pressure' tells the story of navigating uncertainty

The new movie, based on writer and actor David Haig's 2014 play, dramatizes the tensions between military leaders and meteorologists in the lead up to the Allied invasion of Normandy.

Death toll from U.S. boat strikes climbs after survivors not found

The death toll from the Trump administration's series of strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats has risen to at least 199 people.

‘Like a billionaire on acid’: Star Wars director Gareth Edwards comes out in favour of AI

Speaking at Amazon’s AI on the Lot event, the Rogue One film-maker Gareth Edwards said ‘it’ll do anything you ask’ and ‘it’s going to be better than CGI’

Jurassic World Rebirth and Rogue One director Gareth Edwards has enthusiastically endorsed the use of generative AI in film-making, saying “it is a fucking genius at helping you” and “it’s going to be better than CGI”.

Edwards was speaking at AI on the Lot, an event in Culver City, California, organised by Amazon, and in remarks reported by the Hollywood Reporter said: “I can’t see a reason why you wouldn’t become interested in this stuff as a film-maker. It’s so clearly a tool that might be up there with the camera. It’s going to be better than CGI.”

Photos show the world's 'uncounted' people -- and what it takes to be counted

Colombian-American photographer and filmmaker Juan Arredondo turns his lens on the people of the world who do not have birth and death certificates — and how these vital records are created.

Anger at decision not to extradite Canadian suicide kit supplier to face UK justice

Kenneth Law expected to admit to sending products internationally in knowledge they would probably be used to end lives

Bereaved families whose loved ones were the victims of an online supplier of suicide kits say they feel insulted by a decision not to prosecute him in the UK.

Kenneth Law was due to appear in court on Friday in Ontario, Canada, accused of selling 1,200 suicide packages across 40 countries, including the UK.

Russian drone launched against Ukraine crashes in Romania, injuring 2

A Russian drone that was part of an overnight attack on Ukraine crashed into an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people, Romanian authorities said Friday.

‘It’s the colour and artworks that make my house sing’

On her third renovation of the Victorian terrace she has lived in for 30 years, Ruth Evans chose a palette bursting with colour to backdrop her vast art collection

The children’s nursery rhyme I Can Sing a Rainbow swirls at the back of my mind as I wander the bright and beautiful rooms of art collector Ruth Evans’s north London home. Red and yellow and pink and green, purple and orange and blue – they’re all here.

Evans (who is also the chair of Stop Scams UK) has lived in this Victorian terrace for 30 years and this is her third refurbishment. “Each renewal of the house marks a stage in my life. First it was a comfortable home in which to raise a child; then, in my 40s, it was about bringing my own sense of style to where I live; and now it’s the rest of my days: a culmination of everything I’ve learned over the years – the aesthetics, colour and art that make the house sing.”

Nicolas Cage as the Green Goblin? It will always be one of Hollywood’s great might-have-beens

Cinema’s great maximalist going full pumpkin-bomb pantomime in the 2002 film might have dragged it into an even more operatically deranged dimension

There are numerous sliding doors moments in Hollywood that, had they actually happened, would have fractured the space-time continuum like a DeLorean hitting potholes at 88mph. Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones, Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly, Sean Connery as Gandalf, Bill Murray as a distinctly sardonic Batman. And yet, if there has ever been a more deliciously unhinged alternate timeline than Nicolas Cage as the Green Goblin/Norman Osborn in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man from 2002, it has probably already been confiscated by the time police for crimes against narrative stability.

This is not the first time we’ve heard about Cage’s potential involvement in the film - Entertainment Weekly’s feature from 24 years ago noted that Cage, John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe (who eventually got the role) were all “up for the Green Goblin”. But it appears to be the first time Cage himself has spoken about it in any detail. While promoting the new series Spider-Noir, Cage told Variety: “Sam and I had a great lunch, and I did say during the lunch, ‘Listen: whoever plays Spider-Man, let them do one scene where they’re crawling around like a spider when they’re alone,’ and it didn’t happen … He wanted me to do the Green Goblin. I liked the idea of Sam Raimi, because of Evil Dead 1 and 2, and I wanted to work with him.”

WHO chief lands in Congo to address rare Ebola outbreak amid distrust and insecurity

The head of the World Health Organization arrived in Congo's capital, Kinshasa, to witness efforts against an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola virus.

Suspect in killings of 3 elderly men in Hawaii arrested after massive manhunt

A man wanted in connection with the killings of three elderly men was caught after a massive search of Hawaii's Big Island that had left residents on edge.

Miss You, Love You review – Allison Janney anchors affecting old-school grief drama

A talky, performance-driven two-hander manages to find specificity and spark in what could have felt like an overly familiar throwback

Hollywood is currently in an odd but oddly exciting place, where no one is quite sure what types of “films they don’t make anymore” they should actually start making again. We’ve seen historical epics such as Oppenheimer, erotic thrillers such as The Housemaid and female-led workplace comedies such as The Devil Wears Prada 2 all make blockbuster bank and we’re in the middle of a bumper year at the box office, edging towards a pre-pandemic total.

But around the edges or in-between the cracks, there are brackets of films that might once have been given a spotlight, yet are still being left in the dark. A film such as Miss You, Love You – a talky comedy drama about adults navigating adult issues – would never have been a smash hit exactly, but it would have occupied a space which has now mostly faded, a space where specialty releases slowly turn strong reviews into good word of mouth that in turn allows for minor, yet, impressive numbers, a sleeper hit with awards buzz. Made over two years ago and then screened for buyers at this year’s Sundance, with the help of Julia Roberts, whose husband acts as cinematographer, it was ultimately bought by HBO and shuffled into an early summer TV premiere, where it will likely go the unfortunate route quietly laid out by the network’s other purchased titles.

Why I’m grateful to the Pope for his encyclical on AI | Francine Prose

The intelligent and thoughtful encyclical is an important warning of the uses and misuses of a rapidly developing technology. Silicon Valley is wrong to dismiss it

Often I’m asked if I think that the novels of the future will all be written by AI. It’s not so much a question as a provocation. Do I worry that a machine can do what I do, only better? I usually say something like: “No algorithm is going to write Anna Karenina!” which is also not a real answer.

So I’m grateful to Pope Leo XIV, the American pope, for his recently issued letter to the world, Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence. It’s a long (more than 40,00 words), intelligent and thoughtful encyclical in which the pope addresses the uses and misuses of a rapidly developing technology. Now when someone asks my opinion of AI, I can refer them to the pope’s letter, or at least chapter three.

Weather tracker: deadly May heatwave shatters records across Europe

Temperatures across parts of continent around 10-15C above average for this time of year, while thunderstorms strike eastern Australia

Europe has experienced an exceptional heatwave this week, with temperature records broken across multiple countries under a persistent area of high pressure, commonly referred to as a “heat dome.” The UK surpassed its May maximum temperature record on Tuesday, with 35.1C recorded at Kew Gardens, London.

This broke the record set only the day before, with 34.8C recorded in London on Monday. Previously, the maximum May temperature record was 32.8C, recorded in 1922 and then matched in 1944. Ireland also broke its May maximum temperature, with 28.8C recorded at two weather stations – in Killarney in the south-west and Clonmel in the south.

Netflix, Disney, Amazon Prime – and BoBuuTV? The Stephen Collins cartoon

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Which first lady feared her husband might be having a stroke? The quiz knows

This week, the pope took aim at AI, a fancy carmaker dipped a toe in the EV market and a first lady made a surprising comment.

Virginia Evans: ‘I loved books about things that can’t exist’

The Women’s prize-shortlisted novelist on taking inspiration from John Steinbeck, Joan Didion and Jhumpa Lahiri, and weeping through Little Women in her 30s

My earliest reading memory
I’m not sure what we were reading – The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams or the poems in Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein – but I was undoubtedly with my sister, two years older, who set the example for me to be a reader. I picture us in the back of our family car or laying across our twin beds in the room we shared.

My favourite book growing up
I loved mysteries and fantasy worlds. I read so many of the Nancy Drew books, and The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner. And I loved the Narnia stories and The Wind in the Willows. I loved books about things that can’t exist. I suppose it’s all escapism – crimes solved by children, talking animals, time travel, people two inches tall. I always loved to slip into another, better world.

Mexico hope a month of isolation can rekindle the magic of the 1986 World Cup

El Tri reached the quarter-finals the last time they hosted the tournament. They’re hoping old methods can revive the team after a disastrous outing in 2022

It was January 1986 and the temperature at the peak of La Malinche, one of Mexico’s tallest mountains, had plummeted to a bone-chilling cold. A group of soccer players training for that year’s World Cup ran through a dense fog to the summit 14,600ft above sea level gasping in the thin air. Their Serbian coach, Bora Milutinović, had pushed his players to the limit, seeking not only to test their physical endurance but also hoping for a psychological breakthrough. Up there, the Mexico players suffered, shivered and cursed. But through hardship they became a family. That fabled image of survival on the mountain became the foundation for Mexico’s best-ever World Cup performance, the last time they played on home soil and one of only two times El Tri reached the tournament’s quarter-finals.

Forty years later, the myth of La Malinche hangs over Mexico’s preparation for this summer’s tournament, which once again will be played on home turf. The team’s coach, Javier Aguirre, was one of Milutinović’s players at the 1986 World Cup and he has seemingly been inspired by the old belief that isolation and shared struggle can work miracles. At Aguirre’s urging, the Mexican Football Federation – just as it had in 1986 – took the controversial step of removing national team players from their clubs during the most decisive phase of the Liga MX playoffs. By the time the World Cup kicks off on 11 June, the players will have been sequestered together for 30 days.

If you want to run your first marathon in your 50s, it helps to be chased by zombies

When Ben Elton didn’t distract from the pain of moving my body, I found the perfect solution – the interactive smartphone game Zombies, Run!

At 56, I am running my first marathon, an old, fat, bald dad surrounded by millennials in body-hugging Lycra and smiles that look AI-generated. But I am ahead of them. For they are only competing for positions and personal bests, and I am being chased by zombies.

The black dog of depression hit me around the time of my last birthday. I didn’t feel I had achieved anything of note for an eternity. I used to work out but, for years, work kept getting in the way. I decided to kill two circling, carcass-sniffing vultures with one stone and run my first marathon.

Why the U.S. cattle herd is at a 75-year low — and what it means for beef prices

The overall number of U.S. beef and dairy cattle has shrunk to its lowest level since 1951. Drought, rising operating costs and increased consolidation are among the causes.

Former AG Pam Bondi testifies before Congress over handling of the Epstein files

Bondi was ousted from her role as attorney general in April. She is testifying Friday in a closed-door interview about the release of the Epstein files.

Turning up late and making Helen Mirren wait: has Tom Hardy been fired from MobLand?

The actor’s alleged clashes with colleagues have sparked rumours about his future on the hit show – which others dispute. But these aren’t the first accusations of him being a tricky colleague

If you’re at all familiar with the Paramount+ series MobLand, these past few days will have come as an absolute revelation. At long last, just when everyone thought it wouldn’t ever be possible, something exciting has happened. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen onscreen.

Instead, rumours are swirling that Tom Hardy has been fired. Almost a week ago, Puck reported that Hardy had departed the MobLand set after clashing with cast and crew. As things currently stand, that has been walked back a little – partly because Paramount has yet to greenlight a third series at all – but the takeaway remains the same: Tom Hardy sounds like an absolute nightmare to work with.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, his MobLand behaviour has involved a greater insistence on creative control – delivering script notes to producer Jez Butterworth and creator Ronan Bennett – while generally arriving late and locking himself in his trailer for hours on end. “He kept the cast waiting, [which is] a power play,” a source told the outlet. “Keeping Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren and others waiting is career suicide, I would wager.” This appears to be a wager that the source has lost, given that Mirren posted a photo of Hardy’s face on Instagram last night, captioned “Love you now and always”.

Brisbane teenager accused of using a police car as a BMX ramp in viral stunt at Scientology church

Zeppelin Witheridge charged with public nuisance over ‘Scientology speedrun’ social media trend

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A social media stunt that treats churches like video games has gone from TikTok to the dock, landing an alleged teenage “speedrunner” in court.

Zeppelin Witheridge, 18, has been accused of using a police car as a BMX ramp after a viral challenge went awry at the Church of Scientology in Brisbane’s CBD.

‘It’s become something of a craze’: influencers spread news of healthy French cheese

Cancoillotte is low in fat, high in protein and – until recently – little known outside of a village in eastern France

At the cheesemakers in the village of Franois, eastern France, a stream of what looks like runny, beige gloop is being potted, packaged and dispatched for delivery as fast as it can be made. The freezer room, normally piled high with pallets of the product, is almost empty.

For what must be the first time in the history of cancoillotte – a cheese product that until recently was little known outside the eastern Franche-Comté – there was talk of a “rupture” in supplies, and an unprecedented shortage.

Oil price drops amid hopes of US-Iran peace deal

Commodity poised for one of biggest monthly declines, while global stock markets rally

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Oil prices fell on Friday as investors hoped for an end to the US-Israel war on Iran, leaving the commodity poised for one of the biggest monthly declines ever.

The price of Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, fell by 1.3% to $91.54 and is nearing a fall of 17% since the start of May.

Cristian Volpato to switch allegiance from Italy to Australia in time for World Cup

• 22-year-old to join up with Socceroos training squad in Los Angeles

• Attacker turned down offer four years ago to play for country of birth

The Socceroos have been handed a huge boost on the eve of the World Cup with young attacker Cristian Volpato to join up with the training squad before a friendly against Mexico in Los Angeles.

The 22-year-old will make a shock switch of allegiance from Italy to Australia four years after turning down the opportunity to represent the country of his birth at the tournament in Qatar.

Week in wildlife: a baby pangolin, a gorilla super-mum and Formula One geese

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

The best recent translated fiction – review roundup

Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami; All Flesh by Ananda Devi; The White Desert by Luis López Carrasco; The Home of the Drowned by Elin Anna Labba

Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami, translated by Laurel Taylor and Hitomi Yoshio (Picador, £16.99)
Kawakami’s latest opens with a bang, as narrator Hana learns that her old friend Kimiko has been charged with abduction. This MacGuffin takes us to their friendship in late-1990s Tokyo, when teen Hana and the older woman open a bar called Lemon: “Yellow attracts money.” But it’s a turbulent ride and soon Hana is in a world of organised crime. “The world is crazy. I feel like I’m living in a manga.” She’s not the only one, and you need an appetite for Kawakami’s style, which prefers to explore rather than explain – people come and go, buildings burn down, cancer is diagnosed, almost at random – but the relentless rush means there’s no time to get bored. At its best – as in a scene where Hana’s unreliable mother wants to borrow 2m yen for investment in lingerie that helps “your spine and organs move back to where they’re supposed to be” – this is a story both absurd and horrifying.

All Flesh by Ananda Devi, translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman (Pushkin, £12.99)
“Forgive me for starting this story with bodily, unpalatable origins.” You may as well – it’s all like that. In an unnamed European country, a schoolgirl “born with no urge but to consume” is getting bigger and bigger. “My gut, my ass, my thighs – they were all set on reaching the farthest corners of the world.” She blames her gluttony on the need to silence the voice of her dead twin sister, who was “absorbed into my tissues” in the womb. She hates school, where other kids mock her, as though her own self-disgust weren’t enough. After a blackly comic scene where she gets stuck in her bedroom doorframe like “an uncooperative cork”, she falls in love with the lonely carpenter who arrives to widen the door – but there are more twists to come. This powerful story is deeply physical, but driven by a compelling voice describing the torment of a girl who is “the psychical mirror of our time … immoderation made manifest”.

Matías Aguayo: Anenoa review | Ammar Kalia's global album of the month

(Platoon)
The Chilean-German producer’s shapeshifting vocals stir Latin rhythms, ghetto house, trance and more into a playful party

Over the past two decades, Chilean-German vocalist and producer Matías Aguayo’s mutable, instinctive singing has been an instantly identifiable ingredient of leftfield electronic music. On Battles’ 2011 track Ice Cream, he squealed and tripped through syllables against a thunderous synth backing, while Japanese synth-pop group Crystal’s 2017 track Kimi Wa Monster saw Ayuayo singing a keening, childlike melody over instrumental. His own releases featured layered chants and scatter-gun vocal rhythms over pulsing Afro-Latin beats. While his last record, 2019’s Support Alien Invasion, marked his first foray into instrumental music, Anenoa heralds Aguayo’s welcome return to the mic across a selection of hard-hitting, dancefloor-focused arrangements.

The fast-paced syncopated Latin rhythm of opener Sentimientos Encontraos sets the ebullient tone, with Aguayo’s nonchalant repetition of the title creating a hypnotic motif as bubbling and kinetic as the beat. Sprechgesang gives way to soulful falsetto on the ghetto house-influenced Asuka, Rock, Roll, while vocal processing transforms Aguayo’s party chants into a growling baritone on thumping trance number Avestruz en Veracruz. On the 80s-styled synth-pop of La Heredera, he croons delicately alongside featured Latin American singers Iarahei and Camille Mandoki.

Violet Grohl: Be Sweet to Me review – alt-rock arriviste aces the part

(Island)
The daughter of Foo Fighters’ Dave does a serviceable line in 90s throwback sounds, though the nostalgia is too reverent

‘I’ll eat your liver,” Violet Grohl threatens on 595, a scuzzy, slasher-inspired alt-rock single that feels made for 90s MTV. Arch, deadpan verses give way to a big, bluesy, intentionally sleazy chorus, finished with blown-out guitar and squealing feedback: part Veruca Salt, part Queens of the Stone Age. Despite just turning 20, Grohl has the rock’n’roll credentials for her throwback sound. The eldest daughter of Foo Fighters’ Dave, Violet fronted a rare Nirvana reunion aged just 13 – her coolly authoritative vocals making it more symbolic than a mere family favour.

While it’s true that her dad linked her with taste-making producer Justin Raisen (Kim Gordon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sky Ferreira) for this debut album, and its grungy tracks haven’t been road-tested in sticky dive bars that music like this usually demands, Grohl is admirably direct about her nepo status. “Decide for yourself if I’m worthy,” she told the Forty-Five.

Rafa review – Netflix’s documentary couldn’t have gotten closer to Spain’s greatest ever tennis player

This is access-all-areas viewing, with this four-parter talking at length to Nadal, his wife, his coaches and opponents. But that doesn’t necessarily make it insightful…

There’s a lovely sequence in the second episode of this four-part documentary about the career of Spain’s greatest ever tennis player. It’s 2007 and Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal are walking on to Wimbledon’s Centre Court to play the first of the many finals they would contest. Federer is poised and slightly smug; hair flopping perfectly over his headband, dressed in an immaculate white blazer. Nadal trails behind him, wearing a vest and baggy shorts, shaggy hair flowing and eyes wild, looking for all the world like a beautiful young caveman. It captures his initial appeal perfectly: in his early years, Nadal was elemental, athletic beyond description and impossibly charismatic: equal parts tennis player, action hero and acrobat.

It feels like our sporting legends are increasingly reluctant to leave the stage. Lionel Messi (38) and Cristiano Ronaldo (41) will both be at this summer’s football World Cup. One of England’s greatest ever cricketers, James Anderson, turns 44 this year and is still plying his trade in the County Championship. Becoming unsurpassably brilliant at something requires laser focus, but unlike music or acting or writing, there’s a definitive best before date. And once that date has passed, a big, scary void looms. If the miracles of modern medicine allow you to continue, it’s clearly incredibly hard to walk away.

Rafa is on Netflix

Qatar World Cup 2026 team guide

Unimpressive in qualification and with preparation disrupted, at least the squad will not be burdened with the pressure of hosting this time

This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.

Injured Alireza Firouzja plays through pain to shock world No 1 Magnus Carlsen in Oslo

Frenchman scored at Norway Chess despite his heavily protected sprained ankle, and defeated Carlsen for the first time in a classical game

Magnus Carlsen has won the annual Norway Chess elite tournament for six of the past seven years. However, the 35-year-old world No 1 was shocked in Monday’s opening round by Alireza Firouzja, who had finished last at Bucharest the previous week in the Grand Chess Tour event won by Germany’s Vincent Keymer.

The Frenchman, 22, defeated Carlsen for the first time in classical chess despite playing with a sprained ankle, caused by falling off a stage at Bucharest. It was the most high-profile success by a physically injured grandmaster since Tilburg 1985, where England’s Tony Miles shared first prize playing prone from a massage table after injuring his back.

Harpo speaks! New recordings reveal mute Marx brother chatting with audience

The comedy legend, who adopted his silent persona because of stage nerves, did occasionally address his audience, as revealed by a new archive release

Groucho was the cigar-chomping wit with the improbable moustache, Chico was the piano-playing rustic grifter and Zeppo played the straight man and the lover. But as any Marx Brothers fan knows, Harpo was the pantomime, who cracked up the audience without saying a word, dressed in his tattered raincoat and curly wig. His persona was childlike and mischievous but also musical – he let his harp and his taxi horn do the talking. But now we get to see, or rather hear, a new side to Harpo Marx. A very special recording has been unearthed of Harpo in 1964 speaking to an audience, in character.

Arthur “Harpo” Marx was born Adolph Marx in New York in 1888. He started performing with his brothers in 1910, and his nickname probably came about because of his instrument of choice – he was an entirely self-taught musician. By 1915, due to his nerves around speaking on stage, Harpo reinvented himself as a mute clown, and stayed that way, even when he was offered $50,000 to speak a single word (“Murder!”) in the Marx Brothers film A Night in Casablanca (1946).

Claude Lemieux, 4-time Stanley Cup champion, dies at age 60

The NHL Alumni Association announced Claude Lemieux's death. A cause of death was not immediately available, nor was it clear where Lemieux was when he died.