5/24: Sunday Morning

Hosted by Lee Cowan. Featured: Concours d'LeMons, Iranian propaganda, Patti LaBelle.

F1 2026: Canadian Grand Prix race updates – live

️ Lap-by-lap news from Montreal race (9pm BST)
️ Send your thoughts to Alex by email here

Weather update: it’s raining right now in Montreal, apparently. It may mean a delay in the race start or it could clear up and/or avoid the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Any news on start times as we get it!

Hold on, is that the sight of sparks flying in the Mercedes garage? Metaphorically, of course. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have played the roles “the gent” and “tenacious teen” for the first four races of this F1 season. But with it becoming increasingly clear that it’s likely to be a straight shootout between the teammates for the drivers’ title, we’ve seen the first flash of friction between the pair in Montreal.

What to know about California chemical tank set to explode or leak

The tank at GKN Aerospace is estimated to contain 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, a volatile chemical used to produce plastics.

Middle East crisis live: Trump claims ‘I don’t make bad deals’ as questions remain over negotiation progress

US president says ‘if I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one’ as Iranian state media claims US government obstructing some clauses in agreement

In Lebanon, the civil defence agency said early on Sunday its regional facility in the southern city of Nabatieh had been destroyed by an Israeli strike.

The Directorate General of Civil Defence said the building had collapsed and a large number of vehicles and equipment had been damaged by a “direct hit in a hostile Israeli strike”.

Emma Raducanu slumps to straight-sets defeat in French Open first round

• World No 39 beaten 6-0, 7-6 (4) by Solana Sierra

• Briton Fran Jones wins at a grand slam for first time

Twenty minutes into her time at the 2026 French Open, Emma Raducanu already appeared to be on her way out. Trailing 0-4, 30-40 on her serve, the games falling from her at warp speed, this was the moment for Raducanu to fight, to claw her way back into the first set, at least try to keep herself in contention. She responded by shanking a backhand, which flew high into the sky before bouncing far out.

This point epitomised a miserable day on court for Emma Raducanu, whose last-ditch fight was not enough to turn the match around as she lost 6-0, 7-6 (4) at Roland Garros, beaten by the unseeded Argentinian, Solana Sierra.

Trump says he does not make bad deals, but even Republican hawks doubt that now

The US has apparently had to agree to unfreeze billions of Iranian assets for a regime more hardline than before the war

• Middle East crisis: live updates

On 24 May each year, Iranians celebrate a historic victory in the war with Iraq: the liberation of Khorramshahr in 1982.

This year, some were hoping a peace deal looking likely to be signed with the US might mark a similar turning point in their country’s history.

Riz Ahmed says UK spies tried to recruit him on three occasions

Actor recounts three alleged approaches by intelligence services, including through senior BBC executive

Riz Ahmed, the Oscar-winning actor, has claimed that Britain’s intelligence services tried three times to recruit him, including one occasion involving a senior BBC executive.

Ahmed, 43, said: “Well, it’s happened three different times and they’re all slightly ridiculous, and this is what I mean by it, it’s just like inherently comedic.

Cairney seals winning finale for Fulham against Newcastle but doubts grow over Silva

Fulham gave Marco Silva a victory in what could be his final match in charge as Tom Cairney’s second-half wonder goal sealed a win over Newcastle at Craven Cottage.

The manager is due to meet with the club hierarchy next week having promised he would make a decision after the season had concluded on whether to extend his five-year stay or to depart.

'I never heard of the Strait of Hormuz before this': How one medical supply CEO is navigating the oil price shock

Medical supply company Gentell sources raw materials from around the world, and the crisis at the Strait of Hormuz is causing volatility for its business.

This week on "Sunday Morning" (May 24)

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

Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins spoils Guardiola’s Manchester City leaving party

“Pep Guardiola!”: the two magical words for all of a Manchester City stripe came from the Etihad Stadium announcer ahead of the great man’s entrance in light-tan slacks and white T-shirt, a ‘P’ for Pep emblazoned across the left breast pocket.

The reception was rapturous. Poignant too. From a record 60,332 crowd due to the opening of the extension to the newly named The Pep Guardiola Stand.

Fernandes sets record as Manchester United win but Brighton still qualify for Europe

Sussex by the sea will host Conference League football next season even if Brighton could not keep their side of the bargain. They let their fate drop from their control, their fans enduring an anxious afternoon of relying on results elsewhere and a decent 5G connection. Eventually, as players and coaches stood in the centre circle, the good news arrived.

“It was the worst time for this performance from us but we have to look at it overall in what we achieved,” said the Brighton head coach, Fabian Hürzeler. “We are Brighton, we are in Europe for a second time, we should be celebrating that achievement. It’s important you see where we came from.”

Liverpool held by Brentford as Anfield bids Salah and Robertson farewell

Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson were given in-game guards of honour as they said farewell to Liverpool. The tears streamed down the former’s face when he stood in the centre circle after the final whistle and absorbed the enormity of the moment. They leave behind a club that secured Champions League qualification on the final day of a uniquely challenging season, but could have been staring at another defeat but for Dango Ouattara’s late miss for Brentford.

Ouattara put a free header wide with Alisson’s goal at his mercy with practically the final touch of the season. Keith Andrews’s team would have qualified for Europe had he found the target but were left to ponder what might have been. Not that Brentford merited victory.

Arsenal celebrate Premier League in style with relaxed win at Crystal Palace

This was an occasion for Mikel Arteta to savour. With owner Stan Kroenke watching on from the stands on a rare visit to see his team in the flesh, Arsenal celebrated being crowned champions for the first time since 2004 by recording a comfortable victory over a Crystal Palace side who also have a European final on their minds. Max Dowman became the youngest player ever to start a Premier League game at the age of 16 years and 144 days and played his part, as goals from Gabriel Jesus – on what could be the Brazil striker’s last appearance – and Noni Madueke rounded off a memorable campaign for Arteta and his side.

But as they waited to be presented with the Premier League trophy at a sultry Selhurst Park after Oliver Glasner completed his own lap of honour after his last home match in charge of Palace, attention will switch very quickly to the daunting prospect of facing Paris Saint-Germain in next weekend’s Champions League showpiece. Palace – who scored a late consolation through Jean-Philippe Mateta and saw a late equaliser from Yéremy Pino ruled out for offside – will be concerned to see Adam Wharton limp off before their meeting with Spanish side Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig on Wednesday in the Conference League final in what should be an emotional farewell for Glasner. Palace revealed this week that it had identified more than 35,000 bots attempting to buy tickets in the home sections of the ground and asked fans to report any Arsenal supporters transgressing. Yet other than a handful who sneaked in wearing hi-vis jackets before being ejected by security, everything passed off peacefully in the end.

Spurs secure survival as João Palhinha sees off Everton to seal West Ham’s fate

It was a question of dignity, according to Roberto De Zerbi, which was certainly a valid starting point. But for Tottenham, it was so much else besides. Reputations. Livelihoods. The very future of the club. Everything was on the line because the ­consequences of a first relegation from English football’s top division since 1977 did not bear thinking about. Even if everybody had thought about them all the same.

It was impossible to ignore the feeling of foreboding. It was there as the Spurs fans made their way to the stadium, which has been a house of horrors for them in the Premier League this season. No club in the division had a worse home record than them at the start of the day. It was there throughout the game, rising exponentially in the second half as West Ham, needing to beat Leeds at the London Stadium to make it very interesting, scored three times. And it hammered on into the 12 minutes of stoppage time; only nine had been signalled.

DR Congo Ebola cases rise amid distrust, armed conflict zone

Africa races to contain a fast-spreading Ebola outbreak threatening 10 countries as infections spill from eastern Congo into Uganda.

West Ham relegated to Championship despite emphatic victory over toothless Leeds

As the minutes ticked away and the trap door widened, the home crowd made light of the misery and amused themselves by turning on the man who has done more than anyone to condemn West Ham to relegation. David Sullivan watched and squired. The West Ham fans showered him with abuse and nothing summed up the vacuum of leadership at the top of their club more than the sight of Sullivan leaving his seat in the directors’ box before full-time.

The 77-year-old was not there to face the music. Perhaps he needed a moment of quiet, space to work out where it has gone wrong. The answer, though, comes back to Sullivan’s outdated methods. Others have underperformed, not least Nuno Espírito Santo since taking over as manager last September, but ultimately this is Sullivan’s mess. He is the largest shareholder and it is hard to see anything changing until he hands power to someone with the vision to capitalise on West Ham’s potential.

Bournemouth denied Champions League spot despite Tavernier securing point at Forest

All aboard Rayanair, the airline of choice projected on to a giant flag with which Bournemouth’s players celebrated and one cherry-picked for their first European adventure. There was an inflatable plane bobbing around the away end and, for long periods, their unlikely Champions League dream was on. The Europa League will have to suffice. Andoni Iraola, whose name was serenaded on loop, will exit the stage having led Bournemouth to sixth, their best finish, a record points tally of 57 and having secured European football for the first time in the club’s history.

It does not sound too bad. This draw was quickly rendered redundant by Brighton imploding at home to Manchester United but Aston Villa’s shock win at Manchester City and Liverpool’s failure to beat Brentford denied Iraola the perfect ending. This draw at Forest, who led through a Morgan Gibbs-White free-kick, means Bournemouth completed the second round of fixtures unbeaten, a run that goes back to last year. “I think it’s the most incredible achievement,” Iraola said. A swell of Forest fans even applauded Bournemouth off.

Israeli strikes pound Lebanon despite signs US and Iran are close to peace deal

Some casualties after attacks on multiple locations in south and east of country on Sunday, state media reports

• Middle East crisis: live updates

Israeli strikes have hit southern and eastern Lebanon, a day after 11 people were killed in a single raid on the south despite a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war and claims that the US and Iran are about to reach a peace deal.

Saturday’s strike in Sir al-Gharbiyeh “resulted in a massacre whose final toll is 11 dead including a child and six women, and nine wounded including four children and a woman,” Lebanon’s health ministry said.

5/24: Face The Nation

This week on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," as President Trump says a peace deal with Iran has been "largely negotiated," Imtiaz Tyab reports from Tel Aviv and Sen. Chris Van Hollen discusses the possible deal. Plus, on this Memorial Day weekend, Medal of Honor recipients retired Lt. Col. William Swenson and retired Command Sergeant Major Matthew Williams join.

Gunman who opened fire near White House was known to Secret Service

Suspect who died after exchanging fire with agents had tried to enter the complex last summer, records show

A gunman who opened fire outside the White House on Saturday before he was shot by federal agents was already known to the US Secret Service, court records show.

The man, 21, was taken to a nearby hospital, before he was later pronounced dead. He had previously tried to enter the complex, according to an affidavit filed in DC superior court in 2025, following an arrest nearby.

Video shows infant being rescued from car trapped in Texas floodwaters

First responders rescued an infant from a car that became trapped in floodwaters in southern Texas on Saturday, video shows.

The Guardian view on Erdoğan’s tightening grip on Turkey: the next election is already being decided | Editorial

The removal of an opposition party leader and closure of a liberal university show an authoritarian democracy moving closer to one-man rule

Turkey’s next presidential election is scheduled for 2028. Many think it will come sooner. But by the time ballots are actually cast, the outcome may already have been decided – especially after the last few days.

On Thursday, an appeals court removed the head of the opposition Republican People’s party (CHP), Özgür Özel, by annulling its 2023 leadership contest. The 51-year-old was credited with reviving the CHP, which trounced the ruling Justice and Development party in 2024’s local elections. He was also one of the few senior figures not caught in a sweeping crackdown that has led to hundreds of CHP officials and politicians being arrested. Human Rights Watch says that the justice system has been weaponised against the opposition. A mass corruption trial opened in March, with defendants including the Istanbul mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was arrested last year on the day that he was chosen as the CHP’s presidential candidate. He could face a sentence of more than 1,900 years if convicted on all counts.

Trump says Iran negotiations proceeding in 'orderly and constructive manner;' warns against rushing

The president said the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports would remain in effect until "an agreement is reached, certified, and signed."

The Guardian view on 100 years after Miles Davis’s birth: why he still shapes modern music | Editorial

The trumpeter, composer and band leader still towers over jazz because he treated reinvention not as a betrayal, but as necessary for its survival

The space reserved for Miles Davis in the pantheon of 20th-century music is not simply because he mastered jazz, but because he refused to let it stand still. As musicians and fans mark the centenary of his birth , Davis’s work still feels limitless. “I always thought that music had no boundaries,” he wrote in his 1989 autobiography, “no limits to where it could grow and go, no restrictions on creativity.” Davis repeatedly dismantled the sound he had helped invent – embracing the electric age in 1968, much as Bob Dylan had in folk.

Davis moved to New York as an 18-year-old after hearing Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. While bebop prized speed, Davis preferred restraint and precision – spearheading cool jazz. By 1988, now the grand old man of jazz, he was playing trumpet with Prince, whom he remarked could be the “new Duke Ellington of our time if he just keeps at it”. Such was his refusal to be pigeonholed, he hated the word “jazz”. Whatever it was, Davis reasoned, had to evolve: absorbing funk, rock, African rhythms and electronica to emerge altered again.

John McWhorter on controversy and reconstructing Fats Waller's "Early to Bed"

New York Times columnist, bestselling author, linguist and Columbia University professor John McWhorter doesn't shy away from controversy. He talks with Mo Rocca about his book, "Losing the Race: Self-Sabatoge in Black America," published in 2000, along with one of his latest projects, reconstructing the long-forgotten 1940s hit Broadway musical "Early to Bed" with music by jazz legend Fats Waller, and why he feels good about how people perceive him now.

'The Mandalorian and Grogu' is Disney's lowest-ever Star Wars film opening

Disney's "The Mandalorian and Grogu" tallied and estimated $82 million in domestic ticket sales through its first three days in theaters.

Russia hits Kyiv with hypersonic ballistic missile in ‘deranged’ attack

Assault hits water facility, market, residential buildings and schools, killing at least four and injuring dozens

Russia used its powerful hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile for a third time in Ukraine as part of a massive attack on Kyiv and its surrounding region that killed at least four people and injured about 100.

Russia hit the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region with the missile, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said. He described a heavy Russian assault that also hit a water supply facility, burned down a market and damaged dozens of residential buildings and several schools.

Recipe: Lavender and lemon poppy seed cake from "Cake Picnic"

Elisa Sunga shares how to make lavender and lemon poppy seed cake in her cookbook, "Cake Picnic: Recipes for the Love of Cake & Friends."

Farage under mounting pressure to prove Russian hack claim

Reform UK leader claims ‘counter-espionage experts’ suggest state-sponsored hackers are behind disclosure of £5m gift

Nigel Farage is under mounting pressure to provide evidence for his claim that a state-sponsored Russian hack was behind the disclosure of the £5m gift he received from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.

Reform UK claimed over the weekend that analysis of Farage’s phone by “counter-espionage experts” suggested that “Farage’s phone, email and bank accounts were compromised by hostile actors, almost certainly linked to Moscow, using spear phishing tactics”, before the Guardian revealed details of his undeclared gift last month.

Reefline: Bringing art to Miami's coastline

Argentinian-born art curator Ximena Caminos is the mastermind behind Miami's newest art installation, Reefline, an underwater sculpture park that doubles as an artificial coral reef about 300 yards from the Florida coast and 20 feet below the surface. Luke Burbank reports.

China launches three-crew spaceflight as part of lunar ambitions

Mission will put first astronaut in orbit for a year, a key step in Beijing’s plan to put people on the moon by 2030

China has launched its Shenzhou-23 mission in which an astronaut will spend a full year in orbit for the first time, a crucial step in Beijing’s ambition to send humans to the moon by 2030.

The Long March 2-F rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan launch centre in north-western China on Sunday, carrying three astronauts to the Tiangong space station.

Family estrangement is more common than people think, but research shows the effects on wellbeing are mixed

Estrangement is not binary, but a continuum of reducing contact. Support plays an important role, whether or not people seek to reconcile

• The modern mind is a column where experts discuss mental health issues they are seeing in their work

Despite media stories occasionally highlighting high-profile family estrangements, in many cultures estrangement carries a stigma, a direct challenge to deeply held values about what family should be.

People estranged from families often feel shame or a sense they’ve failed, and carry the distress silently, in private. However, research on estrangement suggests it’s far more common than most people think.

‘Sad, mad and disheartened’: for the diaspora, the bombardment in Lebanon is a special kind of loss

The destruction of homes and villages in southern Lebanon leaves a mark not just on those living there, but families watching on across the globe

For the last two years, much of the Lebanese diaspora – estimated to be about 15 million people spread across Australia, Europe, North and South America and more – has held its breath. Much of it watched from afar, helpless, during the latest extended conflict between Hezbollah and Israel as Israeli attacks on their motherland, and particularly its southern villages, resulted in widespread destruction. To date, more than 1.2 million people have been displaced, thousands killed, and roughly 14.3% of Lebanese territory ordered to be vacated. But while those within the country endure their own suffering, those in the diaspora face a different, emotional struggle: the loss of familial homes they may not be able to return to, and a severing of connection to a place that is a fundamental part of who they are.

Why it seems like ‘everyone’ in Australia is travelling to Vietnam

The number of Australians taking short trips to Vietnam has more than doubled since 2016 as holiday-makers seek affordable experiences close to home

Georgia Quinn is adamant that Vietnam has been slept on as a holiday destination. The lifestyle-based content creator says she has loved the country since she first visited as a backpacker 15 years ago. “It wasn’t off the beaten path but it definitely wasn’t as popular as, say, Thailand or Bali,” she says.

That’s changing.

‘Pompeii, but in the middle of a massive city’: the ice age fossil site hidden in Los Angeles

La Brea Tar Pits – the only urban, active ice age excavation site in world – gets a mammoth face lift for the first time in nearly 50 years

Los Angeles is known for famous museum such as the Getty and the Lacma, but perhaps fewer people are aware that – in the heart of the city – lies a museum that contains one of the world’s most remarkable fossil sites.

The La Brea Tar Pits and Museum is home to the remains of more than 2 million ice age flora and fauna, including mastodons and saber-toothed cats, that became trapped in oily pools that still bubble up today.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor faces police investigation into ‘alleged inappropriate behaviour at Royal Ascot’

Incident said to have happened at racing event in 2002, year of queen’s Golden Jubilee, according to Sunday Times

Police investigating Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor are looking into an allegation that he behaved inappropriately towards a woman at Royal Ascot, according to a report.

The alleged incident is said to have happened at the annual five-day racing event in Berkshire in 2002, according to the Sunday Times.

Celebrating most prestigious, and junkers, of automobile world

In California, the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is widely considered the most prestigious car show in the world. But just a few miles away, the Concours d'Lemons celebrates the junkers of the automotive world.

Celebrating the most prestigious and the ugliest of the automotive world

In California, the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is an invite-only event celebrating the most valuable collector cars in the world. And just a few miles away, Concours d'LeMons is a once-a-year celebration of the less desirable, less loved and less expensive automobiles. Lee Cowan heads to both events — one that celebrates the best in show, and the other only a worst in show.

Douglas McCain, the eldest son of Sen. John McCain, dies at 66

Douglas McCain, the eldest son of the late Sen. John McCain, has died, his family announced. He was 66.

These United States: The Marshall Plan

In 1947, two years after the end of World War II, President Truman's secretary of state, George C. Marshall, delivered a commencement speech arguing the U.S. should help its European allies and enemies rebuild in the post-war world. This was the foundation of an economic aid program that came to be known as the Marshall Plan. Seth Doane looks at its monumental impact.

David Miliband: Europe and US need ‘separate bedrooms’ but not divorce

Former Labour minister says complete disengagement has potential ‘for us to end up in a very, very difficult position’

David Miliband has said Europe should have “separate bedrooms” from the US, but not seek a “divorce” from its traditional alliance, despite the Trump administration’s impact on the relationship.

The former Labour foreign secretary, who has served as the president of the International Rescue Committee since 2013, said at the Hay literary festival on Sunday: “You can see the argument that strategic autonomy for Europe means divorce from the United States. I really counsel the dangers of that.

Suicide bombing near railway track in Pakistan kills at least 23 people

Explosives-laden vehicle detonated as passenger train travelled through south-western city of Quetta

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near a railway track as a passenger train travelled through the south-western Pakistani city of Quetta, killing at least 23 people and wounding more than 70 others, officials have said.

The force of the explosion on Sunday caused two of the train cars to overturn and catch fire, sending thick black smoke into the air, according to footage shared online.

Echoes of Brexit as Alberta blunders towards vote on separation from Canada

Like David Cameron in 2016, premier Danielle Smith is facing a mutinous party and has called a referendum about a referendum while vowing a ‘no’ vote

An embattled leader forced to call a referendum on separation to ward off mutiny – and then pledging to campaign against it. Allegations that prosperity had been stolen by distant elites and could be remedied with a vote to leave. Mutterings of foreign interference.

The shadow of Brexit has loomed over the prairie province of Alberta as a minority push for a vote on secedeing from Canada. And it was there again on Thursday evening when Alberta’s premier, Danielle Smith, unveiled her government’s tangled referendum question on the western province’s future – both in the gravity of the potential outcome, and in the chaotic nature of its expression:

Almanac: May 24

"Sunday Morning" looks back at historical events on this date.

Andy Burnham seeks advice from Sue Gray on forming future Labour government

Discussions highlight how seriously senior Labour figures are treating Burnham’s path back to Westminster

Andy Burnham has sought advice from Sue Gray, Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff, on how to manage a potential transition into Downing Street if he returns to Westminster and succeeds the prime minister.

Lady Gray is understood to have advised Burnham on how a future government could be formed as Labour’s internal succession chatter intensifies before the Makerfield byelection.

To the new couples ‘turbulence testing’ their relationships: just relax and enjoy good times instead | Emma Beddington

Holidays offering the newly-in-love stress tests are missing the point. Strife is inevitable, it’s how you deal with it over the long term that matters

‘Turbulence test” trips are a “romantic travel trend” for new couples, according to US Vogue. The magazine spoke to two women who had decided to stress-test fledgling relationships with trips, and a hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, that aims to “lean into couples’ curiosity about their connection” by offering a “turbulence test” package. It includes $100 (£74) of cocktails and a pack of conversation cards, which does indeed sound like a recipe for brewing trouble in paradise.

I can’t fault travel as a trial for new romance: coffin-sized shared spaces, upset schedules, tricky interactions, destination disappointments – and the unhelpful accepted wisdom that holidays should be better than real life when they’re less comfortable and way more expensive than staying home – make them into a Soltan-scented pressure cooker for couples. My husband and I nearly split after a horrific trip to Italy in our second year together – it started with unsuccessfully trying to hitchhike 20 miles in a thunderstorm after discovering no trains ran on 15 August and continued with a fortnight of rain, recriminations, tinned soup and cheap wine-fuelled fights.

Victoria Pendleton: ‘At school I discovered the traits that make an Olympic champion do not make for a popular teenage girl’

The athlete on the joy of receiving her first bike, her lonely teenage years, and a life-changing phone call

Born in Bedfordshire in 1980, cyclist Victoria Pendleton is one of Britain’s most decorated athletes. As well as winning nine world championship golds, she won the gold medal in the sprint at the 2008 Olympics and the gold medal in the keirin (a sprint following a speed-controlled start), as well as a silver medal in the sprint in the 2012 Olympics. She retired from cycling in 2012 and is now a jockey. Her new book, The Fear Opportunity, is published on 21 May.

This was taken when cycling was a hobby and nothing more. My family were on holiday in the south of France, not far from Saint-Tropez. That was my first solo racing bike – it was secondhand and Dad got it custom sprayed. My twin, Alex, had one, too. We were very proud of them.

The Democrats’ 2024 autopsy fails to confront the truth | Norman Solomon

The document is full of disclaimers and does not address fundamental issues, including Gaza and the Biden-to-Harris transition

When the Democratic National Committee finally released its autopsy on the 2024 election disaster, not even the DNC chair could defend it. “I don’t endorse what’s in this report,” Ken Martin conceded as the autopsy went public on Thursday. After several months of withholding the autopsy on the grounds of not wanting it to be a distraction, Martin fessed up at last: “When I received the report late last year, it wasn’t ready for primetime. Not even close. And because no source material was provided, fixing it would have meant starting over, from the beginning.”

In response, a former Obama speechwriter, Jon Favreau, summed up eight stages of Martin’s tortuous process that has spanned more than a year: “Promise to release autopsy; put incompetent friend in charge; incompetent friend produces incoherent product; announce you’re not releasing the autopsy; lie about why; gaslight people who ask, saying they’re the problem; face internal revolt; release autopsy.”

Norman Solomon is the director of RootsAction and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. His latest book is The Blue Road to Trump Hell: How Corporate Democrats Paved the Way for Autocracy

More than 500 children have died in an outbreak that the world is virtually ignoring

The number of cases — and deaths — in Bangladesh is staggering. As of Sunday, 528 have died, mostly children. How did this measles outbreak begin? And how is the country responding?

Mind-bending photos by anonymous cousins show the pain and dreams of Afghan women

The young women make photos that look at life — how it is, how they wish it could be — under Taliban rule. The images are on display at the Photoville Festival in Brooklyn, New York.

Spring heat, parades and an erupting geyser: photos of the weekend

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

How to make Provençal fish stew – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

Fish stew in the south of France doesn’t have to mean a complicated bouillabaise: bourride is a simpler and equally perfect match for a summer’s evening

Much as I love bouillabaisse, I’ve never come across rascasse, the spiny Mediterranean rockfish that’s the backbone of Marseille’s signature dish, outside its homeland. Bourride, another southern French fish stew, is a simpler affair that’s much easier to recreate here. Enriched with garlicky aïoli, it’s a lovely thing for a summer’s evening, and can be prepared ahead up to the end of step 7.

Prep 20 min
Cook 1 hr 10 min
Serves 2, generously

The devil owns Amazon: big tech has infiltrated the fashion world - will we see a revolt?

Anna Wintour has welcomed the Bezoses – and their patronage – with open arms. But after a controversial Met Gala, industry insiders are less enthusiastic

The press conference for the Met Costume Institute’s spring exhibition is always a stately affair, but this year it was giving “feudal lady addresses her serfs” or perhaps “Marie Antoinette during the last days of Versailles”. Here, among the spectacular marble sculptures of the art museum’s American wing, was a beaming Lauren Sánchez Bezos, who Anna Wintour introduced as a “force for joy”, before adding that “she and her husband, Jeff, have shown with this event that they genuinely, genuinely care about giving back”. Meanwhile, in the outside world, protests against the Bezoses’ involvement had been raging for days. The discrepancy between the word on the street and the deference within the glass-ceilinged room was head-spinning.

The Met Gala has recently become a magnet for anti-excess protests, but this was its most controversial yet, owing to the $10m patronage of its honorary co-chairs, centibillionaires Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos. It was not the first time Jeff Bezos bankrolled the gala – Amazon was its lead sponsor in 2012. But this year’s event came at a moment of soaring inequality, as Bezos’s personal wealth has mushroomed and his Donald Trump-appeasing decisions have made him less popular than ever with New York City’s left-leaning fashion and arts crowd.

Move over, seltzer. Non-carbonated drinks are taking the spotlight

Non-carbonated alcoholic drinks like Surfside and BeatBox are stealing "share of throat" from hard seltzers, particularly among Gen Z.

Religious leaders, lawmakers push for $1 billion to secure houses of worship

There's an effort on Capitol Hill to increase funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which awards funding to houses of worship to harden their defenses. In 2024, roughly a third of those who applied actually received funding.

With oil markets nearing the danger zone, a US-Iran deal can’t come soon enough | Heather Stewart

Global prices are approaching a tipping point that could trigger inflation, shortages and, over time, recession

If a US-Iran deal is about to be reached, three months on from the launch of Donald Trump’s Operation Epic Fury, it will not be a day too soon for oil markets, which are approaching a dangerous tipping point.

The cost of a barrel of crude on the spot market – for immediate purchase, effectively – has bounced about $100 since Iran predictably responded to the onslaught from the US and Israel by closing the strait of Hormuz.

UK judge’s decision not to jail boys for rape like a ‘rock in my face’, says victim, 16

Boys, aged 15, given youth rehabilitation orders for two separate attacks against two girls in Hampshire

A judge’s decision not to jail the teenage boys who raped two girls has been described as a “rock straight in my face” by one of their victims.

Southampton crown court heard the two boys, both aged 15 at the time, raped the teenage girls in two separate attacks that occurred on 26 November 2024 and 17 January 2025 in Fordingbridge, Hampshire.

Could nature itself hold the solution to climate change?

Technological interventions face huge financial or practical challenges, but there is another way

In 2019, my scientific research was nearly brought to an early end when my team and I published the bombastic statement that natural forest restoration was the “best climate change solution” available in a paper for the peer-reviewed journal Science.

I remember a colleague from the World Wildlife Fund advising me that this message represented career suicide. He argued that people would be furious because reducing greenhouse gas emissions was the most urgent priority. The revival of nature might help with 30% of our carbon drawdown needs, but you cannot stop rising temperatures without cutting emissions.

Bruce Springsteen is a model for how celebrities should resist Trump | Steven Greenhouse

His recent concerts are a thunderous call to fight for democracy. The nation could use more like him

The Bruce Springsteen concert I went to in Brooklyn last week was unlike any concert I’ve attended in decades. It was far more than a fabulous, joyous concert; it was also an inspiring resistance event.

From the get-go, the Boss made clear that this concert would be part of the anti-Trump resistance. It was a three-hour-long ode to the resistance and a thunderous call to Springsteen fans to step up and do more to fight for democracy and against authoritarianism. In this way, Springsteen is serving as a model for how celebrities can stand up against Trump and fight for what’s right.

Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice

Singing through the bloody mist

Steven Greenhouse is a journalist and author, focusing on labor and the workplace, as well as economic and legal issues

I was punched on the school bus. Being violently bullied changed me – and affected one of the biggest decisions of my life

I’ve worked hard to leave the intimidation I experienced in the past. But when I met the man I wanted to marry, those childhood memories took me by surprise

The bullying began shortly after my fifth birthday. My family had moved from Dorset to a small village in Buckinghamshire. I started a new school in September, just before my third sister was born. It should have been idyllic. I remember everyone being excited about the new baby on the way. My school was small and set in the heart of the countryside, with playing fields bordered by woodland. It was about a mile from our new home. If the weather was good, my mother tried to encourage me to walk with her. Sometimes she would repurpose my lunchbox as a punnet and fill it with blackberries picked from the hedgerow on the way home. But she was heavily pregnant, and at the time the mother of three (soon to be four) children aged five and under. It made practical sense for me to catch the school bus.

Weird things were already happening at school. Initially I put it down to the shock of the new. The games were boisterous – my sisters and I could be rough with each other, but everything seemed to go a little further and cut a little deeper. I’d been startled by a group of girls who had reached under my skirt and tugged my knickers down to my ankles. Maybe they thought they were being funny? I just wasn’t sure whether I was in on the joke, or whether I was the joke. At first, it felt a little like being in a dream or visiting a foreign country. Almost nothing made sense to me, but I knew I was the only one who couldn’t understand, and it was down to me to work it out.

Gunman killed after opening fire on Secret Service checkpoint outside White House

A bystander was also wounded, but no Secret Service officers were injured, officials said. President Trump was in the White House at the time of the incident.

This is how we do it: ‘I thought I’d never want to have sex again – then I gave myself a pep talk’

When Lucia’s libido dropped, she found imaginative ways to reignite her spark with Edwin

• How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

I felt guilty because I love him and want to make him happy

A college degree once ensured prosperity – but gen z is finding ‘just not much out there’

Survey after survey show gen Z experiencing deep economic instability, plus eroding trust in US leadership and weakened social connections

Jes Vesconte graduated from one of California’s most prestigious art schools, did a Fulbright in Germany and got a master’s from Columbia University.

Yet Vesconte, 29, is struggling to afford everyday life. Amid freelancing and working service-industry jobs, they are now in the midst of yet another job search to supplement their income before their student loan repayment schedule begins next month.

Nurse convicted in patient's death is now a national speaker on hospital safety

RaDonda Vaught was convicted of negligent homicide after dispensing the wrong drug to a patient. She now gives speeches about hospital safety in an era of automation and artificial intelligence.

Irish gangland figure fails in Dublin byelection bid for seat in parliament

Gerry ‘the monk’ Hutch comes fourth in contest won by Daniel Ennis of Social Democrats

The Irish gangland figure Gerry “the monk” Hutch has failed in his bid for a parliamentary seat in a Dublin byelection.

The 63-year-old came fourth in a contest won by Daniel Ennis of the Social Democrats, a victory for progressive politics after a campaign dominated by concerns over the cost of living and immigration.

Russia pounds Kyiv in powerful drone and missile attack

At least two people were killed and 77 injured in the attack, which included the use of a powerful hypersonic ballistic missile called the Oreshnik, which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

‘People are like: you’re a crackpot’: how Sam Campbell became comedy’s oddball superstar

Having enjoyed breakout fame on Taskmaster and Last One Laughing, the subversive Australian comic has been handed the reins of his own, very strange sitcom. Get ready for feet animations and a character called Super-Breast …

The premise of Make That Movie, Australian comedian Sam Campbell’s deeply strange new Channel 4 series, is not easy to describe. A show-within-a-show, it stars its creator as an alternative Sam Campbell: rather than his real-life idiosyncratic standup self, he’s a pompous director whose well of inspiration has run dry. So he invites the public to share their (invariably bonkers) ideas for movies, which he and his dysfunctional crew then develop into real feature films. This all occurs within the framework of a shonky reality programme; each episode concludes with the film’s premiere. Think Changing Rooms, but instead of Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and Handy Andy renovating somebody’s living room, it’s Campbell and co bringing to life a man called Mick’s fantasy about a couple who can’t be snakes at the same time, yet one of them is always a snake.

In other words, the actual Campbell is the one who has been given carte blanche to turn his own invariably bonkers ideas into reality. He claims the production company behind the show were very hands-off – partly because they were so busy working on an animated Ricky Gervais series about cats “so we sort of got left to our own devices”. It helped that Channel 4’s head of comedy, Charlie Perkins – a longtime champion and collaborator of Campbell’s – was also “very trusting. I don’t know if she really got [the concept] when we were first talking about it. When we’d made it, I think she understood it a tiny bit more.”

‘Bringing the boys back home’: how mountain bongos Maue, Fitz, Kudu and Bon64 made their way back to Kenya

Staff at the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy are overseeing the repatriation of ‘the shiest antelope’ from western zoos to their native east African country

“We are bringing the boys home,” says Ngenoh Erick Kibet, a wildlife officer at the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, as a cargo plane carrying four mountain bongo touches down on a wet runway at Jomo Kenyatta international airport.

The operation is the culmination of two weeks spent in Czechia, a first flight for Kibet, and a decades-long collective effort to rescue a species on the edge of extinction.

The 100th bongo calf was recently born at the conservancy

'Homeland Security' has spawned political insecurity since DHS was born

DHS was originally conceived in the interest of unity and harmony — and the phrase "homeland security" was originally meant to be reassuring.

Torn by war, Israelis and Palestinians tie their fortunes together

At a time when hopes are dim for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, some Arab and Jewish entrepreneurs are partnering across the divide, hoping to prove what's possible.

Trump says Iran deal reopening Strait of Hormuz 'largely negotiated,' will be announced soon

A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 8, punctuated by skirmishes as the U.S. and Iran jockey over the Strait of Hormuz.

‘Growing up, you couldn’t play Bon Jovi – that’s what our parents listened to’: Bebe Rexha’s honest playlist

The chart-topping star makes a strong case for Livin’ on a Prayer and opts for TLC at karaoke. But which song reminds her too much of her ex to listen to?

The first song I fell in love with
When I was five or six, my mom got me the VHS of The Little Mermaid, and I would watch it over and over again. I was obsessed with the moment Ariel sings Part of Your World. There was something about wanting more, wanting a different life – even as a kid, I felt that.

The first single I bought
I remember going to a record store in Times Square, New York and my aunt buying me What a Girl Wants by Christina Aguilera on cassette tape and it was really exciting. Then the first CD that I bought myself was Just Dance by Lady Gaga which felt like a real moment of independence.

Why Kouri Richins jurors decided Utah mom was a killer

At Kouri Richins' sentencing for the murder of Eric Richins, her husband and father of their three sons, she declared her innocence to the court and to her children. But for jurors on the case, the evidence told a different story.

Why did Kouri Richins want her husband dead?

Kouri Richins published a children's book to help her sons cope with the loss of their father – then she was convicted of Eric Richins' murder.

‘AI washing’: firms are scrambling to rebrand themselves as tech-focused

PR executives say UK companies are forcing them to present ordinary automation as artificial intelligence

UK companies are performing “yoga-level” stretches to describe themselves as AI specialists in an attempt to capitalise on the buzz around the technology, public relations firms have said.

Weary communications executives tasked with securing media coverage for brands have complained that bosses in low-tech industries or running businesses that use automation but not generative AI, are increasingly demanding they are pitched to journalists as artificial intelligence companies.

Hunger increasingly used as weapon of war as ‘food-related violence’ surges, analysis shows

More than 20,000 attacks on markets, farmland and food distribution systems have been recorded since 2018

Hunger is being increasingly exploited as a weapon of war with more than 20,000 documented incidents of “food-related violence” in the past eight years, new analysis reveals.

Attacks include 1,261 strikes on markets used by families for daily groceries and 863 incidents in which food distribution systems were targeted and workers killed.

Tour groups, temporary routes and toilets: the reshaping of Rome – photo essay

Photographer Lorenzo Grifantini looks at how the Italian capital’s historic centre has gradually reorganised itself around the uninterrupted flow of visitors and the expectations projected on to it

By mid-morning, the area around the Trevi fountain is already difficult to cross. Visitors stop suddenly to take photographs while tour groups gather behind raised umbrellas, and security staff redirect the flow of people through temporary barriers placed around the monument. Nearby, souvenir kiosks sell rosaries, plastic gladiator helmets, bottled water and magnets in the summer heat.

Tourists pose for photographs in front of the Trevi fountain

Shark attack: man dies on Great Barrier Reef in far north Queensland

The 39-year-old was reportedly fishing at Kennedy Shoal between Cairns and Townsville when emergency services alerted about midday

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A man has died after a shark attack on the Great Barrier Reef south of Cairns.

The 39-year-old had reportedly been fishing at Kennedy Shoal, a shallow reef about 50km off the Queensland coast, between Cairns and Townsville.

‘My partner was cheating. I wouldn’t have told anybody else’: people who found the right friend at the right time

From single mothers to fathers of autistic children and fellow adoptees – some relationships come along just when you need them the most

Lucy Crowe and Mikayla Jolley, London

‘We’re expanding the cinematic toolbox’: AI fault lines on show at Cannes

Darren Aronofsky among proponents of using technology, while Guillermo del Toro says he would ‘rather die’

Under a white marquee on Cannes’ Croisette beach, with the Mediterranean glistening behind him and superyachts drifting across the horizon, the director Darren Aronofsky addressed an audience of executives and tech evangelists gathered for an “AI for Talent” summit.

“There’s so much pushback against AI,” said Aronofsky, who has faced criticism over his embrace of generative AI projects though his new studio, Primordial Soup, at a time when artificial intelligence has become one of the film industry’s most divisive fault lines.

‘There is profound disappointment in him’: mood in Russia turns against Putin

Increasingly isolated president is determined to press on with Ukraine war, say well-placed sources, despite ailing economy

Vladimir Putin pulled up to a hotel in central Moscow earlier in May in a Russian-made SUV, dressed casually in jeans and a light jacket. Carrying a bouquet of flowers, he walked unhurriedly into the lobby and embraced his former schoolteacher Vera Gurevich, who kissed him on both cheeks.

He then helped Gurevich into his car and drove her to dinner at the Kremlin.

Iran moving World Cup training base from U.S. to Mexico

Iran had been scheduled to train in Tucson, Arizona, but it will now move its training base to Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego.

Kyle Busch's cause of death revealed by family

Kyle Busch, who won more races in NASCAR's top three series than anyone in history, died suddenly on Thursday.

Passengers from high Ebola risk countries can enter Atlanta, Houston and D.C. airports

Officials have increased the number of countries in Africa at risk for Ebola from three to 10. A third entry point is open for Americans traveling from certain high-risk countries back into the U.S. Holly Williams reports.

Trump says he is close to an Iran deal and reopening Strait of Hormuz, but Iran disagrees

President Trump announced that he is close to reaching an agreement with Iran to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran is dismissing his assertion. Imtiaz Tyab reports.

Tank leaking hazardous chemicals in Southern California brings risk of explosion

More than 50,000 people have been evacuated due to a failing industrial tank filled with an extremely hazardous chemical that is leaking from an aerospace facility in Southern California, and it could explode. The governor has declared a state of emergency. Lana Zak reports.

Kyle Busch died of "severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis," family says

NASCAR star Kyle Busch's family on Saturday revealed his cause of death as "severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming associated complications." Lindsey Reiser reports.

Suspect dead after opening fire near White House security checkpoint, Secret Service says

A man who opened fire Saturday near a White House security checkpoint is dead after being shot by officers who returned fire, the U.S. Secret Service said. It was the third incidence of gunfire in the vicinity of President Donald Trump in the past month.

Possible gunshots heard from White House: CBS News reporters

Several shots were heard from the White House property on Saturday. Aaron Navarro reports from the location after Secret Service told him to get down immediately.

5/23: CBS Weekend News

Shots fired near the White House; thousands evacuate Southern California toxic leak zone.

Trump says U.S. is "getting a lot closer" to agreement with Iran

U.S. officials and negotiators were discussing a process to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, sources briefed on the conversations said.

Cristian Mungiu wins second Palme d’Or at Cannes for child abuse drama Fjord

English-language debut by Romanian director who triumphed in 2007 with 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days takes top prize

Nineteen years after his searing abortion drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days won the top prize at the Cannes film festival, Cristian Mungiu’s English-language debut, Fjord, has repeated the trick.

The film – which stars Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan as Romanian religious parents who relocate to Norway, where they find themselves accused of child abuse – makes Mungiu, 58, the 10th director to have received two Palmes, following Alf Sjöberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Bille August, Emir Kusturica, Shōhei Imamura, the Dardenne brothers, Michael Haneke, Ken Loach and Ruben Östlund.

My body is fat, not wrong: how body neutrality – not positivity – helped me shed a lifetime of shame | Jasper Peach

If I’d been taught this way of thinking as a child, I can’t begin to imagine how much easier things could have been

In 1981 the CD was born and so was I. Both arrivals were surprising and have drifted in and out of fashion ever since. As a baby, my majestic “chonk lord” status was cause for celebration and an indication of prosperity. But from a young age I noticed that my presence seemed to offend other people. When I was seven, I remember asking to have a go at skipping, after having turned the rope for everyone else. One child enlightened me on why I couldn’t: I was too fat to skip.

Children learn hierarchy from adults and then their peers. Who belongs, who doesn’t and why. My classmates learned from adults to see me as something to mock and despise. Even my own well-meaning father once sat me down and told me that nobody would love, trust or employ me due to my body shape. This didn’t shock me; I’d already picked up what everyone was putting down.

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The moment I knew: I’d quit my job and was newly single – then he smiled and I felt like I was home

When Monika Ruggerino broke a restaurant lamp – a favourite item of the charismatic chef Antonio – she had no idea it would change the course of her life

• Find more stories from the moment I knew series

Early in 2015 I was helping my friend organise her 30th birthday. She’d decided on the function space above a favourite little restaurant, Verde in Darlinghurst, Sydney.

A few weeks ahead of the celebration we went in for a tasting. It was the first time I’d seen the head chef and owner, Antonio. He was older than us and so handsome that once he’d sat us down and gone off to get something, my friend and I realised we were both blushing. His Calabrian charisma was undeniable and his smile took my breath away.

UK records hottest day of year as forecasters warn of more extreme heat

Temperature reaches 30.5C in Kent as amber health alerts issued before bank holiday temperatures rise

The UK has recorded its hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures reaching 30.5C in Kent as forecasters warned more extreme heat could follow over the bank holiday weekend.

The temperature in Frittenden also marked the first time since 2012 the UK has reached 30C in May, according to the Met Office.

Gisèle Pelicot tells Hay festival she has found love and trust again after rape ordeal

French campaigner was drugged by her ex-husband and sexually abused by dozens of men over almost a decade

Gisèle Pelicot has described the moment she fell in love and was able to trust again after her rape ordeal orchestrated by her former husband in France.

Pelicot, 73, waived her right to anonymity during the trial of Dominique Pelicot, who was jailed for 20 years in 2024 for drugging and raping her and allowing other men to sexually assault her while she was unconscious, over almost a decade.

Speaking at the Hay festival in Wales on Saturday, she said she never thought she could trust a man again before meeting her partner, Jean-Loup Agopian.

The campaigner said: “It’s something that I didn’t think could happen, especially at my age, first of all, I didn’t really want to fall in love, but life decided otherwise.

“We met, our trajectories crossed at one moment and I met this young man of 73… You see, you can fall in love at any age, it happened to me, it can happen to you, I’m convinced of it.

“I didn’t think that I’d be able to trust a man, but it’s what happened to me, so you see that everything can be allowed in life, you must never despair.”

Pelicot appeared at the festival to discuss her memoir A Hymn to Life and was interviewed on stage by Lady Kennedy.

She said that “society has got to wake up” on the issue of violence against women, and that it’s an “appalling evil that touches all borders”.

Trump administration to require most green card applicants to leave U.S. first

The Trump administration on Friday announced a sweeping policy designed to make it harder for immigrants already in the U.S. to get permanent residency.

Stephen Colbert returns to TV in appearance on local Michigan station

A day after his last episode of “The Late Show” on CBS, Colbert found his way back to a television hosting gig for one night.

New breed of political prisoner arises in Britain as anti-protest sentences rise

More people are being jailed in England and Wales as a result of acting to prevent climate breakdown and the war in Gaza, research reveals

Britain has created a new breed of political prisoners through the systematic incarceration of people acting to prevent climate breakdown and the annihilation of Gaza, a report claims.

The research by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and the protest group Defend Our Juries says that custodial sentences for acts of direct action or civil disobedience were once rare but are now being imposed with increasing length and frequency.