Requiem for a film-maker: Darren Aronofsky’s AI revolutionary war series is a horror

The once-lauded director of Black Swan and The Wrestler has drowned himself in AI slop with an embarrassing new online series

If you happen to find yourself stumbling through Time magazine’s YouTube account, perhaps because you are a time traveller from the 1970s who doesn’t fully understand how the present works yet – then you will be presented with something that many believe represents the vanguard of entertainment as we know it.

On This Day … 1776 is a series of short videos depicting America’s revolutionary war. What makes On This Day notable is that it was made by Darren Aronofsky’s studio Primordial Soup. What also makes it interesting is that it was created with AI. The third thing that makes it interesting is that it is terrible.

Published: February 2, 2026, 12:11 pm

Is Jeff Bezos going to destroy the Washington Post? It sure looks like it | Margaret Sullivan

He has the chance to be the steward of a national treasure, but he’s blowing it

Would you inherit a rare Stradivarius violin, polish it up for a few years, and then decide to take a hammer to it?

Would you somehow acquire the Hope diamond, set it in a blue velvet case, and then toss the whole thing into the Potomac River?

Published: February 2, 2026, 11:00 am

‘Sure enough, it’s gone’: Brooklyn venues targeted for mass phone thefts during concerts

Scores of live music fans in New York’s hip borough report having their phones stolen during live music shows

During a December visit to see family in his home state of New York, Zander Cammarata, who now lives in Berlin, purchased a new iPhone because they cost less in the United States. He then went to see one of his favorite bands, Silverstein, a post-hardcore emo group, in Brooklyn.

By the time he flew back to Germany, he was again using his old phone.

Published: February 2, 2026, 1:00 pm

Anti-ICE protests, brilliance by Bieber and the Dalai Lama’s first win: the 10 biggest moments at the 2026 Grammys

From the Cure winning their first Grammys to a posthumous award for Chick Corea, it was a night of heartening wins and robust politics
• Grammy awards 2026: list of winners

There are arguments to be made about the efficacy or not of celebs making political statements at awards ceremonies – some might say it is just as impotent as celebrities endorsing US presidential candidates. In the case of last night’s Grammys, we hardly need musicians to reiterate that what ICE is doing is morally reprehensible. And yet the sheer force and variety of these statements was bracing, making it clear that the issue should remain paramount in any context.

Published: February 2, 2026, 11:02 am

‘They’re not getting a cent of my money’: how readers feel about World Cup ticket prices

With less than six months until kickoff, Guardian readers share their experiences of buying World Cup tickets – or deciding not to

The 2026 World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada is less than six months away. Fifa’s ticketing process has been met with demand and controversy. Security concerns for fans traveling to the US have risen.

We asked readers to share their experiences of buying World Cup tickets – or deciding not to. These are some of the stories we received.

Published: February 2, 2026, 11:00 am

Meryl Streep is as withering as ever in first full-length trailer for Devil Wears Prada 2

Promo for the much-anticipated sequel, in which Streep is reunited with Stanley Tucci, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt, clocks up 2.5m views in eight hours

The first full-length trailer for The Devil Wears Prada 2 has been released, and given more details on David Frankel’s hotly anticipated follow-up. In the promo, Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly and her right-hand man Nigel, played by Stanley Tucci, are seen reuniting with Anne Hathaway’s Andy and, later, Emily Blunt’s Emily.

Priestly remembers neither, nor even her habit of referring to all her fashion magazine assistants as Emily – presumably on account of her withering alpha-editor status rather than, say, dementia.

Published: February 2, 2026, 11:13 am

Bill and Hillary Clinton agree to testify in House Epstein investigation

Decision to give testimony comes days before House was expected to vote to hold pair in contempt of Congress

• US politics live – latest updates

Bill and Hillary Clinton agreed on Monday to testify in a House investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, days before the chamber was expected to vote to hold them in contempt of Congress.

The concession follows a tense back-and-forth between the Clintons and the Republican James Comer, chair of the House oversight committee, who on Monday said that he would insist both Clintons sit for a sworn deposition before the committee in order to fulfill the panel’s subpoenas.

Published: February 3, 2026, 12:07 am

DHS’s account of two Venezuelans shot by border patrol falls apart in court: ‘A smear campaign’

Immigration officials said agent shot two ‘vicious gang members’ in Portland, but records obtained by the Guardian reveal US prosecutor contradicted claims

Immediately after a US border patrol agent shot two people in Oregon last month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the targets were “vicious” gang members connected to a prior shooting and alleged they had “attempted to run over” officers with their vehicle.

In the weeks since, key parts of the federal government’s narrative have fallen apart.

Published: February 3, 2026, 12:09 am

US contractor sent Gaza plan to White House that would secure 300% profits

Exclusive: Gothams LLC’s draft proposal, obtained by the Guardian, suggests seven-year trucking and logistics monopoly

A US disaster response firm submitted a plan to White House officials that would guarantee 300% profits and a seven-year monopoly over a new trucking and logistics plan for Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in Gaza, according to a November proposal obtained by the Guardian.

The draft plan from Gothams LLC would allow it to collect a fee for every truck moving goods into Gaza, and charge for the use of its warehousing and distribution system.

Published: February 2, 2026, 4:00 pm

Elon Musk merges SpaceX with artificial intelligence company xAI

Deal comes as Musk pursues plans for datacenters and solar-powered satellites in space to propel AI

Elon Musk’s aerospace firm SpaceX has acquired his artificial intelligence business xAI, in a merger that consolidates part of Musk’s empire as SpaceX prepares to go public later this year, at a valuation likely to exceed $1tn.

The two companies announced the deal on Monday in a statement on SpaceX’s website, saying the merger would form “the most ambitious, vertically-integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth, with AI, rockets, space-based internet, direct-to-mobile device communications and the world’s foremost real-time information and free speech platform”.

Published: February 2, 2026, 11:47 pm

Mexico’s president pledges to send aid to Cuba despite US efforts to cut oil access

Move from Claudia Sheinbaum comes after Trump signed an order threatening tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba

Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum has pledged to send humanitarian aid this week to Cuba and said Mexico was “exploring all diplomatic avenues to be able to send fuel to the Cuban people,” despite efforts from Washington to cut off oil to the Caribbean nation.

Donald Trump last week signed an executive order allowing the US to slap tariffs on countries sending crude oil to Cuba and on Saturday said that Sheinbaum had agreed to halt shipments of oil at his request – a claim the Mexican leader rejected.

Published: February 2, 2026, 9:17 pm

Fulton county to challenge FBI seizure of election documents

Commissioner to file motion requesting return of property unlawfully taken during raid related to 2020 election

Fulton county leaders said they would fire back in court on Monday, intent on limiting the scope of a federal warrant that led the FBI to seize 2020 elections documents last week.

County attorneys intend to file a motion in federal court asking for an order mandating the return of property that was unlawfully seized or retained, said the Fulton county commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr.

Published: February 2, 2026, 8:58 pm

Arizona home of Today show host’s missing mother treated as ‘crime scene’

Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy, 84, was last seen on Saturday evening and signs indicate she did not leave alone

Authorities in Arizona searching for the 84-year-old mother of the Today show presenter Savannah Guthrie said on Monday they were treating the missing woman’s home as a crime scene, and expressed “grave concern” for her safety.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen by her family at her house near Tucson on Saturday night, and was reported missing on Sunday at lunchtime, sparking a search using a helicopter, drones and dogs, officials said.

Published: February 2, 2026, 5:54 pm

Florida couple sue fertility clinic after being implanted with wrong embryo

Couple say they love their daughter immeasurably but have a moral obligation to try to find child’s biological parents

A couple is suing a Florida fertility clinic after learning that they were implanted with the wrong embryo, and are going public with their attempts to find their child’s biological parents.

Tiffany Score and Steven Mills have filed a lawsuit against IVF Life Inc, which operates as the Fertility Center of Orlando, and its lead physician, Dr Milton McNichol. The suit, which was initially filed under pseudonyms to protect their family’s privacy, states that three viable embryos were created with Score’s eggs and Mills’s sperm, and an embryo was successfully implanted in April 2025.

Published: February 2, 2026, 10:37 pm

Neil Gaiman claims sexual assault allegations are result of ‘smear campaign’

Author says accusations ‘spread and amplified’ by people more interested in ‘outrage and getting clicks’

Neil Gaiman has said that multiple sexual assault allegations against him are “simply untrue” and claimed to be the victim of a “smear campaign”, in the first post addressing the accusations for almost a year.

Gaiman, 65, author of novels including American Gods and the Ocean at the End of the Lane, has faced allegations of sexual abuse and coercive behaviour, which were outlined in a podcast by the Tortoise Media team in July 2024.

Published: February 2, 2026, 9:27 pm

Trump faces criticism as ‘beyond unprecedented’ UAE crypto deal raises conflict of interest fears

The White House says the president is ‘not involved’ in running his businesses. Ethics experts remain concerned

Donald Trump has been accused of “corruption, plain and simple” after it was revealed that a member of the Emirati royal family was behind a $500m investment into the Trump family’s cryptocurrency company.

Ethics experts say the deal – struck just days before the US president’s inauguration last January – amounts to a deep conflict of interest for the White House, amid calls for a congressional investigation into the transaction.

Published: February 2, 2026, 10:21 pm

RFK Jr announces $100m in grants to address homelessness and substance use

Kennedy’s pilot program to offer funding for long-term recovery after Trump signed order related to addiction

Robert F Kennedy Jr announced on Monday $100m in new grants for a pilot program aimed at addressing homelessness and substance use recovery in eight cities, building on an executive order Donald Trump signed last week related to addiction.

The funds will be distributed as part of the Safety Through Recovery, Engagement, and Evidence-based Treatment and Supports (Streets) program, which will be managed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Samhsa) within the Department of Health and Human Services.

Published: February 2, 2026, 9:30 pm

US judge allows last of five offshore wind projects halted by Trump to proceed

Ruling clears Denmark’s Ørsted to resume construction on its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York

All five offshore wind projects halted by the Trump administration in December can resume construction after a federal judge’s ruling on Monday that cleared Denmark’s Ørsted to proceed with its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York.

Ørsted’s request for an injunction blocking the interior department order was the fifth brought by an offshore wind developer since the 22 December pause on five leases. The agency stopped work on the multibillion-dollar facilities due to national security concerns around radar interference.

Published: February 2, 2026, 8:41 pm

Brazilian influencer who defended US immigration crackdown arrested by ICE

Trump supporter Júnior Pena falsely claimed migrants being rounded up, including Brazilians, were ‘all crooks’

A rightwing Brazilian influencer who claimed Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown targeted only “crooks” has been arrested by ICE agents in New Jersey.

Júnior Pena, whose full name is Eustáquio da Silva Pena Júnior, declared his support for the US president in a recent video message to his hundreds of thousands of social media followers.

Published: February 2, 2026, 3:10 pm

Epstein files: has Trump really been ‘absolved’? | The Latest

Donald Trump claims that the release of millions more files related to Jeffrey Epstein 'absolve' him of wrongdoing, even though his name appears hundreds of times. The latest documents also indicate high-profile figures , including the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Labour peer Peter Mandelson, continued friendships with the disgraced financier after his child sex abuse convictions. So what have we learned from the newly released files and what happens next? Lucy Hough speaks to columnist and host of Politics Weekly America Jonathan Freedland

Published: February 2, 2026, 6:06 pm

‘They killed him inside’: man who was son’s caretaker detained by ICE and denied final goodbye

Wael Tarabishi, who has a lifelong muscle disorder, died after Maher, his father and primary caretaker, was detained

Until three months ago, Wael Tarabishi and his father, Maher, were inseparable. It was a necessity; in addition to being best friends, Maher was the caretaker for 30-year-old Wael, who was diagnosed with a progressive muscle disorder called Pompe disease when he was a child.

As Wael’s mother said in November, Maher was his son’s “case manager, his equipment company, his doctor, his everything”.

Published: February 2, 2026, 2:00 pm

The supreme court may further gut the Voting Rights Act. Mississippi is trying to create its own

Lawmakers are working to create a state-level version of the act as the US high court decides on latest voting rights case

On Martin Luther King Jr Day this year, hundreds of Mississippians gathered on the steps of the state capitol building in support of protecting voting rights in the state. The Mississippi house representative Zakiya Summers and state senator Johnny DuPree, both Democrats, introduced legislation that would create a state-level version of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The move comes after years of the supreme court weakening protections formerly guaranteed by the act, and aims to prohibit the dilution of minority voters in the state.

The legislation would create a Mississippi voting rights commission, which would require certain jurisdictions to obtain pre-clearance approval from said commission for any changes to election policy or practice. It would also establish protections for people with limited English proficiency along with additional measures.

Published: February 2, 2026, 6:13 pm

‘The most rejuvenating sleep of my life’: 12 products our writers rely on for rest each night

From the comfiest sleep hoodie to one of the fanciest face masks, reviewers share what actually helps them hit the hay

• The best sleep masks in the US: I spent six weeks testing 24 masks, and these are my favorites

• Five common sleep problems, solved by experts

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

Getting a good night’s sleep is a personal struggle for many of us. Here at the Filter US, we noticed that a lot of you are interested in all things sleep. From our coverage of the best sleep masks to these Coop adjustable pillows, many readers are obsessing about the best products to help them get some shuteye.

To help fuel this not-so-drowsy enthusiasm, we asked a bunch of our contributing writers about the products they rely on to get some rest. What we got were some personal insights into some of the sleep hangups we all face, and some fantastic tools to help, including comfy pillows, white noise machines (sound machines), earbuds, face masks and more. There’s even a Snuggie-like wearable blanket on the list.

Published: February 2, 2026, 5:00 am

The one change that worked: I quit my job, became a cat-sitter – and found new friends

Cat-sitting can only be relied upon for pocket money, but it has enriched me in other ways. The most unexpected benefit has been finally meeting my neighbours

I am a crazy cat lady, except for one small obstacle: I do not own a cat. Though my boyfriend and I discuss names for cats, like other couples do for children, renting in London has put a stop to adding one to our family. So I had pushed dreams of filling the cat-sized hole in my life to one side, only allowing myself momentary relapses when friendly cats crossed my path in the street. That was until I stumbled across the best solution to being reluctantly feline free: becoming a cat-sitter.

It started when I decided to quit my job. Faced with the daunting prospect of living without a guaranteed salary, I was lured in by social media videos promising that any number of “simple” side hustles would make me happier, richer and freer.

Published: February 2, 2026, 11:00 am

Do you like cat photos? Are you constantly distracted? You’re probably actually quite good at focusing: 10 myths about attention

Every second, 11m bits of information enter our brains, which then efficiently prioritise them. We need to learn to work with the process, rather than against it

It’s believed that we have about 50,000 thoughts a day: big, small, urgent, banal – “Did I leave the oven on?”. And those are just the ones that register. Subconsciously, we’re constantly sifting through a barrage of stimuli: background noise, clutter on our desks, the mere presence of our phones.

Every second, 11m bits of information enter our brains. Just 0.0004% is perceived by our conscious minds, showing just how hard our brains are working to parse what’s sufficiently relevant to bring to our attention.

Published: February 2, 2026, 5:00 am

It’s time to defund the oligarchy and invest in the American people | Joseph Geevarghese and Rashida Tlaib

Trump’s presidency has brought a windfall to billionaires while hurting the poor. In these conditions, democracy cannot survive

Trump ran on a promise to lower costs on day one, but a year into his presidency, the real beneficiaries are his billionaire donors. Instead of making life more affordable for everyday Americans, Trump has used the presidency to enrich himself and his billionaire allies, while making the largest cuts to Medicaid and food assistance in history and leaving working families behind.

As families struggle with rising costs, Trump has effectively turned the White House into a slush fund, running the federal government like a personal ATM. Public money, political favors and government power are funneled to his friends and family businesses, while regulatory agencies and enforcement mechanisms are hollowed out or weaponized for profit. His oligarch allies, from big tech executives to big oil barons, are already seeing massive returns on their political investments. This is not democracy. It is a hostile corporate takeover and working people are being exploited.

Joseph Geevarghese is the executive director of Our Revolution. Rashida Tlaib is a US representative for Michigan

Published: February 2, 2026, 1:00 pm

The arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort are a danger to all Americans | Theodore J Boutrous, Jr and Katie Townsend

We are witnessing a dangerous escalation in the Trump administration’s attacks on the press and a clear threat to first amendment freedoms

The extraordinary arrests of the journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort last week are a dangerous escalation in the Trump administration’s attacks on the press and pose a clear threat to first amendment freedoms. Mere weeks after federal law enforcement executed a search warrant targeting a Washington Post reporter, the justice department is now pursuing criminal charges against two independent journalists for reporting from the scene of a protest in Minnesota citing – ironically – federal laws intended to protect the exercise of constitutional rights. These indictments are an affront to the first amendment of the US constitution.

On 18 January, protesters entered the Cities church in St Paul, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official is a pastor, and interrupted a service with chants of “ICE out.” By all indications, Lemon, a former CNN host, and Fort, a local journalist, entered the church to cover the demonstration against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities.

Theodore J Boutrous, Jr & Katie Townsend are partners in the law firm of Gibson Dunn and co-chairs of the firm’s first amendment and free expression group

Published: February 2, 2026, 12:00 pm

Where is the outrage over five-year-old Liam Ramos’s detention? | Francine Prose

Do the people imprisoning kids like Liam Ramos have no children of their own? Do they have no decency, compassion or basic humanity?

Liam Conejo Ramos. We have all seen his picture, or by now we all should have seen the image of the adorable five-year-old in his bright blue hat, its floppy bunny ears so appropriate for a child whose middle name means “rabbit”. In the photo, he is wearing his Spider-Man backpack, which, like so many kids his age, he loves and is very proud of. And we know – or we should know – what happened to him.

On 20 January 2026, the pre-K student was seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on his way home from school in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. His family, which had emigrated from Ecuador in 2024, had applied for political asylum. No order of deportation had been issued against them, nor had any of them – obviously, not little Liam – been accused of a crime.

Francine Prose is a former president of the PEN American Center and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

This article was amended on 2 February 2026. A previous version misspelled a name in the headline.

Published: February 2, 2026, 11:00 am

The Epstein files expose just how cheap corruption is in the UK

The bargain-bucket price tag on certain consciences is depressing. And the excuses of ignorance and amnesia are looking a little thin

The release of documents related to the sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has proceeded like a bankruptcy – first very slow, and then very fast; 3m items were dropped by the US Justice Department last Friday.

It’s interesting how many figures in public life have maintained they barely knew Epstein at all, since his arrest and death by suicide in 2019. It’s just about plausible from a business associate, I guess; you can imagine those relationships being pretty thin, emotionally speaking, revolving as they were around money.

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: February 2, 2026, 5:10 pm

Does it matter when celebrities like Bad Bunny castigate Trump and ICE at the Grammys? You bet! | Jason Okundaye

Famous people who speak out are often derided, but throughout time artists have used the platform they have. And if not now, when?

One of the most discordant and yet banal things about looking to the US today is how celebrity, its greatest cultural output, largely carries on as normal amid scenes of profound distress. Award ceremonies are televised, bespoke couture is pulled for the red carpet, some new film fills your social media timeline. It feels galling that a country can encompass such a sense of anguish at the same time as such glamour and wonder. And given that we are condemned to witness ICE’s transformation into a lethal, paramilitary force, such an event as the 68th Grammy awards, broadcast last night, feels at once insignificant and more important than ever as all the world watches.

The Grammys saw perhaps the most uninhibited and genuinely furious rebuke of ICE and Donald Trump that we have seen so far from celebrity figures – particularly considering that just last month, the Golden Globes was viewed as having largely ignored politics, save for a few “ICE Out” pins worn by stars including Ariana Grande and Mark Ruffalo. Grammy attendees went further. Billie Eilish followed up her call for celebrities to speak up against ICE, saying that “no one is illegal on stolen land … I feel that we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting, our voices do matter and the people matter.” Perhaps most movingly, considering his stated concern around the mass deportation of Latino people, album of the year winner Bad Bunny said: “ICE out. We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we are humans and we are Americans … the only thing that is more powerful than hate is love.” These came alongside celebrations of immigration from Olivia Dean and Shaboozey.

Published: February 2, 2026, 3:07 pm

Propaganda in cinemas, newsrooms slashed: this is the US media under Trump and his tech barons | Nesrine Malik

The president and his supporters joining forces to decide what audiences read and see seems straight from a fascism playbook

Two events, juxtaposed, tell us a great deal about what is rapidly taking shape in the US. In one, Melania Trump releases a glossy documentary, Melania, an account of her return to the White House. Amazon outbid others to secure the rights to the documentary, spending $75m (£54m) in total, and ticket sales so far suggest that this was, shall we say, not a purely commercial venture.

In the other, the Washington Post is set to cut up to 200 jobs early this month, including the majority of its foreign staff and a sizeable chunk of its newsroom. Both Melania and the Washington Post are backed by Jeff Bezos. His two decisions, to invest in state propaganda and divest from the fourth estate that supposedly holds power to account, reveal much about how capital and authoritarianism join forces to decide what audiences read and see.

Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist

Published: February 2, 2026, 6:00 am

Age brings an opportunity to escape the clutches of unattainable beauty standards – it’s liberating | Zoya Patel

Even as I’ve spent my entire adult life wanting to look different, I’ve found and cultivated other parts of myself that have nothing to do with appearance

I have a memory that I frequently find myself returning to these days.

I’m in high school and we’re in the change room at the local pool for the dreaded stint of swimming. Like most of my peers, I am embarrassed by my body and am therefore changing into my swimmers under a towel.

Published: February 2, 2026, 2:00 pm

The Guardian view on the Mandelson-Epstein emails: unavoidable questions of misconduct in public office | Editorial

Leaking crisis policy to financiers demands investigation, not evasion. Gordon Brown understands this. Credibility can’t be pursued at the expense of trust

Finally, a Labour prime minister has taken a necessary step. Ordering the cabinet secretary to investigate Peter Mandelson’s contacts with Jeffrey Epstein recognises an elementary truth: if a cabinet minister discusses private government business with financial interests during a crisis, the state must act. Gordon Brown understood this instinctively. Sir Keir Starmer has moved later, and under pressure, but movement alone is not enough. Sir Keir said that Lord Mandelson should be stripped of his peerage while stopping short of legislating to make that happen. That is a choice. And it’s the wrong one to make.

The Epstein files make it hard to dismiss the question of misconduct in public office as frivolous. In 2003/04 it appears that as a Labour MP he received $75,000 from Jeffrey Epstein. Lord Mandelson says he has no recollection of these payments. Six years later, Lord Mandelson leaked sensitive government information during the banking crunch in 2009 to Epstein, a convicted sex offender, while serving in the cabinet. Emails suggest he advised US bank JP Morgan to “threaten” the UK chancellor, which by all accounts it did, over a proposed tax on bankers’ bonuses. The peer’s lobbying firm Global Counsel later had JP Morgan as a client.

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: February 2, 2026, 7:12 pm

NFL looking into messages between Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and Jeffrey Epstein

• Messages show Epstein arranging women for Tisch

• 76-year-old denies any wrongdoing over matter

The NFL says it is looking into links between New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Tisch’s name was mentioned more than 400 times in emails relating to Epstein that were released by the US justice department last week. Tisch has never been charged with any crime connected to the investigation into Epstein.

Published: February 2, 2026, 11:16 pm

Crystal Palace seal £48m Strand Larsen deal after Mateta’s Milan move collapses

• Mateta to rejoin squad following medical concerns

• Palace fail with loan bid for Everton’s Dwight McNeil

Jean-Philippe Mateta will be reintegrated into Crystal Palace’s squad after the France striker’s deadline-day move to Milan collapsed, but he faces competition for his place from the new club-record signing Jørgen Strand Larsen.

The Norway striker’s move from Wolves was confirmed just before the 7pm deadline on Monday for an initial £43m plus £5m in bonuses, with Palace having already broken their transfer record this month in signing Brennan Johnson from Tottenham for £35m.

Published: February 2, 2026, 8:35 pm

Figure skater forced to scrap Olympic routine after Minions music copyright dispute

• Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté thrown curveball days before Games

• Music rights disputes create Olympic chaos for skaters

• ISU pushes for global music clearance system fix soon

The Spanish figure skater Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté faces a last-minute scramble to redesign his Olympic short program after a copyright dispute blocked him from using music from the Minions franchise just days before competition begins at the Milano Cortina Winter Games.

The six-time Spanish national champion from Barcelona, who is set to make his Olympic debut in the men’s singles event, said he learned late last week that the routine he has performed throughout the 2025-26 season would not be cleared for Olympic use. Guarino Sabaté said he had submitted the music through the International Skating Union’s recommended rights-clearance process months ago and had competed with the program without issue during the season, including at last month’s European championships in Sheffield.

Published: February 3, 2026, 12:41 am

Top players reject offer to have greater say in running of major tennis championships

• Grand slams proposed setting up a player council

• Australian Open not involved in the pay dispute

The tennis pay row has escalated further with the world’s top 10 male and female players rejecting an offer from the grand slams to set up a player council that would give them a greater say in the running of the major championships.

In correspondence sent to Wimbledon, the French Open and US Open last week, the players turned down the offer of a meeting with representatives of the three grand slams at the Indian Wells Masters in March and accused the tournament organisers of ignoring their concerns about pay and player welfare.

Published: February 2, 2026, 6:00 pm

Wolff urges Mercedes rivals to ‘focus on themselves’ amid 2026 engine row

• Mercedes principal insists their new car is within rules

• ‘Other teams are finding excuses before they have started’

Toto Wolff has dismissed claims from rivals over the legality of his team’s new engine, insisting it is within the regulations. The Mercedes team principal said that the onus lay with the other manufacturers who had missed an opportunity and that they should get their “shit together”.

The row over whether Mercedes and Red Bull have stolen a march on the opposition in their engine design has dominated the buildup to the new season and Wolff notably did not rule out other teams protesting against the legality of their engines after they are used competitively for the first time at the Australian Grand Prix on 8 March.

Published: February 2, 2026, 4:11 pm

Romero hits out at Spurs’ ‘disgraceful’ squad shortage on social media post

• Captain made jibe after Manchester City comeback

• ‘We had 11 players available – unbelievable but true’

Cristian Romero has said it is “disgraceful” that Tottenham are operating with such a threadbare squad in an apparent dig at the club’s January recruitment strategy.

The club captain is no stranger to outspoken social media posts and he dropped another one on Monday evening shortly after the closure of the mid-season transfer window.

Published: February 2, 2026, 10:17 pm

Infantino apologises to British fans and defends awarding Trump peace prize

• Fifa president sorry for comment about arrests

• Infantino says it is time to look at readmitting Russia

The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, has apologised over remarks he made about British fans and defended the decision to award a peace prize to the US president, Donald Trump.

Infantino said at last month’s World Economic Forum in Davos that the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 had been special because “for the first time in history no Brit was arrested”.

Published: February 2, 2026, 5:39 pm

Alcaraz makes strong case for being the best young male player tennis has seen | Tumaini Carayol

Winning a career grand slam at 22 is confirmation the world No 1 is on a unique path and justified the decision to jettison long-time coach

There were many things that could have rushed into Carlos Alcaraz’s mind following his attainment of a goal he has chased his entire life, the career grand slam, achieved by defeating Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.

He could have thought about the immense hard work and discipline it took to achieve all of this, his comically large, tight-knit team and family that faithfully follows him around the world or even how close he came to losing his semi-final two days earlier.

Published: February 2, 2026, 10:39 am

Millions across US face freezing temperatures as south experiences rare snowfall

Bomb cyclone contributed to snow and wind chills in the south with Florida iguanas freezing and falling from trees

The US continues to be at the mercy of freezing temperatures across much of the country, stretching from the north-east all the way into the south and putting approximately 150 million people under cold weather advisories and extreme cold warnings.

Florida’s uncharacteristic cold snap has led to some rare sightings: snowflakes and falling iguanas. In Miami and Orlando, the lows dropped to 35F (1.7C) and 24F (-4.4C), respectively, undoubtedly disappointing the vacationers who sought to go to the Sunshine state to escape the freezing temperature on the east coast.

Published: February 2, 2026, 4:57 pm

Virginia man having affair with au pair found guilty of murdering wife and another man

Prosecutors say other man was lured to Brendan Banfield’s house as a fall guy in scheme to get rid of Banfield’s wife

A Virginia man having an affair with the family’s Brazilian au pair was found guilty Monday of murdering his wife and another man that prosecutors say was lured to the house as a fall guy.

Brendan Banfield, a former IRS law enforcement officer, told police he came across Joseph Ryan attacking his wife, Christine Banfield, with a knife on the morning of 24 February 2023. He shot Ryan and then Juliana Magalhães, the au pair, shot him, too.

Published: February 2, 2026, 10:45 pm

California faces teacher strikes across state for better pay and work conditions

Action could begin next week in some of state’s largest districts including San Diego, San Francisco and LA

California is facing the prospect of massive teacher strikes across the state as conflicts over working conditions, pay and special education staffing reach a boiling point.

The strikes, which could begin as soon as next week, have been approved by thousands of educators – affecting schools in some of the state’s largest districts including San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles.

Published: February 2, 2026, 8:23 pm

US jobs report delayed again amid government shutdown

January 2026 report to be rescheduled after BLS has already been faced with major delays from last year’s shutdown

The US’s closely watched jobs report will once again be delayed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced on Monday, amid a government shutdown.

The January 2026 jobs report, originally scheduled to be released on Friday, will be rescheduled when federal funding resumes. Data collection for the report has been completed, but the shutdown has forced a delay to releasing the report, which will provide crucial jobs data on the US labor market following the weakest year for job growth since 2020, with the addition of only 584,000 jobs in 2025 compared with 2 million in 2024.

Published: February 2, 2026, 7:46 pm

Sarah Ferguson charity to close after new details of friendship with Epstein

Latest release of files about disgraced financier reveals she told Epstein he was ‘the brother I have always wished for

The charity of Sarah Ferguson has announced that it is closing after new revelations emerged about the former duchess’s friendship with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Sarah’s Trust, the international charity launched by the ex-wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, will close “for the foreseeable future” after “some months” of discussion, according to a spokesperson.

Published: February 3, 2026, 12:22 am

Iran’s top diplomat says government is ready for talks with US on a nuclear deal

Abbas Araghchi suggests negotiations could begin imminently as Trump warns ‘bad things would happen’ if no solution agreed

Iran’s top diplomat has said the government is ready for negotiations with the US as the two countries reportedly prepared to send top envoys to Istanbul for high-stakes talks on the Iranian nuclear programme later this week.

As US warships and aircraft have amassed in the region for a potential strike on Iran, the country’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, suggested that talks could take place imminently. Donald Trump on Saturday said Iranians were “seriously talking to us” as he hinted at a deal to avert military strikes against Tehran.

Published: February 3, 2026, 12:34 am

Trump says he will cut tariffs on India after Modi agrees to stop buying Russian oil

US president made announcement on Truth Social after a Monday call with India’s prime minister

Donald Trump claimed India has agreed to stop buying Russian oil as he announced plans to cut US tariffs on Indian exports.

The US president announced that he and the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, whom he proclaimed to be “one of my greatest friends”, had agreed to strike a trade deal.

Published: February 2, 2026, 5:51 pm

‘Where r u? I miss you’: how vivid new Epstein emails sealed Mandelson’s fate

The latest revelations and reaction to them may mean he has finally encountered a scandal he is unable to outrun

It was the evening of 6 May 2010 and, months after being released from jail for procuring a child for prostitution, Jeffrey Epstein was curious as to the result of Britain’s general election.

“Well?” he emailed Peter Mandelson, the then de facto deputy prime minister in Gordon Brown’s government.

Published: February 2, 2026, 7:18 pm

Trump threatens to sue Trevor Noah over Epstein joke at Grammys

Awards host alluded to president’s association with late sex offender in awards ceremony remarks

• US politics – live updates

Grammys host Trevor Noah has been threatened with legal action by Donald Trump for a joke during Sunday’s awards ceremony about the president’s connection to the disgraced late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump fired off an angry post on his Truth Social platform shortly after the comedian said the song of the year award was “a Grammy that every artist wants – almost as much as Trump wants Greenland, which makes sense because Epstein’s island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out with Bill Clinton”.

Published: February 2, 2026, 2:55 pm

Is Trump winning or losing his war on offshore wind power?

The US president tried to kill offshore wind projects – now four are back under construction

Construction has resumed on four offshore wind mega-projects after they survived a near-fatal attack by Donald Trump’s administration thanks to rulings by federal judges. These are being seen as victories for clean energy amid a wider war being waged on it by the Trump administration.

The windfarms are considered critical by grid planners as America faces an energy affordability crisis. Together, the four projects will contribute nearly five gigawatts of energy to the east coast, enough to power 3.5m homes.

Published: February 2, 2026, 12:30 pm

Is tyre pollution causing mass deaths in vulnerable salmon populations?

A US judge will decide if, as research suggests, a chemical tyre additive is harming endangered fish species

Last week, a district judge in San Francisco, California, presided over a three-day trial brought by west coast fishers and conservationists against US tyre companies. The fishers allege that a chemical additive used in tyres is polluting rivers and waterways, killing coho salmon and other fish. If successful, the case could have implications far beyond the United States.

Published: February 2, 2026, 12:00 pm

‘Nothing is sacred to them’: the race to save rare plants as Russian troops advance

With some of Ukraine’s most valuable biodiversity sites and science facilities under occupation, experts at Sofiyivka Park in Uman are struggling to preserve the country’s natural history

In the basement laboratory of the National Dendrological Park Sofiyivka, Larisa Kolder tends to dozens of specimens of Moehringia hypanica between power outages. Just months earlier, she and her team at this microclonal plant propagation laboratory in Uman, Ukraine, received 23 seeds of the rare flower.

Listed as threatened in Ukraine’s Red Book of endangered species, Moehringia grows nowhere else in the wild but the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine. Of those 23 seeds, only two grew into plants that Kolder and her colleagues could clone in their laboratory, but now her lab is home to a small grove of Moehringia seedlings, including 80 that have put down roots in a small but vital win for biodiversity conservation amid Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Published: February 2, 2026, 9:00 am

These states voted to protect abortion rights. Conservative lawmakers are not standing down

A trial in Missouri illustrates how hard it is to restore abortion rights, even when voters demand it

After Missouri residents voted to repeal their state’s near-total abortion ban and enshrine abortion rights into their state constitution, advocates quickly got to work. In a lawsuit filed the day after the 2024 election, abortion providers challenged not only the constitutionality of the state’s ban, but also a slew of other restrictions that, they said, made their jobs so arduous as to be impossible.

More than a year later, they are still in court.

Published: February 2, 2026, 1:00 pm

Cop City case could trigger more charges against US protesters, attorney says

Defendant’s lawyer says ‘prosecutors are watching’ after Georgia appealed the dismissal of Rico conspiracy charges

The state of Georgia has appealed a judge’s dismissal of criminal conspiracy charges against 61 people tied to opposition against the Atlanta police training center known as Cop City, prolonging a high-profile case with implications for criminal conspiracy and domestic terrorism prosecutions of movements elsewhere.

With the appeal, the largest case in US history using a racketeering or Rico law against a protest or social movement is now likely to drag on for months, if not years.

Published: February 2, 2026, 1:00 pm

‘Marketplace for predators’: Meta faces jury trial over child exploitation claims

New Mexico attorney general accuses Meta of failing to safeguard children against trafficking and sexual abuse

Meta’s second major trial of 2026 over alleged harms to children begins on Monday.

The landmark jury trial in Santa Fe pits the New Mexico attorney general’s office against the social media giant. The state alleges that the company knowingly enabled predators to use Facebook and Instagram to exploit children.

Published: February 2, 2026, 11:00 am

US woman resolves misdemeanor case opened after accusing priest of predatory behavior

Heather Jones of Alabama says two-year probation agreement leaves her ‘free and clear’ of legal matter

An Alabama woman has resolved a misdemeanor case that authorities opened against her within days of speaking out about a Roman Catholic priest whom she accused of predatory behavior.

Heather Jones had publicly recounted that she was 17 when the priest, Robert “Bob” Sullivan, arranged to provide her financial support in exchange for companionship including sex – prompting him to resign from the clergy in November.

Published: February 2, 2026, 11:00 am

Damning EU report lays bare bloc’s ‘dangerous dependence’ on critical mineral imports

Auditor calls renewable energy targets ‘unrealistic’ unless ‘EU ups its game’ in mining, refining and recycling of metals such as rare earths

The EU is struggling to free itself from dependence on China and countries in the global south for critical minerals and rare earths needed for everything from smartphones to wind turbines and military jets.

A damning report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) in Luxembourg found that the bloc’s targets for 2030 were “out of reach” because of lack of progress in domestic production, refining and recycling.

Published: February 2, 2026, 4:00 pm

Chumbawamba call on Spain’s far-right Vox to stop using their best-known song

British pop collective decry use of 1997 hit Tubthumping to promote the party’s ‘small-minded, hate-fuelled agenda’

The British pop collective Chumbawamba has asked Spain’s Vox to stop using their best-known song to promote “its small-minded, hate-fuelled agenda” after the far-right party chose its 1997 hit single Tubthumping to soundtrack a social media post railing against migration.

Santiago Abascal, who leads Vox, visited the north-eastern Spanish town of Caspe last week in the run-up to this weekend’s regional election in Aragón. He posted images of the visit to Facebook on Friday, along with the caption: “Great welcome yesterday in Caspe … for a street press conference. The locals are sick of the migratory invasion. And we stand with them.”

Published: February 2, 2026, 3:04 pm

Son of Norway’s crown princess arrested on new charges before start of rape trial

Detention of Marius Borg Høiby comes as Epstein files pile pressure on his mother, crown princess Mette-Marit

The son of Norway’s crown princess, Marius Borg Høiby, has been arrested on new charges just days before the start of his rape trial, as his mother continues to face questions over her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

The Oslo police district said Høiby had been arrested on Sunday evening on suspicion of assault, making threats with a knife and violating a restraining order.

Published: February 2, 2026, 5:22 pm

Fernández wins Costa Rican presidency, steering Latin America further right

Rightwing populist elected in landslide after promising to crack down on rising violence linked to cocaine trade

The rightwing populist Laura Fernández has won Costa Rica’s presidential election in a landslide after promising to crack down on rising violence linked to the cocaine trade.

Fernández’s nearest rival, centre-right economist Álvaro Ramos, conceded defeat as results showed the ruling party far exceeding the threshold of 40% needed to avoid a runoff.

Published: February 2, 2026, 1:08 pm

‘Endlessly quotable’: why Wayne’s World is my feelgood movie

The latest in our series of writers paying tribute to their most rewatched comfort films is a trip back to 1992 for the unique rock comedy

When the conversation of the most overrated band in history crops up I often want to put Queen forward as my suggestion. Their omnipresent hits represent the worst of bands who favour stadium-sized grandeur over true ambition. However, I can never truly get behind the idea of trashing Freddie and co when their music helped create one of my most beloved scenes in cinema history.

Early in 1992’s Wayne’s World, a bunch of rockers squeeze into an AMC Pacer with custom flames painted on the side. As they drive past the automarts, car washes and beef stands of downtown Chicago, Bohemian Rhapsody plays on the car stereo. The song’s operatic verses are used for laughs (the “Let me go” line becomes a cry for help from a friend who is partied out and might “honk” in the backseat) while the breakdown in the middle creates space for a spot of high-speed headbanging. To me it’s as thrilling a car scene as anything in Bullitt or the Mad Max franchise.

Published: February 2, 2026, 10:00 am

Parents, porn sets and Bob’s Big Boy combos: how Larry Sultan photographed American domestic life

He shot 100 kitschly decorated homes rented out for porn shoots – and spent nine years on a project about his mum and dad. Has any photographer better captured everyday America?

A psychiatric review of Larry Sultan, carried out by the military in 1969, described the American as an anxiety-prone individual who felt like a “left-out observer looking inside”. Sultan may not have been fit for service but, with that short phrase, the report identified the essential quality that would make him a great photographer of American domestic life.

The report is included in a new book, Water Over Thunder, published in collaboration with Sultan’s widow Kelly and son Max. In a career that began in the 1970s and lasted until his death in 2009 at the age of 63, Sultan was never confined to a single genre, but rather moved between documentary, fiction and appropriation. He photographed the ordinary middle-class homes of the San Fernando Valley in California rented out for porn shoots, made a portrait of Paris Hilton in his parents’ bedroom, and took underwater pictures of people learning to swim in San Francisco.

Published: February 2, 2026, 5:00 am

The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford review – Peter Mullan gives weight to quirky Scottish dramedy

The formidable Mullan delivers a tender performance in Sean Robert Dunn’s first feature, playing a cranky local historian obsessed with his obscure, unscrupulous ancestor

Peter Mullan brings his formidable presence to this quirky dramedy from first-time feature director Sean Robert Dunn: he is angry and weary, disillusioned but kind-hearted, someone who got his feelings hurt a long time ago … but wouldn’t dream of making a fuss about it.

It’s Mullan who gives weight and flavour to a film that might otherwise be a bit watery and unsure quite how sharp a sting it wants to deliver.

Published: February 2, 2026, 3:24 pm

Iron Lung review – YouTuber Markiplier crash lands with big-screen sci-fi horror

Online gaming legend Mark Fischbach writes, directs and stars in this feature about a convict on a vague intergalactic mission – but his barebones production has nothing to show

William Goldman’s old showbiz maxim continues to apply that nobody knows anything. Independently financed horror movie Iron Lung has been smuggled into multiplexes without the usual promotional hoopla, where it was keenly awaited by the massed followers of its Hawaiian writer-director-star Mark Fischbach, better known as YouTube gaming legend Markiplier. Many of us have long sensed culture is making a decisive break with the analogue in favour of the (perhaps terminally) online and Fischbach’s film makes that paradigm shift not just visible but visceral; it feels not unlike spending 12 hours on Twitch with all the curtains closed.

Though Markiplier is approaching the horror genre from a notionally fresh angle – by adapting Dave Szymanski’s eponymous space-submarine sim – he lands on the narratively rusty idea of an astronaut straying beyond his depth; this is Moon in dimmer light. Beset by ominous rumbles and mounting doubts about the state of mankind, the begrimed and squalid craft singlehandedly piloted by Fischbach’s straggle-haired convict Simon is indistinguishable from the average teenage bedroom. Our hero staggers round this intergalactic deathtrap completing vaguely specified missions – ram this, repair that, download something or other – like a harassed dad ticking off his Sunday to-do list. In this, Simon proves more proficient than Fischbach’s offscreen self, who is either stumped by or oblivious to the film’s fundamental issues.

Published: February 2, 2026, 1:00 pm

Shelter review – super-soldier Jason Statham does the business as he takes on Bill Nighy in action thriller

Ric Roman Waugh’s predictable plot redeemed by fight choreography as Statham faces up to Bill Nighy, and casting of young Hamnet actor Bodhi Rae Breathnach

Say what you like about Jason Statham, but he definitely knows his fanbase and gives them what they want. In his latest vehicle, he is back playing a former armed-forces operative haunted by his violent past who is compelled to take up weaponry again. This is basically the setup for the Transporter franchise in which he starred, many more works featuring Statham and, to be frank, most action movies, which are (let’s face it) basically variations on Achilles sulking in his tent in the Iliad until he is forced to fight once more. There is nothing new under the sun.

Shelter, formulaically directed by Ric Roman Waugh (Greenland) working from a script by Ward Parry (The Shattering), feels populated by indestructible plastic tropes that have cracked and faded after years of scorching sun exposure. Statham plays Mason, once a special-forces super soldier with secrets who is first met hiding on a remote island in the Outer Hebrides, with only goodest boy German shepherd Jack for company. Fans of the John Wick franchise will immediately feel anxious about Jack’s future – although if you’ve seen Leon: The Professional you probably won’t feel so worried about young Jesse (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), an orphaned girl whom Mason takes under his wing when her only relative, her uncle, is killed in a boating accident. That little spark of kindness triggers MI6 to track Mason down, having first falsely identified him as a terrorist, and then sending assassins to kill him all of whom he swats away like so many flies.

Published: February 2, 2026, 9:13 am

The Grammys riled Donald Trump – but the big winners were chosen for their music, not politics

The president called the ceremony ‘garbage’, but in reality it was a celebration of artists whose commercial success was matched by boundary-pushing boldness

Donald Trump, it seems, did not much enjoy the 2026 Grammys. Shortly after the conclusion of the ceremony’s live broadcast in the US, there he was on Truth Social, calling it “the worst”, “garbage”, “unwatchable” and threatening to sue host Trevor Noah.

Perhaps that was the reaction the Recording Academy wanted. You could, if you wished, divine a certain Maga-baiting intent not just in the decision to give the album of the year award to Bad Bunny – a Puerto Rican who attracted criticism from the Trump administration after he was booked to headline the SuperBowl LX half-time show – but the choice of the Buena Vista Social Club, a Broadway hit based on the 1997 album of the same name featuring veteran Cuban musicians, as the best musical theatre album: the latter two weeks after the New York Times reported that Cubans settled in Florida are being deported in record numbers.

Published: February 2, 2026, 3:06 pm

Birdwatching with Sean Bean: best podcasts of the week

From Lord of Winterfell to lover of ornithology, the actor reveals his lifelong love of birding as host of a hugely listenable RSPB podcast. Plus, a gripping investigation into the police

On the face of it, the RSPB picking Ned Stark as the host of the new series of their podcast seems odd. But it turns out he’s been a birder since childhood, who crams in birdwatching between acting gigs. He’s warm and honest in his first podcast, chatting to fellow ornithology lover Elbow’s Guy Garvey about spotting different species while working abroad, recognising bird song and the meditative joy of watching the feathered creatures. Alexi Duggins
Widely available, episodes fortnightly

Published: February 2, 2026, 7:00 am

Poem of the week: The Secret Day by Stella Benson

Writing towards the end of the first world war, the poet, novelist, journalist and suffragist Benson here dreams of a secure peace

The Secret Day

My yesterday has gone, has gone and left me tired,
And now tomorrow comes and beats upon the door;
So I have built To-day, the day that I desired,
Lest joy come not again, lest peace return no more,
Lest comfort come no more.

Published: February 2, 2026, 10:00 am

Rebel English Academy by Mohammed Hanif review – a sure-fire Booker contender

This funny and subversive novel reckons with life under martial law in late-70s Pakistan

Mohammed Hanif’s novels address the more troubling aspects of Pakistani history and politics with unhinged, near-treasonous irreverence. His 2008 Booker-longlisted debut, A Case of Exploding Mangoes, was a scabrously comic portrait of General Zia-ul-Haq in the days leading up to his death in a suspicious plane crash in 1988. Masquerading as a whodunnit, it was a satire of religiosity and military authoritarianism. Dark, irony-soaked comedy that marries farce to unsparing truth-telling was also the chosen mode for other vexed subjects, from violence against women and religious minorities in Our Lady of Alice Bhatti to the war machine in Red Birds.

Hanif’s prickly new novel confirms his standing as one of south Asia’s most unnervingly funny and subversive voices. The story kicks off right after ousted socialist PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is put to death by army chief turned autocrat Zia. Following the execution, disgraced intelligence officer Gul has been posted to OK Town, a sleepy backwater where he “would need to create his own entertainment and come up with a mission to shine on this punishment posting”.

Published: February 2, 2026, 7:00 am

Roman Polanski rape scandal movie to follow perspective of 13-year-old victim

The Girl, based on Samantha Geimer’s memoir, will revisit ‘one of Hollywood’s most notorious scandals through the eyes of the person most misrepresented by it’

A new movie will explore the notorious Roman Polanski statutory rape scandal from the perspective of the 13-year-old girl, Samantha Geimer.

The Girl, based on Geimer’s 2013 memoir The Girl: A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski, will trace her time in the famous director’s orbit in the 1970s, her experience being subjected to sexual assault and the media maelstrom that followed after Polanski, then 43, was arrested in 1977 on charges of statutory rape and lewd and lascivious act with a child.

Published: February 2, 2026, 4:23 pm

One win after another: Paul Thomas Anderson film dominates London Critics’ Circle awards

Counterculture comedy One Battle After Another wins four awards, including best picture, director, screenplay and supporting actor for Sean Penn

Paul Thomas Anderson’s counterculture comedy One Battle After Another continued its march to Oscars glory at the London Critics’ Circle film awards on Sunday evening, taking four awards, including best picture, director, screenplay and supporting actor for Sean Penn.

In his speech to pick up the screenplay award, Anderson said he wanted to share the award with the Guardian’s Xan Brooks for his review of Brett Ratner’s Melania, which was published on Friday. “It was one of the best pieces of writing,” said Anderson. “Pretty damn good.”

Published: February 2, 2026, 4:02 pm

John Lithgow says he finds JK Rowling’s stance on trans rights ‘ironic and inexplicable’

Actor says he has struggled with the backlash to his decision to play Albus Dumbledore in the new Harry Potter show, and says books are about ‘kindness versus cruelty’

John Lithgow has called JK Rowling’s views on transgender rights “ironic and inexplicable”, saying that backlash to his decision to play Albus Dumbledore in the upcoming Harry Potter series “upsets me”.

Speaking on stage at Rotterdam film festival after a screening of his latest film, Jimpa, the 80-year-old actor was asked about how he felt about Rowling’s views. Rowling serves as an executive producer on the upcoming series, which is being produced by HBO and will be one of the most expensively produced television shows of all time.

Published: February 2, 2026, 7:34 am

Waddle this way! The sign-making genius who kept Britain’s drivers (and ducks) safe

Airports, road signs, animal warnings … Margaret Calvert revolutionised how Britain looked and her brilliantly clear designs are still used today. We meet the font legend and Porsche lover

Stuffed with a barrage of road signs, artful modernist chairs and all the tools of her trade, Margaret Calvert’s studio occupies the ground floor of her trim terrace house in Islington, London. She still draws by hand, using coloured pencils, ink pens and gouaches, echoes of a simpler time when there were neither computers nor gazillions of Pantone colour options. “There was also no such thing as graphic design back then,” she says. “It was just called commercial art.”

Only a handful of graphic designers have had a typeface named after them. One of the earliest was the 18th-century Italian Giambattista Bodoni, whose fonts have conferred on him a kind of immortality. But his efforts were not to everyone’s taste: William Morris was said to have loathed Bodoni’s letters, grumpily raging at their “sweltering hideousness”.

Published: February 2, 2026, 4:00 pm

My rookie era: I signed up for ballet on a whim. I still can’t tell my left from my right

Over 16 weeks of weekly classes, my glutes are stronger, my calves shapelier and – to my surprise – I have a growing sense of rhythm

• Read more summer essentials

There are just over 20 of us lined up against the walls of a large, square room and I am offended by how many people’s hands are raised. Our ballet teacher has just asked the class who has prior dance experience. This is an absolute beginners course on the foundations of classical ballet and, a single catastrophic line dance lesson aside, it is also the first dance class I have ever attended. I am in the minority.

As we take the barre, it quickly becomes apparent that not being able to tell my left from my right will be a significant deficit over the next 16 weeks. This, however, is a tertiary concern. For now my two biggest worries are my feet. After a series of flexes and points I will later come to learn are tendu, they are cramping so badly it feels as if they have been stomped on.

Published: February 2, 2026, 2:00 pm

The pet I’ll never forget: Cocolo, the donkey who arrived unexpectedly at our door

An offhand comment from my mother meant we suddenly owned a donkey. I loved him – but was embarrassed when I had to ride him to school

I was four when Cocolo accidentally became part of our family, so my memories are a bit patchy and predominantly sensory (I still remember the pleasant feel of his furry ears). But my mum has filled me in on the details.

We’d gone to live in Jerusalem for a year as my dad was doing some work over there. For a Sunday treat we sometimes went to the American Colony hotel for a buffet lunch, and on one such occasion Mum was chatting with the doorman. A man was passing in the street leading a donkey, and Mum casually told the doorman that she’d always wanted a donkey.

Published: February 2, 2026, 11:00 am

Is it true that … coffee aids digestion?

Caffeine can improve the digestive system and lead to better gut health, but try to avoid it after noon or if you have irritable bowels

Is sipping a coffee after a heavy meal actually good for helping you digest it? “For some people, absolutely,” says Dr Emily Leeming, a dietitian at King’s College London. “But it’s not always a good idea.”

Caffeine stimulates the gut, increasing muscle contractions, she says, which for many people helps food move through the digestive system “at a nice pace” before being excreted.

Published: February 2, 2026, 8:00 am

Grammys red carpet 2026: Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Huntrix and more – in pictures

Musicians step out in ruffles, feathers and trains as the red carpet sees the return of the ‘free the nipple’ movement

• The winners, the losers, the performances – live

• List of winners

• Nominations in major categories

Published: February 2, 2026, 1:09 am

Damp January: is the age of abstinence coming to an end?

This year, there has been a significant softening of the dry January trend. But why?

Name: Damp January.

Age: New.

Published: February 2, 2026, 3:23 pm

Lisa Bloom on the fight for Epstein’s victims: ‘So many powerful men were enablers’

The US lawyer on her fearsome reputation, the criticism she faced for advising Harvey Weinstein, and how 40 years of legal experience did not prepare her for the Epstein files

If Lisa Bloom had been advising Peter Mandelson or the then Prince Andrew before their calamitous attempts at reputation-salvaging television interviews, she would have encouraged them to listen beforehand to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims – or, at the very least, to their lawyers – to understand something of what the women endured.

“Or even just watch some of the powerful documentaries that have been made, centering the victims, telling their stories,” Bloom says, pausing for a moment, closing her eyes and shaking her head to convey silent incredulity. “I’d have wanted them to become really enlightened about it. But you really can’t instil compassion in someone if they don’t have compassion. It’s hard to implant it in there.”

Published: February 2, 2026, 5:00 am

‘A violation of our history’: Palestinian uproar over Israel’s plan to seize historic West Bank site

Residents of Sebastia say heritage project is pretext for massive land grab and expansion of Jewish settlements

The Byzantine-era church lies half hidden in the shade. Roman columns rise from among the olive trees, even older ruins linked to Israelite kings are overgrown. To the west, the Mediterranean is just visible on the horizon. To the north and south are the hills of the occupied West Bank.

In the small town of Sebastia, a hundred metres or less east of the ruins, everyone is very worried.

Published: February 2, 2026, 11:52 am

A forest fire and Olivia Dean at the Grammys: photos of the day – Monday

The Guardian’s picture editors select some of the most powerful photos from around the world

Published: February 2, 2026, 1:35 pm