Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady, citing economic uncertainty

Fed officials are grappling with a host of economic challenges, from stubborn inflation to a slowing job market.

Amazon says U.S. Postal Service 'walked away at the eleventh hour' in negotiations

Amazon said it was working toward a new agreement with USPS to increase volumes before talks fell apart.

Fed votes to hold rates steady, notes 'uncertain' impacts from Iran war

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday released its decision in interest rates.

Barcelona v Newcastle: Champions League last-16 second leg – live

• Updates from 5.45pm (GMT) kickoff at Camp Nou

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1 min: Gordon dribbles down the left and spins Eric Garcia, who is fortunate not to get booked for a pull of the shirt. But it is a free kick in a dangerous position, just to the left of the Barca box. Tonali to take.

Newcastle United get the ball rolling. Whistles as they pass it about the back.

Here's what changed in the new Fed statement

This is a comparison of Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee statement with the one issued after the Fed's previous policymaking meeting in January.

Top Trump counterterrorism official resigns over Iran war

President Trump's director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, announced his immediate resignation Tuesday, citing the administration's decision to intervene in Iran.

DOJ blocked release of secret Epstein drug probe file, Sen. Wyden says

Sen. Ron Wyden says he believes the government had "ample evidence" that Epstein was involved in drug trafficking.

Judge in rugby brain injury lawsuit tells legal teams to hurry up as cases drag on

• Five years on and little progress made, says judge

• Litigants have until October to choose 28 lead claimants

The judge overseeing the pretrial phase of the two landmark litigation cases about brain injuries in rugby has issued another rebuke to the legal teams on both sides over their lack of progress.

Senior Master Jeremy Cook started the latest round of case management hearings by reminding both the defendants and the claimants that “it won’t have escaped anybody’s notice that some of these claims are now over five years old, and we haven’t made much progress”. Since the cases involve claims of degenerative brain diseases, Cook said, time is at a premium.

FBI, IRS to probe nonprofit groups for domestic terrorism links, sources say

In December, Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered law enforcement officials to prioritize efforts to probe and prosecute groups and individuals belonging to the antifa movement or are deemed "extremist."

Here's how much U.S. families need to make to feel economically secure

Many Americans feel like they live in a "hamster wheel economy," said one expert who studies economic security.

Testy Mullin confirmation hearing: DHS nominee Mullin says he would require judicial warrants to enter homes, businesses

President Donald Trump tapped Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to replace Kristi Noem as the head of the Department of Homeland Security.

Oh deer! Rory McIlroy puts elk on the Masters champions dinner menu

• Reigning champion reveals elk helped fuel Masters win

• Choosing wines from Augusta stock ‘was a lot of fun’

Elk as the key to Masters success: who had any i-deer? Rory McIlroy will serve starters made from the meat of the North American animal at Augusta National next month in tribute to his food of choice before winning the Masters last year.

The wine McIlroy drank to toast victory, food which conjures memories of his childhood in Belfast and a dish made by his mother, Rosie McIlroy, also feature in the Masters champion’s dinner for 2026. In a nod to the Masters venue’s attention to detail, McIlroy revealed that chefs from Augusta made a special visit to a New York restaurant to replicate his favourite tuna recipe.

Dolores Huerta alleges assault by Cesar Chavez amid abuse claims

Allegations of abuse of women and girls by union leader Cesar Chavez were first reported by the New York Times​ on Wednesday.

How to sign up for TSA PreCheck Touchless ID and save time at airports

Travelers hoping to bypass some of the increasingly long wait times at U.S. airports can enroll in the TSA PreCheck Touchless ID program, which is now operating at 65 locations.

Gabbard says Iranian regime is "intact but largely degraded" at Senate hearing

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told senators that the Iranian regime "appears to be intact but largely degraded" by ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes.

Pakistan to pause Afghan strikes for Eid, two days after deadly Kabul attack

Five-day cessation announced as mass funeral held for some of hundreds of victims of airstrike on rehab centre

Pakistan has announced a five-day pause in strikes against neighbouring Afghanistan, as a mass funeral was held for some of the hundreds of victims killed in Monday’s attack on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul.

The Afghan Taliban government has said more than 400 people were killed and 265 others wounded in that attack, which took place as people at the centre were praying days before the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Mamdani put Ramadan at the center of NYC's cultural life, bringing joy -- and a backlash

NYC Mayor Mamdani observed Ramadan publicly at a time when many politicians and activists on the right are voicing hostility and in some cases open bigotry toward American Muslims.

Iran threatens Gulf energy facilities after Israeli attack on its largest gasfield

Revolutionary Guards say they will strike infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar after South Pars field hit

• Middle East crisis – live updates

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Iran has threatened to attack energy infrastructure across the Gulf region in retaliation for Israeli strikes on its largest gasfield, the first targeted attacks on its fossil fuel production since the war began.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have threatened counterstrikes on several energy facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar “in the coming hours” after state media reports that missiles had targeted its gas facilities at the giant South Pars field, the largest gas reserves in the world.

FAA tightens safety rules for helicopters and planes around major airports

Regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration are tightening safety rules in congested airspace around major airports, suspending the use of visual separation between planes and helicopters.

Who is Josh D'Amaro, the new CEO of Disney?

As Disney CEO, Josh D'Amaro will be in charge of a massive entertainment empire that includes parks, movies and a streaming service.

Israel says it has killed Iran’s intelligence minister in third assassination in two days

Israel's Defense Forces said Wednesday that Iran's intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib, had been killed in a "targeted strike" in Tehran.

Val Kilmer set to be be resurrected with AI for new film

As Deep As the Grave, the true story of 1920s archeologists, will bring late actor back with support from his estate

Val Kilmer is set to be the latest Hollywood star to be resurrected by AI. The acting legend, who died last year at age 65, will star in the drama As Deep As the Grave.

Kilmer was attached to the project prior to his death from throat cancer.

Expectations for the next Fed rate cut get pushed back after hot inflation report

Futures markets took any realistic chance of a cut off the table until at least December.

Farage called for release of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and praised effort to free drug trafficker

Reform UK leader was paid to make remarks about imprisoned rapper and ex-Honduran president in Cameo videos

• Newly unearthed Nigel Farage videos reveal support for rioter, neo-Nazi event and far-right slogans

Nigel Farage called for the release of the imprisoned rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs and commended the efforts to free a former Honduran president jailed in the US for drug trafficking.

The Reform UK leader was paid to make the remarks on the personalised video platform Cameo, which allows users to commission celebrities and public figures to record short video clips.

‘There’s no flag for people like us’: electro-punk duo Chalk on spanning divides in post-Troubles Belfast

Ross Cullen and Benedict Goddard’s music is as hybrid as they are, with their Protestant-Catholic and English-Irish heritages. They explain why they still need to counter hate

In Belfast’s Kelly’s Cellars, a bar that has been bringing the city’s people together since 1720, trad music bleeds from somewhere deep within as Ross Cullen and Benedict Goddard arrive mizzle-damp from the street. They settle into a corner alcove and reach for two pints of stout.

Together they form the duo Chalk. As Kneecap have exploded out of Belfast, Chalk’s longer fuse has been quietly burning alongside them. Formed when the pair met studying film at university, they have spent five years building a live show that can compete with the best in the UK and Ireland: imagine Underworld’s rave beatitude and the coiled menace of Nine Inch Nails but rooted in Belfast music, from the punk of Stiff Little Fingers and Rudi through to the beats of David Holmes and the Sugar Sweet-era rave scene. “We wanted to make as much noise as we could with just two people,” says Goddard. “But we never wanted to be limited by that.”

Official warns some airports could shut down if TSA sick calls climb

Acting deputy TSA administrator Adam Stahl says the situation will get worse the longer the agency and the Department of Homeland Security​ don't receive funding.

The EU’s Hungary problem won’t be solved even if Viktor Orbán is ousted

The bloc’s foremost troublemaker could lose April’s election, but the headaches he’s caused will not necessarily disappear with him

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How do you solve a problem like Viktor Orbán? By crossing your fingers and hoping it disappears in just over three weeks’ time. But even if the European Union’s disruptor-in-chief is ousted in elections next month (which is far from certain), Europe’s Hungary problem is unlikely to vanish overnight.

EU leaders will gather in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for yet another summit that will be at least partly hijacked by Orbán, Hungary’s illiberal prime minister.

Paul calls Mullin a "man with anger issues" in confirmation hearing

Sen. Markwayne Mullin is appearing before the Committee on Homeland Security after President Donald Trump nominated him to replace Kristi Noem​ as the Homeland Security Secretary.

Disney names parks chief Josh D'Amaro to succeed CEO Bob Iger

Josh D'Amaro, who oversees Disney theme parks and dozens of resort hotels worldwide, will become the next Disney CEO.

Trump waives Jones Act for 60 days in effort to ease energy prices

President Trump on Wednesday temporarily eased a century-old law that limits shippers from transporting energy products around the U.S.

Israel faces stiff Hezbollah resistance as it attempts to push deeper into Lebanon

IDF engaged in intense fighting with militants in at least three key areas in battle for control of border towns

• Middle East crisis live – latest updates

Israel and Hezbollah are engaged in intense ground clashes in at least three strategic areas in south Lebanon as Israel pushes on with its ground invasion of its neighbour, according to a Lebanese security source and residents of the affected towns.

Much of the fighting was concentrated around the strategic hilltop city of Khiam, with the Israel Defense Forces carrying out an air and artillery campaign against Hezbollah fighters dug into the city. Fighting escalated there after days of clashes, with a Hezbollah spokesperson acknowledging there were “heightened clashes” on the eastern and northern outskirts of the city.

Oscars 2027: who might be up for next year’s awards?

First-time winners Michael B Jordan and Jessie Buckley might have just been crowned but here’s a too-early look at who might be winning this time next year

• Oscars 2026 winners: the full list

While this time last year we might have already been aware of Oscar-winning films like One Battle After Another and Hamnet, Sunday’s ceremony showed that the race isn’t always easy to predict so far out. Horror films like Sinners, Weapons and Frankenstein and the phenomenon of KPop Demon Hunters were all not seen as contenders, while international films continue to surprise.

It makes this annual game increasingly difficult but here once again are some absurdly early picks for next year’s Oscars:

Wholesale prices rose 0.7% in February, much more than expected and up 3.4% annually

Wholesale prices rose sharply in February, providing another sign that inflation continues to percolate even aside from rising energy prices.

Why an up-and-coming indie developer is returning Microsoft’s money

In this week’s newsletter: the creators of All Will Rise on standing up to the tech giant – and joining the No Games for Genocide movement

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Video games are in a funding crisis. Investor money flowed freely during the pandemic gaming boom, but now the well has run dry. It is increasingly difficult, for indie developers especially, to get the capital to make games. It is extremely unusual, then, to hear of a developer returning an investor’s money. Yet that is what Speculative Agency, developers of All Will Rise, have just done.

Last year, All Will Rise, a deck-building game about a team of activists fighting for the future of their oligarch-run city, received money from Microsoft as part of a developer acceleration programme. In late-2025, however, the team became aware of No Games for Genocide, a collective of developers, journalists, union organisers and others that came together as a result of Israeli assault on Gaza to protest against “material and commercial ties between the games industry and enabling genocide, war crimes, and the military industrial complex”.

‘Prince laughed like a kid as I painted “Free” on his stomach’: Steve Parke’s best photograph

‘The art director wanted it to read “1999”. But Prince wasn’t having that. So the next thing I knew, I was writing “Free” on him with my fingers in cold paint’

I grew up loving Prince’s music and remember thinking: “I’m gonna work for that guy one day.” Through high school and college I photographed local bands. I’d say I worked for a newspaper but I didn’t tell them it was the high-school newspaper, so they’d give me passes to U2 or Boy George. Once, when I went to photograph Lionel Richie, Sheila E was supporting, who I knew had a Prince connection. I ended up talking to her guitar-player and told him I was a photographer and artist. He asked me to draw something, so I did a quick portrait of him on a napkin and he said we should stay in touch.

Around the Sign o’ the Times album he called to say he was joining Prince’s band, and said: “I’m gonna take you with me.” He showed Prince some of my artwork, which he apparently liked. I was asked to paint a stage for him – that was the first job I did, and one day he asked: “Have you ever taken photos?” I was in the right place at the right time. I got a digital camera and became in-house art director at Paisley Park, taking photos from 1988 until 1996.

Prosecutors seek more than seven years in jail for son of Norway’s crown princess

Marius Borg Høiby accused of 39 offences, but denies the most serious charges of four rapes

Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Norway’s crown princess, should receive more than seven years in prison if he is found guilty of 39 offences, including four rapes and assaults, according to prosecutors.

On Wednesday, the penultimate day of the more than six-week-long trial at Oslo district court, the prosecution said it believed that Høiby was guilty of 39 of the 40 offences with which he was charged, which, as well as rape and domestic abuse, include multiple breaches of restraining orders, assault, drug and driving offences.

Trump waives US shipping law for oil and gas in bid to lower prices

Move comes as president attempts to mitigate rising price of oil while carrying out war on Iran

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Donald Trump is trying to make it easier for foreign tankers to move around the US, temporarily allowing foreign-flagged ships carrying oil and gas to travel between US ports, the White House announced Wednesday.

The move comes as the president tries to manage a delicate balancing act, attempting to mitigate the increasing price of oil while also carrying out the US-Israel war on Iran.

‘You never know whether they’re acting’: my encounter with the man who spent £50,000 renting girlfriends

A new documentary delves into the phenomenon of men who pay women to role-play their romantic partners. The masked 27-year-old at its heart, and director Ben Zand, tell all

‘From the get go, T was incredibly transparent about the fact that he wants a completely subservient woman he can control. He didn’t even necessarily know that what he was saying was offensive.” Ben Zand is a 35-year-old documentary-maker, right in the eye of the millennial cohort that sees the contours of the manosphere, takes it seriously, but understands its logic for what it is: misogynistic neofascist swill. Through his independent production company, Zandland, he has made films about “incels”, QAnon and looksmaxxing – along with tangential matters, such as: what does a Mexican drug overlord have for breakfast (in the Bafta-nominated film he made for Channel 4, Kingpin Cribs).

Inside the Incels Who Rent Girlfriends is an intense one-to-one with T, a British 27-year-old with a good job, who over the past eight years has spent £50,000 renting girlfriends. In the film, his voice is disguised and he is wearing an Anonymous-style mask, which does nothing to offset the menace of the whole picture. He is, as Zand says, completely open about what he wants: a girlfriend who always says yes. I speak to him with his camera off but he’s using his regular voice, so he sounds – well, obviously – much more human and more vulnerable.

Chelsea and City out of the Champions League and Senegal stripped of Afcon title – Football Weekly

Robyn Cowen is joined by Lars Sivertsen, Nicky Bandini and Paul Watson to discuss another dismal night for English football in the Champions League, the end of the road for Bodø/Glimt, Caf’s decision to award the Afcon title to Morocco, and Chelsea’s suspended transfer ban

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts and join the conversation on email.

Are we the farmers league? Chelsea and Manchester City are ousted from the Champions League after big aggregate defeats. And what’s Portuguese for Remontada? Bodø/Glimt’s run is over after giving up a 3-0 lead against Sporting, again proving that we just can’t have nice things can we?

Trump temporarily waives the Jones Act to try to lower gasoline prices. Will it work?

The Jones Act restricts which ships can carry goods between U.S. ports. Experts say temporarily lifting the act will do little to affect gas prices.

MS Now makes first major programming moves since name change

Cable news network plans for a new morning show hosted by Stephanie Ruhle, taking hour back from Morning Joe

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MS Now, the liberal cable news network known until last November as MSNBC, on Wednesday announced its first significant programming changes since being spun off as part of a new media company called Versant.

The network announced that Morning Joe, its flagship breakfast program, will shift back from being four hours to three hours, as Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, married co-hosts, have talked about the strain of hosting a four-hour-long show every day.

England must destine 7% of land to nature and renewables to hit green targets, data shows

Government’s first published land use framework maps how land is used and how it can be adapted to meet changing needs

About 7% of England’s land – an area roughly two-and-a-half times the size of Cornwall – will need to be given over to nature, forests and renewable energy, to meet the UK’s environmental targets, new data shows.

But there will still be enough land to grow the food needed, and to house a growing population, according to the government’s first land use framework, published on Wednesday.

Placing a high priority on restoring peatland, all but 13% of which is degraded across England, but this will not include an outright ban on development such as wind or solar farms.

Encouraging the “multi-use” of land, for instance with livestock grazing alongside wind and solar farms, and wildlife protection and nature restoration on arable land.

Encouraging local authorities to put nature reserves in urban areas as well as in the countryside.

Grouse moors to come under closer scrutiny and tighter regulation, which will go further than EU rules.

No new “right to roam” is included in the framework, but there will be a consultation on “making landowner liability more proportionate”, which could open up areas for public access.

A national soil map will be published.

A new land use unit will be established.

Government planning for changes to the UK’s landscape under global heating of 2C above preindustrial levels, and of much higher heating of 4C.

Greetings from Nyeri, Kenya, where grandmothers help coach the next generation

A group of grandmothers in central Kenya have formed a soccer team to keep fit and to give hope to a generation of teenagers — whom they sometimes outrun on the field.

Trump’s DHS pick, Markwayne Mullin, never served in military but talks as if he did

Oklahoma senator has repeatedly made cryptic claims about ‘overseas’ work and war experience, while refusing to explain them

Markwayne Mullin, the Oklahoma senator chosen by Donald Trump to lead the Department of Homeland Security who will be considered by the Senate on Wednesday, has never served in the US military, but he routinely speaks as if he did in interviews.

Two days after the US attacked Iran, for instance, Mullin told Fox News: “War is ugly. It smells bad. And if anybody has ever been there and been able to smell the war that’s happening around you and taste it, and feel it in your nostrils, and hear it, it’s something you’ll never forget. And it’s ugly.”

Polymarket gamblers threaten Israeli journalist over missile strike story

Emanuel Fabian says his routine report became focus of wager with $23m at stake on online prediction platform

An Israeli journalist received threatening messages from users of the online prediction platform Polymarket after one of his reports, on a minor missile strike near Jerusalem, suddenly became the focus of an unresolved bet about the Israel-Iran conflict.

“After you make us lose $900,000 we will invest no less than that to finish you,” said one message to the journalist, Emanuel Fabian.

An evil spirit and a police homecoming: photos of the day – Wednesday

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

The BTS comeback album is almost here – and you best believe I’m slipping back into my K-pop obsessive era | Aastha Agrawal

I used to be embarrassed by my teenage fandom of the Korean boyband. Now I look back at that version of myself with so much softness

When I heard the surprise news that BTS are releasing a comeback album, it pulled me back into a past version of myself, one that was all-consuming in its obsession, but equally marked by shame.

At the ripe old age of 14, I had mastered the art of lowering my screen brightness and switching tabs to hide my shameful secret from any passerby or seat-sharer.

Aastha Agrawal is a writer, illustrator and multidisciplinary creative based in Naarm. Find more of her work at enchantedclub.net

Opioid addiction almost destroyed me – then I became a top marathon runner

After years of hiding his substance abuse, Ken Rideout finally confessed to his wife. It was the start of a difficult and rewarding journey, which led to athletic success in his 50s

It started in 1998, with a pain in Ken Rideout’s ankle. A podiatrist gave him a prescription for seven Percocet, a drug containing the opioid oxycodone. Rideout was a high-flying commodity trader in New York, outwardly successful but racked with impostor syndrome. The Percocet dulled his foot pain – and also his anxiety. Rideout was used to alcohol and cocaine, but this was different. He felt happy, confident and optimistic.

He returned to the podiatrist for more pills. Then more. Soon he was altering the prescriptions manually, changing a seven into a two and adding a zero, before targeting smaller pharmacies that wouldn’t run verification checks.

The one who got away: how did Australia lose one of its brightest football talents to Croatia? | Jack Snape

Adrian Segečić’s switch of allegiance has left Socceroos fans wondering what might have been – and reopened a great Australian football debate

There have been many to choose other nations over Australia, but for Socceroos fans this one hurts. One of the country’s best young players formally changed his footballing allegiance to Croatia at the weekend, reopening the debate about how the Socceroos can keep hold of the country’s brightest talents.

Adrian Segečić, a talented attacking midfielder with an eye for goal, has impressed in England for Championship side Portsmouth this season, after winning the A-League Men’s golden boot last year. He had played for junior Australian national teams at under-17, under-20 and under-23 levels, and had been called up to Socceroos camp by Tony Popovic but was yet to make his full international debut.

‘People will always hate but my opinion is all that matters’: GB sprinter Amy Hunt on fame, abuse and becoming ‘an icon’

The 23-year-old who went viral last year has plenty of targets for 2026, starting with the World Indoor Championships in Poland

Amy Hunt’s mind is flashing back to the moment she unwittingly went viral last September. As untrammelled joy charged through her body, the BBC asked about her unusual journey from an English degree at Cambridge to a shock 200m world championship silver medal. Hunt’s response quickly became a cri du coeur to young girls everywhere: “You can be an academic badass and a track goddess.”

As the 23-year-old prepares for the World Indoor Championships in Poland that start on Friday, she reveals her remark was entirely spontaneous. “As soon as I said it, I was like: ‘Oh my gosh, I’m on the BBC, can I even say that? Are they going to bleep that out?’” she says, smiling. “I was so incredibly high with the adrenaline and endorphins that there wasn’t that connection between my brain and my mouth, necessarily, so I didn’t really know what I was saying.”

A mysterious floral artist has taken over the New York Botanical Garden

Mr. Flower Fantastic is a graffiti artist turned floral designer who keeps his identity a secret. His new show is an ode to NYC in orchids. Oh, and did we mention he's allergic to flowers?

Tell us your experiences of being in a throuple

We’d like to hear from people who are in a throuple or who used to be in one, and what their relationship was like

The Guardian’s Saturday magazine is looking for throuples to talk honestly about the experience of love and commitment.

We’re particularly interested in talking to throuples living together under one roof, as well as throuples who are raising children as a unit of three parents. Is it easier to manage the chore rota and childcare when there are more adults in the room? Or more difficult?

The U.S. is the world's leading oil producer. So why are gas prices soaring?

"If the price of oil goes up, the price of everything goes up," said former U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

Other nations danced for joy at the World Baseball Classic. Team USA played toy soldiers

Venezuela played with heart, Italy sipped espresso and the Dominicans showed off their verve at the tournament. America wanted to concentrate on war

On the morning of the World Baseball Classic final between the United States and Venezuela, the headline of the New York Times daily briefing read, “America, alone,” in reference to the unwillingness of the country’s traditional allies to join the war with Iran. The revived rhetoric of America First, once a restoration of the isolationist, often Nazi-sympathetic sentiments of the 1930s, has coalesced into current policy, status, attitude: America by itself, making its own rules, intent on largely playing alone by them.

Venezuela won the final, thrillingly, 3-2 over Team USA, but not before the hosts extended that isolationism with a sourness that produced a comically vapid extension of American bravado, and nearly undermined a tournament that in its 20th year is at last becoming one of baseball’s great successes.

‘Put him on trial’: pro-Kremlin loyalist turns on Putin in rare outburst

Ilya Remeslo sends Telegram post titled ‘Five reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin’ to his 90,000 followers

For years, Ilya Remeslo was a reliable pro-Kremlin operator, going after critics of the regime and smearing independent journalists, bloggers and opposition politicians.

Then the 42-year-old lawyer abruptly turned on the country’s most powerful man. Late on Tuesday, Remeslo posted a manifesto to his 90,000 Telegram followers titled: “Five reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin.”

Micron rides memory price spike into earnings with stock up 62%, drubbing its tech peers

As generative AI models get more sophisticated, companies need more memory and faster memory, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said in January.

Canadian man who hiked in woods in defiance of ban has case heard in court

Jeffrey Evely, who documented hike on YouTube, says ban in Nova Scotia last summer to help prevent wildfires was unconstitutional

A Canadian man who intentionally violated a provincial ban on walking in the woods in order to launch a constitutional challenge on the restriction is having his case heard by the province’s supreme court this week.

Jeffrey Evely, a Canadian army veteran who lives in the city of Sydney, Nova Scotia, said that he took a daily hike in the woods in order to manage symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder he had developed as a soldier, court briefings show.

These roaches form exclusive long-term relationships after eating each other's wings

Salganea taiwanensis, a kind of wood-feeding cockroach, may engage in what's known as pair bonding, a new study finds.

USPS wants to raise the price of a first-class stamp as high as 95 cents

USPS Postmaster General David Steiner said raising the price of stamps would "largely solve" the agency's financial woes.

How to turn puff pastry offcuts into a brilliant cheesy snack – recipe | Waste not

Surely the zero-waste treat par excellence – even one trimming, with your choice of filling, can cook alongside your main bake for a moreish treat

After testing puff pastry for the Filter a few weeks ago, I had loads of trimmings left over, which reminded me of one of my favourite zero-waste recipes. Malfatti are biscuits made from pastry offcuts, which are seasoned, rolled in seeds and spices, baked and served with cheese. Determined to create something new with all my excess puff, I realised that it would be perfect for making misshapen cheese straws. Even if you have only a few offcuts, I implore you to top them with cheese and some sauerkraut or kimchi, then twist and bake alongside a tart or pie. They’re a brilliant little cheeky snack.

Inside the fiery, deadly crashes involving the Tesla Cybertruck

Cybertrucks have locked passengers inside and burned so hot they’ve disintegrated drivers’ bones. Victims’ families blame what they say is the faulty design of a truck Elon Musk calls ‘apocalypse-proof’

When sheriff deputies arrived at the scene of a late-night crash off a desolate Texas road in August 2024, they could see a giant pyre through heavy smoke.

According to police reports detailing the events of that night, the officers tried to approach the vehicle, but the fire burned too intensely. They saw it was a Tesla Cybertruck and couldn’t see anyone inside. So they combed the surrounding area for the driver.

Wu-Tang Clan review – still bringing the ruckus even on their farewell tour

O2 Arena, London
This is slicker than their thrillingly chaotic early gigs, but the veteran New York hip-hop crew’s flows remain feral after 30-odd years

RZA peers quizzically into the O2 audience through a pair of impressively bejewelled sunglasses. “How many people in this crowd were born in the 70s?” he enquires, after an attempt to get the audience bouncing on the spot has met with a decidedly tepid response. The ensuing roar suggests the majority of attenders at what’s being billed as the Wu-Tang Clan’s farewell tour are old enough to remember the Staten Island rap crew’s gamechanging arrival on the early-90s hip-hop scene first-hand. He nods understandingly. “Your legs, right?” he offers, kneading the back of his thighs, perhaps no stranger to the occasional twinge himself. Clearly, the challenges in reconvening the Wu-Tang Clan for one final jaunt around the world involve not merely assembling the multifarious members after years of internal strife, but accounting for the stiff joints of the hip-hop dads such a gig is likely to attract.

Nevertheless, the tour arrives in the UK trailing ecstatic reviews from its 2025 American leg. Its European iteration is a little scaled down by necessity, its setlist pared back slightly, its impressive raft of guest stars – everyone from Slick Rick to Lauryn Hill turned up in the US – reduced to just one: Mobb Deep’s Havoc. Still, the version of Shook Ones, Part II he delivers in the company of Raekwon and Ghostface Killah is ferocious and besides, it’s not as if Wu-Tang Clan really need additional firepower.

Top counterterrorism official resigns over the Iran war, saying "Iran posed no imminent threat"

Joe Kent, President Trump's director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned on Tuesday citing the Iran war and saying, "Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation." Kent, who was a controversial pick to lead the agency, is the first senior official to step down over the war and the first to resign during Mr. Trump's second term.

Decision to strip Senegal of Afcon title has left me gobsmacked – and others in Africa furious

Ruling of the Caf appeals committee is against the laws of the game and casts another shadow over Motsepe’s stewardship as president

In more than three decades of reporting on African football, I have gone through the entire gamut of emotions: exhilaration over some of the continent’s great moments at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) and World Cup; frustration over the errors its governors make; and deep despair, wondering whether its custodians will ever live up to their responsibilities and do their jobs diligently.

The decision on Tuesday, by the appeals committee of the Confederation of African Football (Caf), to strip Senegal of the 2025 Afcon title and hand it to Morocco, leaves me gobsmacked, as it did a former member of the appeals committee. “As a person who was on the appeals board for six years I know it does not have the power to change the on-field decision of a referee. I cannot understand how they came to this disgraceful decision,” he said.

Arizona alleges Kalshi engaged in illegal gambling, election wagering

The complaint includes 20 separate counts against Kalshi, claiming the company accepted bets from Arizona residents in violation of state law.

Heat wave hits Southwest and West as dozens of record highs are set

More than 60 record highs were set on Tuesday from California to Idaho as a heat wave sweeps across the western U.S. Downtown L.A. reached 98 degrees on Tuesday, the earliest the city has hit that mark in nearly 150 years. Carter Evans reports.

Sky considers ending controversial UAE news joint venture

Sky News Arabia has been accused of broadcasting propaganda and whitewashing genocide in Sudan

Sky is considering terminating its joint venture with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after accusations it is involved in broadcasting propaganda and genocide denial.

Sky is in talks with its partner in the UAE on Sky News Arabia over the potential termination next year of the licence to use its brand.

Mortgage refinance demand plunges 19% after interest rates shoot higher

Mortgage rates shot higher last week, as the war with Iran stoked fears over inflation. That caused a major drop in refinance demand, but buyer demand improved.

Mamdani team moves to stop New York from representing Eric Adams in assault suit

City lawyers say former mayor is not entitled to public-funded defense over alleged 1993 sexual assault

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The administration of New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, wants to stop representing Eric Adams in a lawsuit that alleges the former mayor sexually assaulted a woman more than three decades ago, according to a court filing on Tuesday.

The move comes just a few months after Mamdani took office, following a bitter campaign season last year that had the two Democrats taking turns bashing each other in often caustic and personal terms.

‘We built a castle on stage complete with battlements’: how 80s German thrash bands pushed metal to new extremes

As Metallica et al broke through, Kreator, Sodom and Destruction were forging an even harder sound. They recall gigs in coalmines, sessions in steelworks – and boozing with Slayer

The noise might have been building since the early 80s, but 1986 was the year thrash metal broke – bursting like a zit on a teenage metalhead’s bumfluffed chin. Slayer, Megadeth and Metallica all released landmark albums, with the latter swapping fleapit rock clubs for a string of arena dates supporting Ozzy Osbourne. But while these California acts would alter the course of rock music for ever, a clutch of like-minded teenagers were carving their own path 5,500 miles away from the genre’s epicentre.

What Kreator, Sodom, Destruction and Tankard – the “big four” of German thrash metal – might have lacked in finesse and professional outlook, they made up for in sheer unbridled aggression. Faster and meaner than most of their American peers, these bands helped to set a new benchmark for brutality while unwittingly influencing the next generation of death- and black-metal musicians.

The Fed to meet about interest rates. And, Sen. Mullin faces DHS confirmation hearing

The Federal Reserve is expected to hold the benchmark interest rate steady today amid economic uncertainty. And, Sen. Mullin faces a confirmation hearing to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

Sean Penn receives ‘Oscar’ made from damaged Ukrainian rail carriage after Zelenskyy meeting

The actor skipped Academy Awards ceremony to travel to Ukraine, where he was presented with alternative prize

Sean Penn has been presented with an Oscar fashioned from the metal of a Ukrainian railway carriage damaged by Russian missiles.

The statue, which is flat, silver and shaped like an Academy Award, was given to him by Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, CEO of Ukrainian railways, who told him: “You’re missing Oscars, so we made this one.”

Jeffrey Epstein’s elite relationships visualised: the prince, the sultan and the politicians

Guardian analysis of more than a million emails reveals financier’s deep and longstanding ties with the wealthy and powerful

The release of the Epstein files has reverberated around the world, leading to at least nine resignations and investigations into high-profile figures, including the former UK ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, and the ex-prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

The deluge of information has made it hard to assess the extent of the connections but a Guardian data analysis reveals how frequent, deep and longstanding his ties were to a number of high-profile figures.

A robust future? Why Brazil’s ‘bitter’ coffee is thriving as the climate crisis hits global crops

Long seen as the poor relation to arabica, small growers in the Amazon are rebooting the more resilient robusta’s reputation

• Read more in the Coffee crisis series here

When the Paiter Suruí community expelled the last invaders of their land in 1981, they faced a divisive decision. Should they keep the coffee plantations left by the colonisers? Some destroyed them because of the death and violence contact with the non-Indigenous world had caused. Others felt sorry for the trees and couldn’t kill them.

More than 40 years later, those estates that survived are being nurtured, supporting families and the environment. “Today, we use coffee as a way to preserve the forest,” says Celeste Paytxayeb Suruí, a famous Indigenous barista and coffee producer in Brazil. The award-winning fine coffee she prepares is called “Amazonian robusta”, and is produced in the Brazilian state of Rondônia in the western Amazon.

Who in Hillary Clinton’s team thought it would be a good idea to capitalise on the Jeffrey Epstein case? | Arwa Mahdawi

Tasteless political merch is nothing new to Donald Trump, but it’s a particularly bad look if you’re married to Bill Clinton

We live in a golden age of tasteless political merchandise. This is largely thanks to Donald Trump: over the years the president’s official store has flogged everything from hoodies with Joe Biden falling downstairs on them to a T-shirt with a version of the mugshot from his 2023 booking on felony charges (Trump denied wrongdoing).

Trump isn’t the only one. Back in 2019, Senator Mitch McConnell, then Senate majority leader, sold more than 2,000 T-shirts referencing “Cocaine Mitch”. This had nothing to do with his hobbies; it was in response to a nickname given to McConnell by a political rival off the back of a baseless allegation. “One of the things we learned with this whole ‘Cocaine Mitch’ phenomenon is that people are really engaged,” one of the staffers involved in the T-shirt sales said at the time. “They want merchandise.”

Revealed: a crypto billionaire’s political base hosting ‘anti-woke’ and rightwing activists in Westminster

Pardoned by Trump after violating US banking law, Ben Delo provides funding, networking, and podcasting space for a range of groups, including those with hardline views on migration and abortion

A British billionaire convicted in the US for failing to implement adequate money-laundering controls on his cryptocurrency business is funding a political base in the heart of Westminster used by “anti-woke” and rightwing activists.

Ben Delo, 42, who was pardoned by Donald Trump last year, has given support in kind to Rupert Lowe, the anti-migration MP challenging Nigel Farage from the right – while also connecting with mainstream figures including the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and former cabinet minister Michael Gove.

Florida professors quietly defy restrictions on race and gender: ‘This is how authoritarianism works’

Sociology faculty are refusing to alter syllabi, even as state targets how race, gender and inequality are taught

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Across Florida universities, some sociology professors are quietly choosing not to alter their courses in response to new state guidelines restricting how topics like race, gender and sexuality can be discussed. Rather than rewriting syllabi or removing foundational material, as the new demands would call for, they say they are continuing to teach their classes as designed. The professors view the preservation of their curricula not as an act of defiance, but as a professional responsibility to provide students with a full and rigorous education.

In late January, Florida’s department of education introduced what many professors are calling a censored sociology textbook for use in the state’s public colleges and universities, along with a list of proposed guidelines at state schools, restricting various discussions related to systemic discrimination, gender and sexual identity, race-conscious remedies, and the structural causes of inequality. Faculty members say this move reflects a broader effort to narrow academic freedom in higher education and follows several years of legislation aimed at reshaping public university curricula under the banner of combating “woke ideology”.

Former reality TV star wins Iditarod, rewards sled dogs with steaks

Jessie Holmes is the third competitor in the 54-year history of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to repeat the year after winning for the first time.

Tell us: what has someone done that made you feel less lonely?

We would like to hear about the ways people have helped each other feel less isolated

Was someone there for you when you were feeling lonely? As part of the Guardian’s Well Actually series, we would like to hear about the ways people have helped each other feel less isolated. You can tell us your story below.

If you’re having trouble using the form click here. Read terms of service here and privacy policy here.

When an off-duty cop was murdered in Chicago, Alex Villa was arrested and kept behind bars for 10 years. The problem? The evidence against him didn’t seem to stack up

How did the US justice system get it so wrong?

• Off Duty: The Crime – episode one

On the evening of 29 December 2011, off‑duty Chicago police officer Clifton Lewis sat behind the counter of the M&M Quick Foods convenience store, working a second job as a security guard. He’d proposed to his girlfriend on Christmas Day and the extra income from M&M would help pay for the wedding.

His fiance, Latrice Tucker, chafed at all his side jobs, which also included a security gig at Walmart. She had scheduled an appointment to tour a potential wedding venue that afternoon, but Lewis kissed her on the cheek and told her he was running late for work. They’d reschedule.

Everything to know about the SAVE America Act voter ID bill

President Donald Trump has been pushing Congress to approve the SAVE America Act to require ID at the polls and proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote.

Off Duty: The Crime

On the evening of 29 December 2011, Officer Clifton Lewis was moonlighting as a security guard at a Chicago minimart when two men walked in. They shot Lewis several times, then took off with his gun and police star. A week later, police had their suspects: four men affiliated with a gang called the Spanish Cobras. For hours, under intense police questioning, they all said they didn’t do it. But that didn’t seem to matter.

This is episode one of Off Duty, an investigation by the Guardian’s Melissa Segura

Number of meningitis cases investigated in Kent rises to 20

Thousands of students to be offered vaccines in response to quickest-growing outbreak experts have seen

The number of meningitis infections linked to Kent continues to grow, with five confirmed new cases on Wednesday, in what experts have described as the quickest-growing outbreak of the disease they have seen.

The UK Health Security Agency said that as of 5pm on Tuesday there were 20 cases of invasive meningococcal disease, up from 15. Nine have been confirmed in the laboratory, while a further 11 are under investigation. Six are confirmed to be the meningitis B strain, also known as MenB, which is the most common form of invasive meningococcal disease.

Iran confirms the death of its intelligence chief, 3rd top official killed in 24 hours

Israel killed Iran's intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib, in an overnight strike — the third high-ranking official killed in about 24 hours.

Cuba partially restores power as President Díaz-Canel vows ‘unyielding resistance’ to U.S. oil blockade

The communist-run island nation is thought to be facing its biggest test since the collapse of the Soviet Union amid a U.S. oil blockade.

Trump now calls war reporting ‘treason’. His attacks on the press are escalating fast | Margaret Sullivan

The US president is using the language and the strategy of authoritarians once again

There’s nothing completely new in Donald Trump’s latest attacks on reporters.

But they’re more extreme now and ever more indicative of what he wants: a docile press that provides propaganda – not factual journalism – for everything he does, including for his misguided war in Iran.

‘They were comparing me to Bonnie Blue’: the disturbing rise of nightlife content

Footage of women walking between bars and clubs in UK city centres, often filmed covertly, is proliferating online – attracting thousands of views and profits for those who post them. Can anything be done to stop the creepshots?

‘My friend just sent me this video, told me she’d found me in it,” read the text. “As I was looking for myself, I noticed you’re in it too. I didn’t know I was being filmed, guess you don’t either, just wanted to let you know …”

When Nancy Naylor Hayes received the message in November 2023, she felt a twinge of fear. It was from an acquaintance she hadn’t heard from in years. “I was panicking,” she says. The text pointed her to a Facebook link, which led to a montage of clips of women filmed on the streets of Manchester during nights out.

Red states move to protect crisis pregnancy centers using model legislation

The Alliance Defending Freedom is behind a legislation known as the CARE Act, moving through a number of statehouses. Other states are trying to crack down on crisis pregnancy centers, accusing them of deceptive practices.

Trump's judicial confirmations show signs of slowing compared to first-term boom

President Trump is likely to make less of an impact on the federal bench in his second term because of fewer vacancies, a slower pace of retirements and the potential for Democrats to regain control of the Senate in November.

Fuel rations and no air con: south-east Asian nations race to conserve energy

Governments in countries heavily reliant on Middle Eastern oil introduce measures to shield public from soaring costs

• Middle East crisis – live updates

In Thailand, news anchors ditched their jackets on air as the government called on the public to reduce their use of air conditioning to save energy. In the Philippines, many government workers are now operating on a four-day week. In Vietnam, officials have urged employers to allow staff to work from home.

Across south-east Asia, governments are scrambling to find ways to conserve energy and shield the public from soaring costs as war in the Middle East causes what the International Energy Agency has described as the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.

Love & Fury: how poster artists responded to the Aids crisis – in pictures

A new exhibition explores how graphic design helped define New York City’s response to Aids from the late 1970s to the 2000s. Grassroots groups such as Gay Men’s Health Crisis and Act Up created posters to promote safe sex and healthcare, as well as calling out the Reagan administration for inaction in the face of the crisis. Love & Fury: New York’s Fight Against AIDS is on display until 6 September.

As Israel prepares to implement the ‘Gaza model’ in Lebanon, where is the international reaction? | Ben Reiff

A red-flag alert has been issued by one genocide-prevention organisation. This is not the time for empty condemnations but sanctions and arms embargos

Anyone following Israeli media discourse in recent days may be experiencing a severe case of deja vu. Alongside euphoric reactions to the US-Israeli pummelling of Iran (backed by 93% of the Jewish-Israeli population), politicians and prominent commentators are now clamouring for an escalation in Lebanon – hoping to see a repeat of the devastation Israel has wreaked in Gaza.

Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon have already killed close to 1,000 people in the past two weeks, after Hezbollah resumed its rocket fire into northern Israel in support of Iran. The Israeli army has issued blanket evacuation orders covering a vast area in the country’s south, displacing over a million people from their homes. On Monday, it announced the launch of a “targeted” ground invasion, and officials have briefed the media that they are preparing to mobilise hundreds of thousands of reservists in order to implement “the Gaza model, but in Lebanon”.

Ben Reiff is deputy editor at +972 magazine

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

This month’s best paperbacks: David Szalay, Han Kang and more

Looking for a new reading recommendation? Here are some wonderful new paperbacks, from a Booker-winning tale of one man’s life to a gossipy account of the golden age of magazines

Cheap drones are reshaping modern warfare — and catching the U.S. off guard

As Operation Epic Fury enters its third week, relentless attacks by cheap Iranian drones are being fended off by multi-million-dollar U.S. interceptors. How long can the math hold up?

GB News faces complaints after commentator claims ‘genocide’ against white people in UK

Thomas Corbett-Dillon, who claims to have advised Boris Johnson, says immigrants could ‘turn’ on white population

GB News is facing a backlash after a commentator on one of its shows suggested there is “a genocide happening” against white people in England and that immigrants could “turn” on the white population.

Ofcom, the media regulator, has received a series of complaints about the comments by Thomas Corbett-Dillon.

Butterflies crossing oceans, moths navigating by the stars: unravelling the mysteries of insect migrations

Trillions of insects embark, largely unnoticed, on epic journeys every year across mountain ranges, deserts and seas, and it is only now, as their numbers suffer huge declines, that scientists are tracking their movements

On a cloudless sunny day in October 1950, ornithologists Elizabeth and David Lack stood on a mountain pass in the Pyrenees and observed a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle – clouds of migrating insects.

Up to 500 butterflies were fluttering past them every hour through the 2,200m-high Puerto de Bujaruelo mountain pass on the French-Spanish border. By mid-afternoon dragonflies were skimming through, outnumbering the butterflies by 10 to one. The spaces between were filled with thousands of tiny flies.

‘The way the world is, something daft is appealing’ – why everything from pizzas to podcasts has a cartoon character on it

So-called rubber hose style is putting a smile on everyday products, even as some designers plead that it’s time to ‘stop putting arms and legs on everything’. What’s behind the ubiquity of this wholesome branding?

A bagel embodied as a human, with unexpected little arms and a sweet face. A sandwich giving the peace sign. A leather jacket-wearing fish brandishing a spatula. A chess board on the march. A rugby ball making a dash for it. A smiling pizza, tongue dangling, clambering from a box.

Perhaps you have seen such a character. Chiefly in the branding – and merch – of an independent pizza place or sandwich shop, in a natural wine bar or brew pub. Though its loose limbs now stretch far and wide; to podcasts, internet talk shows and even global fashion labels.

Is this the world’s first quantum battery? Australian scientists say so

Researchers say their prototype is a big step towards fully functioning batteries with rapid charging times

Australian scientists have developed what they say is the world’s first proof-of-concept quantum battery.

Quantum batteries, first proposed as a theoretical concept in 2013, use the principles of quantum mechanics to store energy, and have the potential to be more efficient than conventional batteries.

On the trail of the Romantics in the Welsh borders

The ruins of Tintern Abbey have inspired artists and poets. Now, the restoration of a historic inn has given visitors a perfect base for exploring this corner of Monmouthshire

Standing in Tintern Abbey, you can feel the magic that has given this small Monmouthshire village on the banks of the Wye and its famous ruin such an outsized place in culture. JMW Turner, Gainsborough and Samuel Palmer are just some of the artists who have captured this landscape, and Wordsworth and Tennyson famously wrote poems inspired by Tintern. But it was Allen Ginsberg’s Welsh Visitation and his “clouds passing through skeleton arches” that came to mind while I sheltered from a cloudburst in the abbey’s nave. It’s a vast and fascinating site, and seeing it through sheets of rain as the sun went down was really special.

Ginsberg was here in the 1960s, following in the footsteps of the Romantics. But Tintern’s fame came thanks to its inclusion in travel writer William Gilpin’s 1782 book Observations on the River Wye. Gilpin’s writing about the “picturesque” – landscapes that inspired art through their rugged beauty – was so popular in the late 18th century that the Wye Tour was created to meet tourist demand, one of the first package trips in British travel history.

Trump is being schooled on the limits of US power – but he is a slow learner | Rafael Behr

Last year it was China’s answer to tariffs, now it’s Iran’s retaliation to airstrikes – ‘America First’ keeps foundering on global economics

Donald Trump is teaching the world a lesson, but not the one he thinks. The attack on Iran was meant to be a dazzling display of military supremacy. It has instead illuminated chinks in the US’s armour.

The US president’s formidable arsenal cannot summon up an insurrection from Iran’s tyrannised and leaderless opposition. It cannot force merchant ships to run a gauntlet of missile and drone attacks in the strait of Hormuz. The government in Tehran and the facts of geography that give it leverage over global trade are unchanged. Trump’s exasperation is showing. He urges tanker crews to “show some guts” by sailing into harm’s way. He calls on Nato members to provide naval chaperones and accuses them of cowardice and ingratitude for refusing. He comes across as peevish and flustered. Impotence is not a good look in a potentate.