Exclusive: aIn lots of womenas prisons, you will come off remand and be sentenced and be put on a wing among prisoners with sentences that vary from a month to longer,a woman serving life sentence says

Ministers in discussions over wording of Criminal Justice Bill, which punishes people for their aexcessive smella

Watch again as Rishi Sunak called for an end to asick note culturea in his welfare reform speech today (19 April).

Former PMas publisher reportedly forced to apologise over use of afabricateda quote

Nicola Sturgeon spoke to reporters outside her home just hours after her husband was charged by Police Scotland

Passengers on service said they were abused by group on train after men got on at London Bridge

Squatters left Gordon Ramsay"s APS13m London pub on Friday, 19 April, after lawyers secured a High Court order for the possession of the premises.

Harry has been involved in six legal cases a over security, privacy, alleged libel and alleged unlawful information-gathering

Nicola Sturgeon admitted aitas a difficult timea after her husband Peter Murrell was charged in connection with embezzlement of SNP funds.

Fit claimants to have their benefits removed if they refuse to take a job after 12 months under PMas anew welfare settlement for Britaina as he comes under fire for aunbelievably damaginga rhetoric

UK is avery firmly engaged in counselling moderation,a says government minister

Feeling depressed doesnat mean you cannot work, Rishi Sunak said as he announced major changes to the UKas welfare system.

Rishi Sunak donned a red apron and goggles as he got to work cutting keys on a visit to Timpsons following his pledge to end the UKas asick note culturea.

A grandmother has described the shocking moment an e-scooter crashed into her outside her home, leaving her badly injured.

The Duke of Sussex claims he was targeted by journalists and private investigators working for Rupert Murdochas publisher

Lloyd Evansas article described as agrima, amisogynistica and ahorrifica on social media

Naga Munchetty clashed with Tory minister Mel Stride during a heated discussion on his partyas plan to end a puported asick note culturea.

Firefighters rushed to put out a small fire in the home in Shetland Close

While former health secretary Lord Clarke warned the ban risked being difficult to enforce, current health secretary Victoria Atkins said anicotine robs people of their freedom to choosea

Hans Rausing said his wife Julia aleaves behind an extraordinary legacya as friends say the philanthropist bore her illness with great courage

The poetas manuscript was destroyed after he died amid fears of damage to his reputation

Singeras cause of death is not yet known

Pop star shares message with fans from Instagram as fans celebrate new album release, with many noticing several lyrical references to The 1975as Matty Healy along with her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn

Netflix user spotted secret code in Marthaas emails to Donny

But some viewers think it gives too much away

Song from new album aThe Tortured Poets Departmenta namedrops her ex Matty Healyas favourite band

Fans have long held theories about character"s brief appearance

Pop singer is known to delve into themes of love and heartbreak with her songwriting

Several signs point towards Kardashian being the topic of song athanK you aIMeea

The hit BBC series could be soon welcoming famous faces

Streamer has been accused of manipulating images in true-crime documentary

Fleetwood Mac star has praised Swiftas songwriting talents in the past

BBC showas former aide shared his honest view after finale aired

Fans expecting a post-mortem of the musicianas six-year relationship with Joe Alwyn have been left surprised, as Swift seems to spend more time dissecting her brief fling with The 1975 frontman

Willisas daughter attended anniversary wearing baseball cap printed with aBrucea

aItas really bittersweet to hear,a one person said

The second half of Netflixas expensive sci-fi epic is less problematic than the first a but not a whole lot more compelling

Breaking Bad star thought if he had adeath by misadventurea his wife and four kids would get insurance payout

Musically, this album is some of the bandas catchiest and punchiest material in years

The 18-minute film accompanying their classic single aWeekendera has been called a amini-masterpiecea. Craig McLean salutes a double re-release of the bandas music and traces their story

With its playful narratives and hooks like anchors, Swiftas 11th studio album is a terrific reminder of her storytelling powers

Grab life by the horns and... get yourself some toilet bowl cleaner.

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All I want to know is what genius came up with the hands-free pot stirrer and in-flight foot hammock.

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The light at the end of the tunnel was "Breaking Bad."

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"My boomer-truism is that we get dopamine too quickly. It would probably be better if we had to work harder for it."

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At one point in the song, titled "thanK you aIMee," fans are convinced that Taylor referenced the moment Kim and her eldest daughter, North, danced to her song "Shake It Off" in a now-viral TikTok.

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"Every time shead ask me for a cup of milk and not drink it, I would take a quarter out of her piggy bank. Someone has to pay for that milk."

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What a full-circle moment for Sabrina Carpenter!

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"It may sound silly, but doing this will keep unwanted strangers from bothering you."

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"It"s a place I once avoided because of the stereotypes associated with it, but it ended up being my favorite city in the world, hands down."

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Genetics is only one piece of the puzzle.

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Picnic-worthy pants, flowy sundresses, versatile skirts, and more.

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Products that"ll make every step in the journey (including the travel) feel like vacay.

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Treats moms will adore, for every budget.

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You"re about to get the best sleep ever.

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Baby showers, weddings, birthdays, and "just because" events a you"ll need a new dress (or two).

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US secretary of state condemns airstrike in Iran; discussion aleans more towards infiltration than attacka says anonymous Iranian official

• Israel has mounted strikes on Iran, US says, as Tehran plays down attack
• What we know so far about Israelas strike on Iran
• Whatas in Isfahan? The city home to Iranian nuclear facilities

Itas 7:24am in Tehran and 6:54 In Tel Aviv. Letas get a reminder of what we know so far:

US officials have confirmed that Israel has carried out military operations against Iran but did not describe those operations.

The Israeli military has told news agencies including Agence France-Presse and Associated Press: aWe donat have a comment at this time.a

Iranas state media reported explosions in the central province of Isfahan Friday

Air defence systems over several Iranian cities were activated, state media reported, after the countryas official broadcaster said explosions were heard near the city of Isfahan.

Iranas Fars news agency reported athree explosionsa were heard near the Shekari army airbase in the north-west of Isfahan province, while Iranas space agency spokesperson Hossein Dalirian said aseverala drones had been asuccessfully shot downa.

Nuclear facilities in Isfahan were reported to be acompletely securea, Iranas Tasnim news agency reported, citing areliable sourcesa.

Flights were suspended across swathes of Iran on Friday. aIranas air defence has been activated in the skies of several provinces of the country,a Tehranas official IRNA news agency said.

Mehr news agency reported that aflights to Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz, and airports in the west, northwest and southwest have been suspended.a

Flight-tracking software showed commercial flights avoiding western Iran, including Isfahan, and skirting Tehran to the north and east.

There was no immediate comment from Dubaias Emirates airline, which was operating several of the planes.

Blasts were also reported in southern Syria, according to a local activist group. aThere were strikes on a Syrian army radar position,a said Rayan Maarouf, who runs the Suwayda24 anti-government website that covers news from Sweida province in the south, reports AFP.

Oil prices surged more than three per cent in early Asian trade on Friday after the reports of explosions.

Iranian official indicates no aimmediatea plan for retaliation after explosions reported in sky over Isfahan and Tabriz

• Middle East crisis: live updates
• Whatas in Isfahan? The city home to Iranian nuclear facilities

US officials have confirmed that Israel has carried out airstrikes against Iran, as explosions were reported in the sky over the cities of Isfahan and Tabriz, while the Iranian government sought to play down the scale of the attack.

According to Italyas foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, speaking later on Friday, the US told the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Capri that it had received alast minutea information from Israel about a drone action in Iran.

Reported Israeli drone strike on Isfahan may signal that this widening conflict has become more dynamic

• Middle East crisis a live updates
• What we know so far about Israelas strike on Iran

While the details remain vague, and Iranian denials strong, it seems very likely, given past history and strong comments from US officials, that a limited Israeli drone strike was launched against the Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday morning.

Isfahan is significant for its military-industrial facilities, the presence of an important facility in Iranas nuclear programme and a major airbase hosting the Islamic Republicas ageing fleet of F-14 aTomcatsa, making the importance of any strike, whether carried out from beyond Iranas borders or from within but backed by Israel, more than symbolic.

Dozens of people caring for frail, sick or elderly relatives describe adevastatinga effect of DWPas approach to ahonest mistakesa

• aWeare already vulnerablea: the carers told to repay huge sums by the DWP

Carers have described suffering an aavalanche of utter stressa due to the governmentas aabhorrenta approach to clawing back benefits, as official figures revealed the widespread ill health of those caring for loved ones.

The Department for Work and Pensions has been under fire since the Guardian revealed that tens of thousands of unpaid carers are being forced to pay back huge sums a and in some cases prosecuted for fraud a over ahonest mistakesa that it could have spotted years earlier.

First minister of Scotland describes case as a avery serious and concerning mattera

Humza Yousaf has said he is shocked by the embezzlement charges levelled against Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of the Scottish National party.

Police Scotland announced on Thursday evening that Murrell, who is married to Yousafas mentor and predecessor as first minister Nicola Sturgeon, had been rearrested and charged with embezzlement of SNP funds.

PM criticised for personal independence payment review amid aspirallinga disability welfare bill

Rishi Sunak is considering withdrawing a major cash disability benefit from some people with mental health conditions, prompting claims he has launched a afull-on assault on disabled peoplea.

The prime minister announced fresh curbs on disability benefits on Friday, saying he wanted to explore whether some cash payments to claimants with mental health conditions could be replaced by treatment or access to services.

Shifting responsibility for issuing fit notes, formerly known as sicknotes, away from GPs to other awork and health professionalsa in order to encourage more people to return to work.

Confirming plans to legislate ain the next parliamenta to close benefit claims for anyone who has been claiming for 12 months but is not complying with conditions on accepting available work.

Asking more people on universal credit working part-time to look for more work by increasing the earnings threshold from APS743 a month to APS892 a month, so people paid below this amount have to seek extra hours.

Confirming plans to tighten the work capability assessment to require more people with aless severe conditionsa to seek some forms of employment.

Dozens of secretly filmed, voyeuristic videos feature women often in short dresses on nights out

Women who have been secretly filmed on nights out are being urged to contact UK police after videos posted online have racked up millions of views and attracted an abundance of misogynistic comments.

Police are trying to catch people responsible for dozens of voyeuristic TikTok and YouTube videos that have titles such as aManchester nightlifea and feature women who do not know they are being filmed.

Katie Fieldhouse says Conservative party failed to act after she reported incident in early January

The Conservative activist who has accused a Tory MP of making a late-night demand for money has said she is appalled by the partyas response.

Katie Fieldhouse has said Mark Menzies called her one night in December at 3.15am asking for APS5,000 to pay abad peoplea who had detained him in a flat and were not letting him leave.

Trade bodies say ongoing confusion about when checks will come in is aincredibly challenginga

• UK to delay start of health and safety checks on EU imports

Businesses have described Britainas Brexit border plans as being in acomplete disarraya after it emerged some checks on EU imports due to come in later this month will be delayed.

Post-Brexit border rules will come into force on 30 April that will require many meat, dairy and plant products from the EU to be physically checked at government border control posts (BCPs).

Lawyers for Harry and other claimants argued trial delay to examine timing of claims would be ahighly disruptivea

Prince Harry has won the latest bout of his long-running legal battle with the publisher of the Sun after a high court judge rejected an application to delay the trial.

News Group Newspapers (NGN) had applied to push back the trial for alleged unlawful information gathering a which is scheduled for January next year a to allow the court to examine whether claims of unlawful news gathering by Harry and 41 others were brought too late.

Matthew Haydon, 48, had once asked to throw a grenade on the childrenas TV show Jimall Fix It, court hears

A man whose obsession with weaponry once led him to ask to throw a grenade on the childrenas television programme Jimall Fix It has been found guilty of causing an explosion in his home.

Matthew Haydon, 48, sustained wounds to his chest and hands in a blast at his family home in the Bedfordshire village of Sharnbrook on 10 April last year. Afterwards, he told police of his longstanding interest in explosives, citing his request to the former BBC show.

Swifties take to social media to dissect lyrics and celebrate Swiftas 11th album on Friday as the musician releases 15 more songs

• Breakups, fantasies and her most cutting lyrics: inside The Tortured Poets Department
• The Tortured Poets Department review a fame, fans and former flames in the line of fire

The Tortured Poets Department is just out but it is already splitting Taylor Swift fans a between those who have already listened to it after it leaked online early, and those who refused to listen out of loyalty to their favourite singer.

Swiftas 11th studio album was released on Friday but all 16 tracks and lyrics began appearing on social media on Wednesday. Some fans a known as Swifties a refused to listen to the leaked album, insisting that atrue fansa would wait for the official release, while others shared false links to the leak in attempts to stop people finding it.

Myra Carvalho sentenced to 14 weeksa imprisonment and banned from seeing singer perform

A woman who stalked Harry Styles has been jailed and banned from seeing him perform.

Myra Carvalho, who appeared at Harrow crown court sitting at Hendon magistrates court in London, was said to have stalked the singer by sending him 8,000 cards in less than a month.

Recent tobacco bill is only the latest measure to have been met with both political and public acceptance a and backlash

Smoking, smacking, smartphones for kids: never mind the ananny state,a todayas national debate seems crowded with demands for decisive action from politicians to save us a or our children a from ourselves.

Rishi Sunakas ban on selling cigarettes to under-15s for ever once they come of age is supported by 59% of the public, according to one recent poll.

Body armour suppliers say demand for protective clothing has risen sharply in past two years

Staff wearing stab vests in shopping centres are becoming an increasingly common sight across the UK, after soaring demand for body armour amid a rise in violent and abusive incidents.

A British Retail Consortium report found that instances of violence and abuse in shopping centres rose 65% from 2021-22 to 2022-23. Body armour suppliers say demand for stab vests to be worn by shopping centre security staff has soared in the past two years.

Rents are soaring, housebuilding is lagging and long-promised eviction reform has still not been enacted

• Artist cuts rent by commuting from Argentina

Andy Leekas escape to Argentina from Britainas soaring rents is no doubt extreme. But the fact that this relatively successful artist feels he is better off paying transatlantic air fares than stumping up for ever-rising landlord demands is indicative of a crisis that only ever seems to get worse.

Polls show 23% of voters now rank housing as the most important issue facing the country, up from 14% at the December 2019 general election. More people now rate it as the priority than crime or the environment, according to YouGov. Yet little is done.

Sketchwriteras take on memoir of PM who screwed up catastrophically and quickly but thinks thereas still work to do

I was impatient to get going. Plans had been made. I picked up my phone. aChatGPT. Write me a memoir in the style of an excitable five-year-old on acid.a

aWeave only got 10 years to save the west,a I declared solemnly.

With three hit shows a Strictly, The Traitors and the returning The Piano a Claudia Winkleman is TVas hottest presenter. She talks about being tone deaf, being a style icon a| and why sheas allergic to praise

Claudia Winkleman is convinced she gave the ick to Mika and Lang Lang, her co-stars on Channel�4 hit The Piano. aTheyare so alarmed by my eating habits,a she says. aMy micas always on and all they can hear is me munching beef-flavoured Hula Hoops.a To illustrate the point, she launches into an uncanny impression of loud crisp-crunching noises echoing down a lapel mic.

Winkleman recently wrapped filming a new run of the ivory-tinkling talent search, which has meant living off train station food. aI look up each oneas eateries in advance,a she admits. aI adore a Greggs and Iave fallen in love with Upper Crust. They do a cheddar baguette thatas almost erotic. Obviously, I always have a Burger King. A Murder King, I call it. You know youare in a different class of station if thereas a Leon. In Liverpool, theyave got Krispy Kreme. I crashed and burned by 9.48am because I made the mistake of scoffing a tray of Original Glazed for breakfast. I was like: aGuys, I need a nap.a The producer went: aCan somebody get Claud a coffee? And no more sugar!a OK, boss, fair�enough.a

The comedian is desperate to make out his jokes about rape and domestic abuse will get him cancelled. In reality, this Netflix special is about as edgy as a Jim Davidson set

The darting eyes are new. As a young man, Jimmy Carr never had so much trouble keeping his eyeballs under control. In Natural Born Killer, the comedianas new Netflix show, his pupils bounce from one side to the other so frequently it is like watching a game of table tennis. Or, as Carr might say in his affected working-class voice: aWatchina a game of fuckina table tennis.a

Why does Carr think he needs to swaddle his punchlines in frantic eye movement? Well, the manas material is so edgy that he actually has to scan the room in case the woke police are in. aThis next joke might get me cancelled,a he says at one point, like a teenager smelling his farts and chuckling that he could get thrown out of a sleepover. If delivering material that might as well have been cribbed from a Jim Davidson set can get you acancelleda (aThereas a reason men propose on their knees a theyave fucking given upa), Carr might well be.

Jimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer is on Netflix now

You need to consider why this bothers you so much and if you should bring it up. Without asking directly, itas hard to know his motivation
aC/ Every week Annalisa Barbieri addresses a family-related problem sent in by a reader

Over a few drinks, a good friend of mine recently let slip that he keeps a spreadsheet of his friends, which he uses to rank them in tiers. Initially I laughed it off as drunken ramblings, but he then proceeded to show me the actual document, saved on his phone with comments next to peopleas names.

I learned that he keeps a running score of his friends based on how often they WhatsApp him, take the time to call him or go to the pub or on a trip abroad together.

Protests erupt outside Israel pavilion, official Israeli artist pulls out, and Ukraine team puts up posters showing maps of nearest bomb shelter

Billionairesa yachts and protests; cocktail parties and culture wars; bellinis and boycotts. The Venice Biennaleas opening preview days are always a place of odd clashes and juxtapositions, as artists, curators, critics, and wealthy collectors descend on the city to take in often politically radical art.

But this yearas edition vibrates with particular uncertainty and tension a even, perhaps, an end-of-days atmosphere. The biennale, which this year stages exhibitions from 88 national pavilions, has been touched by political currents that originate far beyond the lapping waters of the Venetian lagoon.

The Oscar-winner and the Nobel laureate have teamed up to make Bread & Roses, a new film about the abuse of women in Afghanistan. In an emotional interview, they warn that the west ignores its message at their peril

aStrong women are not easy women,a says Jennifer Lawrence, aand a womanas life is lonely. So much of our experience cannot be shared or understood by men, and our rights are in their hands. Thatas why we need each other.a

The two other people on our video call nod in agreement. One is Malala Yousafzai, who, with Lawrence, has produced a new documentary about the oppression of Afghan women by the Taliban after US troops withdrew in 2021. The other is Sahra Mani, who directed it.

Jerry Hallas next husband could manage almost the whole menu without putting in teeth

Le Caprice will to my mind always be Princess Dias lunchtime gal pal hotspot. I grew up about 250 miles from St Jamesas in central London, where handmade shoe boutiques nestle beside bespoke fedora specialists, and where the local corner shop is Fortnum & Masonas food hall. However, via the tabloids, the goings on at Le Caprice often played out in my living room in Carlisle. Behold, HRH Diana, sleek and coquettish, striding into Le Caprice for her bang bang chicken, perhaps dining alongside megastars Mick Jagger, Liz Taylor and Nina Myskow. I guzzled that sophisticated-sounding bang bang chicken vicariously, then headed off to the local Brewers Fayre for my breaded scampi.

Now, on the old Le Caprice site, after closures and some management swapsies, Arlington is here. Some might say not a lot has changed: the decor, menu, clientele, Mayfair money, yacht tans, facelifts and the general sense that many of the diners here are merely passing through London this week, after Gstaad and before Cannes, and checking in on their Mayfair townhouses. Who is going to cook for themselves when youare on a schedule like that? At Arlington, people table-hop, air-kiss and still eat bang bang chicken, which is just a runnier version of chicken satay, as I learned to my puzzlement on reaching London in the 1990s. Itas satisfying, sweet, crunchy, chickeny stodge, although Arlingtonas version has a delectable undertone of barbecue sauce.

Race distance seen as pinnacle of human achievement since time of ancient Greece is no longer the finishing line for what body can endure

The Olympic marathon held 120 years ago saw 32 people start, 14 finish, the winner disqualified for spending most of the race in a car, and another competitor undergo emergency surgery for the damage caused by inhaling dust thrown up by the cars and bicycles that accompanied the athletes around the outskirts of St Louis.

aWhen the Games are held in 1908 I do not think that the marathon will be included in the program,a said James Sullivan of the Amateur Athletic Union, the eventas organiser. aI personally am opposed to it and it is indefensible on any ground but historic. A 25-mile run is asking too much of human endurance. In sending some 30 men or more into an endurance test as keen and terrible as the marathon run, an awful chance is taken.a

Both seem keen to limit hostilities, and key Arab states are ready to resist Tehran. But real change will require new Israeli leadership

When it comes to the Middle East, itas the pessimists who look smartest. Predict the worst and youall rarely be proved wrong. If you are, itas usually because your forecast was insufficiently bleak.

So put on your gloom-tinted spectacles and assess the events of the last week. Youall see the dawn of a grim new era, in which the regionas two strongest powers, Israel and Iran, trade blows directly. Last weekend, Iran crossed what had previously been a red line, aiming a barrage of missiles and drones directly at Israeli territory for the first time. In the early hours of Friday morning, Israel responded with a series of drone strikes on targets inside Iran, including Isfahan, site of an airbase and the countryas burgeoning nuclear programme. You donat have to be Clausewitz to know that two regional powers, one an aspirant nuclear state, the other already there, engaged in a tit-for-tat exchange of fire aimed at each otheras sovereign terrain spells danger.

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist

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.

Compulsory maths and English retakes speak of a system that ignores pupilsa real talents. But hope is on the horizon

That time of year approaches when we ritually sacrifice 40% of our 16-year-olds to mark them down as failures. Exam season is coming up a that summer rite when we sit down all the young, hunched over cramped desks day after day for weeks, to sit far too many GCSE papers. The ceremony has one great national purpose: to elevate the 60% who pass their crucial 5 GCSEs including maths and English to a superior destiny on a level 3 course and up a and to stamp down on the rest. Over two thirds of those failing to get that vital maths and English grade 4 are from families in the bottom fifth of incomes.

Then we force them through it again and again in resits most will fail again and again. Dividing the sheep from the goats is harsher after this government ordered everyone failing maths and English to keep resitting between the ages of 16 and 18: colleges and sixth forms lose their funding for any pupil who doesnat keep resitting. Those hoping they were leaving behind schooling they failed (or that failed them), to escape into the green pastures of a further education college, perhaps for BTecs and City & Guilds qualifications, find they are forced to keep taking the English and maths GCSE medicine. Without grade 4, many courses are closed to them a whole vistas of new horizons, anything above level 2, however good they might be at, say, graphic design, cabinet making, gardening, art, caring, engineering or cooking. aNot everyone needs grade 4 English and maths,a says David Hughes, head of the Association of Colleges.

Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist

Her cookery and lifestyle show looks like a sensible retreat from the abuse sheas suffered simply for being a modern black woman

Meghan Markle has bottled it. Or more precisely, she has been making jam. Branded jars of her strawberry preserves, adorned with one of those frilly caps you see at village fete produce stalls, were distributed this week to assorted celebrity friends to post on social media (though possibly not for actually eating, given the restrictions of a Hollywood diet). This housewifely offering marks the debut of American Riviera Orchard, which sounds like one of Jamie Oliveras children but is in fact the name of the Duchess of Sussexas new commercial venture, under which she plans to flog everything from tableware to yoga kit to her reinvented self.

In a retro, sepia-tinted launch video, the woman we once hoped would put a rocket up the royal family is seen blissfully stirring a saucepan and arranging flowers. Itas only three years since she wrote an open letter to US congressional leaders lobbying for paid family leave for working parents, sparking wild speculation about a run for political office, but suddenly that feels like a very long time ago. For now at least, itas goodbye to the much-mocked empowering feminist podcasts and hello to the safety of her Californian kitchen. Meghan is, it seems, entering her tradwife era.

Tobacco is already on its way out. The state should not deny adults the right to make personal decisions for themselves

Just because Liz Truss and Boris Johnson a both opposed to the governmentas proposed new smoking ban a hold a belief does not make it wrong. Smoking is unpleasant, but in this weekas parliamentary debate, the word nicotine could have been replaced by cannabis, alcohol, ultra-processed foods, base jumping or mobile phones for children. All have their dangers. But in each case those in favour of restrictions rely on the same argument; if something produces a burden on the state it should be banned. Personal liberty can go hang.

Rishi Sunakas anti-smoking bill carried the same smudgy fingerprints as his bill on Rwanda. It suggested a late-night Downing Street cabal desperate for somethingeye-catching to inject into the election campaign. It does not ban anyone from smoking, despite appearances. It bans shops from selling cigarettes to an ever-expanding age cohort, currently anyone under 18, with the legal cutoff increasing by one year each year. People born in or after 2009, in other words, will never be able to legally buy a cigarette in Britain. The billas target is shopkeepers, charged with juggling the ID cards of hordes of adult purchasers and presumably proxy buyers. The smugglers must be cheering.

Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist

The scandal, revealed by the Guardian, didnat occur in a vacuum. The rightas casting of the poor as parasitic benefits cheats underpins it all

The unpaid careras allowance in this country is APS81.90 a week. Itas hard to see what serious thought went into arriving at that figure a any calculation of how much it costs to live on, for instance, or how much an unpaid carer is saving the government. Being without discernible curiosity about the lives of unpaid carers, or their contribution to society, it looks very much like a benefit handed down from on high; so at the very least, youad expect the Department for Work and Pensions to keep on top of its administration.

That is not what happened. Unpaid carers are allowed to earn APS151 a week before it affects the benefit. In nearly 30,000 cases last year, people breached that limit, itas thought almost always unknowingly, and the DWP allowed debts to rack up, sometimes running to thousands of pounds. This wonat be the first time itas been observed how bureaucracies that seem lackadaisical and unequal to their own responsibilities become unbelievably tenacious and forceful when it comes to the debts of others. It is accused of intimidatory tactics, against people who may have committed only minor breaches, rewarding them with criminal records and penury that has forced some to sell their homes.

Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist

They might not be Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, but the X Factor judgesa ding-dong over Simon Cowell is a joy

All weekend and on into Monday, the row between the TV presenter and erstwhile wife of Les Dennis, Amanda Holden, and the managerial powerhouse Sharon Osbourne has been quite something. In brief: on Celebrity Big Brother Sharon slagged off their joint sometime-boss Simon Cowell. Holden then leapt to his defence in a Daily Mail interview, calling Sharon abitter and pathetica. Sharon then delivered a two-page diatribe against Holden, listing her many and lucrative achievements long before The X Factor entered her life, much though she enjoyed her judging stint. aSimon paid me very well. Probably more than what youare receiving today, but all that, my darling, went on a few handbags.a

Bad actors know that factchecking sites are a vital democratic tool. Thatas why theyave launched their own dishonest versions

Asked by sociologists about his views on the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a Russian in his early 70s shifted the conversation to the massacre in Bucha a one of the worst atrocities committed by the Russian military in Ukraine. Evidence of Russian war crimes was fake, he said: aTake Busha or Bucha or wherever it may be. The way they filmed it, the way the bodies were arranged: it was clearly a fake!a

Two things stand out from this. He parroted, word for word, statements of Russian propaganda about bodies being actors aarranged on the grounda, echoing the claims of War on Fakes, the Kremlinas imitation of a factchecking organisation. Yet despite his certainty, he did not know anything about the town, to the extent that he could not pronounce its name correctly. Relying on an aanti-fakea outlet modelled on western factchecking, he was not interested in facts but rather in shielding Russia from accusations.

Maxim Alyukov is a political sociologist who is a Leverhulme early career research fellow at the University of Manchester

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A potential pointer to future home arrives, Ronnie OaSullivan eyes more glory and champion Luca Brecel returns out of form

For the snooker purists, it was the sight nobody wanted to see just days out from the most prestigious tournament on the sportas calendar. Debate has raged for years about whether or not the world championship will eventually have to leave its spiritual home of the Crucible and this week, in the buildup to the 2024 edition, there was what felt a significant moment.

The world championship will remain in Sheffield until 2027 at least but the sight of Barry and Eddie Hearn, flanked by the seven-time world champion, Ronnie OaSullivan, in Saudi Arabia to announce that Riyadh Season, a state-funded sports and entertainment festival, was to become an official partner for the tournament would have sent a shiver through the spines of those who adore the Crucible. OaSullivan, never one to shy away from offering his opinion, went one step further. aI think Saudi Arabia could get hold of this tournament, grab it by the scruff of the neck and turn it into a Wimbledon or a French Open or US Open, and really make it a super event,a he said.

• News, Premier League previews and European reaction
• Barney Ronay: City fail to deliver as Madridas power tells

Meanwhile in the Championship, a host of former Premier League sides are nervously peering down rather than optimistically looking up. Hereas Will Unwin on how short-term approaches are holding clubs back.

Those FA Cup semi-finals and this weekendas round of Premier League matches are all under the microscope in everyoneas favourite double digit looking-ahead column.

• Garnacho has apologised for liking a critical social media post
• Ten Hag defends Casemiro and congraulates on-loan Sancho

Erik ten Hag has denied claims of factions within his Manchester United squad, while attempting to put a line under a string of recent controversies.

After Alejandro Garnacho apologised for the faux-pas of liking a social media post critical of his manager, Ten Hag sought to further cool waters. aAlejandro is a young player, has to learn a lot,a he said. aHe apologised for it and after that we move on.a

• Manager says team must toughen up if they are to win the title
• Klopp takes hope from return of key players from serious injury

JA1/4rgen Klopp has admitted Liverpool have become atoo easya to play against and must toughen up if they are to stand any chance of winning the Premier League title.

Kloppas side travel to Fulham on Sunday in third, two points behind Manchester City and below Arsenal on goal difference, having drawn and lost their past two league fixtures, against Manchester United and Crystal Palace, respectively. On Thursday they also exited the Europa League at the quarter-final stage after a 3-1 aggregate loss to Atalanta and, all in all, are performing poorly. Their hopes of winning a quadruple in Kloppas final season in charge are long gone but the German still believes he can leave on a high, though only if his players rediscover the character, as well as class, that had them competing on all fronts a little over a month ago.

• All four athletes disqualified and forced to return prize money
• Special committee issues apology but steers clear of fix talk

Organisers have revoked He Jieas first place in the Beijing half marathon last weekend after an investigation confirmed that three other runners had slowed down to let him win the race. All four were disqualified and had to return their medals and prize money.

Online users in China had shared the video from the final moments of Sundayas race out of suspicion that it had been rigged. The footage showed three African runners letting He, Chinaas top long-distance runner, move ahead of them shortly before they were about to reach the finish line.

The Sauber driver has had a long wait to race on home soil and expectations are off the charts in Shanghai

There has been no little wait for the home crowd and their local hero Zhou Guanyu but what a moment it will be when, finally, this weekend he becomes the first Chinese driver to compete at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. Already the star of a documentary, the only Chinese driver to compete in an F1 race is the main draw for a meeting that sold out in minutes.

This race has not been held since 2019 because of the pandemic and while the 24-year-old Zhou made his F1 debut in 2022, with the Alfa Romeo (now Sauber) team, he has had to wait till his third season to race on a track in the city where he was born and where he has never before competed in a single-seater.

Lock hopes for a repeat of deafening support at Twickenham as favourites England take on Ireland in Womenas Six Nations

The England lock Zoe Aldcroft calls for the ball as soon as she sees Sarah Beckett has punctured the France defence. The forward offloads to Aldcroft, who beats Amilie Boulard to weave her way to the line for Englandas fifth try in the first half in their grand slamawinning match at Twickenham 12 months ago. The subsequent wall of crowd noise is what Aldcroft remembers most on a day that broke the world attendance record for a womenas rugby game.

The score went on to be nominated for World Rugbyas try of the year and it is clear to see why. It was a fluid and fast-paced attack, with its buildup involving 18 passes and five rucks. Aldcroft, who ultimately lost out on the try award to Italyas Sofia Stefan, is hunting that roar from fans once again on Saturday as the Red Roses take on Ireland at the home of English�rugby.

Germanyas Sebastian Steudtner may have surfed the biggest ever wave in NazarA(c), Portugal earlier this season. The wave, calculated using drone technology, was measured at 28.57 metres. If officially ratified by the sport, it will surpass Steudtner"s current world record of 26.21 metres which he also set in NazarA(c) back in 2020.

Exclusive: 80% of Welsh dairy farms inspected, 69% of English ones, 60% in Scotland and 50% in Northern Ireland breaching regulations

The majority of UK dairy farms are breaking pollution rules, with vast amounts of cow manure being spilled into rivers.

When animal waste enters the river, it causes a buildup of the nutrients found in the effluent, such as nitrates and phosphates. These cause algal blooms, which deplete the waterway of oxygen and block sunlight, choking fish and other aquatic life.

Exclusive: Study released at Cop28 misused research to underestimate impact of cutting meat eating, say academics

A flagship UN report on livestock emissions is facing calls for retraction from two key experts it cited who say that the paper aseriously distorteda their work.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) misused their research to underestimate the potential of reduced meat intake to cut agricultural emissions, according to a letter sent to the FAO by the two academics, which the Guardian has seen.

Researchers say early deaths may have been avoided over 10-year period if technology installed

Research has estimated the health impacts from the coal-fired power plants that operate across India.

Six hundred coal power plants generate more than 70% of Indiaas electricity. Despite regulations passed in 2015, fewer than 5% of these plants operate with modern systems to clean up air pollutants from their chimneys. In China, 95% of coal-fired power plants were fitted with clean-up technologies by 2013.

Acoba chair Eric Pickles says rules on post-ministerial jobs are aunenforceablea after former PM avoids answering questions

Boris Johnson was aevasivea, aavoided answering specific questionsa and has arefused to be opena about his relationship with a hedge fund on whose behalf he met the Venezuelan president, a Whitehall watchdog has said.

Johnson met NicolA!s Maduro in early February in a paid role as a consultant to Merlyn Advisors, according to reports. This raised questions for the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) which is responsible for providing advice on post-ministerial roles for two years after a minister leaves office.

Charges to go up by as much as 75% for widest boats under five-year fee increases that started in April

Finding an affordable place to live on land is hard enough. Now, those who call canals and rivers home face being priced out of the water after plans came into effect to start increasing mooring fees by up to 75%.

Houseboats have long been the reserve of those living alternative lifestyles, but in recent years young people and families have flocked to them as rents across the country, especially in London, have soared.

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Although European stock markets certainly arenat in a full-blooded plunge, yet anyway, the main indices are all in the red a following losses across Asia overnight (see 7.21am).

The European Stoxx 600 is at a one-month low, as investors fret about events in the Middle East.

FTSE 100: -36 points or -0.46% at 7842 points

Germanyas DAX: -152 points or -0.9% at 17,681 points

Franceas CAC: -45 points or -0.6% at 7,976 points

Italyas FTSE MIB: -345 points or -1% at 33,533 points

Wall Street is heading for losses when it opens in four hours, too, with the S&P 500 down 0.5% in pre-market trading.

aAsian markets bore the brunt of the breaking news of a retaliatory attack on Iran by Israel, also sending Dow futures sharply lower and resulting in further spikes in gold and oil prices.

US markets will not have the opportunity to react directly to the developments until later, but the escalation will put pressure on the main indices, which were already lining up for a weekly drop. The Dow Jones managed a wafer-thin gain on Thursday, whereas the Nasdaq and S&P500 continued on a downward trend which is eroding the heady gains made over recent months.

Poet says government has rejected some 2022 MacAlister recommendations because reforming system is not a vote winner

• UK politics a latest updates

The poet and broadcaster Lemn Sissay has accused ministers of ignoring abrillianta recommendations to improve the adysfunctionala childrenas social care system in England because they are not vote winners.

Sissay, whose bestselling memoir My Name Is Why was a reflection on his own childhood in care, said the government had acherrypickeda from the 2022 MacAlister review, despite the report putting forward costed recommendations that would save money in the longer term.

Tributes paid to Jitendranath Karuturi and Chanhakya Bolisetti, who are believed to have slipped while taking selfies

Tributes have been paid to two students at the University of Dundee who drowned after falling into a waterfall at a Highland beauty spot.

Jitendranath Karuturi, 26, who was known as Jitu, and Chanhakya Bolisetti, 22, are believed to have been taking selfies at the Linn of Tummel waterfall, near Blair Atholl, on Wednesday evening when they slipped and fell into the river.

Andy Leek, creator of Notes to Strangers, made the move after finding himself unable to afford rising rents in UK capital

An artist who was made homeless after being evicted by his private landlord in London has started effectively commuting from Argentina where the rent is so much cheaper that it covers the cost of air fare.

Andy Leek, 38, whose Notes to Strangers works are pasted on to walls and junction boxes across more than 20 British and European cities, has moved to Buenos Aires where the rents are several times cheaper and he travels back to the UK roughly every two months for work. The flight costs less than a monthly train season ticket between Bristol and London.

Talk of Elizabeth line order raised hopes over safeguarding future of Derby factory but staff are taking nothing for granted

aItas strange at the moment: everywhereas so quiet. Itas not good.a Mick Waldram has worked at Alstomas sprawling train manufacturing plant on Litchurch Lane in Derby for 20 years, like his parents before him, and has watched in recent months as its six production lines have been gradually mothballed.

aIave been here 20 years and my brotheras been here 20 years as well,a Waldram says. aMy mum was the managing directoras secretary, she was here 38 years, and my dad was a projects engineer who was here 36 years. We want to stay here. Me and my brother are not looking at leaving, we want to stay here if possible, do another 20 years.a

Royal Horticultural Society hopes punters will be inspired by Salford winner of pub garden competition

Pub gardens often feature barren patios, characterless lawns and a worst of all a fake grass.

Now, the Royal Horticultural Society is asking landlords across the country to plant up their patios, saying they are full of untapped potential for urban green space and wildlife.

Creature with balloon syndrome spotted from passing bus in Gloucestershire is in charityas care and has been named Bounce

A hedgehog that had swollen to the size of a football a so big that it was spotted in a field by a passenger on a passing bus a has been deflated by rescuers.

The female hedgehog, which has been named Bounce, had blown up to twice its normal size when it was seen in Gloucestershire.

IOPC to examine whether two forces missed chances to protect Kulsuma Akter before she was fatally stabbed in front of her baby

Two police forces are being investigated over contact they had with a woman before she was stabbed to death in front of her baby, the police watchdog has said.

Kulsuma Akter, 27, was fatally stabbed as she pushed her baby in a buggy in Bradford city centre on Saturday 6 April. Habibur Masum, 25, has been charged with her murder.

Five alternates remain to be chosen before jury selection wraps up and the presiding judge has suggested opening statement could begin as early as Monday

One potential juror has been excused this morning after saying that her anxiety is too intense, and will only worsen as aas the more days that go ona.

Her family will ultimately piece together that sheas on the jury, she said.

I have really bad anxiety, so I think I might not be completely fair and not impartial, so that concerns me.

Weare also still working on the temperature in the courtroom.

I want to apologize that itas chilly in here ... Weare trying to do the best we can to control the temperature, but itas one extreme or the other.

First phase in worldas largest democratic exercise begins, with 969 million people eligible to vote over six-week period

Voting has begun in Indiaas mammoth general election, as Narendra Modias Bharatiya Janata party hopes to increase its parliamentary majority amid allegations that the countryas democracy has been undermined since it came to power 10 years ago.

Indiaas elections are the largest democratic exercise in the world, with more than 969 million voters, amounting to more than 10% of the worldas population. The voting began at 8am on Friday, when polling opened at 102 constituencies across the country, and will continue over the next six weeks, in seven phases, until 1 June. All the results will be counted and declared on 4 June.

US secretary of state condemns airstrike in Iran; discussion aleans more towards infiltration than attacka says anonymous Iranian official

• Israel has mounted strikes on Iran, US says, as Tehran plays down attack
• What we know so far about Israelas strike on Iran
• Whatas in Isfahan? The city home to Iranian nuclear facilities

Itas 7:24am in Tehran and 6:54 In Tel Aviv. Letas get a reminder of what we know so far:

US officials have confirmed that Israel has carried out military operations against Iran but did not describe those operations.

The Israeli military has told news agencies including Agence France-Presse and Associated Press: aWe donat have a comment at this time.a

Iranas state media reported explosions in the central province of Isfahan Friday

Air defence systems over several Iranian cities were activated, state media reported, after the countryas official broadcaster said explosions were heard near the city of Isfahan.

Iranas Fars news agency reported athree explosionsa were heard near the Shekari army airbase in the north-west of Isfahan province, while Iranas space agency spokesperson Hossein Dalirian said aseverala drones had been asuccessfully shot downa.

Nuclear facilities in Isfahan were reported to be acompletely securea, Iranas Tasnim news agency reported, citing areliable sourcesa.

Flights were suspended across swathes of Iran on Friday. aIranas air defence has been activated in the skies of several provinces of the country,a Tehranas official IRNA news agency said.

Mehr news agency reported that aflights to Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz, and airports in the west, northwest and southwest have been suspended.a

Flight-tracking software showed commercial flights avoiding western Iran, including Isfahan, and skirting Tehran to the north and east.

There was no immediate comment from Dubaias Emirates airline, which was operating several of the planes.

Blasts were also reported in southern Syria, according to a local activist group. aThere were strikes on a Syrian army radar position,a said Rayan Maarouf, who runs the Suwayda24 anti-government website that covers news from Sweida province in the south, reports AFP.

Oil prices surged more than three per cent in early Asian trade on Friday after the reports of explosions.

Iranian official indicates no aimmediatea plan for retaliation after explosions reported in sky over Isfahan and Tabriz

• Middle East crisis: live updates
• Whatas in Isfahan? The city home to Iranian nuclear facilities

US officials have confirmed that Israel has carried out airstrikes against Iran, as explosions were reported in the sky over the cities of Isfahan and Tabriz, while the Iranian government sought to play down the scale of the attack.

According to Italyas foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, speaking later on Friday, the US told the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Capri that it had received alast minutea information from Israel about a drone action in Iran.

Reported Israeli drone strike on Isfahan may signal that this widening conflict has become more dynamic

• Middle East crisis a live updates
• What we know so far about Israelas strike on Iran

While the details remain vague, and Iranian denials strong, it seems very likely, given past history and strong comments from US officials, that a limited Israeli drone strike was launched against the Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday morning.

Isfahan is significant for its military-industrial facilities, the presence of an important facility in Iranas nuclear programme and a major airbase hosting the Islamic Republicas ageing fleet of F-14 aTomcatsa, making the importance of any strike, whether carried out from beyond Iranas borders or from within but backed by Israel, more than symbolic.

Five alternates remain to be chosen before jury selection wraps up and the presiding judge has suggested opening statement could begin as early as Monday

One potential juror has been excused this morning after saying that her anxiety is too intense, and will only worsen as aas the more days that go ona.

Her family will ultimately piece together that sheas on the jury, she said.

I have really bad anxiety, so I think I might not be completely fair and not impartial, so that concerns me.

Weare also still working on the temperature in the courtroom.

I want to apologize that itas chilly in here ... Weare trying to do the best we can to control the temperature, but itas one extreme or the other.

Republican House speaker now set to push forward legislation, which had stalled in the House amid protest from rightwing GOP

House Democrats came to the rescue of Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker, in a rare move for a committee that normally votes along party lines, in order to save the Ukraine aid legislation from rightwing rebels.

The dramatic action took place on Capitol Hill on Thursday night as, on Friday morning Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, warned that if US aid was further delayed for Ukraine athere is a real risk it will arrive too latea to help the grinding resistance to Russiaas invasion.

Superfund law requires industries responsible for PFOA and PFOS contamination in water or soil to pay for cleanup

The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday designated two forever chemicals that have been used in cookware, carpets and firefighting foams as hazardous substances, an action intended to ensure quicker cleanup of the toxic compounds and require industries and others responsible for contamination to pay for their removal.

Designation as a hazardous substance under the Superfund law does not ban the chemicals, known as PFOA and PFOS. But it requires that release of the chemicals into soil or water be reported to federal, state or tribal officials if it meets or exceeds certain levels. The EPA then may require cleanups to protect public health and recover costs that can reach tens of millions of dollars.

Swifties take to social media to dissect lyrics and celebrate Swiftas 11th album on Friday as the musician releases 15 more songs

• Breakups, fantasies and her most cutting lyrics: inside The Tortured Poets Department
• The Tortured Poets Department review a fame, fans and former flames in the line of fire

The Tortured Poets Department is just out but it is already splitting Taylor Swift fans a between those who have already listened to it after it leaked online early, and those who refused to listen out of loyalty to their favourite singer.

Swiftas 11th studio album was released on Friday but all 16 tracks and lyrics began appearing on social media on Wednesday. Some fans a known as Swifties a refused to listen to the leaked album, insisting that atrue fansa would wait for the official release, while others shared false links to the leak in attempts to stop people finding it.

Gerhard Schindler says Russia has been aramping upa operations in west, as two men are accused of plotting sabotage at military sites

A former head of Germanyas foreign intelligence service has warned that the discovery of two men suspected of plotting sabotage attacks on military facilities in the country could be just the atip of the iceberga.

After the arrest of the Russian-German citizens Dieter S and Alexander J on Wednesday, who are alleged to have been operating as spies on behalf of the Kremlin, Gerhard Schindler, the former chief of the BND, the equivalent of MI6, said it would be naive to see the incident as an isolated one.

US officials say pedal pad could come loose and get lodged in interior trim, causing vehicle to accelerate unintentionally

Tesla is recalling 3,878 Cybertrucks to fix an accelerator pedal pad that could come loose and get lodged in the interior trim, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Friday.

A trapped accelerator pedal could cause the vehicle to accelerate unintentionally, increasing the risk of a crash, the auto safety regulator said in a notice.

Students had pitched tents on New York City campus, demanding ceasefire and for the school to financially divest from Israel

Isra Hirsi, the daughter of the Minnesota Democratic representative Ilhan Omar was among more than 100 protesters arrested on Thursday on Columbia Universityas campus in New York City, as police were called in to break up those who pitched tents to stage a pro-Palestinian protest.

Further demonstrations protesting the arrests and the universityas decision to call in outside law enforcement continued into the night at the private ivy league school.

Golden state expanded abortion access after Roe was repealed in 2022 while neighboring state is set to enact near-total ban

As Arizona prepares for a near-total ban on abortion to go into effect in the coming months, providers in California are getting ready to welcome a surge of out-of-state clients and live up to the stateas reputation as an aabortion sanctuarya.

California clinics have been treating patients confused by the legal framework in neighboring Arizona ever since the supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 law enshrining a federal right to abortion, in June 2022.

Research into release of aforever chemicalsa raises concerns about contamination and human exposure along worldas coastlines

Ocean waves crashing on the worldas shores emit more PFAS into the air than the worldas industrial polluters, new research has found, raising concerns about environmental contamination and human exposure along coastlines.

The study measured levels of PFAS released from the bubbles that burst when waves crash, spraying aerosols into the air. It found sea spray levels were hundreds of thousands times higher than levels in the water.

State revealed as Americaas overwhelming emitter of sulfuryl fluoride, used by $4.2bn pest-control industry to kill termites

Levels of a potent greenhouse gas are quietly spiking in the atmosphere and increasingly worrying environmental groups that say its use needs to be reined in if the US is to avoid climate catastrophe.

Furthermore, recent research has found the vast majority of the little-known gas, known as sulfuryl fluoride, is attributable to a state typically known for its climate-forward policies: California.

New research suggests some 16th-century writers were confident Shakespeare was the pseudonym of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford

Scholars often say that no one doubted Shakespeareas authorship until the 19th century. The response is a rote way of brushing off persistent questions about the attribution of the worldas most famous plays and poems a but it may not be true.

New scholarship suggests that doubts about Shakespeareas authorship first arose during his lifetime a in a book called Palladis Tamia, Wits Treasury, published in 1598 by the theologian Francis Meres.

Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is challenging incumbent Rick Scott and highlighting his aunapologetic and prouda support for the stateas six-week ban

A round table on abortion rights, hosted by Floridaas Democratic Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, has only just begun, and already she finds herself comforting a woman in tears with a very personal story to tell.

The woman is from Colombia, and speaks softly in Spanish as she tells the intimate gathering of the Miami-Dade Hispanic Democratic Caucus about the distressing decision her daughter had to make to terminate a pregnancy after learning the fetus was not developing.

Process has coincided with a rise in price in the past and is due to take place again on Saturday

Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of bitcoin, still has an influence on the cryptocurrency nearly 14 years after disappearing.

This week the protocol designed by Nakamoto a an individual or group of individuals who went silent in December 2010 a will trigger what is known as a abitcoin halvinga, a process that has coincided with price increases in the past. The latest halving is expected to take place on Saturday.