I dug through hundreds of Labor Day sales to find real deals on high-quality products that last

Prepare for autumn with our favorite end-of-season deals on staples including leaf blowers, blankets and bedding

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Labor Day offers one last hurrah for summer, a chance to reset for fall, and if you’re shopping, some choice end-of-season discounts.

No matter your plans for the long weekend, we found sales on products to make the most of it while helping you prepare for the colder months ahead.

Published: August 24, 2026, 7:15 am

Devastation, doubt and blame: Hurricane Helene looms over North Carolina’s US Senate race

The Democratic and the Republican candidate each blame the other for the bungled recovery effort after storm struck region

Two years after North Carolina suffered the worst natural disaster in its history when Hurricane Helene struck the state’s western half, life in the hardest-hit areas appears back to normal. Downtowns are lively, blocked roads have been reopened and rivers are flowing below their banks.

But the telltale evidence of the disaster’s expensive impacts can still be seen – from “for rent” signs in storefronts whose businesses never came back to debris from the storm still lurking in some waterways. And in the race for North Carolina’s US Senate seat, it’s almost as if the hurricane never left.

Published: August 24, 2026, 3:00 am

‘A rock star on her own terms’: why we’re still so fascinated by Meg White

Recent incorrect attempts to reveal the White Stripes star’s whereabouts reflect how much we’re still obsessed with the one-of-a-kind drummer

In February 2011, the White Stripes announced they were no longer going to tour or release new music. The decision wasn’t based on “artistic differences” or “health issues”; instead, the decision was “mostly to preserve what is beautiful and special about the band and have it stay that way”.

In the ensuing years, vocalist-guitarist Jack White cultivated a wildly successful solo career and continued working sporadically with his other bands, the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather. Drummer Meg White, meanwhile, retreated from music, preferring instead to be a private citizen. In recent years, she politely declined to speak for a 2023 Elle story and didn’t attend the White Stripes’ 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.

Published: August 24, 2026, 7:00 am

Why does the New York Times keep calling the left ‘divisive’?

The newspaper often uses the word to describe elections with progressive contenders, implying a previous whole destroyed by the left

“El-Sayed and Stevens Project Party Unity After Divisive Race,” announced the New York Times on 5 August, the day the progressive Abdul El-Sayed beat out his centrist Democratic rival, Haley Stevens, in the Michigan senatorial primary. “Divisive” is now the Times’s favorite attack word, deployed repeatedly to disparage and try to undermine the astonishing recent advances by progressive candidates.

Four days after that first story, the Times again landed “divisive” under “Obama and El-Sayed Discuss Unity After Ugly Michigan Primary.” El-Sayed, it asserted, had “narrowly prevailed in a divisive primary after campaigning on a progressive and anti-establishment platform”.

Published: August 24, 2026, 7:00 am

Slayyyter live review – raucous show announces a new princess of sleaze-pop

Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles

The cult star proves she is ready for pop’s big leagues in a show that blends chaotic punk energy with technical finesse

The last time Slayyyter toured, in 2023, she struggled to break even and had to fly home boxes of unsold merch. Back then, she was still largely the domain of Twitter gays: a subcultural figure to those who assessed music in terms of “flops” and “bops”.

Then, midway through 2025, she released the electro-trashy Beat Up Chanel$, and suddenly caught everyone’s attention. With a career-defining Coachella set earlier this year, she had broken through into the mainstream alongside a class of flop-no-more artists – Zara Larsson, Raye and Tinashe – who had spent years seeming cruelly shut out of its central sphere, only to break through with a surprise big hit. For these artists, and Slayyyter in particular, the urgency of a last chance had become as galvanizing as the urgency of a first.

Published: August 24, 2026, 8:54 am

Breakout indie band Westside Cowboy on rejecting tech and loving imperfection: ‘We’re not hermits!’

Despite their fast rise, the Manchester indie-pop band are happily going at their own pace. But what – if anything – did they learn from the advice of Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon?

When Westside Cowboy played Later … With Jools Holland earlier this year, fellow guests Duran Duran offered some advice. “Nerves are just your mind telling you that you’re about to do something extraordinary,” Simon Le Bon told the band, who were “cacking their pants”. Le Bon’s words didn’t really help. “I was hoping for some real advice,” says vocalist and guitarist Reuben Haycocks, laughing. “Like, where do I look?”

The Manchester band have had to learn the ropes quickly. By 2025, only two years after forming, they had won Glastonbury’s emerging talent competition, supported Geese on the year’s buzziest indie tour and signed to a major label. “We’d be lying if we said there wasn’t a little bit of pressure,” says vocalist and guitarist Jimmy Bradbury.

Published: August 24, 2026, 7:00 am

US supreme court rules Trump can proceed with crackdown on mail-in voting

Justices’ ruling comes after lower courts had blocked president’s election order ahead of November midterms

The US supreme court sided with Donald Trump on Monday in his effort to crack down on mail-in voting, though it remains unclear if his administration can take action ahead of the midterm elections in November.

Justices on the court voted 6-3 along ideological lines to lift an injunction from June that a judge in Massachusetts placed on an executive order issued by the president. But a second injunction remains in place and the ruling leaves room for legal challenges.

Published: August 24, 2026, 2:53 pm

US threatens severe sanctions against countries with economic ties to Iran

Washington launches campaign to isolate Tehran but it is unclear whether it will apply measures to China

The US has threatened to impose severe sanctions against any country or entity maintaining economic ties with Iran, hoping to achieve with economic measures what military means have so far failed to do.

It is unclear, however, how far the Trump administration is prepared to go in confronting China, Iran’s biggest trading partner, which has signalled its resistance to US economic pressure to cut off links with an ally.

Published: August 24, 2026, 11:57 am

Trump announces new 50% tariff on Canadian cars, trucks and steel

Move is latest deterioration in trade relations between neighbors with historically strong economic ties

Donald Trump announced a new 50% tariff on automobiles and crucial raw materials from Canada, the latest deterioration in trade relations between the two neighbors with historically strong economic ties.

The US president said that the increased tariffs would start on 1 January 2027 on all cars, trucks, automobile parts and steel. He also derided the nation’s tariffs on American farmers, writing on social media that Canada has been “ripping off” the US “for years”.

Published: August 24, 2026, 11:55 am

US immigration officers reassigned to screen South African refugees and find ‘unlawful’ voters

Exclusive: internal correspondence reveals USCIS anti-fraud officers shifted on to two ‘high-priority’ initiatives

All US immigration officers working for a key anti-fraud unit have been reassigned by Donald Trump’s administration to focus on screening South African refugees and alleged “unlawful” voters.

Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) immigration officers have been shifted full-time on to two “high-priority” initiatives, according to internal correspondence seen by the Guardian, leaving US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unable to provide officers to train asylum officers in “the near future”.

Published: August 24, 2026, 11:16 am

Massachusetts woman suspected of killing police officer husband found dead

Karen Solomon had been missing for six days after her husband Kurt Solomon was found dead at their home

A mental health advocate suspected of killing her police officer husband was found dead on Monday, six days after she disappeared from her Massachusetts home, authorities said.

Karen Solomon, an advocate who called for improvements and greater awareness of police mental health issues, had disappeared after Worcester police officer Kurt Solomon was found dead at their home just before 5.30am on 18 August. Officials had named Karen Solomon a suspect and said she was believed to be armed.

Published: August 24, 2026, 4:56 pm

Nevada files lawsuit challenging federal plan for Colorado River revival

In Trump administration’s plan, California, Arizona and Nevada face about a 20% cut to water supply over two years

Nevada filed a federal lawsuit on Monday challenging the Trump administration’s new plan for the imperiled Colorado River, launching what could become the first of many court battles over the waterway that supplies 40 million people, dozens of tribes and 5.5m acres of farm land across the American west.

The federal plan, issued Friday, cut roughly 20% from the water supplied to lower basin states – Nevada, Arizona and California – over the next two years, with a potential for harsher cutbacks in the future, based on conditions.

Published: August 24, 2026, 1:56 pm

Target apologizes for ‘offensive’ Halloween costume after backlash

Retailer removes kid’s clown costume after people said it resembled a racist caricature used in minstrel shows

Target, the US retail corporation, said it pulled a controversial Halloween costume off its shelves after criticism across social media that it resembled a racist caricature.

The ad image for the costume, sold as the “Kids’ Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume,” depicted a Black child in a bright orange and black top with solid black gloves and a mask with a wide, toothy smile. Both the child’s pose and the costume’s gloves and mask were likened to caricatures of Black people used in minstrel shows.

Published: August 24, 2026, 2:29 pm

Lindsay Clancy trial: psychologist says he doubts claim she was hallucinating

Dr Kirk Heilbrun says he believes Clancy took children’s lives so they wouldn’t ‘suffer’ after she killed herself

With just days to go before the murder trial for Lindsay Clancy concludes, a forensic psychologist called by the prosecution testified on Monday that he did not believe she was experiencing acute psychosis when she killed her three children.

Kirk Heilbrun, who reportedly performed psychiatric tests on Clancy in April, told the court that he questioned her claims that a hallucinated voice commanded her to commit the act, and that he believed she took their lives so they wouldn’t “suffer” after she killed herself.

Published: August 24, 2026, 4:00 pm

San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York pleads no contest after arrest at Ohio trailer park

• 46-year-old charged with possessing criminal tools

• York fined and sentenced to two days in jail

• 49ers CEO also owns stake in Leeds United

The San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York has pleaded no contest to two criminal charges after being arrested at an Ohio trailer park over the weekend.

KRON4 News in San Francisco reported that York was initially arrested on suspicion of engaging in prostitution but that count was amended to a charge of disorderly conduct. He was also charged with possessing criminal tools.

Published: August 24, 2026, 9:21 am

Trump’s border wall construction threatens rock art as old as the pyramids: ‘The ancestors are still here’

The president’s border wall plan could damage or destroy ‘the oldest-known books in North America’

On an overcast summer morning, Carolyn Boyd, an archeologist at Texas State University, stood at the foot of a cave in west Texas, looking up toward a series of towering murals painted on a rock wall. Three massive human-like figures soared toward an overhang that had sheltered the painting from the elements since they were drawn here perhaps 4,000 years ago.

An artist herself, Boyd knows how hard it would have been to paint these long, crisp lines. Before starting, the bands of Indigenous hunter-gatherers who lived in this west Texas valley, where the Pecos River empties into the Rio Grande, would have spent weeks pulverizing gypsum, hematite, limonite and manganese to make paint. They would have gathered massive quantities of sotol stalks to fold its fibers into scaffolding. The painting itself would have required teamwork and precision, with people at the bottom guiding artists on the wall as they painted figures stretching up to 30ft tall.

Published: August 24, 2026, 5:00 am

From Arizona to Wisconsin, election deniers are vying for office nationwide

Republicans who deny Joe Biden won the 2020 election are running for governor and secretary of state across the US

Election deniers are back on the ballot.

In most swing states, at least one major Republican candidate has questioned or outright denied the results of the 2020 US presidential election, which Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden.

Published: August 24, 2026, 3:00 am

The treasury bond mess: is this the demise of the US as a safe haven?

The US is scooping up treasury bonds in an effort to raise their price and push yields down – but it’s not working

The bond market is driving the Trump administration crazy. Last week, the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, announced that the government would sharply ramp up its purchase of treasury bonds, in an effort to raise their price and thus push down their yield, which amounts to the interest rate the government pays on its debt.

It didn’t quite work as planned. Yields on treasurys fell after Bessent’s bond market intervention but soon bounced back. By Friday afternoon, the yield on the 10-year treasury was back near where it was before the secretary’s announcement. The yield on the 30-year bond was again trading around its highest level in 20 years or more.

Published: August 24, 2026, 3:00 am

Top US firms that backed Voting Rights Act donate to groups working to undermine it

Watchdog data shared with Guardian shows contributions to Republican Attorneys General Association and others

Over a dozen US companies that signed a 2021 letter urging Congress to strengthen the Voting Rights Act continue to contribute to state political groups that are actively working to undermine the legislation, according to a campaign finance watchdog.

Researchers at the Center for Political Accountability (CPA), a nonpartisan organization that tracks financial disclosures, found that companies – including Airbnb, DoorDash, Target and Zillow – that signed the letter are contributing to groups known as 527 organizations that prop up key state races, according to data provided exclusively to the Guardian.

Published: August 24, 2026, 4:00 am

Alarm over $20m plan to supply ICE officers with electric-shock gloves

Civil liberties groups decry plan to use gloves linked to death of Kentucky man allegedly shocked 27 times in county jail

Plans to supply Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers with special gloves that can deliver electric shocks have alarmed experts and drawn scrutiny amid some high-profile lawsuits over their use in local correctional facilities.

In one extreme case, a 43-year-old man died after allegedly being shocked 40 times by officers with a combination of the gloves and a Taser in a county jail in Kentucky, and the man’s widow is suing authorities.

Published: August 24, 2026, 3:00 am

‘Honest leaders are the first step to a better future’: Cockroach hunger striker targets India’s political class

Sonam Wangchuk’s fast was spark that drove youth protest movement – and now he wants to cleanse the political system

For 26 days, India watched as Sonam Wangchuk wasted away. His hunger strike, held in solidarity with India’s “Cockroach” youth protest movement, would prove to be one of the most politically consequential fasts held in the country’s modern history.

Many in the country view the gruelling fast, which began on 28 June, as the crucial spark that helped propel the Cockroach movement into one of the most formidable challenges to the government of prime minister, Narendra Modi, in more than a decade.

Published: August 24, 2026, 5:00 pm

Burnham hands secret missile technology to Ukraine in first foreign trip - The Latest

Andy Burnham is making his first foreign visit as prime minister to Ukraine, marking the country’s independence day. Burnham will use the trip to announce that the UK government will declassify information about missiles to help Ukraine build its own. Lucy Hough speaks to senior international correspondent Luke Harding – watch on YouTube

Published: August 24, 2026, 9:11 am

French tourist dies in California’s Death Valley after being stranded in heat

Man, 68, was left searching for help in 116F weather after his car became stuck in mud along remote park road

A French tourist recently died in Death Valley national park after a car mishap left him stranded in 116F (47C) weather.

The visitor, identified as 68-year-old Pierre Michel Formosa, was traveling with another French man along the park’s remote West Side Road when their vehicle became stuck in mud near Queen of Sheba Mine Road.

Published: August 24, 2026, 11:55 am

Man suspected of killing five people in Oregon found dead, officials say

Authorities believe Benjamin Charles ​Parker, 36, died by suicide after he was found in vehicle in Washington state

A man ⁠suspected of killing ⁠five ​people in rural Oregon was found dead in a suspected ⁠suicide, local law enforcement officials said on Sunday.

The five homicide victims were found ⁠on Saturday at a home in a ​rural community near ‌Forest Grove, ‌Oregon, about 30 miles (48km) outside Portland, ‌when authorities responded to a report of a vehicle fire.

Published: August 24, 2026, 7:27 am

From mixed martial arts to mechanical dogs: the World Robot Conference 2026 – in pictures

More than 3,000 products were shown at the 2026 World Robot Conference in Beijing as China showcased its rapidly growing robotics industry.

The event, which ran from 19-23 August, showcased the latest advances across the robotics industry, from humanoid robots to embodied intelligence and cutting-edge components

Published: August 24, 2026, 4:59 pm

The men claiming to defend women’s sports are throwing sex toys at female athletes

The WNBA has attracted grifters who care little for basketball – and whose latest stunt exposes the hollowness of their supposed concern

I regret to inform you that yet another dildo has hit a WNBA court. The Chicago Sky v Golden State Valkyries game was sullied by sex toys being chucked on to the playing surface on Friday. Aren’t we tired of all this yet? To paraphrase the Sky’s Natasha Cloud, it takes a lot of effort to bother with such a juvenile act.

This is yet another controversy for the WNBA, a league that up until a few years ago, most media observers ignored. The WNBA is full of incredibly talented players and has a rich history, but most sports fans treated all but ignored it for the majority of its 30-year existence. But when Caitlin Clark went pro, the league surged. Ratings, attendance, and interest exploded. But not all attention is good attention.

Published: August 24, 2026, 2:00 am

‘It’s absolutely criminal’: US tipping culture has reached the UK – and is causing chaos

Service charges used to be a matter of choice, but now consumers feel obliged to pay them for even a cup of coffee. How do we navigate this minefield and who is really profiting?

In a London pub, Greg Double was brutally confronted with the reality of Britain’s evolving tipping culture. “I was annoyed about the pint being eight quid, but then when you put service on top, it’s absolutely criminal,” he says. In the past, you might have told the bar staff to keep the change or have a “drink” on you, but since when did we routinely tip in pubs? Or coffee shops? Or, worst of all, at self-service machines? Tip creep is happening.

Tipping was awkward enough in the UK when the general rule was 10% at a restaurant, plus anxiety about whether you should tip the hairdresser, babysitter or food-delivery driver. Now, with tipping suggested ever more frequently, US-style, it has become a minefield to Britons. The amounts edge higher – in fancier London restaurants, a 15% service charge is relatively commonplace. And it’s often asked for – in coffee shops for example, when you pay – before any service is delivered.

Published: August 24, 2026, 2:00 am

John Oliver on ‘smart’ appliances: ‘Spying on you through the washing machine’

The host also discussed the rise of forgotten monthly subscriptions for anything from dishwashers to litter boxes

On the Sunday night episode of his HBO show, John Oliver discussed the rise of subscription-based business models across the worlds of music, film and TV, beauty, food, cleaning services and more.

“Subscriptions are now basically everywhere and many of us don’t even realize how much we spend on them,” Oliver said.

Published: August 24, 2026, 9:18 am

‘Parisians out!’ Why the French have had enough of French tourists

As holidaymakers descend on Brittany this summer, trebling the population of some villages and towns, local people are unimpressed

Name: “Parisians out!”

Age: It officially commenced at the start of August.

Published: August 24, 2026, 8:16 am

ICE’s tactics look increasingly like torture | Judith Levine

Plans for gloves that can deliver electric shocks underline the homeland security department’s sadistic practices

On 11 August, the Associated Press reported that the Homeland Security Agency will spend up to $20m to equip its agents with gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks to the skin of a person deemed uncooperative. The “conductive distraction and de-escalation devices”– branded Glove, for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter – will be supplied by their manufacturer, Compliant Technologies, through a no-bid contract.

News of the acquisition inspired the editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes to publish a cartoon of an ICE agent wearing the glove, underneath which are a branding iron, an iron maiden, a rack, and other compliance technologies. AKA, instruments of torture.

Published: August 24, 2026, 3:00 am

After 100 days of the deadliest Ebola outbreak, it can be stopped. Here’s how | Jean Kaseya and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Ebola is a disease that spreads through communities, so we need to listen to communities if we want to halt its spread

Each time we travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), we go first to listen. In Bunia, we have met dozens of community representatives: survivors, women, young people, local organisations, health workers and leaders from affected areas.

Their message was direct: involve us. We know our communities. We know where families seek care, how information moves and why trust is breaking down. Give us the means to help drive the response. They were right.

Published: August 24, 2026, 4:54 am

Nicola Jennings on Ukraine’s independence day – cartoon

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Published: August 24, 2026, 8:34 am

Marine Le Pen's career has been resurrected – and she is a bigger threat than ever | Mujtaba Rahman

No longer banned from next year’s presidential election, Le Pen is a far more formidable force than her understudy, Jordan Bardella

France loves a battle-scarred survivor. Charles de Gaulle, François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac clawed their way back from political failure to become presidents of the republic. There is a significant chance that Marine Le Pen will be next.

Now that the Paris appeal court has unshackled her from an electoral ban for fraud, the far-right veteran has double appeal in the race for the French presidency next year. She will run, as always, as an outsider and a scourge of the political elites – despite continuously holding electoral office since 1998. She can also now pose as a “miraculous survivor”, a “mother courage” and “a battling granny”, as senior French political figures, including former ministers, described her to me during recent conversations in Paris.

Mujtaba Rahman is the managing director for Europe at Eurasia Group, a political risk research and consulting firm

Published: August 23, 2026, 9:00 pm

The hill I will die on: A music festival isn’t a music festival without children | Iman Amrani

Ignore the party poopers who say toddlers spoil the fun. I’ve braved the raves with my twins – and I’ve seen how families add to the magic of events

The woman I used to be died the day I gave birth to twins. That life – full of spontaneous travel, impulsive decisions and a decorated social calendar – evaporated, giving way to a blank canvas of motherhood and two glorious little human beings. While I was inside that summer, many of my friends continued on their child-free paths. They posted pictures of themselves enjoying festivals, sleeping in tents with pop-up communities that I used to be a part of.

So when the twins turned one last summer and we’d found our rhythm, I decided to take on the challenge of sharing the magic of live music with them. It went better than I expected. Before their second birthday, we had danced at day festivals such as Situation Dance, put on by Femi Koleoso from Ezra Collective, camped out overnight in the Brecon Beacons for Green Man and been to the child-focused TOTFest.

Iman Amrani is a freelance writer and producer

Published: August 23, 2026, 11:00 pm

The Guardian view on the Tiananmen vigil convictions: Hong Kong too has been silenced. Others should speak out | Editorial

Two activists who organised commemorations of the bloody crackdown on China’s 1989 pro-democracy protests now face jail. Remembering is not a crime

For decades, Hong Kong mourned when the mainland could not. Its huge annual Tiananmen vigil kept alive the memory of the 1989 pro-reform protests in Beijing, and of the massacre that suppressed them. Along with Macau, it was the only place in China where the anniversary could be publicly marked and the truth preserved.

But the crackdown on the 2019 uprising in Hong Kong has crushed the freedoms that the region once enjoyed. That year’s vigil was the last. On Friday, two leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance, which organised the commemoration, were convicted of incitement to subversion under the draconian national security law. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, face up to 10 years in jail.

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.

Published: August 24, 2026, 10:53 am

The Guardian view on Britain helping Ukraine: build the weapons independence Kyiv needs | Editorial

Moscow hopes western politics will weaken support for Kyiv. The UK and Europe’s answer should be to make Ukraine increasingly capable of defending itself alone

The events of the past few days on Europe’s borders may mark a turning point in Russia’s war on Ukraine. While the political skies in Kyiv have darkened for Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the military picture looks brighter. Ukraine can already send swarms of drones against Russian oil facilities, e-commerce warehouses and airfields. Andy Burnham’s arrival in Kyiv marks a step forward. Britain is releasing classified information on its components of Scalp, the French version of the Anglo-French Storm Shadow cruise missile, enabling its assembly in Ukraine. This is more than another weapon for Kyiv. Britain is helping Ukraine become less dependent on the western armoury.

Moscow sabre-rattles, but Britain should hold its nerve. Kyiv has been at the mercy of its allies, waiting to replenish weapons stockpiles and release sophisticated arms. Producing its own hi-tech armoury gives Ukraine greater freedom of action because western governments have let go. Two years ago it was different. Joe Biden waited until November 2024 before letting Ukraine strike deep into Russia with US weapons. Yet thresholds once deemed dangerously escalatory have since been crossed without provoking a Russia-Nato war. Kyiv is now being trusted with something more consequential: a measure of weapons independence.

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.

Published: August 24, 2026, 10:53 am

Post-Pep Premier League era begins with blast of hyper-managed shock and awe | Barney Ronay

Possession numbers, the intense physicality and the pure rhythm of games all felt noticeably new as the season began

There has been something oddly narcotic and moreish about the drip‑drip of fresh Pep Guardiola content either side of the start of the new Premier League season. Eras come and go. Everything dies, baby, that’s a fact. But four‑part Amazon Prime documentaries make angels of us all.

So we have continued to feast on the Pep-at-City visuals: dead jeopardy, reheated beefs, the uplifting team talks of a departed manager to the departed players of a departed team, and moments that often feel far more gripping than the daily churn of what we must, out of habit, call the real world.

Published: August 24, 2026, 12:30 pm

‘Enough is enough’: players pile pressure on under-fire Gianni Infantino to resign

• President accused by ‘Fifa Legends’ of being power hungry

• Samuel Eto’o claims chief has not ‘done anything wrong’

A group of influential current and former footballers have added to the pressure on Gianni Infantino by calling for change at the top of Fifa, saying “enough is enough” in a statement shared widely across social media.

The intervention is particularly significant given some of those behind its circulation have undertaken ambassadorial activities for Fifa as part of its “Fifa Legends” programme. Among them is the former Manchester United and Arsenal defender Mikaël Silvestre, who also sits on the governing body’s 16-member players’ voice panel designed to assist with anti-racism initiatives.

Published: August 24, 2026, 11:19 am

Vuelta a España: giant hail forces stage three abandonment in Pyrenees

• Huge hailstones prompt organisers to act 15km from end

• Riders seen heading into hotel on route to take cover

A torrential hailstorm in the French Pyrenees forced the abandonment of the ⁠third stage of the Vuelta a España on Monday.

With 15 kilometres (9.32 miles) remaining of the 174km route ⁠from Gruissan to Font-Romeu, the ​skies darkened as the peloton neared the top of the Col de Mont-Louis and huge hailstones began ⁠bouncing off the tarmac and pelting the riders.

Published: August 24, 2026, 10:21 am

Chelsea’s front three dazzle as they edge out Fulham in derby thriller

Perhaps there will come a time when Xabi Alonso has taught Chelsea how to master the art of game management. This is a team still to learn how to grind. Equally it is a team capable of hurting anyone, and although Alonso’s first outing as Chelsea’s manager featured plenty of terrible defending it also provided confirmation that life will never be dull with a front three of Cole Palmer, João Pedro and Morgan Rogers.

No wonder Maxence Lacroix wanted to join in the fun. The £52m centre‑back marked his debut with a thrilling assist, storming forward to make Rogers’s first goal since his £117m move from Aston Villa. João Pedro was no less effective as the No 9, while the biggest positive for Alonso had to be Palmer looking rested, dangerous and determined to prove a point after his injury woes last season led to him being left out of England’s World Cup squad.

Published: August 24, 2026, 2:05 pm

Liverpool are still haunted by the mess of last summer | Jonathan Wilson

Sunday’s draw with Newcastle shows Andoni Iraola’s new ideas as manager will need to overcome the squad’s lack of balance

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The good news for Liverpool is that, Arsenal aside, every other team with vague title aspirations who played over the weekend looked undercooked, and that Andoni Iraola’s men did, in the end, come away from Newcastle with a point. But the vulnerability to the counter that undermined them so often last season has not gone away, and nor have they suddenly found a new creativity under Iraola.

The main theme of the first three days of the new season was the value of stability. Manchester City under a new manager were poor and fortunate to overcome Bournemouth. Aston Villa, after big changes of players and backroom staff, were hammered at Brighton. Tottenham, midway through yet another overhaul, were dismal in losing at Brentford. Manchester United at least provided a degree of stability by looking very much like the United of the past decade in their defeat to Hull.

This is an extract from Soccer Desk, a newsletter from the Guardian US. Subscribe for free here.

Published: August 24, 2026, 8:42 am

Cycling chiefs criticised for response to Fin Tarling’s death: ‘This simply cannot happen’

• Richard Plugge criticises UCI for its lack of action

• ‘Riders must be certain they can race on a safe course’

Richard Plugge, the manager of the two-time Tour de France winner, Jonas Vingegaard, has criticised cycling’s governing body, the UCI, for a lack of action following the death of the teenage rider Fin Tarling 10 days ago and said cycling’s leading teams should take responsibility for ensuring safety in races.

“Neither UCI president David Lappartient, nor anyone else, stands up and says: ‘Wait a minute, we really need to think about how we are going to prevent this from happening in the future,’” Plugge, the manager of the Vingegaard-led Visma-Lease a bike team, told the cycling website WielerFlits.

Published: August 24, 2026, 7:17 am

Enes Kanter Freedom ejected from WNBA game after confrontation with Natasha Cloud

• Former NBA center criticized WNBA’s transgender policy

• Cloud yelled and pointed in his direction after scoring

Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from Sunday night’s Indiana Fever v Chicago Sky WNBA game after he was confronted by Sky guard Natasha Cloud late in the third quarter.

Freedom was sitting along the baseline. He had on a black shirt that read “WOMAN. Noun. Adult human female.”

Published: August 23, 2026, 8:18 pm

Fast-moving Hawk wildfire is about 27% contained in Reno, Nevada, officials say

Tens of thousands are still under evacuation orders or warnings amid ‘human-caused’, wind-driven blaze

The Hawk fire is about 27% contained, authorities said on Monday afternoon, two days after the fast-moving, wind-driven wildfire sparked near Reno, Nevada.

Authorities added that 23,000 people are under a “go-now” order and 40,000 people are under a “get-set” warning, an improvement from the 90,000 Nevadans under evacuation orders or warnings on Monday morning.

Published: August 24, 2026, 10:26 am

Colombia’s new president Abelardo de la Espriella announces immigration crackdown

Far-right leader echoes ally Donald Trump and says operations to ‘track down illegal immigrants’ should begin this week, amid earthquake aftermath

Colombia’s far-right president, Abelardo de la Espriella, has announced a crackdown on immigrants, ordering authorities to detain and deport people who are in the country irregularly or have committed crimes.

In office for just over two weeks, the millionaire former lawyer made the announcement on Sunday as the country continued to grapple with the aftermath of a 7.4-magnitude earthquake on 10 August that killed more than 300 people and destroyed more than 30,000 homes.

Published: August 24, 2026, 5:34 pm

Washington Post ordered to reinstate opinion writer fired over Charlie Kirk posts

Arbitrator determined the Post improperly fired Karen Attiah, a union-protected employee, over social media posts

An independent arbitrator has ordered the Washington Post to rehire the high-profile opinion columnist Karen Attiah, abruptly fired by the news organization last September over comments she made on social media about Charlie Kirk, the then recently killed conservative activist.

On Monday, an arbitrator ruled that the Post had violated her rights as a union-protected employee and ordered the newspaper to reinstate her and compensate her for lost wages.

Published: August 24, 2026, 5:51 pm

Former Illinois sheriff’s deputy who killed Sonya Massey in her home dies aged 32

Sean Grayson, who was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer in 2023, was serving a 20-year sentence for second-degree murder

The former Illinois sheriff’s deputy convicted of fatally shooting Sonya Massey in her home after she reported a possible prowler to 911, has died, his attorney said on Sunday.

Sean Grayson died on Sunday, lawyer Daniel Fultz – who represented the ex-Sangamon county deputy at his trial – told NBC News and CBS News.

Published: August 24, 2026, 5:44 am

Largest review of its kind confirms benefits of tai chi and other Chinese exercises

Analysis finds ‘high certainty evidence’ of their effectiveness for the 1.7bn people worldwide with musculoskeletal conditions

Traditional Chinese exercises such as tai chi can offer wide-ranging benefits for people with musculoskeletal disorders, improving physical function, pain, mental health, sleep quality and bone mineral density, according to the largest review of its kind.

More than 1.7bn people have musculoskeletal conditions worldwide. While prevalence varies by age and diagnosis, people of all ages in every country and every continent are affected.

Published: August 24, 2026, 3:30 pm

NYPD to investigate another video of people emerging from manhole

Video posted on social media shows three people climbing out of sewer system at 4am, months after similar reports

New York City’s police department (NYPD) says it is investigating a recent video of three people emerging from a manhole in the latest such episode to cause mystery.

Posted to TikTok on Friday, the video showed three people – one after the other – climbing out of a manhole at 4.19am on 18 August wearing headlamps and black overalls near Madison Square Garden.

Published: August 24, 2026, 11:16 am

Alfalfa sprouts linked to food-poisoning outbreak in 15 states, US officials say

Everything Sprouts recalls products after CDC says agency is aware of dozens of food-poisoning cases nationally

US healthcare officials recently said a food-poisoning outbreak tied to alfalfa sprouts and involving multiple germs had sickened people in at least 15 states.

Officials announced the outbreak after documenting more than three dozen cases in Minnesota and Wisconsin. On Friday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the agency was aware of at least 55 cases nationally, including four people who had been hospitalized.

Published: August 24, 2026, 11:58 am

Guardian-produced Gaza documentary from Oscar-winning Israeli directors of No Other Land to screen at Venice film festival

Film directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, co-directors of No Other Land along with Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal , investigates ‘Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians’ during the war

A new documentary about Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza, directed by Oscar-winning directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor and produced by the Guardian, is to receive its world premiere at the Venice film festival.

The film, called NAZA, has been produced with Jim Wilson and executive produced by Jonathan Glazer, the team behind The Zone of Interest, and is the only documentary that will compete this year for Venice’s prestigious Golden Lion.

Published: August 24, 2026, 6:16 am

World’s oceans hit hottest temperature on record in August

Average sea surface temperature outside polar regions was 21.1C on Saturday, latest data finds

The world’s oceans were hotter than ever previously recorded on Saturday, according to the latest data.

The average surface temperature was 21.1C, with the rising marine heat a stark indicator of the climate crisis. More than 90% of the heat trapped by carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning enters the oceans.

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

Published: August 24, 2026, 5:49 am

Australia has just 12,000 sea lions left – and ‘carnage’ may await them as bird flu takes hold, scientists warn

Virus has already caused catastrophic losses in seals in South America and sub-Antarctica, particularly among pups

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

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Scientists have warned deadly H5 bird flu could cause “carnage” for Australia’s seal and sea lion populations after detection of the virus in long-nosed fur seals in South Australia.

SA confirmed Australia’s first case in a mainland mammal on Saturday after a dead long-nosed fur seal found at Beachport on the Limestone Coast tested positive for H5N1.

Published: August 24, 2026, 8:00 am

How growing up in ‘Chemical Valley’ inspired lawyer to sue industry she used to work for

Hélène Duguy is taking on companies accused of failing to stop Pfas pollution in the area of France she calls home

The factories were just part of the landscape for Hélène Duguy growing up in the heart of an area known as France’s “Chemical Valley”.

“Those factories are visible from my mother’s apartment,” says Duguy, 34, whose mother still lives in St-Genis-Laval, south of Lyon.

Published: August 24, 2026, 5:00 am

No fridge, no fans, just blocks of ice: improvising to survive in Pakistan’s searing heat

With limited electricity and poor ventilation, many families in Nasirabad have little to shield them from temperatures of up to 50C

As the first light reaches Nasirabad, a queue of men, women and children has already formed outside the town’s ice factory, with their buckets, sacks and plastic containers. Among those hoping to buy some ice to help their families endure another scorching day is 12-year-old Taimoor, in his school uniform. He says it is his most important task of the day.

“If I do not bring the ice, how will we endure the heat at home?” he says. “And how will we drink water that feels as though it is boiling?”

Published: August 24, 2026, 1:00 am

New Mexico to continue funding gender-affirming care for minors after federal cuts

Trump administration finalized rule to end Medicaid support for care including hormones and speech therapy

New Mexico will continue funding gender-affirming care for minors after a federal rule ending Medicaid support for such care goes into effect.

On 13 August, the Trump administration finalized a rule – set to go into effect on 13 October – that will end funding for gender-affirming care through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (Chip).

Published: August 24, 2026, 5:00 am

Indiana mayor calls it ‘unacceptable’ for thousands to have no power two weeks after storm

Gary mayor says 12 days is ‘too long’ for residents to go without power after storm downed trees on to power lines

The mayor of Gary, Indiana, has said it is “unacceptable” that thousands of residents in the city are still without power nearly two weeks after an 11 August storm known as a derecho brought 90 mph, straight-line winds, downing trees on to power lines.

“We’re at day 12, and 12 days is too long for families to be without power,” said Eddie Melton, Gary’s mayor, in a video address on Sunday, adding that he is continuing to pressure the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (Nipsco) to restore the city’s power before the end of Tuesday.

Published: August 24, 2026, 6:39 am

Father of USS Lincoln sailor taken into ICE detention while son deployed in Middle East

Joshua Aviles says he is on a nine-month Middle East deployment and learned his father has been arrested while he was waiting for green card approval

The father of a US sailor on board the USS Abraham Lincoln ⁠aircraft carrier deployed in the Middle East during the Iran war has been taken into federal immigration detention, the sailor ⁠said.

The border ​patrol arrested Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, originally from Nicaragua, after conducting a vehicle stop in Key West, Florida, a spokesperson for the US homeland security department said on Sunday.

Published: August 23, 2026, 10:42 pm

New Fed chair faces critical test at Jackson Hole as inflation fears mount

Investors will hope Kevin Warsh offers ‘comfort blanket’ at annual meeting of central banks amid bond market anxiety

The new US Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, faces a critical test this week amid anxiety in government bond markets over inflation and Donald Trump’s tax and spending plans.

As the world’s most powerful central bank prepares for its annual Jackson Hole conference, analysts said bond traders would be looking for signals from Warsh over its commitment to fighting inflation.

Published: August 23, 2026, 10:00 pm

US strikes a vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing 2 people in first attack in months

US Southern Command has struck another vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two accused of trafficking drugs

The US military has launched a deadly strike on a vessel in the Pacific Ocean, killing two people accused of drug trafficking.

On Monday, US Southern Command (SouthCom) announced it “executed a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific”.

Published: August 24, 2026, 2:40 pm

Prince Harry quits board of wildlife charity after rangers’ human rights abuses

Spokesperson for Duke of Sussex says he remains an ‘active and avid supporter’ of African Parks’ mission

The Duke of Sussex has stepped down from the board of a major African wildlife charity that had been at the centre of a human rights controversy.

Prince Harry’s spokesperson confirmed he was no longer a trustee of African Parks, which admitted last year that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers in the Republic of the Congo.

Published: August 24, 2026, 10:34 am

‘Fix that little spot’: Danish PM hits back at unsolicited beauty tip from cosmetic surgeon

Mette Frederiksen, who received message on returning from Ukraine, advises women to embrace self-acceptance

Sick of getting unsolicited beauty tips on social media, the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, rebuffed a male cosmetic surgeon’s offer to “fix” her and advised women in similar situations to embrace self-acceptance.

Frederiksen, a Social Democrat and Denmark’s second female prime minister, posted on Instagram that she had just returned from a trip to Ukraine, where she was subjected to air raid sirens, when she found a message proposing some help with her appearance.

Published: August 24, 2026, 9:59 am

Burnham accuses Russia of ‘outrageous threats’ against UK as he visits Kyiv

Moscow warns of increased tensions with Britain as PM offers Ukraine declassified details of missile components

• Europe live – latest updates

Andy Burnham has accused the Kremlin of “outrageous threats” against the UK as Russia warned of an escalation in tensions after the UK’s decision to present Ukraine with newly declassified blueprints to allow Kyiv to improve its production of long-range missiles.

Speaking in Kyiv, Burnham compared Ukraine’s struggle to Britain’s fight against Nazi Germany. “My nation kept the flame of European freedom alive in the 20th century, you hold that flame in the 21st,” Burnham said in a speech in front of St Sophia cathedral to mark the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence.

Published: August 24, 2026, 5:07 am

Betrayal by Luke Harding review – could Donald Trump be a Russian asset?

A Guardian correspondent’s sobering account of the US betrayal of Ukraine – and the possible reasons behind it

American presidents have struggled to get the measure of Vladimir Putin. When George W Bush met him in 2001, he reported that he had “looked the man in the eye”, got a “sense of his soul” and found him “trustworthy”. Barack Obama thought Putin was making a mistake with his interventions in Ukraine and Syria, but didn’t do much about it. Joe Biden backed Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion, yet his fear that Putin would reach for the nuclear button if backed into a corner made him risk averse. He worried about the impact of the sort of long-range strikes against Russian territory that Kyiv is now launching on a daily basis.

This caution frustrated Ukrainians to the point that they looked forward to Donald Trump shaking things up after he won re-election. Be careful what you wish for: the returning president thought his rapport with Putin would be enough to get Russia to sign up to an immediate ceasefire. In Trump’s head it was President Zelenskyy, fighting a war he was bound to lose, who was the problem.

Published: August 24, 2026, 1:00 am

Revival review – step up, Walking Dead fans! This is the most moving zombie show ever

The undead are climbing out of their graves all over town, so gore levels are high – but this noirish miniseries sets itself apart by being delightfully offbeat and genuinely poignant

A teenage girl is pale, withdrawn and seems not to be fully in or of this world. Could she be … a zombie? “She just likes the Cure,” weary police officer Dana Cypress (Wynonna Earp’s Melanie Scrofano) assures the anxious mother at the station.

It’s good to get the mandatory goth joke out of the way early in an undead-centred show, and Revival – a 10-part adaptation of the comic books by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton – is briskly efficient. It begins with a man bashing his way out of a crematorium furnace while others in the corpse-queue start to stir and the recently buried start to climb out of their graves and wonder, frankly, WTF is going on.

Revival is on Netflix now

Published: August 24, 2026, 12:00 am

‘A bit like meditation’: why Saw is my feelgood movie

The latest in our series of writers picking their go-to comfort films is a grimy and gory trip back to the start of a surprisingly uplifting torture porn franchise

I was petsitting recently for a white suburban family, with the typical streaming habits therein. They had two kids; their most-watched shows, according to the history that showed up on the screen, were Bluey for the kids and The Office for the adults. When they came home from their weeklong trip, they would’ve found their watch history upheaved. The Bingos and Michael Scotts all erased by Saw I, Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, Saw V, Saw VI, Saw 3D, Saw Spiral, Saw Jigsaw and, finally, my new favourite, Saw X.

I was obsessed with the Saw franchise well before I ever saw it. At 11, as Jigsaw puppets became Halloween costumes, I went to bed each night convinced Jigsaw was going to scoop me up in a van because the word “hell”a popped into my head. By 13, I looked up every film on Wikipedia and read through each trap with terrified excitement. By 14, I drank my first can of Stella and typed Saw II into YouTube, watching it in 12 installments. It was utterly horrifying. And so, so, so much fun.

Published: August 24, 2026, 2:00 am

The Terror: Devil in Silver review – this psychiatric hospital horror is scary on so many levels

Expect gory set pieces and jump scares galore in the return of the supernatural anthology series, with Dan Stevens among the many poor souls terrorised by an evil spirit haunting their ward

Things that go bump in the night? Bad. Things that go bump in the night in a dilapidated psychiatric hospital? Infinitely worse. That, basically, is the premise of Devil in Silver, the latest volume of anthology series The Terror, which began in 2018 with a supernaturally charged tale of a polar expedition to find out what happened to Sir John Franklin’s voyage. Crikey, it does not end well. The next was set during the second world war and was about shapeshifters from Japanese folklore terrorising a Japanese-American community in southern California. A hiatus followed, but now The Terror is back with a double dose of horror: a malevolent spirit moving in and out of the bodies of the patients of New Hyde psychiatric hospital, and the more tangible but no less frightening diabolism of the US mental healthcare system.

Pepper (Dan Stevens, still of Downton Abbey fame despite his many varied roles since) is in New Hyde because the three policemen who arrested him after they caught a few punches he was aiming at his girlfriend’s controlling ex threw him in there rather than completing the paperwork the station would have required. There he meets the lost and suffering souls who have ended up in what amounts, due to underfunding and understaffing, to a holding pen rather than a rehabilitative or care facility. Dorry (Judith Light) is the longest-serving resident – put there decades ago by her husband because of her endless crying fits, though her later memories reveal a greater darkness. Kofi (Chinaza Uche) – or Coffee, as he is called by the rest of his companions until it is too late – was a structural engineer in Ghana but now depends on medication to keep himself steady. Loochie (played by non-binary actor b) ended up in the system after a violent incident with a sibling, but at least one member of staff believes her charge is able to cope in the real world and, as the hospital’s evil spirit gathers strength and wrath, gets the chance to prove it.

Published: August 23, 2026, 2:05 pm

Green Man review – Wolf Alice, Shame and secret sets keep the Welsh festival’s flame burning

Bannau Brycheiniog, Wales
The traditional fire might be banned this year, but festivalgoers are treated by energetic performances by Four Tet, Tamikrest and Westside Cowboy

Driving towards the bucolic Welsh valley that’s home to the Green Man festival feels a little apocalyptic this year. Charred peat and grassland smoulder on the hillsides, the remnants of one of the 20 wildfires that blazed through south and west Wales the previous week. The dangerously dry conditions pose a problem for the festival organisers: the traditional closing ceremony, during which a towering effigy of the titular Green Man adorned with punters’ handwritten wishes is set alight, has been cancelled. A sensible decision, but one that left longtime festival-goers with a serious question: where would all those wishes go?

Then, the heavens open. Manchester quartet Westside Cowboy pack out the main stage arena on Friday afternoon, thousands of soggy cagoules bobbing along to the band’s charmingly ramshackle blend of British indie and amiable Americana. “We were over there last year,” grins vocalist and guitarist Jimmy Bradbury, gesturing towards the significantly smaller Rising stage. They’re clearly over the moon – and it’s infectious. To close the set, the band down instruments – save a guitar and a handheld drum – and gather round one mic for a rallying performance of In the Morning. The recorded version sounds like a lullaby, but here they transform it into a euphoric boot-stomping finale.

Published: August 24, 2026, 9:22 am

The Disappearers by Marlon James review – a scorching exposé of homophobia in Jamaica

This Booker-listed epic set in Aids-era Kingston is a triumph – bitter, bawdy and ravishingly queer

“A sense of sweep,” replied Marlon James, when asked what moves him most in literature. “Sweep isn’t just about external journeys, but internal as well. It can be over years and decades, or across land and sea.” If that explanation is still hazy, pick up his mighty new novel, which is longlisted for this year’s Booker prize and is tirelessly – sometimes exhaustingly – grand and peripatetic. Mounting a grisly exposé of Jamaican homophobia, this polyphonic 640-page doorstopper is an emotionally bruising narrative that roves “uptown, downtown, ghetto and gully” through Aids-era Kingston with sidetrack excursions to 1950s England and a closing leap to 2000s United States.

The novel’s defining event is a gruesome mob attack on eight queer men who have clandestinely come together to work on bringing John Herbert’s 1967 gay prison play, Fortune and Men’s Eyes, to the stage. The goal, in the words of director Havelock Titus, is to shatter “the whole fragile myth of Jamaican male sexuality”. “Because prison,” he explains, “is the ultimate male institution and yet masculine sexualities that could never happen outside in the normal world flourish in there all the time.”

Published: August 23, 2026, 11:00 pm

‘A cognitive cacophony’: hands-on with the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 beta test

Players will get what they expect from the new CoD title: boots-on-the-ground military action with a slight tactical edge. But what’s with all the distractions?

There’s a lot riding on this year’s Call of Duty, the inescapable first-person shootfest that’s been lobbing a grenade into the autumn release schedule since 2003. Previous instalment, Black Ops 7, performed poorly compared to previous titles, forcing Activision to post a semi-apology to fans. And that’s not the only challenge Modern Warfare 4 is facing: there’s a new indie shooter, Wardogs, promising a feel somewhere between classic CoD and Classic Battlefield. Then, lurking on the horizon, in mirror shades and an exotic sports car, is Grand Theft Auto 6, which is surely going to smash and grab all the attention (and money) from the market in mid-November.

The good news is that, judging by the early access beta test that ran over the penultimate August weekend, we’re definitely getting what we expect from a Modern Warfare title: quasi-authentic boots-on-the-ground military action with a slight tactical edge. The weapons and general gunplay are highly effective, from default assault rifle, the Han 86 – a classic CoD beginner’s gun with decent fire rate and handling – to the bullet-spraying Nightshade SMG and the absolutely lethal KG-7 Vulcan sniper rifle. They all feel good to hold and fire, and there’s enough balance to let you experiment with slightly more offbeat numbers like the burst-fire Hyeon AR and the possibly overpowered Mar-9 marksman rifle.

Published: August 24, 2026, 5:15 am

My Arms Are Longer Now – comedy stealth game sends lawlessness into new territory

Developers who met through Australia’s improv scene and publishers of comedic party games have united for this slithering challenge in which you play as one extended limb

Most stealth games cast you as a spy, an assassin or a master thief. My Arms Are Longer Now dispenses with most of the criminal person, to send in just one spectacularly badly behaved limb. It slithers across floors, winds around furniture, steals things and slaps anyone within reach – finally answering the question nobody asked: what if your own arm turned to crime?

As Toot Games co-founder Matthew Jackson puts it: “You are the bad thing that happens to the people.”

Published: August 24, 2026, 1:00 am

‘I didn’t miss a thing’: How Nick Haymes photographed his sons’ entire lives from verrucas to homemade hamster coffin

Bloody noses, ear cleanings, the first sproutings of armpit hair … the photographer reveals how he captured his two babies growing into boys and then men

Not many family photo albums open with images of the twin towers on fire. But for Nick Haymes, it made perfect sense. “When 9/11 happened,” he says, “I realised life was very short.” At the time, he was living in New York, trying to forge a career, while his friend, colleague and future wife Lina was dealing with the fallout of her previous marriage. “It made us realise we should probably get together and have a family. It was this huge historical event, but on a very micro level, it also shaped my relationship with my wife and children.”

Chronograph is a photography book that runs from those terrorist attacks to the present day, tracing the journey of Haymes’s two sons, Philipp and Lawrence, as they grow from drooling babies into young men. We are given a ringside seat as arms get broken, beloved pets die and hairs start sprouting from armpits. The mundane side of life – verrucas, messy kitchens, Lina cleaning out an ear with a cotton bud – is captured in the same way as birthday parties and rites of passage.

Published: August 23, 2026, 9:00 pm

Mark Ruffalo fires back at Paramount Skydance after it accuses him of using ‘antisemitic tropes’

Actor says highlighting role of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in media company’s merger with Warner Bros Discovery has been ‘dishonestly framed as being anti-Israel’

Mark Ruffalo has fired back at Paramount Skydance after the media company accused him of invoking “antisemitic tropes” in his criticism of its $111bn merger with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).

The actor, who has long been outspoken against Israel’s military conduct in Gaza and for the rights of Palestinians, shared a statement on social media on Friday in which he highlighted the links between Paramount Skydance, run by CEO David Ellison, and Oracle, the technology company run by Ellison’s father, Larry.

Published: August 23, 2026, 7:49 pm

On Donetsk’s ‘life or death’ highway with the Khyzhak brigade – photo essay

The road to Kostyantynivka in Donetsk, Ukraine, is a perilous journey for the Khyzhak brigade – a mobile unit tasked with shooting down Russian drones to cover soldiers’ rotations or moving armoured vehicles

“Holy yeah! Yeaaaah! Done!”

Booooooom.

Dzhango firing to shoot down a Russian FPV-drone.

Published: August 23, 2026, 11:00 pm

‘So many people say things about my appearance – it’s not normal’: Jorja Smith on burnout, body-shaming and finding freedom

Being recognised by the Brits, Grammys and Drake made the singer one of British music’s most famous names – and also left her exhausted. Now, after decompressing in her home town she returns with a record made for raving

It is a sticky, sweltering July afternoon, and I have accidentally found myself at a wake with Jorja Smith. I’m told that the pub where we have met, in the leafiest part of leafy south-west London, is usually a safe bet for an inconspicuous table. But today, sweaty black suits carrying pints drift between tables, and long queues snake round the bar.

Dressed in a simple tank top, bare-faced with her hair scraped back, Smith is waiting for me when I arrive. “I’ve been waiting for my drink for ages,” she says. “But I feel bad saying anything because, you know …”

Published: August 23, 2026, 2:00 am

A job that changed me: I worked for an infamous clothing brand – but it was one of the most positive workplaces of my life

Despite its global reputation, my time there felt less sexy party, more wholesome summer camp. Then one day my boss told me a hard truth

When I tell people I spent a chunk of my early 20s working at a hipster clothing retailer infamous for salacious ads and sexual assault allegations, I’m usually met with scandalised interest. I imagine what they imagine: a harshly lit harem of flesh and vice, where young women were offered up on an altar of mid-priced T-shirts.

We had our moments. An occasional visiting corporate lackey would inevitably grind up against one of us while checking a window display. A weekly caller would gasp and choke while asking if we sold women’s underwear. A co-worker inquired whether I’d be interested in going on dates with rich, interesting men for money. It was impossible to ignore the reputation of our store. But it was the 2010s, a strangely liminal time of sexual and social awakening. When we could roll our eyes at the problematic gender politics of our advertisements while never considering wearing a bra to work.

Published: August 24, 2026, 8:00 am

Fairphone 6+ review: the most repairable, ethical phone gets faster

Dutch sustainable smartphone revamped with new chip and more RAM without sacrificing modular design

Fairphone’s top Android for 2026 is a little faster with more memory while maintaining full compatibility with its previous phone, including its repairable and ethical chops.

The Fairphone 6+ continues the Dutch cooperative’s mission to make consumer electronics longer lasting and more sustainable, containing 51% either recycled or ethically sourced materials while being fully repairable at home with just the one screwdriver included in the box.

Published: August 23, 2026, 11:00 pm

I tested 15 pairs of women's running shoes over five months. These are my favorites for every type of surface and runner

Over five months, I evaluated shoes from On, Nike, Adidas, Hoka and more to find out which belong on your next road or trail run

• The 13 best pairs of women’s shoes for the office, vetted by style professionals

• Sign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better things

Finding the right running shoes is overwhelming if you’re not sure what to look for. Footwear can make or break your run, and there are a sea of options – from sleek carbon-plated racers to aggressive rubber-lugged trail runners.

As a lifelong athlete whose running ranges from holiday-themed 5Ks to trail races in the mountains, I’ve learned that footwear is the most important part of a runner’s gear setup. I am constantly looking for the best pair of shoes to help each run feel enjoyable.

All our running shoe picks, in detail

How I tested women’s running shoes

Other running shoes we tested

Running shoe questions you may have (and our answers!)

Published: August 23, 2026, 10:15 am

The pet I’ll never forget: Ernie the danger dog – who loves dicing with death

He has chased a deer across a dual carriageway, eaten an entire tray of chocolate brownies and jumped head first into a canal. But despite all the worry he brings us, he is extraordinarily lovable

Ernie found his way into our hearts and home about nine years ago, when he strategically crawled into my lap during a family visit to meet a litter of puppies. While all the other beagle puppies ran wild, Ernie sat comfortably on me with his long, soft ears dangling down. We chose him because of his placid nature and named him Ernie after my mum’s late dad, who coincidentally also had short legs and a bit of a round belly.

After a few weeks we realised that Ernie was anything but placid. His gentle temperament quickly morphed into an unruly and persistent need to find his way into danger.

Published: August 24, 2026, 3:00 am

Aardman’​s Peter Lord and David Sproxton: ‘At the Oscars, I went to the gents and had a pee with Jack Nicholson!’

The ​s​tudio’s co-founders on ​accidentally creating Morph, not wanting a yacht in the Maldives and being each other’s best ally

Peter Lord and David Sproxton are the founders of Aardman Animations. The pair began animating as teenagers, selling their first short – starring a superhero called Aardman – to the BBC’s Vision On in 1972. In 1977, they created Morph for the children’s programme Take Hart. The studio’s breakthrough into adult audiences came via Channel 4’s Conversation Pieces series, and its animators, including a young Nick Park, went on to make Wallace & Gromit, whose films have won multiple Academy Awards. Aardman became employee-owned in 2018, with Lord and Sproxton transferring majority ownership to staff to safeguard the company’s independence. They were knighted earlier this year.

Published: August 23, 2026, 6:00 am

This is how we do it: ‘Since having cancer, I’m more open – before I was straight, now I’m queer’

Following the all-clear, Kevin and Jade found a new openness in discussing sex and intimacy – and also a shared desire for exploring polyamory

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

Since the all clear, my relationship with my sexuality has shifted a lot

Published: August 23, 2026, 3:00 am

A new start after 60: I became a grocer – and feel stronger physically and quieter mentally

Robert Solomon loves the early mornings, picking out the apples, tending to the broccoli and fussing up the dandelion greens. At 71, he says it’s the best job he’s had

When Robert Solomon’s working hours were cut during the pandemic – he did building management and tech support for a nonprofit organisation – he got an extra job at a food cooperative, helping to stock the store. It was, he says, the most ordinary job, but that’s what made it special.

That job ended with the pandemic, but in 2022 he left the nonprofit and hunted for grocery positions. Now, at 71, he is assistant buyer in produce (ie fruit and vegetables) at an independent market in New York. “I love the opportunity to do physical, creative work with my body, hands and mind,” he says. “I’m working harder than I have since my 30s, and I love it.”

Tell us: has your life taken a new direction after the age of 60?

Published: August 23, 2026, 10:55 pm

Georgina Hayden’s quick and easy recipe for charred corn, jalapeño and black bean nachos | Quick and easy

A fun and easily customisable snack, to be enjoyed by kids and adults alike

Corn is a late-summer staple in our house, but its arrival often leaves me feeling a little blue (end of summer and all that). So, instead, I like to entertain more and make the most of the warm, light evenings. These nachos are a great snack for adults and kids alike (just adjust the chilli for younger palates), and a solid base that can be tweaked any which way. Have some lovely ripe tomatoes to hand? Chop them up and throw them in, too. Avocados at their peak? A side of guacamole would be a dream. Got a well-stocked spice cupboard? Add a little sweet smoked paprika and even some crushed coriander seeds to the fried beans. Make it to your liking and pantry, and enjoy with friends, ideally in the evening sun.

Published: August 24, 2026, 5:00 am

‘Everything you’d want from Italy, all in one place’: Brescia, Lombardy’s hidden gem

The city’s rich history and culture have so far flown under the radar, but its fiercely proud inhabitants are determined to change that

We have hardly begun walking before I spot the side alley, curving away from the main road in a patchwork of sunlit yellow walls, shuttered windows and shadowy archways. “What’s up there?” Elena, my guide to the city, pulls a wry smile. “That is Carmine. As a kid, I was warned not to go there.”

I turn up the alley. There’s a lot of graffiti. Next to an anarchy symbol, someone has sprayed “morte al decoro” – death to decorum. I’m intrigued. We go further, finding a labyrinth of colourful streets filled with bars and restaurants, a few just opening up for the day.

Published: August 23, 2026, 11:00 pm

‘I’ll probably feel emotional’: Kindertransport centenarian prepares to revisit site of family separation

North Shields’ Gabriele Keenaghan was 12 when she was evacuated from Nazi Austria in 1939. She remembers the shock of leaving her family at Westbahnhof station

Gabriele Keenaghan still remembers the day in April 1939 when she said goodbye to her grandmother at a Vienna railway station for a Kindertransport to Britain – tears were strictly forbidden.

“I was apprehensive and I was worried because Nazis in black uniforms were on the platform,” she said. “I was only 12 years old so I think they were frightening … terrifying.

Published: August 23, 2026, 9:00 pm

Scrapping of Berlin swimming day for Black children becomes latest in long list of race-linked pool rows

Rightwing voices seize on plans to offer Black children an exclusive afternoon at an outdoor pool in the German capital

It was meant to be an outing for Black children in Berlin and their families, offering them an exclusive afternoon at an outdoor pool set up by a local theatre.

But the plans, slated for earlier this month, had to be scrapped after they were seized on by rightwing and conservative voices to whip up outrage, leaving organisers fending off racist emails and threats.

Published: August 23, 2026, 9:00 pm

Start your engines! Trump completes fast and furious takeover of Washington with IndyCar race

US president, pushing on with Freedom 250 festivities, makes over nation’s capital for Trump rally on wheels

• Kyle Kirkwood wins Freedom 250 IndyCar race after Trump waves the green flag

He got the wrong end of the stick. Donald Trump couldn’t figure out how to hold the green flag until his wife, Melania Trump, and Command Sgt Maj Matt Williams set him right. Then the US president waved the flag fast and furious like an excited schoolboy. The race was under way – and his conquest of Washington DC was complete.

Since returning to Washington, Trump has deployed the national guard, wrecked the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, demolished the East Wing of the White House and run the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts into the ground. His face adorns the Department of Justice, and he still has grand plans for a triumphal arch worthy of a Roman emperor.

Published: August 23, 2026, 2:39 pm

Double jeopardy? Luigi Mangione state case unlikely to proceed, experts say

Defense files motion to dismiss state case after federal guilty plea but prosecutors say they are prepared to litigate

After Luigi Mangione admitted in Manhattan federal court that he killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, most experts believe that the state murder case against is highly unlikely to proceed – though some still see a slim possibility that it may yet happen.

Mangione, who pleaded guilty on 14 August to two federal stalking counts, was scheduled for a New York state trial on 8 September for murder and weapons charges in the December 2024 killing. In the wake of Mangione’s surprise plea, legal experts said New York’s state-level double jeopardy law – which means someone cannot be tried twice for the same crime – could derail his local prosecution.

Published: August 23, 2026, 5:00 am

Are you a Canadian boycotting US products? We’d like to hear from you

We’d like to hear from Canadians who are avoiding American products and what they’re buying instead

The US has imposed 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods after trade talks between the two countries collapsed, with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney vowing to respond “dollar for dollar”.

As part of the proposed deal, Carney had asked provinces to lift their boycotts of US alcohol, which were introduced in response to earlier tariffs. The boycott has been part of a wider shift in Canadian shopping habits: an Angus Reid survey last month found 40% of grocery shoppers were actively checking where products came from, with most of those avoiding US products where possible.

Published: August 24, 2026, 9:36 am

Ukraine’s Independence Day and a Tokyo heatwave: photos of the day – Monday

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

Published: August 24, 2026, 7:17 am