Europe solar eclipse live: millions flock to viewing spots in Spain, UK and Iceland

Eclipse to be witnessed by tens of millions across western Europe as enthusiasts gather along path of totality

in Land’s End, Cornwall

The roads and car parks of west and north Cornwall are clogged as people gather to watch the solar eclipse.

11 charged for alleged sham marriages to help Chinese nationals get green cards

The Justice Department unveiled criminal charges alleging 11 people participated in a scheme that involved more than 1,000 "sham marriages" between Chinese nationals and U.S. citizens.

Top Trump officials heading to Iowa to help GOP campaigns, sources say

The upcoming Iowa State Fair is a pivotal window of opportunity for candidates on the campaign trail.

Bob Iger, Joshua Kushner buy Los Angeles Lakers at a $12.5 billion valuation, source says

Venture capital founder Joshua Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger acquire Mark Walter's stake in Los Angeles Lakers at valuation of more than $12 billion.

Cambridge agrees to hold independent inquiry into Jason Arday appointment

Vice-chancellor Deborah Prentice says she recognises the ‘difficult case’ has damaged the university

Cambridge University’s leadership has bowed to internal pressure for an independent investigation into its appointment of Jason Arday as a professor, with its vice-chancellor admitting the affair has damaged the institution.

Prof Deborah Prentice said she recognised the “anger and anxiety around this damaging and difficult case” but described it as an aberration that should not be used to cast aspersions on the abilities of its staff of colour.

How much time does AI save at work? New Census Bureau data breaks it down.

New Census data shows how much faster workers can complete tasks when they enlist artificial intelligence for help.

Here are five key takeaways from the July CPI inflation report

Readings for July on the prices consumers pay for goods and services came in pretty much on target.

NYC Council probes prediction markets over advertising practices

New York City lawmakers allege that four major prediction markets engage in deceptive marketing practices and target young adults.

The Wrong Girls review – Kristen Stewart fumbles through forgettable stoner comedy

First time director Dylan Meyer’s female twist on the genre is let down by silly stereotypes and jokes that land with a thud

Want to feel old? Superbad turns 20 next year. It’s been decades since the stoner comedy ruled the box office. In fact, the genre’s best theatrically-released film of recent years – the hilarious buddy movie One Of Them Days – didn’t feature any weed smoking at all despite hitting all the usual outlandish beats of a stoner flick. If the streaming success of Hulu’s recent R-rated bong-ripper Pizza Movie is anything to go by, audiences would rather watch this particular strain of movie on the couch where they can spark up in peace.

The Wrong Girls aims to reverse that trend with a nationwide US theatrical roll-out by Neon, the arty distributor which propelled Parasite and Anora to Oscar glory. Best friends Molly (Alia Shawkat) and Frankie (Kristen Stewart) live in a PeeWee’s Playhouse coded stoner cave with macrame decor, a life-size cut-out of Céline Dion, multiple cat towers and a contraption called the bong-o-tron – a complex rig of tubes and bubbling conical flasks – that fills the entirety of their coffee table. Being high all the time gives them a daffy kind of magical thinking, as they drive around town belting out power ballads and imagine that they are under the ocean with all manner of friendly sea creatures.

Becky G on her friendship with Karol G: "Our goal is to be the best versions of ourselves"

Singer Becky G speaks with Gayle King about her tour with Karol G and the bond the two pop stars have formed. "We have a beautiful friendship," Becky G says, "one I'm really, really thankful for and one that I think throughout the years we've really earned with one another."

David Crowley wins Democratic primary for Wisconsin’s governor in upset over progressive Francesca Hong

Crowley pulls off last-minute victory in tight race after polls had shown Hong as the clear Democratic frontrunner

David Crowley, the Milwaukee county executive, won the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor after beating the democratic socialist Francesca Hong.

Crowley pulled off a last-minute victory after re-entering the campaign and snagging an endorsement from Tony Evers, the outgoing governor.

Astronomers discover a new kind of cosmic object – a black hole ‘star’

The body is the size of the entire solar system and glows with a brilliant red light about 30bn light years from Earth

Astronomers claim to have discovered a new kind of cosmic object, a black hole “star”, which is the size of the entire solar system and glows with a brilliant red light.

The international team made the breakthrough after focusing their attention on a mysterious red spot in images of the early solar system captured by Nasa’s James Webb space telescope.

Here's how much Social Security's 2027 COLA could rise under new estimates

Social Security's cost-of-living adjustment for 2027 is projected to be lower than previously forecast, according to new estimates.

‘Whole and meaningful’: Red Roses coach John Mitchell becomes British citizen

• New Zealand-born Mitchell became UK national in July

• England ready for revamped WXV tournament

England women’s World Cup-winning coach, John Mitchell, has revealed he became a UK citizen in July after a six-year process. He said it would make representing the country on a sporting stage “very whole and meaningful”. Mitchell, who is from New Zealand and coached the All Blacks at the 2003 men’s World Cup, said he “belted out” the national anthem in his final citizenship test and that his time in English rugby was a motivation in his decision.

“I am very happy to be a British citizen,” he said. “More importantly, I am very happy to be an English citizen because rugby isn’t who I am, it’s what I do, but it does play a big part in my life.

CoreWeave stock pops 14% as revenue doubles on accelerating AI infrastructure demand

CoreWeave's revenue is surging as the AI boom continues, but the company is also sitting on $35 billion in debt.

Wendy's stock jumps on report of potential takeover bid from Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management

Peltz's relationship with Wendy's dates back to an activist campaign he led more than two decades ago.

GM reaches up to $4.5 billion parts deal designed to avoid supply chain troubles

The deal follows years of global automotive supply chain issues for GM and other companies.

AI agents aren’t legally responsible for any harm that they cause, experts say. So who is?

Following Australia’s first reported automated hacking accident, experts warn deployers – and possibly developers – of AI agents could be held liable for the actions of their bots

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The law is clear, says Prof Jeannie Paterson. “If I deploy an AI agent and it causes harm to someone else, I am responsible for that harm.

“Even if I didn’t intend for that to happen, it was foreseeable, and I should be taking responsibility.”

My Brilliant Career review – Netflix’s take on this Australian classic is sassy and steamy – but a tad syrupy

Philippa Northeast is entertaining as Sybylla Melvyn in this adaptation of Miles Franklin’s 1901 novel that has more erotica and a more pronounced love triangle

It’s difficult to believe that Miles Franklin’s wonderfully lively and rebellious novel My Brilliant Career is 125 years old: its prose crackles with life and energy, and the words leap off the page. Notwithstanding some inevitably dated turns of phrase (though I, for one, feel it’s time to return “what the deuce!” to daily conversations), the book feels like it could have been written yesterday. The story is centred around Sybylla Melvyn, a bullheaded author determined to write her own story – literally and otherwise – in a deeply patriarchal world that would prefer her to settle down, shut up and take a man’s hand in marriage.

Whereas Gillian Armstrong’s 1979 film adaptation is a class act, elegant and stately, Netflix’s new six-part series is, perhaps predictably, steamier and more juiced up, with at times Mills & Boon-ish vibes. There’s more erotica, a wilder tone and a more pronounced love triangle for Sybylla, played by Philippa Northeast. Unfortunately, it’s also a tad syrupy and wishy-washy, particularly towards the end (this review encompasses every episode) – the show even deploys one of those cloying photo album-like montages of key moments: the visual equivalent of Green Day’s Good Riddance.

Don’t Say Good Luck review – high-school musical weepie puts Sunny Sandler in the spotlight

A mother’s illness threatens to overshadow a stagestruck teen’s big break in a school production

Do you, like me, have a soft spot for both high-school angst and Broadway showtunes – and maybe Douglas Goodhart’s amusing Master It! Insta reels on how to make it in musical theatre? Then you might find yourself giving a pass to this sugary but heartfelt teen weepie from director and co-writer Julia Hart, co-produced by Adam Sandler and starring his daughter Sunny Sandler.

She plays Soph, the shy theatre kid who unexpectedly gets the lead in her school production of the musical Waitress. Her devoted mom Elizabeth (Melanie Lynskey) has cancer, and thinks she should maybe wait until after the run to tell Soph the awful truth, so as not to spoil her big moment. But will that be ... too late?

UK heatwave: Burnham considers ban on disposable barbecues to prevent wildfires – as it happened

Prime minister suggests possible measure as he prepares to chair emergency Cobra meeting in response to extreme heat

Here’s today’s latest Met Office forecast for UK cities:

Aberdeen 22C

Belfast 24C

Birmingham 32C

Cardiff 33C

Glasgow 25C

Liverpool 32C

London 32C

Newcastle 29C

Plymouth 31C

Sheffield 31C

Canadian airline WestJet agrees to settle flight attendants’ sexual harassment class action

Female staff alleged company failed to maintain safe workplace, after allegations of sexual assault against pilot

The Canadian airline WestJet has agreed to pay C$4.5m (£2.4m) to settle a decade-long sexual harassment class action lawsuit levelled by its female flight attendants, who alleged the company failed to maintain a safe workplace.

The suit followed allegations by Mandalena Lewis, a former flight attendant, that a pilot had sexually assaulted her and a colleague, but that WestJet kept the pilot flying, thereby putting other employees at risk.

What’s a wedding without a dirtbike doughnut? Hark1karan’s best photograph

‘On the day the youngest brother got married, they were out doing doughnuts and burnouts at eight in the morning’

As a Londoner with Punjabi roots, I’d say one of the best places to experience Punjabi culture is Southall, in west London, which has one of the UK’s largest Punjabi communities. This was taken there back in March 2021, when I was looking for people to feature in my short documentary, Zimmers of Southall. I like to capture everyday people doing something a little different, like these two brothers who fix cars. I had popped by to meet one of them and explain what I do, and take a few portraits for my broader work.

Rav, one of the brothers, had a dirt bike at the time and we were trying to photograph him doing a wheelie. The second brother, Inderjit, then joined and showed me his quad bike that he uses for off-road riding. Their father was at home and explained how his passion for bikes and cars was passed down to the boys. Their mother offered me tea and snacks, as often happens when visiting a Punjabi family home. It’s at that moment I suggested we get the whole family involved in a group photo – I knew it would make for something unique. Unfortunately, the third brother was not around, but their dad wheeled out his own bike to complete a beautiful family portrait. It felt natural and not forced at all – the energy was warm and welcoming. Ever since that day, I’ve stayed in touch with the family and try to visit when possible.

‘Be adults’: Joe Root gets rid of England Test team’s midnight curfew

• ‘I don’t think they work,’ says returning Test captain

• Root takes charge for three-match Pakistan series

Joe Root has abolished the midnight curfew for his England Test side, telling his players to “be adults” after a string of late-night incidents.

A curfew was imposed on the England men’s teams after their Ashes defeat in the winter, when the on-field action was overshadowed by players’ behaviour off it. Most notably there was Harry Brook’s altercation with a nightclub bouncer on the eve of a one-day international in Wellington, with the batter admitting he was fortunate to keep his position as white-ball captain.

Mortgage rates finally stop rising, causing demand to trickle back

Mortgage rates finally eased a tiny bit, but it was enough to bring some demand back to a very beleaguered mortgage market.

Consumer prices rose 0.1% in July, as expected, putting the annual rate at 3.4%

The consumer price index was expected to increase 0.1% in July, with an annual rate of 3.4%.

$1 billion Powerball jackpot on the line in tonight's drawing. Here's what to know.

The jackpot is the eighth-largest Powerball prize ever.

Meta and Nvidia plant 'very firm flag' in open-weight AI race led by Chinese Labs

With China way ahead in the market for open-weight models, Meta and Nvidia are both doing what they can to put the U.S. on the map.

CoreWeave surges 18% after a 'cleaner quarter.' Here's what's happening

AI cloud giant CoreWeave jumped in premarket trading after reporting that its second-quarter revenue doubled on surging AI demand from hyperscalers.

Lionel Messi has ‘quite a few doubts’ about football future after death of his father

• Messi’s father, ⁠Jorge, died last week at age of 68

• Argentinian suggests he may not play on much longer

Lionel Messi has hinted that the end of his career may be near after ­admitting to “quite a few doubts” about his football future following the death of his father.

Jorge Messi died last week at the age of 68 in Rosario, Argentina, after a long illness, with his health during this summer’s World Cup appearing to take a toll on Argentina’s 39-year-old captain.

In Venice, it’s not politics as usual as film-makers aim to recapture our attention

As social media shrinks and distorts the EU’s crises, the Venice film festival is delivering politically forthright epics from directors such as Sergei Loznitsa and Alex Gibney

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Europe is in an economic crisis that, unlike the eurozone downturn at the beginning of the millennium, cannot be measured in ratings downgrades and borrowing costs. For metrics, try engagement depth and consumer trust instead.

The unedifying spectacle of the European Union’s falling out over the Ceuta crisis looks like the latest symptom of Europe’s shrinking attention economy. When more than 70,000 people crossed over from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta at the start of the month, Rome hastily reintroduced air and sea border checks with Spain for one month; Madrid retaliated with spot-checks on travellers to Italy.

‘Nightmare fodder’: Roku’s AI slop channel is even worse than expected

Fairground TV is a 24/7 channel devoted to low-quality AI content for viewers sick of watching real people move in ways that won’t haunt you

The appeal of Roku is that, whatever you happen to want to watch, there will almost certainly be a live channel for it. Just want to watch Little House on the Prairie? There’s a channel for it. Just want to watch Duck Dynasty? There’s a channel for that too. Purely want to watch nothing but local news from Wisconsin? Guess what: there’s a channel for that too.

But despite this wealth, a section of the population was still to see its needs fulfilled. What about people who hate plot and vision and the sight of people speaking convincing dialogue that synchronises perfectly with the movement of their lips? What about the people who just want to watch an unyielding torrent of eerily weightless nightmare fodder? Well, good news. Roku has finally caught up.

Police race to save murder evidence from being turned into scrap metal

Police say the driver of the minivan — who wore a mask, glasses and a hard hat — sprayed security cameras with blue paint to hide his crime inside an Oregon parking garage.

An inflation report Wednesday should be a big deal for the Fed. Here's what to expect

The consumer price index is expected to show only a modest increase for July.

CPI report shows inflation eased in July to a 3.4% annual pace

The CPI report was in line with economists' expectations, marking the second consecutive month with cooler price pressures.

Why we’re going back to the games of our youth

As millennials return to the games of their youth, remakes of Star Fox and Halo suggest there is still plenty to learn from the past

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As much as some people more or less cease to listen to new music in their 30s, I have noticed a retreat to safe, familiar gaming territory among some of my fellow millennial gamers.

Retro collections are started, or resumed; jewel-cases of PS1 classics or cardboard boxes with SNES or Mega Drive games have started to colonise the living-room shelves. People are replaying things from their university days, or sticking to comfort games such as Stardew Valley. Many of the friends I used to game with never bothered to pick up a PlayStation 5 at its launch, and now that current-generation consoles are becoming prohibitively expensive, they see no need. With thousands of great older games, why bother playing something new?

Inflation eases in July as gasoline and grocery prices fall

Consumer prices in July were up 3.4% from a year ago — a smaller annual increase than in May or June. The news makes it less likely the Fed will feel the need to raise interest rates in September.

Global energy watchdog warns oil stockpiles ‘rapidly depleting’ – as it happened

The International Energy Agency calls for urgent reopening of the strait of Homuz amid ongoing pressure on global oil supplies

Opec has lowered its full-year forecast for world oil demand growth for the fourth month in a row.

The oil producing cartel said it was now expecting oil demand to have grown to 580,000 barrels per day, according to a copy of the monthly report seen by Reuters.

Kansas father kills his four children and their mother before shooting himself

Incident marks second familicide in midwest in two weeks, with the children who died ranging in age from three to nine

A father killed his four young children and their mother before turning the gun on himself, said authorities in Wichita, Kansas – marking the second incident of familicide in the midwest in two weeks.

The Kansas bureau of investigation and Winfield police department said a man identified as 53-year-old Ronald Williams Sr called police at 8.50am on Tuesday to say he had killed his entire family and was about to take his own life.

Solar eclipse drives Europe hotel prices to over $1,000 a night

Eclipse demand pushed some Spain and Iceland stays above $1,000 a night, while Iceland hotels cut prices sharply closer to Aug. 12.

Greetings from a surreal expanse of sand dunes dotted with freshwater lagoons in Brazil

The pristine white sand dunes of the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park are bordered by thick jungle on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Thousands of lagoons fill up after the rainy season.

Powerball jackpot hits $1 billion after no one won $905 million grand prize

No winning tickets were sold for Monday night's $905 million Powerball jackpot, so the estimated grand prize for Wednesday's drawing will be at least $1 billion.

See how the Secret Service is cracking down on card-skimming scams

Scams involving credit card skimmers are on the rise, according to the U.S. Secret Service, costing consumers more than $1 billion each year. Since 2024, the Secret Service has removed what it says is just a fraction of the devices nationwide. Carter Evans reports.

Powerball jackpot grows to $1 billion, the biggest lottery prize of the year so far

The Powerball jackpot Wednesday has risen to $1 billion. The last person to win the jackpot was in May. Jason Allen reports.

U.S. Marine veteran freed from Russian prison after nearly 4 years

A U.S. Marine veteran from Massachusetts who has been held in Russia for more than four years on disputed charges has been released.

Powerful storms in US midwest leave three dead and 800,000 without power

Winds of more than 80mph, severe flooding and tornadoes swept through Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky

Powerful storms swept across ⁠the midwest on Tuesday, leaving three dead and more than 800,000 without power in four states as winds gusts of more than 80mph (130km/h) tore down trees and power lines.

⁠In Indiana, a four-year-old child died after a tree fell on his ⁠home in Geneva Township and a person died in a suspected weather-related house explosion in Portage, a city about 30 miles south-east of Chicago.

Eli Lilly takes aim at illicit market for its experimental weight-loss drug

The pharmaceutical company is filing lawsuits against six outlets selling versions of its promising but unapproved weight-loss drug, retatrutide.

‘Today’s Brazilians have no idea what it feels like to lose democracy’: Joyce Moreno on her battles to become a Latin musical great

After her defiant femininity outraged many in Brazil, she lived through a military dictatorship and was boycotted for years. But after more than 30 albums, she explains how she kept going

At 78, Joyce Moreno is one of Brazil’s musical icons, but for decades that status seemed far from assured: this headstrong singer, guitarist and composer was frequently viewed as a threat by her country’s establishment. Aged 19, the reaction to her song Me Disseram – which began “I was told my man didn’t love me” – almost torpedoed her career before it even started. “I’d often heard the expression ‘my man’ sung by Billie Holiday and Edith Piaf, so for me it was normal,” she says. “But I was a beach girl from Ipanema, writing and singing in the first person. People were shocked.”

Then, inspired by trailblazing actor Leila Diniz (“her liberal attitudes lost her jobs”), Moreno refused requests that she “dress like a sexy bimbo”, and endured male critics who thought her music “too good to have been written by a woman”. When, in 1980, she discovered that her label had given another female singer the blueprints for songs she had written, she “looked for a lawyer, of course” and successfully sued; in her memoir she claims she was then boycotted by Brazil’s major record companies for a decade.

His wedding guests gave $6k to fund a health startup. Now it's won a $3 million prize

Dr. Raj Panjabi founded Last Mile Health to bring healthcare to people living in remote areas. The group is the 2026 recipient of the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize.

Trump addresses secret Air Force One swap as new questions swirl

President Trump secretly left Turkey last month following a NATO summit on a different plane than Air Force One even though many others were still allowed to board. Mr. Trump on Tuesday made his first public comments about the secret switch. Nancy Cordes reports.

Etna, fishing boats at dawn and Berlin Wall art: photos of the day – Wednesday

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

Trump ally loses, mixed results for progressives: takeaways from primaries in Minnesota, Wisconsin and beyond

Primaries across US included Darline Graham advancing to runoff, while progressive Francesca Hong and MyPillow’s Mike Lindell fell short

A series of primary elections on Tuesday shaped the future of both the Democratic and Republican parties, pitting newcomers against established candidates and testing name recognition.

Wisconsin, Minnesota, Alabama, South Carolina, Vermont and Connecticut held elections, with a gubernatorial race in Wisconsin capturing nationwide attention.

Zhu Rongji, who drove China's 1990s economic reforms, has died at 97

Zhu was renowned for reforms that sought to transition China from the post-Maoist years to a more global market-oriented financial system, without ceding party control over the economy.

Panama canal fees soar due to Iran war and El Niño as ship ‘pays $4m to jump queue’

Falling water levels linked to weather system are expected to limit number of slots to transit shipping lane

Commercial ships travelling through the Panama canal are facing a rise in costs amid disruption triggered by the Iran war and falling water levels linked to this year’s intense El Niño weather system.

Highlighting the fragility of global trade, a container ship reportedly paid about $4m (£3m) to jump a queue of vessels waiting to pass through the vital maritime choke point.

White House asked DOJ about new Reflecting Pool case against David Hearn

Earlier this month, however, federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the case, citing new information that the damage was caused by a "botched installation" by a contractor, not vandalism.

At least 44 dead after overcrowded ferry capsizes on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe

Operation under way to rescue dozens missing after boat overturned by waves at world’s largest human-made lake

At least 44 people have died after an overcrowded ferry capsized on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe, police said.

The boat had a capacity of 90 people, but was carrying 114 adult passengers, five crew members and an unknown number of children, Zimbabwe’s civil protection unit (CPU) said earlier on Wednesday, citing ticket sales.

Fighter jets intercept civilian plane over Geneva, Ohio

F-16 fighter jets intercepted a civilian plane that violated a temporary flight restriction over Geneva, Ohio, where President Trump attended the 2026 Patriot Games.

Hong's defeat in Wisconsin deals blow to rising Democratic socialists

Progressive Democrats keep their winning streak rolling in Minnesota.

In Ohio, Haitians’ American dream shatters as ICE prepares to deport them

US immigration has ramped up operations against Haitians, whose temporary protected status was removed by Trump

When Monsanto Maler walked out of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Blue Ash, Ohio, at 9.15am on Sunday with an ankle monitor freshly attached to his left leg, he put his hand over his face, burst into tears and fell to the ground.

He had come to the US in June 2023, fleeing gangs in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, where he had been hit over the right side of his head, leaving a large, visible scar.

Humpbacks return to Rio: the whales are back from the brink of extinction – but will tourism help or hinder?

The gigantic aquatic acrobats are exciting Brazil’s tourists as numbers recover from whaling. But some marine biologists question how booming tourism and conservation can coexist

The anticipation is palpable onboard the Boaventura II as the yacht sets off from Rio de Janeiro at sunrise. Once beyond the Cagarras Islands, rocky outcrops just three miles off Ipanema beach, the group gathers at the bow and starts scanning the horizon.

They do not have to wait long. “Eleven o’clock!” someone calls out, as a pod of bottlenose dolphins appears, playfully diving in and out of the water. Then, two spouts of vapour hanging in the air signal the reason for the outing: a pair of humpback whales. The majestic mammals surface to breathe with an unhurried chuff, before revealing the underside of their fluke as they dive back underwater.

How to use up parmesan rind to make pesto – recipe | Waste not

Why waste the tastiest bit of the cheese?

Although parmesan rind is tough, it has just as much, if not more flavour than the cheese from inside the wheel itself. It can be used just as it is to flavour stock or risi e bisi (Venetian pea risotto), but grating it opens up a whole range of other uses, such as in my mac and cheese “rinds” and today’s parmesan rind pesto. The flavour is very powerful, though, so add it to taste: you may find that you need a lot less than you think you do.

Scorching heat is straining Europe's nuclear power supplies — and prompting drastic measures

Heat and drought are curbing nuclear output across Europe, with Romania facing a possible reactor shutdown and France reducing generation.

Deadly storms, tornadoes slam Midwest, causing widespread power outages

More than 700,000 customers in the Midwest were still without power early Wednesday after perilous thunderstorms and tornadoes hit the region.

Double murderer and rapist Simon Levy handed whole-life tariff

Errors by police and prosecutors left serial sex offender free to murder Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo and Sheryl Wilkins

Simon Levy, the sexual predator left free by police and prosecution errors to murder two women, will never leave prison after being sentenced to a whole-life tariff.

Levy was convicted on Friday of murdering Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo in March 2025 and Sheryl Wilkins five months later. He was also convicted of attacking and raping another woman, 35, in January 2025, who survived and gave damning testimony against him.

How the Secret Service is cracking down on card-skimming scams

A Secret Service analyst told CBS News a single skimming device can net a scammer up to $1 million.

Fever’s White says critics can ‘go to hell’ over handling of Sophie Cunningham controversy

• Coach was booed by sections of Fever fanbase

• Fever’s success on court continues despite distractions

Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White has pushed back on those who have criticized how she has handled the controversy that erupted after Saturday’s game between her team and the Chicago Sky.

Sky’s DiJonai Carrington was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul after she struck Fever’s Sophie Cunningham in the head and neck during Saturday’s game. Afterwards, White, – who previously coached Carrington at ⁠the Connecticut Sun – said she did not believe Carrington intentionally aimed for Cunningham’s neck. White was booed by some Fever fans before Tuesday’s win over the New York Liberty, while Indiana’s lieutenant governor has called for her to be fired.

Takeaways from Tuesday primaries. And, Iran threat prompted Trump's secret plane swap

Yesterday's primaries provided more insight into what voters in both parties want from their new leaders. And, Trump secretly switched planes in Turkey last month amid a foreign threat

Halting the march of the African armyworm: a natural cure offers hope to farmers

South African scientist’s breakthrough research shows soil fungus could be used in fight against devastating crop pest

Hearing about fields full of dead caterpillars enveloped in a mysterious white substance intrigued the South African scientist Letodi Luki Mathulwe. Something was killing off the African armyworm – one of the most devastating pests for farmers in east and southern Africa.

The white substance was a naturally occurring fungus and it was wiping out the caterpillar, which gained its name from its march-like advance through fields of crops.

Premier League 2026-27 preview No 6: Chelsea

After a period of underachievement and upheaval for the Blues, the arrival of Xabi Alonso could signal a change in fortunes

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 3rd (NB: this is not necessarily Billy Munday’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 10th

Barcelona make improved £51m bid for Rodri as Manchester City target Fernández

• Latest offer close to City’s valuation for Spain midfielder

• Chelsea’s £120m price for Fernández may be too high

Barcelona have made an improved bid to Manchester City of around €60m (£51m) for Rodri. This follows Barça’s initial offer of €45m that was rejected out of hand by City.

The Spanish club’s new offer – which may include add-ons – is close to City’s valuation for the 30-year-old who captained Spain to the World Cup and won the Ballon d’Or in 2024.

Andrew Tate's extradition fight tests his influence with Trump's America

After President Trump took office, Andrew Tate proclaimed, "The Tates will be free." A year later, Tate is being held in federal prison after he was arrested following a U.K. extradition request.

Germany approves lifting curbs on spy agencies in security ‘revolution’

Reforms comply with wishlist of intelligence services which say Germany lags behind allies and enemies

The German government has approved a draft law aimed at lifting many of the restraints on its spy agencies imposed during the postwar period as the country reels from two attacks in a month that have exposed serious security gaps.

The controversial changes, which must still pass parliament, largely comply with a wishlist pulled together by the foreign and domestic intelligence services, which have long complained Germany lags behind its allies and enemies.

Heard about the ‘luteal uglies’? Women know more about our hormones than ever – and that’s beautiful | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

When I was younger, female biology was seen as something to be overcome. Now we can talk about the reality of living in our bodies

Have you got the “luteal uglies”? I’m not trying to insult you, merely deploying the latest hormonal buzz phrase on social media, which refers to the phase in a woman’s cycle, two or so weeks between ovulation and menstruation, when she apparently feels at her lowest and most unattractive due to a drop in oestrogen levels.

Women’s hormones have become trending topics and, as someone who only found out what a “luteal phase” is when she Googled it, mid-fertility panic, in her late 20s, I am somewhat in awe of the expertise with which younger women discuss their menstrual cycles now. They’re just so incredibly literate.

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist and the author of Female, Nude

If the markets reject OpenAI and Anthropic, the US should nationalize them | Bruce Schneier and Nathan E Sanders

From space to telecommunications, the US has a long history of fostering technology for the public good. These AI models could be aligned to democratic values, not corporate profits

OpenAI, and then Anthropic, were each formed by AI developers who feared unrestrained corporate AI development – specifically, that companies like Google and Meta would steer the technology towards deleterious, maybe even catastrophically unsafe, outcomes for society. Their founders proclaimed that their new labs, uniquely, could be trusted to develop the technology in humanity’s best interest. But each, in turn, were themselves co-opted by the same market incentives, themselves becoming corporate behemoths zealously guarding future investor value rather than the public interest.

It was only a few weeks ago, in June, when OpenAI and Anthropic each filed for their IPOs and were met with buzz about trillion-dollar valuations. The hype around their valuations is so extreme that many worry about their potential for concentrating wealth on a global scale. In an effort to leave something for the rest of us, some observers have proposed that the federal government seize a share of these companies’ stock to create a US sovereign wealth fund, or redistribute their revenues to produce a dividend for taxpayers.

‘Bold and ethical’: doctors on AOC’s egg-freezing journey - and Maga’s criticisms of it

In documenting the process, AOC is defying the right’s pronatalist narratives about motherhood and women’s careers

On Sunday, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced that she is freezing her eggs. The 36-year-old New York congresswoman took to Instagram to document the process, complete with jabbing a syringe into her stomach on camera.

“Don’t be weird about this,” Ocasio-Cortez said, “even though I know all of you will be.”

Saudi Pro League tries to move on from era of ageing megastar but big names still loom | John Duerden

As Ronaldo heads towards 1,000 career goals, the league plans to lift the standard of Saudi Arabian football, not just the clubs

There is no Mohamed Salah in the new Saudi Pro League season that kicks off on Thursday and while the era of the ageing megastar is ending, there is still the strong chance the next few months will be dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo. The 41-year-old is 24 shy of 1,000 career goals and, with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner having scored 102 in 107 league games for Al-Nassr, the milestone could – should – be reached this season.

Huge as that will be, just how it fits into the plans of the league is unclear. This is the fourth season since the spending started with $957m splashed out in the summer of 2023. It produced thousands of articles, dozens of international broadcasting deals and untold numbers of people worldwide sporting the yellow CR7 Al-Nassr shirt. Now, though, the focus is on getting a little more value for money and lifting not just the clubs, but the standard of Saudi Arabian football in general.

Feel so busy you don't even realize you're busy? Try doing a time audit

The exercise can help you identify what's wasting your time — and make room for what matters, says psychotherapist Niro Feliciano. Take a moment to try it. You might be surprised with what you find.

Carcass Clad: stifling tank combat promises tension, terror and surprising laughs

After the success of space horror Mouthwashing, Swedish developer Wrong Organ has created a Battlefield-inspired co-op with a supernatural twist

‘Claustrophobic”, “oppressive”, “pretty depressing” – these are the words Jeffrey Tomec and Dave van Egdom volunteer when I ask them to reflect on their work as part of Swedish indie developer Wrong Organ. I’d add “nightmare-inducing”, too. Their last game, Mouthwashing, was an acclaimed work of horror storytelling set on a scuttled space freighter, in which players uncover the horrible things its desperate crew have done to each other.

When you’re planning a follow-up to something so pitilessly nasty, how do you raise the stakes? Well, you could set the entire game in the stifling crew compartment of a heavily armoured tank, a coffin-like interior you share with two other players as you co-operatively attempt to pilot your beleaguered war machine to safety through the crumbling remains of a city in enemy territory.

‘Feminists need to push back’: how did the women’s movement become so divided – and how can it reunite?

Just a few years ago, women would fight for other women whatever their background or politics. Today, many loudly dismiss the struggles of those who are not like them. But the solidarity is still there, if you look hard enough

One June day in 2015, I stood outside Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre near Bedford and heard the women inside singing. “Set her free,” said the graffiti on the walls. “Shut it down.” I had often visited the centre and heard the desperate stories of women who were held inside it. But that day felt hopeful rather than despairing, as hundreds of women – refugees, campaigners, lawyers, members of parliament, actors, writers – gathered around the centre to demand freedom for the women locked up.

When I set up the organisation Women for Refugee Women, I was driven by my faith in solidarity among women. The organisation works with women seeking asylum in Britain to tell their stories and campaign for justice and safety. For years I felt that faith being proved in practice. Women turned up for other women at events and demonstrations; they were volunteering and campaigning, marching and supporting.

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls review – an anime-style rumble that’s rooting for you

PlayStation 5, PC; Arc System Works/Sony Interactive Entertainment
With tremendous visuals and accessible controls, this superhero-themed fighter has the chops to inspire a new generation of champs

Arriving at the turn of the millennium and the twilight of the video arcade, Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes has long been a high-water mark for fighting games, with no heir apparent; its massive, colourful roster and frenetic, spectacular combos have lured newcomers and elite competitors alike. Developer Arc System Works, a fan-favourite studio famous for its hyper-fluid and extremely technical anime-style fighting games, has been on a long journey to usurp Capcom’s throne. With Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, it may have finally achieved this difficult task.

Marvel Tōkon is less an attempt to recreate a Marvel vs Capcom-esque phenomenon out of whole cloth, and more a thoughtful evolution of the developer’s previous riffs on the formula such as 2018’s BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle and Dragon Ball FighterZ, building on its low-floor, high-ceiling approach. Simplified inputs allow players to execute combos and finishers with a single button, which gives novices the confidence to keep playing and inspires them to study and improve – because when anyone can pull off a flashy ultimate skill or EX attack, strategy and mastery take on a premium. And Marvel Tōkon has great depths to plumb.

Are hacks of U.S. water facilities a new front in the Iran war?

A recent series of cyberattacks on U.S. water systems has exposed vulnerabilities across critical infrastructure during the Iran war.

Here's how gyms, salons and ice cream are changing America's Main Streets

Shoppers' changing habits are fueling a major shift in what types of businesses are occupying storefronts.

Millions of US tax dollars sent to rightwing European thinktanks. Did any Trump supporters vote for that? | Arwa Mahdawi

It’s a great betrayal: poor communities neglected while multimillionaires peddle a global Maga agenda. How is that America first?

“THE CORRUPTION IS AT LEVELS RARELY SEEN BEFORE,” Donald Trump posted on Truth Social in February 2025. He was not referring to his own administration, but to the US Agency for International Development (USAID). “CLOSE IT DOWN!” the president added.

Just a few hours later USAID was in effect closed down, with most of the staff placed on indefinite administration leave. This was framed as part of Trump’s “America first” agenda. USAID, the Trump administration and his sycophants in the rightwing media had argued, was wasting taxpayers’ hard-earned money on ridiculous projects abroad instead of improving life at home. In the lead-up to the shuttering of USAID, for example, one of the most shameless lies about the agency, repeated without any evidence by the likes of Fox News, was that it was spending millions on condoms for Gaza.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

Chum review – daft shark attack movie with wedding guests running gamut of toothy undersea beast

Producer-star Alice Eve seems to be laughing along with the audience in this deeply silly high-concept thriller

To be as clear as the crystalline waters in which the characters here frolic before their blood turns the ocean the colour of sangria: this is grade A tosh. It’s a deeply stupid high-concept feature wherein a bunch of bourgie wedding guests run afoul of an errant great white shark. The twist is (and it’s really not much of a surprise) that the true enemy is not really the shark, which is only following its sharky instincts. No, the bad guy is a bereaved weirdo called Roy (Jim Klock), who wants revenge on the shark for eating his wife in the opening pre-credits sequence.

Alice Eve, who is also one of the film’s producers, at least seems to be having a bit of a giggle playing Tina, the most resourceful of Roy’s victims. Tina is a lawyer who should be enjoying the first days of her marriage to Tom (Eric Michael Cole) after their lavish destination wedding – except it looks like they are heading for a swift annulment, because ecowarrior Tom is disgusted with Tina for considering taking on an oil company as a client. They can’t make peace on the topic, and in the middle of an endless bicker they are press-ganged into what is supposed to be a relaxing three-hour cruise with a bunch of disposable secondary characters.

Europe is the world’s fastest warming continent. What is to blame?

The climate crisis is hitting Europe hard in 2026, warming twice as fast as any other continent – and the consequences are deadly

The whole world is getting hotter as carbon pollution from fossil fuel burning traps ever more heat, but Europe is heating up twice as fast as other continents. The consequences are increasingly deadly, with tens of thousands of heatwave deaths so far this summer.

The Guardian’s climate forum 2026: On Tuesday 20 October, join Damian Carrington and our panel of experts, including Professor Andy Haines, Katie White MP, Asad Rehman, Shruti Suresh Gareth Thomas and Amy Fairman, for a hopeful and solutions-focused evening. Book tickets here or at guardian.live

Katendrecht: Rotterdam’s sailors’ quarter reinvented as cultural hub

The regeneration of historic warehouses has transformed this former red-light district into one of the port city’s most vibrant areas

A thin peninsula just south of Rotterdam’s centre, Katendrecht was once at the heart of the world’s busiest port, home to continental Europe’s first Chinatown and a lively sailors’ quarter. Its later reputation as a red light district has been shrugged off – part of the city’s wider reinvention in the aftermath of extensive second world war bombing.

Eerie silence and ‘still surviving’: what happened next after steel town’s last blast furnace shut down

Exhibition in Port Talbot is part of project exploring how communities experience endings and transitions

Margaret Heggett, 95, does not remember a time when Port Talbot was ever quiet. Born and raised in the shadow of the steelworks, with a father, brother and husband who worked there, she never imagined what the town could look or sound like without its blast furnaces.

“I’m not saying it was beautiful, but there were jobs. We did know the closure was coming and we have to move with the times but it’s affected the town a lot and it’s very sad,” she said.

Thailand suspends gun licences as teen shooter and grandparents he killed are cremated

Prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul calls for tighter gun controls and ‘decisive penalties’ after nine dead in school shooting

Thailand has suspended firearms licences after the deadly Nonthaburi school shooting, as the bodies of the teenage attacker and the grandparents he killed were cremated.

The prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, said he had ordered the interior ministry and police to stop issuing licences to possess, purchase and carry firearms, and called for “tighter controls and decisive penalties”. The measures are temporary until a new gun control law is in place, according to government operated news-channel NBT World.

Tarte tatin, spicy pork chops and crumble: Ravinder Bhogal’s gooseberry recipes

The gooseberry makes itself welcome in both sweet and savoury settings: in a tarte tatin, in a lively salad for spicy, herby pork chops and in a crumble custard cake

In the summer glut of saccharine fruits such as strawberries and peaches, gooseberries may not be the ones you reach for first. But behind their strange burr of fine fuzz, these translucent, marble-like fruits offer a complex, defiant flavour. They are juicy, fragrant, a little sweet (especially the red ones that come along later in the season), but, overall, they are raspishly sour. Like rhubarb, they need sweetening if you’re using them in compotes or desserts, but their natural tartness offers a wonderful contrast and cuts through cheese, fatty meat such as pork or oily fish such as mackerel.

High school football player in Arkansas practices with 2ft viper in helmet

• Two-foot venomous snake found inside helmet

• Player wore gear for nearly an hour without a bite

• Officers used water to force reluctant reptile out

A high school football player in Arkansas had every right to be rattled after finding a venomous snake inside his helmet during practice.

The Maumelle High student felt unusual movement inside his headgear following warmups last week and brought his helmet to an assistant coach for inspection. A slithering two-foot cottonmouth was discovered behind some padding.

UK heatwaves may have cost economy £4.4bn in lost output so far this year, analysis finds

Verdant thinktank says cost could top £25bn a year by 2030 and calls for maximum temperature for working and urban redesign to cool down cities

Repeated debilitating heatwaves this summer are likely to have cost the UK economy more than £4bn in lost economic output by the end of July, new analysis shows.

Green thinktank Verdant had suggested June’s unseasonally hot weather had an economic cost of £2.36bn. Updating its assessment to include last month’s high temperatures, it finds a £4.4bn hit to output.

Drowned the day her visa came through: the tragedy of a Moroccan footballer trying to reach Ceuta

Struggling on her meagre pay, Faten Ben Omar El Azizi dreamed of reaching Europe. Then she joined thousands trying to reach a better life in Spain

Football was the life Faten Ben Omar El Azizi had wanted. She had long played in Morocco’s regional league for Moghreb Atlético Tetuán, whose striking kit replicates the colours of the famous Spanish club Atlético Madrid.

And in the cruellest of ironies, on the day that she drowned last month, one of nearly 150 people who died in the illegal mass crossing into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, her mother was told that her daughter had just been granted a visa to go to Spain.

‘I turned down Gandhi because I’m terrified of snakes’: the amazing movie memories of Bruce Dern

Famed for playing loners, cranks and wayward angels, the Hollywood star is now a wolfish 90 – but he still jogs daily. As he takes his latest film to Edinburgh, we meet the man Hitchcock called ‘the golden calf’

‘Can you take another story?” asks the veteran actor Bruce Dern towards the end of our talk, as though every tale is a drink and the landlord has called last orders. He doesn’t want to keep me and knows we’re running out of time. It’s just that one memory sparks another and these tales won’t tell themselves. He says that the next one is a doozy. “It’s about Marilyn Monroe.”

Throw out all the questions and turn the clocks to the wall. One does not interview Dern so much as say hello, hit record and sit back. The man began his career acting alongside Montgomery Clift and Mary Astor and has collaborated with everyone from John Wayne to Tom Hanks, Hitchcock to Tarantino. He’s the lawless survivor of American movies, blown in from the past, and talking 19 to the dozen. “I’m 90 fucking years old,” he tells me. “So I’m not going to be around to see all this AI shit or whatever. But I don’t consider myself old. I still walk and jog every day.”

Ceuta showed just how easily Europe can be divided

The migrant influx prompted recriminations and a tit-for-tat dispute between Italy and Spain. Putin, Erdoğan and others will have taken note

Within hours of the first pictures of tens of thousands of migrants swimming the short distance from Morocco to the Spanish north African enclave of Ceuta hitting social media on 30 July, 22 European Union leaders, the Trump administration and Israel had piled on to criticise Madrid.

The outbreak of hysteria and recrimination was a case study in 21st-century politics, driven by real-time images in a media echo chamber where populists set the agenda on migration, propagating fear, prejudice and demagogic proposals. Above all, the kneejerk reactions undermined trust between European allies and dealt a setback to EU efforts to jointly manage migration, counter people-smuggling and resist the weaponisation of migrants by non-EU countries.

Paul Taylor is a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre

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Trump’s Air Force One deception faces scrutiny over ‘decoy’ passengers

Journalists and others were allowed to fly on presidential jet despite security threat while Trump was spirited away

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Democrats called on Tuesday for a congressional briefing over a stunning charade in which Donald Trump was secretly spirited to a different plane than the one the public and press believed he was travelling on. Critics now question why reporters and the public had been deliberately misled.

When US intelligence allegedly found a credible threat that Iran plotted to kill him last month, Trump left Air Force One in a catering truck, an episode first reported by the Washington Post and also by the New York Times. While the president was reportedly snuck out the side door of the plane, more than a hundred aides, officials and reporters were kept onboard to fly towards Britain, without being told there was a threat to their lives.

14-term Rep. John Larson ousted by challenger in Connecticut Democratic primary

Democratic Rep. John Larson — who has represented central Connecticut since the late 1990s — lost his party's primary Tuesday to former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, CBS News has projected.

ICE plans to give officers gloves that can deliver electric shocks

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers may soon be outfitted with gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks that are intended to gain compliance from combative individuals.

Beach town mayor worries social media trend could lead to shark attack

Bay Head Mayor Bill Curtis worries that baiting sharks close to shore in order to take pictures and videos of them could be a recipe for disaster.

Melon-gate was a non-issue in Japan. How did it get elevated to a crisis in Australia? | Malcolm Farr

Anthony Albanese’s comments about melons given to him by Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi continue to make headlines weeks after they were made

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The government continues to face an all-out effort, led by parts of the media, to depict Anthony Albanese as the Benny Hill of international diplomacy endangering Australia’s regional standing.

There is ongoing anger – or so we’re told – over a crude double entendre from the Australian prime minister made over a month ago that indirectly involved his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi and her gift of two melons during her recent Australian visit.

Trump administration bars use of Medicaid funds for some youth transgender care

Medicaid said it won't pay for gender-affirming surgeries or hormones for transgender minors.