South Carolina on cusp of being first 2028 Democratic presidential primary state

The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee voted Friday to recommend that South Carolina should hold the nation's first 2028 presidential nominating contest.

LeBron James heading to Philly in deal with 76ers

The Sixers' wild offseason continued Friday when they added four-time NBA champion LeBron James.

Commonwealth Games 2026: men’s gymnastics team final, first swimming golds – live

• All the action as the games get under way

• Swan claims first gold of Games | Mail Billy

Boxing: England’s Lauren Mackie, in the women’s 54kg, punches through to the round of 16 with a unanimous victory against Kenya’s Amina Faki. DJ Khaled’s All I Do Is Win blasts around the ring.

This story has caught the eye, courtesy of Reuters:

The week around the world in 20 pictures

Wildfires in Europe, Russian missile strikes in Kyiv, the cockroach protests in New Delhi and the World Cup final – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists

Warning: this gallery contains images some readers may find distressing

Presence of Brendon McCullum affecting England’s hunt for a new Test coach

• New appointee will have to work alongside ODI coach

• Joe Root emerges as frontrunner for Test captaincy

The hunt for the next coach of the England men’s Test team is being complicated by the need for the new appointee to work alongside the man he would be replacing, Brendon McCullum, rather than taking full control of both red- and white-ball squads.

Some high-profile candidates have been unwilling to work within such a setup, either because they want full oversight over the senior men’s teams or because of the unique challenge of working alongside the person who was sacked as Test coach earlier this month.

US expands Iran attacks as Trump warns Tehran and Houthis over Red Sea strikes

No end to fighting in sight as Revolutionary Guards launch drones at targets in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait

The US has struck targets across Iran, reaching as far as the Caspian Sea, as Donald Trump threatened “major military punishment” for Tehran and its Houthi allies in Yemen for extending the war to a second shipping ⁠chokepoint at the entrance to the Red Sea.

As Iran retaliated on Friday with missile and drone fire against US bases and allies across the region, the New York Times reported that Tehran had rejected a US ceasefire proposal delivered by the Iraq prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi. This despite the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, claiming a day earlier that Iran was begging for a ceasefire. Iraq later disputed the report.

Thousands of lightning strikes trigger fresh wildfires in western Canada

At least 90 active blazes in British Columbia in what PM says is one of the country’s most intense seasons on record

• How dangerous are wildfires and how can we stop them from getting worse?

Fresh wildfires have broken out in western Canada and forests continued to ⁠burn in Ontario as the country ⁠battled what the prime ​minister, Mark Carney, called one of the most intense wildfire seasons on record.

Nearly 34,000 lightning strikes over the past week led to a series of fires ⁠and evacuation orders in southern British Columbia. There were 25 evacuation orders and 90 active wildfires in the province as of Friday morning, and authorities said warming ⁠and drying conditions could cause them to grow.

LeBron James going to the Philadelphia 76ers is perfectly in character

Philadelphia wasn’t the obvious destination for LeBron James. That may be exactly why it makes perfect sense for a player who has always prioritized fit over sentiment

Should we have seen this coming all along? LeBron James knew that joining the Golden State Warriors would have been a losing gamble on the health of players five times closer to the ends of their careers than the beginnings. He knew the Cleveland Cavaliers, however strong their analytics, hopelessly lacked the unquantifiable greatness of a championship team. He knew the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Miami Heat were too unproven to hitch his wagon to.

Of course he knew.

Here is how cyclospora outbreak is affecting businesses

Visits to fast casual restaurants with lettuce-heavy menus are seeing declining foot traffic in the wake of the cyclosporiasis outbreak.

Tyson Fury defeats 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in warm-up for expected Joshua bout

• Fight in Pattaya, Thailand had no live broadcast

• Anthony Joshua faces Kristian Prenga on Saturday

Tyson Fury fulfilled his side of the bargain for a potential heavyweight blockbuster against Anthony Joshua by stopping the veteran Polish fighter Mariusz Wach in Pattaya, Thailand.

About 1,500 fans watched the bout, which had no live broadcast, and saw Fury largely dominate his overmatched 46-year-old opponent, who slipped to an eighth defeat in his past 11 contests. While Wach remained upright, he was pulled out after the end of the seventh round by his corner, battered into submission by Fury, who made it back-to-back wins in 2026 after a 16-month layoff.

Woman charged in Ireland after police intercept ‘highly sophisticated’ bomb

Detectives targeting dissident republicans stopped vehicle transporting device near Northern Ireland border

A woman in her 20s has been charged in relation to an “extremely significant” bomb intercepted near the Irish border.

Garda Síochána said in a statement that a second person, a man in his 40s arrested in connection with the investigation, remained detained in relation to offences against the state.

Trump threatens EU with ‘substantial’ tariffs over fines of US tech giants

After Google fined €890m by EU, US president said Europe was ‘robbing’ American companies and taxpayers

• What to know about Trump’s new tariffs on more than 80 countries

Donald Trump has threatened the European Union with “substantial” tariffs after Brussels imposed a series of steep fines on US tech giants.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US president wrote: “The United States of America is not a ‘PIGGYBANK’ for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!”

CDC says massive cyclospora outbreak is now in nine states

The four newly linked states — Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania — join Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia and hard-hit Michigan. 

FDA panel recommends loosening regulations for some peptides

The FDA panel is reviewing seven peptides and deciding if they should be added to a list of substances that can be safely produced by compounding pharmacies.

DOJ withdraws subpoenas for New York Times reporters over Air Force One story

The Justice Department withdrew its subpoenas for New York Times reporters during a court heraing Thursday, after a judge grilled government lawyers for making "errors."

How Chinese tech and Russian tactics are aiding Iran’s bombing of US bases

Increasingly accurate and lethal attacks are revealing weaknesses in stretched defences across the Gulf

As the crisis in the Middle East escalates, Iran has been bombing US bases and critical infrastructure in the Gulf with increasing accuracy, helped by Chinese satellite imagery and tactics learned from Russia in Ukraine.

Three American soldiers were killed last Friday in an attack on the Muwaffaq Salti airbase in Jordan, which was being protected by a US Thaad air defence system. Satellite imagery later released by Iranian media showed several buildings had been destroyed.

Moms speak out, alleging their sons were switched at birth decades ago

The mothers of two men who accuse a North Dakota hospital of switching them at birth are speaking out after the discovery.

Trump expected to attend White House Correspondents' Dinner redo after April attack

President Trump is expected to attend the redo of the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Friday night after an armed assailant upended April's dinner.

Israel planning ‘extensive’ military operation in West Bank after settler attack

Four Palestinians and two Israelis killed and several hurt after armed settlers entered village with military support

Israel has said it is preparing a major military operation in the West Bank after four Palestinians and two Israelis were killed during a confrontation that began after armed settlers entered a Palestinian village with support from the Israeli military.

Several more people were seriously injured at the scene after a scuffle broke out over an Israeli settler’s weapon and the military opened fire, according to residents. Dozens more have been reported wounded in ensuing settler attacks on neighbouring Palestinian towns.

The Guardian view on Andy Burnham’s first week: polished politics allow an upbeat start | Editorial

With a flurry of cost-of-living measures and a day in Number 10 North, the new prime minister has hit the right early notes

Appropriately enough, Andy Burnham ended a week of political signalling and first impressions back in Manchester on Friday. At the offices of the new No 10 North – where the prime minister hopes to work at least one day a week – regional mayors sat alongside ministers in an example of Burnhamism at work. It was an early statement of intent, ahead of what Mr Burnham bills as “the biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen”.

The same could be said of the series of cost of living measures fired out during the new government’s first few days in office. A £2 cap on bus fares, a cut in VAT on electricity, and some business rates relief for pubs, clubs and smaller music venues were all modest moves. But they were cleverly indicative ones, nodding empathetically to people’s need to have the chance to enjoy themselves as well as pay the bills.

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 child is terrified": Doctors on front lines of measles comeback speak out

Confirmed measles cases in the U.S. just hit a 35-year high, and it's only July.

Plus-size models and £5 tickets: Sinéad O’Dwyer’s runway show puts inclusivity first

V&A event celebrates all shapes and sizes as wider fashion industry stalls on body diversity

Visitors to London’s Victoria and Albert Museum on Friday afternoon to watch Sinéad O’Dwyer’s Fashion in Motion show would have encountered something a little different. The cast of performers and models wore everything from underwear to skirt suits and sequins, and sometimes danced interpretively on the catwalk to a performance by the band Jeanie and The White Boys, but most notably came in all shapes and sizes.

O’Dwyer’s work has pushed against fashion’s insistence on a thin body type since she appeared at London fashion week in 2021. If most brands make the samples for clothes shown on the catwalk based on a size 4-8, she uses a size 18. She has won awards for her work, as well as celebrity fans including Cardi B and Björk.

Ex-cop wanted for murder extradited from China after 21 years on the run

The case of former officer Daniel Hiers Jr. was featured on "America's Most Wanted."

Pogacar conquers Alpe d’Huez in record climb to win stage 19 and extend Tour de France lead

• Slovenian only second man to win in yellow on mountain

• Leader opens up gap of more than seven minutes

Tadej Pogacar put further distance between himself and his last few rivals, winning the Alpe d’Huez stage of the Tour de France and extending his overall lead to more than seven minutes.

There was a brutal inevitability about the defending Tour champion’s record-breaking win on the legendary climb of the Alpe, despite all the rumours of illness and gastric problems within his UAE Emirates XRG team.

Pentagon website "anomalies" that removed names of 4 killed in Iran war remain

The Pentagon website, which was last updated on July 22, still showed only 14 killed in the conflict as of Friday.

Charli xcx: does the new album live up to Brat? - The Latest

After a decade in the pop fringes, Charli xcx’s 2024 album Brat propelled her to global stardom: an acid-green ‘Brat summer’, a Glastonbury headline slot and brat as Collins’ word of the year.

But how do you follow up the album that made you a star?

Charli’s latest album Music, Fashion, Film has now been released – and as Guardian deputy music editor Laura Snapes tells Lucy Hough: it’s a pivot to guitar and a “meta masterpiece about the instability of identity.”

From high heels to ‘Zara death pants’: how fashion falls foul of women’s safety

A physio, a tailor and a historian on the style trends that can put women in hospital and how to avoid the dangers

“Buyer beware” is one of the oldest principles in English law. Now, a pair of wide legged trousers from Zara is bringing the phrase back to the forefront of shoppers’ minds.

On social media the £25.99 wide-legged trousers from the high-street retailer have earned the moniker “Zara death pants” thanks to a slew of videos showing wearers tripping over the leg of the trousers and injuring themselves.

Lando Norris hits out at Formula One for putting money ahead of drivers

• Many drivers also unhappy with new regulations

• ‘F1’s gone too heavily led by the fact it’s a business’

Lando Norris has delivered a scathing critique of Formula One and its management for prioritising making money over sporting considerations when forming the sport’s new regulations. The world champion argued that the drivers should have been more involved in the process.

Norris is among many drivers who have been clear this season he is unhappy with the new regulations, their focus on energy management and how it has affected negatively their enjoyment of driving. It is a problem he believes had been created because F1 framed the rules in order to attract new engine manufacturers into the sport.

‘Netflix has to evolve’: can the upstart survive the end of the binge-watch era?

Streaming pioneer that transformed TV faces slowing growth and battle for viewers’ attention from YouTube

When Netflix offered viewers the chance to binge on an entire season of House of Cards it revolutionised the TV industry and started on a path to becoming the world’s most popular streaming service.

Almost 15 years on, however, the upstart’s strategy of pumping its service with an avalanche of content and an almost-as-rapid penchant for mercilessly cancelling shows has viewers reaching for the remote.

Johnny Depp is playing Scrooge? I am not here for his big Hollywood comeback

‘It’s good to be back,’ says the actor in a new trailer for the forthcoming Ebenezer. Has everyone forgotten about the ghosts of his past?

It is fair to say that, professionally speaking, Johnny Depp has had a quiet few years. Since he and Amber Heard sued each other amid a whirlwind of genuinely ugly accusations in 2019, and went to trial in 2022, Depp has struggled to reclaim his position in Hollywood.

His 2020 film Minimata made less than a million dollars at the box office. Jeanne du Barry fared better in 2023, although its Cannes premiere was marked by feminist demonstrations and an open letter signed by 100 members of the French film industry, furious that the festival appeared to be offering alleged abusers institutional protection. Aside from that, he voiced a Puffin called Johnny Puff in a cartoon series called Puffins, and that’s about it.

Pentagon lowers official Iran war death toll, omitting four killed this month

The Pentagon lowered its official Iran war death toll to 14 from 18, removing four service members killed this month.

Ford recalls more than half a million Bronco vehicles over engine fire risk

A short circuit in the engine compartment can potentially cause a fire. Here's the fix.

Guyanese authorities confirm death of 72 people in sinking of coastal ferry

Of the estimated 179 people aboard, 76 were rescued as efforts continue to salvage the ship and recover all bodies

The confirmed death toll from the recent capsizing of a state ferry off Guyana’s coast has risen to 72, with more bodies recovered as a multinational team struggle to salvage the partially submerged vessel.

Of the estimated 179 people aboard, 76 people were rescued. The government has estimated that 100 may have died in the accident, which would make it the worst marine tragedy on record for the South American nation.

FDA reports new cyclospora outbreak as North Carolina eyes cilantro, parsley

Federal health officials said they've identified a new outbreak of the cyclospora parasite, but the source hasn't been specified.

Cyclospora outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce expands to 4 more states

The cyclosporiasis outbreak, the nation's largest, is currently affecting nine states.

All 11 on seaplane that crashed, caught fire north of Seattle survive

A seaplane with 11 people on board crashed and caught fire a short time later in the Puget Sound area north of Seattle. All 11 survived, authorities said.

Burnham urged to lobby EU leaders directly to waive EES border controls

Lib Dems call on PM to push for suspension of ‘bungled, malfunctioning’ system as overseas holiday travel peaks

Andy Burnham has been urged to lobby EU leaders directly to suspend the new entry-exit system, EES, as the peak weekend for overseas holidays begins.

About 2.2 million British holidaymakers are expected to head abroad between Friday and Monday, the majority to Europe, with all schools in the UK now on their summer break.

US cyclosporiasis outbreak expands to nine states as CDC investigates 7,400 cases

Over 11,500 people this summer are suspected to have been sickened by disease that can cause explosive diarrhea, CDC says

Investigations into the largest cyclosporiasis outbreak on record expanded to nine states this week, as more than 11,500 people are suspected to have been sickened this summer, according to reports and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Data released by the CDC this week said the agency is looking into 4,173 laboratory-confirmed domestic cases of the disease and investigating an additional 7,400.

In The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan worries the end of politeness will destroy civilisation. I fear he’s right | Joseph Earp

Since I saw the movie, I have found it difficult not to see Trojan horses everywhere. We live now in a state of perpetual distrustfulness

Prior to the release of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, I’m not sure many of us would have conceived of the Trojan Horse as a kind of proto-atomic bomb, the sort of norm-obliterating device from which civilisation cannot turn back. If anything, the horse has long existed in our collective imaginations as at best a credulity-stretching plot device – why did those overly trusting Trojans not think to look that particular horse in its wooden mouth? – and at worst a cutely comedic non-threat. The greatest civilisation of its age was taken down by a timber what?

But the true masterstroke of Nolan’s film is its parallels to the last one he dropped on us, Oppenheimer. Like that film, The Odyssey is about a haunted genius who, when presented with a problem, solves it with such speed and significance that he must necessarily cast aside implication. But rather than splitting the atom, Odysseus (Matt Damon), dismembers something considerably more significant – the social fabric.

Is AI already beyond our control? What will we tell our kids? | Fiona Katauskas

It’s no bedtime story

• See more of Fiona Katauskas’s cartoons here

Woman who works 2 jobs faces food insecurity amid price hikes: "You feel like a failure"

Over the past five years, grocery prices have jumped 32%, making food affordability a top concern for many Americans. Ash-har Quraishi shows how it's impacting families.

Sen. Peters wants to know why ICE bought spyware that can take control of phones

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has purchased commercial spyware that can covertly take control of phones, collect messages, photos and location information.

Maresca says managing Manchester City ‘a privilege’ but admits challenge of following Guardiola

• Maresca holds first press conference as City manager

• ‘It’s a challenge to try to do the right things immediately’

Enzo Maresca said following Pep Guardiola as Manchester City manager is a “privilege” but admitted he is aware how the successors to Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger struggled at Manchester United and Arsenal.

Maresca took over at City last month and, at his first press conference in the role, said he understands the challenge of replacing Guardiola, who claimed 17 major trophies in his decade in charge to become the club’s greatest ever manager.

Indian Cockroach activist ends hunger strike after 26 days as protests spread

Sonam Wangchuk secures ‘hard bargain’ with Delhi but talks between government and movement leaders stall

The Cockroach activist Sonam Wangchuk has ended a 26-day hunger strike, as youth-led protests continued to erupt across India and leaders of the movement said there was no breakthrough in talks with the government.

Wangchuk had been fasting since June in solidarity with the Cockroach Janata party (CJP), a new youth-led movement that has been holding mass protests calling for government accountability and the resignation of the education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, over exam paper leaks. The leaks affected 2 million students in May and have been linked to more than a dozen suicides.

Oracle signs 10-year software contract with Pentagon worth up to $7 billion

Oracle will supply on-premises software to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Trump imposes 'sweeping' new tariffs on 60 trade partners as global duties expire

The Trump administration has ramped its tariff actions back up since the president's trade agenda suffered major legal setbacks earlier this year.

NYPD says dozens rescued from human trafficking during World Cup

There were 89 people arrested in the New York area over the course of the World Cup, the NYPD said.

Intel rides AI boom to fastest revenue growth in almost 15 years, but shares sink

Intel's revenue jumped 25%, the most robust growth for any period since the third quarter of 2011.

Ex-U.S. attorney in Seattle sues Trump over firing

Roger Rogoff was fired from his role as U.S. attorney in Seattle shortly after judges on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington appointed him to the job.

13 surprising reasons you’re always dog tired – and what to do about it

Feel lethargic even after a full night’s sleep? From not enough fibre to too much sitting, experts explain why your get up and go has got up and gone

The very air you breathe could be an issue. “Close the door, shut the window, add a partner and a heater, and by 3am a typical bedroom sits at 1,500 to 2,500 parts per million of carbon dioxide,” says Dr Jemma King, author of Sleep First: Sleep Smarter, Think Sharper, Feel Better. “Research shows that above 1,000 ppm sleep efficiency drops, deep sleep reduces and salivary cortisol rises on waking. You’re sleeping, but your nervous system is mildly activated all night.” Luckily, it’s an easy fix: open a window – even 2cm will do the job, according to King.

Wedding gift registries are great – but divorce registries would be a lifesaver | Nick Dothée

Marriage offers an opportunity to ask for help creating a home. But what about when the marriage ends – and the household with it?

It’s peak wedding season, and my own divorce is waiting on a judge’s signature. People are being congratulated with Dutch ovens and serving bowls for dinner parties they may not ever host.

Marriage comes with an etiquette system for asking people to help build a home. The registry says the embarrassing part for you. Divorce deserves the same grace.

Southport killer trying to manipulate system, say families, after move to Broadmoor

Axel Rudakubana transferred to psychiatric hospital after it was concluded he could not be safely managed in prison

The Southport killer, Axel Rudakubana, has been accused of attempting to “manipulate the system” by the families of his victims, after it emerged he had been transferred from prison to a psychiatric hospital.

Rudakubana, 19, was jailed for life in January last year, with a minimum sentence of 52 years, for the murders of Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar.

Canadian government urged to block Thomson Reuters data deal with US ICE

US agency is to pay Canadian media company US$125m for use of investigative database to detect ‘immigration fraud’

A Canadian federal opposition party leader has called on Mark Carney’s government to block the latest data-sharing deal between US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Canadian media company Thomson Reuters.

Avi Lewis, the federal leader of the New Democratic party (NDP), demanded on Tuesday that Ottawa address the contract and further restrict Canadian corporations from doing business with ICE, after Canada’s National Observer news website reported on the deal.

Poland’s main rightwing opposition splits after loyalty pledge ultimatum

Former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki and allies say they were forced out over factional disagreements

Poland’s main opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party has split, after former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his allies said they were forced out over factional disagreements on policy direction ahead of next year’s parliamentary election.

Speaking at a press conference, the party’s longtime leader, Jarosław Kaczyński, said dozens of members of parliament effectively left the party after refusing to sign a loyalty oath.

A former nun explains why she ran away from her 'Cloistered' life

Catherine Coldstream entered a Carmelite monastery at age 24, and lived a life of prayer and obedience for 12 years. Her memoir is Cloistered: My Years as a Nun. Originally published March 20, 2024.

Concerns over U.S. weapons getting depleted as U.S. and Iran continue to trade strikes

As the U.S. builds up forces in the Middle East amid the ongoing war with Iran, there's concern among some officials that U.S. weapons may be getting depleted. It comes as President Trump has threatened new escalations and as the U.S. and Iran continue to trade strikes. Charlie D'Agata reports.

Prince William? David Cameron? JD Vance? Celebrities brace – and Staines celebrates – ahead of new Ali G film

Sacha Baron Cohen’s doofus voice-of-yoof has been making fresh mischief with new film Who Iz I? But who will he catch out this time? And what does his fictional hometown make of his return?

The Wimbledon lawn tennis championships are not generally a hotbed of crime. Yet this year, unprecedented infringements ocurred. Eleven players were fined a total of £34,000 for “audible obscenities” and “racquet abuse”. Meanwhile, a spectator at the men’s singles final called a heckler a “bumbaclat” before inviting them to fight, badgered Prince William to repay a drugs debt of £1,400 allegedly owed to him by Prince Harry from his days at Eton, and attempted to sell illegal substances to those seated near him – and beyond. “If u iz at dis borin wimbledore final lookin 2 get grand slammed,” he posted on Instagram, touting for business, “I iz here wif de hookup.”

The culprit was Ali G, real name Alistair Leslie Graham, AKA the malapropism-dropping home counties wide boy played by Sacha Baron Cohen, kitted out for the occasion in trademark skullcap and gold chain, plus custom Wimbledon jacket, traditional crossed rackets replaced with cannabis leaves. Security released him without penalty, but the reprimand was captured on scores of smartphones – including one held by Cohen himself.

Russian attack cuts power to around 150,000 in Ukraine’s north as Kyiv hits missile, oil facilities

The update comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed strikes on a key missile components facility in the Russian city of Kirov.

How a Chinese AI model stopped OpenAI’s ‘unprecedented’ cyber attack

The origin of the model Hugging Face used to combat the rogue AI is turning heads.

Maga influencer Laura Loomer reverses course on Ukraine after Kyiv visit

Rightwing provocateur meets Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who says he expects to meet Donald Trump in Washington next week

Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet Donald Trump in Washington next week, according to the rightwing US influencer Laura Loomer, amid signs the White House’s traditional hostility towards Ukraine is beginning to crumble.

In an interview with Loomer, the Ukraine president said he will probably attend the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham and hold talks with Trump, which will take place as the latest version of the Russian sanctions bill makes its way through Congress.

Be skeptical of OpenAI’s rogue hacker agent story | John Thickstun

If OpenAI loudly proclaims how dangerous AI is, investors will hear how powerful it is. And who benefits from that?

On 14 February 2019, OpenAI announced a language model called GPT-2, the precursor to the models that power modern AI chatbots and agents such as ChatGPT and Claude. But OpenAI declared GPT-2 was too risky to release, citing concerns about safety and abuse.

I recall being annoyed at the time that OpenAI would make such a useless announcement: the risks seemed overblown, and without access to the model there wasn’t much for a researcher like me to learn about GPT-2.

Secret Service warns of high threat levels before White House Correspondents' Dinner

Secret Service officials warned nationwide threats have reached an unprecedented level since January, nearly 40% higher than during the same period last year.

2 men allege they were switched at birth nearly 40 years ago: "Rollercoaster of emotions"

Two men are demanding answers from a North Dakota hospital, saying they were switched at birth nearly 40 years ago. Shanelle Kaul explains how they made the shocking discovery.

Singer Chris Brown pleads guilty to affray over London club confrontation

Other charges, including assault against Abraham Diaw, dropped as guilty plea averts trial

The American singer and actor Chris Brown has admitted attacking a man in a private members’ club in London after playing a gig at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium in 2023.

Brown will be sentenced in October for what prosecutors called an “unprovoked attack” with a bottle on the music producer Abraham Diaw at the Tape club in Hanover Square, Mayfair.

GOP's Jack Smith referral fails to show he committed a crime, ex-prosecutors say

The Justice Department will face an uphill battle if it tries to prosecute Jack Smith over allegations leveled by House Republicans, former prosecutors say.

Tree of Life rabbi Jeffrey Myers bids farewell 8 years after deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers is retiring from Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh, which he led through the aftermath of the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.

When is an apology not an apology? When it comes from an AI boss with an out-of-control chatbot | Marina Hyde

An incident in which an autonomous OpenAI agent hacked a startup either confirms that the end is nigh – or that the product is just amazingly sophisticated

Throughout history, many things have been seen by terrified populaces as a harbinger of doom. A comet. A crow on the battlefield. A solar eclipse. A mutant livestock birth. Yet times move on. In the modern era, the leading harbinger of doom is literally any picture of the OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, attached to a news story. You know it’s not going to be good, right? You know that by the time you’ve read it, you’ll be begging to go back to the time when the worst thing that could happen to us at the hands of the techlords was just some democracy-subversion, or childhood destruction, usually followed by Mark Zuckerberg putting on a suit and claiming: “We will learn from this.”

Anyway: a lot of pictures of Sam Altman in the news of late. Most recently, this week, one darkened the skies alongside the tale of how an OpenAI autonomous agent went rogue during a supposedly sandboxed/guardrailed test, and hacked a major startup that functions as a repository of coding information. (I’m slightly obsessed with the fact that the startup in question is called Hugging Face, adding weight to my suspicion that some vast, tweely benign emoji is the last face humanity will see before it dies.)

Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist

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

Ukraine strikes on Russia’s ‘Amazon’ warehouses bring war closer to ordinary people

Kyiv’s attacks on Wildberries destroy billions of dollars worth of goods made, sold and bought by everyday Russians

Standing in front of a vast warehouse engulfed in flames outside Moscow, Tatyana Mikhailova watched as her entire stock of 4,000 fur coats, bought months in advance for the winter season, burned.

“It’s not just a warehouse that’s burning,” Mikhailova said in a video she shared on Instagram. “It’s the time you’ve invested, the immense stress you’ve endured, your money, and your last bit of hope. All I feel is emptiness.”

Police shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, being investigated as a homicide

The police shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, is now being investigated as a homicide. On Wednesday, four officers allegedly struggled with the man, now identified as Corey Ruiz, before one of them opened fire. Police later said Ruiz had a knife. Jonah Kaplan reports.

U.S. targets California-born leader of notorious Jalisco cartel

Juan Carlos Gonzalez, also known as "Pelon," is the stepson of "El Mencho" — real name Nemesio Oseguera — who was injured and later died in a military sweep.

All 11 on board survive after seaplane crashes off Washington coast

A seaplane crashed near Sucia Island off the coast of Washington on Thursday. The 10 passengers and one pilot on board all survived. Adam Yamaguchi reports.

British-born man living in US since age of nine held by ICE under threat of deportation

Connor Read, who is married and has two children, was detained in June during residency permit interview

A British-born man who has lived in the US since he was nine years old has been held in an ICE detention facility for more than a month and a half under threat of deportation, it has been reported.

Connor Read, 29, was taken by ICE agents after he was invited to a green card (residency permit) interview in Tampa, Florida, on 3 June, and separated from his wife, Jaelin, 25, and his thre-year-old twin sons Ryder and Ozzie.

Jürgen Klopp vows to change Germany but threatens to quit if family hounded by media

• Suggests role will be his final job in top-level football

• Warns journalists to ‘leave my family in peace’

Jürgen Klopp said he wants his team to “change a country” after being confirmed as Germany’s new head coach, but threatened to stand down if his family are hounded by the media during his time in charge.

In a forthright first press conference upon his unveiling as Julian Nagelsmann’s replacement, Klopp also suggested the role will be his final job in top-level football and expressed regret after poking fun at his predecessor while working as a television pundit during the World Cup. He is tasked with reviving Germany, who lost to Paraguay in the last 32 and have not made the last 16 since winning the tournament in 2014.

Most people arrested during Henry Nowak protests had been reported for domestic abuse

Exclusive: Hampshire police data reveals 22 of 37 detained had been accused or convicted of intimate partner violence

Most people arrested during violent protests after the sentencing of Henry Nowak’s murderer had previously been reported to the police for domestic abuse, the Guardian can disclose.

Data released by Hampshire police under freedom of information laws shows that 22 of 37 people (59%) detained in Southampton after Vickrum Digwa was jailed for life have been reported for crimes associated with intimate partner violence.

‘I know what it’s like to be vulnerable’: musician This Is Lorelei AKA Nate Amos on addiction and finding peace

The singer-songwriter and Water from Your Eyes guitarist was unstoppably prolific, despite a growing dependence on substances. Now sober, he reflects on his new album and the songs that helped him turn his life round

For most of his life, Nate Amos made music just to get through the day. There was plenty of it: dozens of self-produced albums and EPs uploaded – since his This Is Lorelei project launched in 2012 – to what was then a plucky, independent platform called Bandcamp. Now 35, he is perhaps the quintessential Bandcamp artist: part bedroom-pop whiz, part alt-country troubadour, part indie rock rascal with a big, heavy heart. His peers treat him like a lost folk hero from a bygone era.

Amos is sitting in the basement of a cafe in Camden Town, north London, cradling an iced matcha; coffee makes him “feel like shit”, he says, and he no longer indulges such foibles. The title of one of those Bandcamp albums, OK N8, is tattooed on his knuckles. A friend inked it a few years ago, soon after Amos got sober. “Exactly when you’re not supposed to be making decisions like getting a tattoo on your hand,” he jokes. His active blue eyes dance around behind a golden-brown fringe and an unruly, woodchip beard. In a tough spot he will swing back in his chair and search for answers that always seem to be hiding beneath the table. But each time he stumbles upon the truth, he looks up with a hungry smile.

‘You can’t paper over the cracks of history. It will haunt you’: Gugu Mbatha-Raw on her race-horror thriller

She paved the way for Bridgerton, lit up Black Mirror’s most joyful episode – and now she stars in a grisly supernatural horror about slavery. The Belle star talks about Possession, partying with Prince and why she loves to shake things up

Gugu Mbatha-Raw seems blissfully immune to the heat. London is pushing 40C on one of those heatwave mornings when everyone is wearing the weather: damp collars, flushed faces, hair slicked to foreheads. Arriving at the cafe of the central London hotel where we meet, however, the star looks as if she’s stepped in from an altogether different climate. Dressed in a pristine white linen two-piece, makeup free, hair scraped back, she carries herself with a composure that makes everyone else’s perspiration seem faintly melodramatic.

She is, in every sense of the word, cool. This impression is only reinforced as we settle in for some small talk and she mentions that she’s been to the hotel once before.

Masked men invading and taking Amazon communities ‘hostage’ in organised crime surge, say local leaders

Delegation sent to Brasília after gunmen from organised crime group enter homes in western Amazon

Indigenous leaders on the Brazilian-Peruvian border have said their communities are being “taken hostage” by organised crime groups who are running rampant across the region, destroying rainforest, building roads and trafficking drugs.

Earlier this month, masked men armed with semi-automatic weapons entered homes in Apiwtxa, a village in the Kampa do Rio Amônia Indigenous territory, intimidating people and searching for targets.

If Deadpool wants to be a true Marvel superhero, is it time he grew up and stopped joking around?

Ryan Reynolds’ sarcastic superhero is rumoured to be in Avengers: Doomsday – but how is he going to fit in the MCU proper when he spent all of his previous film mocking it?

How do you solve a problem like Deadpool in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Deadpool & Wolverine found a way: rather than integrate the bloodthirsty, fourth-wall-breaking merc with a mouth into the rather more sanitised world of Thor, Iron Man and Spider-Man, Shawn Levy’s 2024 film chose to lampoon it from the outside instead. Why bother to make everyone’s favourite chimichanga-munching mutant fit when you can make the fact that he doesn’t the entire joke? Why become another cog in the Marvel machine when you can stand beside it, point out the loose screws and watch the box-office greenbacks roll in like it’s Christmas 2019?

Deadpool & Wolverine made $1.3bn worldwide, becoming the second highest grossing film of 2024 and the highest grossing R-rated film ever. But it did absolutely nothing to introduce Ryan Reynolds’ potty-mouthed antihero into the MCU, unless one counts the several thousand jokes about Kevin Feige. By the end of the movie, Deadpool seems no closer to becoming the saviour of Marvel than Happy Hogan is to wielding Mjolnir. He remains a sarcastic observer from the sidelines, less a vital MCU character than its resident heckler.

Oil surges to $100 per barrel. And, Trump imposes a new round of tariffs

Oil surged to $100 per barrel after Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea. And, President Trump overnight replaced expiring tariffs with a slew of new ones.

Trump threatens a major escalation in Iran as the war nears the 5-month mark

The U.S. continued airstrikes in Iran while Tehran launched retaliatory attacks on U.S. targets in the Gulf, as President Trump said he was close to deciding whether to launch "a massive attack."

Children and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels

Dogs v bears from Max Porter; a baby adventure; an Irish boarding school murder mystery; and an unsettling YA folk horror

Waffles and Julius: No Hugs Please! by Ed Vere, Puffin, £7.99
Affectionate pup Waffles wants to hug Julius the standoffish cat – but this is not a good idea! A riotously funny picture book about getting what you want by patience (and devious means).

Chasing Dragonflies by Blessing Musariri, illustrated by Maisie Paradise Shearring, Kumusha, £7.99
Shingai can’t wait for his baby sister Aneni-Rose to grow enough to be his sidekick. Or maybe she’s the hero of the adventure? This immersive, imaginative picture book is full of richly observed sibling love.

Add to playlist: the ramshackle, soulful twang of Twisted Teens and the week’s best new tracks

The New Orleans country-punk duo are on a hot streak, about to release their third album in a year, and the crunchy, literate hooks keep coming

From New Orleans
Recommended if you like Parquet Courts, Sheer Mag, Royal Headache
Up next Holy Cross Tigers out later this year

Not one but two of the year’s best albums so far are authored by a ragtag, deeply charismatic band from Louisiana named Twisted Teens, who bear Pynchonian names – Caspian Hollywell and RJ “Razor Ramone” Santos – a console steel guitar and, in Hollywell’s case, one of rock’s greatest, most soulful voices in many years. Virtuosic when it counts, ramshackle when necessary, Twisted Teens feel like they could slot nicely on to a bill with Parquet Courts and the late, great Royal Headache – crunchy, literary rock bands who seemed to shyly conceal their music’s anthemic nature.

Twisted Teens broke through earlier this year with their second album Blame the Clown, a set of 12 country-punk tracks that’s hooky and effusive enough to give any major-label pop record released this year a run for its money. A couple of weeks ago, they released its followup, the rangier and slightly more introspective Florida Water Blues, and before the year’s out they’ll have dropped Holy Cross Tigers, a release schedule befitting a band on a hot streak.

The pair’s origin story is foggy – the most one can glean from interviews is “they were neighbours, then Santos travelled cross-country to buy a steel guitar” – which feels appropriate for this kind of grimy, mythic music, which is raw and self-consciously handmade. Part of that feeling can be put down to Hollywell’s voice, a gritty and pockmarked thing which he uses to great effect, interspersing deadpan meditations on life and love with a rich, almighty howl that’s ostentatious but unpretentious. In other words, Twisted Teens are two of 2026’s true originals – a breakout band whose kooky, ultra-clarified vision outstrips the hype. Shaad D’Souza

‘Forever chemicals’ linked to gut inflammation in children after early exposure

Researchers tracked mother-child pairs for up to 11 years, finding Pfas mixtures may affect developing guts

Prenatal and early life exposure to Pfas mixtures is probably linked to higher levels of intestinal inflammation in children, new first-of-its-kind research shows. Intestinal inflammation can cause irritable bowel diseases, like ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and colorectal cancer.

While Pfas has been linked to irritable bowel disease and intestinal inflammation in adults, the new peer-reviewed Mt Sinai study is the first to look at how the chemicals impact children during a critical developmental phase.

U.S. allies hit with new tariffs object to Trump's forced labor claims

Australia and the European Union were among U.S. trade partners who criticized the tariffs.

Shechter II: In the Brain review – a thrilling release of rave and ritual

Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Hofesh Shechter’s latest doesn’t break new ground, but its exceptional dancers throw themselves into a moody, pulse-quickening celebration of communal movement

It may be 38 years since the second summer of love, three decades since the dance music boom of the early 90s, but on the contemporary dance stage, rave is still peaking. In recent years, you’ve barely been able to move for dancers letting loose to repetitive beats, in tribal gatherings and transcendent ones.

Hofesh Shechter’s dance has always had that rhythmic pull of the dancefloor – he writes his own beat-driven music, after all – but while the early works were more angst-fuelled, now he seems happy to get lost in music. Shechter’s latest, In the Brain, has been developed from a piece called Cave made for Martha Graham Dance Company in 2022. It’s danced by his junior company, Shechter II, a collection of some of the best young dancers under 25, selected from around the world. They have that hungry energy of youth, and they lay it all out on the floor.

In the Brain is not an all-out party, though. It has its quiet moments, its slow build, its not-always-enlightening detours (into a brief swing dance, and a couples’ slow dance, to name two). The feel is subterranean, not least because of Tom Visser’s lighting. Visser is king of the dim glow in all its subtle shades – maximum atmosphere with minimum drama – and Shechter’s score is similarly dusky and moody, rather than party bangers. (There’s also additional music from German techno duo Âme.)

More than anything, In the Brain is recognisably Hofesh: the hunch of the shoulders, the arms raised to the sky, the ritualised groups moving as one – it’s a style that’s inspired many others. This piece isn’t rushing into new territory, but part of the appeal of Shechter’s choreography is that you can imagine it feels so good to dance it. There’s a tangible, visceral pleasure, whether that’s the thick, gloopy curves of movement or an almost violent exorcism, flinging out the body’s demons to a pounding bass. It’s dance that doesn’t seem drastically far from natural movement – so the viewer could feel themselves inside it – except there’s no way you could match the skill of these explosive performers. But the power is in the communal nature of the dance, the fellow-feeling, plugged into something bigger than oneself, surrendering to the universal heartbeat of the dancefloor.

• Until 25 July at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

‘The captain told me to wear a nappy on board’ – why is air travel so humiliating for disabled passengers?

From being abused by staff and other travellers to being denied access to toilets, flying is an increasingly distressing and frustrating experience for many wheelchair users. Here, they share their stories

When Hannah Babalola boarded KLM flight 598 on 26 May, she was tired. A Paralympic athlete, she had been competing at an event in South Africa’s Cape Town, and was hoping there would be no hold ups on her journey back home to Chicago.

Babalola, 37, is well-travelled. A former wheelchair racer, she now competes in marathons and has flown to dozens of countries over the years without big problems.

The Federal Reserve meets next week. Could it raise interest rates?

The central bank is widely expected to stand pat on Wednesday, but persistent inflation concerns are reshaping expectations for the rest of 2026.

I used to be intimidated by roses. But they are not as high-maintenance as you think

There are lots of rules about roses, with Instagram adding to the impression they are hard work. But they’re easy to keep when you know how

Does your Instagram shout at you? Mine does. Every time I open it up – albeit with increasing reluctance – someone I didn’t previously know existed is sharing a “hack”. It could be for stopping my toddler from throwing a fit in the supermarket or how to button a shirt so I look less old. It’s interesting when gardening suggestions are thrown into the mix. Sometimes they’re nonsense (see growing new spring onions from the bottoms of old ones in saucers of water), sometimes they’re so helpful I stash them away with the unfulfilled intention to watch back in the future.

Lately, I’m being shown a lot of stuff about roses. Specifically, deadheading them. Roses are one of those plants that seem more high-maintenance than they are; before I grew them I was convinced they were the preserve of those people who are so serious about gardening that they have a foam kneeler (I still don’t own one of these).

So many British people have it better than they think – it’s up to Burnham to make them see that | Polly Toynbee

A new survey suggests voters are becoming more cynical and pessimistic. A few goodwill gestures from No 10 won’t change all that – but it’s a start

Who are we, the people Andy Burnham now governs? He inherits a miserable lot: grudging, angry pessimists, expecting the worst of all politicians, trusting no one to lead the country well, according to a long-running study. British folk feel the social contract is broken, they feel let down. Ignorant of basic facts, they are wilfully misled by malevolents.

Over half a century of taking their pulse, Ipsos has collected data on shifting attitudes for the mighty Understanding Society, the largest longitudinal household study in the world, run by the Institute for Social and Economic Research. By chance, this latest national portrait will be the benchmark for Burnham’s era. Here are his people: can he make them feel better? In the end, that’s the great purpose of all politics: you can have good policies, make improvements, do your honest best, as Keir Starmer tried, but if you don’t make the people feel it, then it’s a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal, as Paul told the Corinthians. Can Burnham lift up their hearts, a bit?

Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist

Trump gifts Saudi Arabia a nuclear win | Politics Weekly America

Donald Trump has announced a landmark nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia while pressing ahead with efforts to stop Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. What’s driving Trump’s new agreement with Riyadh? And how is it likely to be received at home and across the Gulf?

Jonathan Freedland speaks to Robert Jimison, who covers Congress for the New York Times with a focus on defence and foreign policy, about what the agreement contains, why it matters and the political challenges it could face

What animal is the deformed-but-adorable Jimothy? The quiz knows — do you?

Also: Ryan Gosling's regrets, Zohran Mamdani's exhortations and the Smithsonian's alleged wokeness.

The Strokes: Reality Awaits review – a perfect marriage of mayhem and melody on their best album in years

(RCA/Cult)
Allying the crackpot strangeness of Julian Casablancas’ side projects with his band’s gift for pop minimalism, the New Yorkers are on playful, joyous form

Here’s a sentence no old-head Strokes fan wants to hear: to understand Reality Awaits, the stalwart NYC group’s seventh album and first in six years, you first have to understand the Voidz. Julian Casablancas’s other band has been taking up more and more of his time in recent years, much to the chagrin of fans who may have dipped into the group’s painfully, awkwardly proggy 2014 debut Tyranny and decided to just let the old legend have his fun (away from their own speakers, of course). Anyone who decided to listen further will have found that the Voidz have turned into a great, crowd-pleasing, safely experimental zone for Casablancas to pull out some of the most energised, goofy work of his career. If you’re thinking I come to this guy for cool, not goof, I don’t know what to tell you: this is a man who spends interviews discussing his theories about ancient Sumerian culture.

The 2018 Voidz record Virtue is a high point of Casablancas’s entire catalogue: a gentle stylistic mixed bag that covers winsome pop-rock, yacht rock, bedroom pop and much more. That album seemed to clear the decks for the Strokes’ last record, 2020’s The New Abnormal, on which they sounded the most like their 2001 selves since Is This It. That album is now the definitive Strokes album for gen Z – go to any Strokes show and watch the younger contingent light up during The Adults Are Talking – but it didn’t presage a long-term back-to-basics route for Casablancas and co. On Reality Awaits, by sheer force of will, he fuses the crackpot strangeness and, ahem, fondness for AutoTune of the Voidz with the Strokes’ minimalism and pop melodicism.

I spent years trying to get smaller. Until I decided to get bigger

‘Bulking’, or gaining weight on purpose to get stronger, challenged everything I was once taught to do with my body

• Tell us: what impact have GLP-1s had on your relationships?

I had been casually lifting weights for a few years when several things changed in quick succession.

First, my boyfriend proposed.

Lucy Caldwell: ‘Even your text messages fizz after reading James Joyce’

The author on the power of folktales, being inspired by Ulysses – and the book that every woman should read

My earliest reading memory
The summer my middle sister was born, my mum and I would walk to the shops at Cherryvalley, in east Belfast, to do her messages, and she’d buy me the latest issue of Storyteller, illustrated tales from around the world. It came with a cassette tape of actors reading the stories, a ding to tell you when to turn the page. My favourite was a Japanese folktale called The Goblin Rat. I was only just two, but I listened to it, entranced and terrified, until I could recite it by heart.

My favourite book growing up
Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising series. I first read them aged 10 – I’ve read the title book every midwinter since, and read them last year with my own then-10-year-old son. They tell a haunting story of the age-old battle between the forces of dark and light, weaving in Arthurian legend, shot through with an adult melancholy that makes them as compelling now as then.

A defiant Trump imposes replacement tariffs on biggest U.S. trading partners

The administration timed a new set of tariffs on all of its largest trading partners to take effect at the same time the old, global tariff ended.

West Virginia paid digital nomads to move there during COVID. Many are staying

Ascend West Virginia is one of dozens of relocation initiatives across the country offering cash and other incentives to move to states needing an economic boost. Here's how they're working out.

Morning news brief

U.S.-Iran strikes escalate, affecting global energy markets, Trump imposes double-digit tariffs on dozens of countries, Vigil held in Madison, Wisconsin, for man killed by police.

Weather tracker: More than 900 wildfires rage across Canada

Fires remain out of control in Northwest Territories and Ontario, while Argentina endures record night-time heat

Recent hot, dry weather in Canada has triggered hundreds of wildfires across the country. As of Wednesday, more than 900 were burning, scorching about 3m hectares of land. While fires have broken out in several provinces, the greatest concern is in the Northwest Territories and Ontario, where several remain out of control.

Poor air quality has been reported across affected regions, with wildfire smoke carried by winds into the US and even across the Atlantic to northern Europe. The risk of further blazes remains high as North America enters the peak of fire season.

‘It’s become a nepo baby sport’: how secondhand fashion got so expensive

Thanks to gen Z resellers and platforms like Depop, thrifting has lost its subcultural roots - and ballooned into a $350bn business

Vintage boutique owner Janelle Best has been rummaging in thrift shop bins since the 90s. When she started, she says, there was a stigma about it. “It was either you were a freak, or you were poor – and I was a freak.”

At first, she did it to source stage outfits while playing in psych-rock bands. Then, in 2005, she started “casually reselling” on eBay. Ten years later she was trading as Desert Stars Vintage at street markets, and by 2023 she had opened a showroom specializing in upmarket silk dresses in her Williamsburg apartment. Even just a few years ago, she says, she still put in the hours at places like Goodwill. The bins, she says, “were a field day. There were so many fucking bangers.” And then, thrifting became a social media craze, she says, “and the hell gates of high school students flooded in. Twelve people to each bin. Everyone fighting. Suddenly everyone’s a reseller, and instead of these kids intuitively knowing what’s good, they’re on their phones trying to figure out if it’s valuable.”

Mangrove photography awards 2026 – in pictures

A selection of the winners, runners-up and highly commended photos from the Mangrove photography awards, run by the Mangrove Action Project, which received 5,258 entries from 87 countries. In its 12th year, the awards continue to offer a window into landscapes viewers may otherwise never encounter