I read 50 books last year. Here's everything that helped me stay on track

From the right e-reader to a book subscription, here are my favorite ways (some free, some vibe-setting) to read a lot

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Like many children who grew up in suburbia’s monotony, I found my local library a welcome escape. I relished checking out comically large stacks of well-worn hardcovers from authors such as Beverly Cleary and Alvin Schwartz. As I grew older, though, I tragically spent more time on social media and less flipping the pages of a novel.

In 2021, Covid-19 made it difficult to have much of a social life. So, as a lonely college student in search of new ways to fill my time, I purchased a Kindle. Ever since, I’ve consistently finished roughly one book a week.

Published: January 14, 2026, 9:15 pm

What would happen if every state acted like Donald Trump’s America? | Kenneth Roth

In a might-makes-right world, US allies, not to mention the emerging powers of the global south, would begin to hedge their bets in dangerous ways

What is wrong with resurrecting the prerogative of major powers to claim a sphere of influence in which they dictate and others must follow? That idea informs the “Donroe Doctrine” behind the US invasion of Venezuela to seize Nicolás Maduro. Donald Trump seems to believe that, as the world’s strongest military power, the United States should be allowed to invade other countries at will. Trump’s homeland security adviser, Stephen Miller, says “the real world” is “governed by strength”, by “power”, so we should get used to it.

There is a beguiling simplicity to this abandonment of the norms long designed to govern the behavior of states big and small. China has touted it as the reality that its Asian neighbors must live with. Russia, a third-tier power by comparison but still a nuclear-armed regional heavyweight, has periodically treated the boundaries of post-Soviet states as mere suggestions. But do we really want to return to the law of the jungle in which the guy with the biggest stick calls the shots?

Published: January 14, 2026, 11:00 am

We are living in a time of polycrisis. If you feel trapped – you’re not alone

I hadn’t fully grasped how the idea of a better future sustained me – now I, like many others, find it difficult to be productive

A new year is upon us. Traditionally, we use this time to look forward, imagine and plan.

But instead, I have noticed that most of my friends have been struggling to think beyond the next few days or weeks. I, too, have been having difficulty conjuring up visions of a better future – either for myself or in general.

Published: January 14, 2026, 1:00 pm

Erotic gay smash Heated Rivalry is a well-timed defense of intimacy coordinators | Adrian Horton

The small screen phenomenon, and its publicized use of intimacy coordinators, has arrived as established Hollywood names have started to criticize the role

If you could pinpoint a moment where things change for Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), the two professional hockey players secretly hooking up in the show Heated Rivalry – a moment when the relationship breaks through into fraught emotional territory, when the hazy, undefined thing has become a thing – it would be midway through episode four.

Ilya’s couch, mid-morning, post-breakfast. (The exponentially growing fandom of this six-episode show from Canadian streamer Crave, which premiered in North America in late November with virtually no promotion and has rapidly become one of the most organic TV phenomena in recent memory, knows exactly what I’m talking about.) Hollander overhears Rozanov’s distressing phone call from home and asks how his father is (he doesn’t know Russian, but agitation needs no language); Rozanov responds by wrapping a sculpted arm around his neck. The two then get intimate, in one of the show’s many near-wordless sex scenes, culminating in them each using the other’s first name for the first time.

Published: January 14, 2026, 5:02 pm

‘A cowardly, deluded drunken waster’: readers on their favourite unlikable movie characters

After Guardian writers shared their choices, readers responded with picks from films including Withnail and I, Emily the Criminal and Chopper

The fact that he manages to save a kid’s life while remaining a sweary alcoholic without an ounce of dignity and self-respect … is positively heartwarming. GusCairns

Published: January 14, 2026, 12:01 pm

After the shooting of Renee Good, we see dissent can be fatal in Trump’s America – all bets are off | Emma Brockes

A line has been crossed, and it’s vital to understand that. A system that sends paramilitaries on to the streets will observe no limits

A few years ago, towards the end of the second Obama administration, a friend and her wife flew back to New York from a holiday in Mexico, landing for a connecting flight in South Carolina. At immigration, the officer looked from one to the other, asked their relation to one another and on receiving the reply, made a noise of disgust – “ugh”. On the pretext that American citizens can’t go through the same lane as a spouse on a green card (not true), he sent them to the back of the line, causing them to miss their connection. But that’s not the point of the story.

My friend is a white Australian who is generally conflict-averse; her wife is a Japanese-American who can stop traffic with a single, hard stare, and who teaches in the South Bronx, where many of her students have been harassed by law enforcement since the day they were born. As trouble got under way, my friend kicked off like a good’un, swearing and muttering sarcastically in the Australian style, while her wife shot her desperate, angry looks. Shut up. Shut Up. SHUT UP.

Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist

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

Published: January 14, 2026, 5:46 pm

Trump administration halts immigrant visa processing from 75 countries

The state department cites welfare use as it pauses visa processing for Brazil, Iran, Russia, Somalia and others

The Donald Trump administration has indefinitely suspended immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries, marking one of its most expansive efforts yet to restrict legal pathways to the United States.

The freeze, which takes effect on 21 January, targets applicants officials deem likely to become a “public charge” – who they describe as people who may rely on government benefits for basic needs.

Published: January 14, 2026, 8:11 pm

Iran closes airspace to all flights as foreign minister denies it plans to execute protesters – live

Abbas Araghchi says hangings over anti-government demonstrations are ‘out of the question’ while flight tracking data shows airlines avoiding Iranian airspace

• US and UK military to withdraw some personnel from Middle East amid Iranian threats

• Analysis: why western diplomats are wary of predicting end days for Iran’s regime

• Massacres and executions: what are we hearing from inside Iran? – podcast

For the first time in days, Iranians were able to make calls abroad from their mobiles on Tuesday, according to reporting by Associated Press. Texting services have not been restored, however, and nor has the internet.

Although Iranians were able to call abroad, they could not receive calls from outside the country, several people in the capital told Associated Press. The internet remained blocked, they said, though it is possible to access some government-approved websites.

Cloudfare - an internet infrastructure provider, and one of several companies and monitors tracking the status of internet traffic in Iran – said traffic volumes have remained “at a fraction of a percent of previous levels”. Its latest update as of 01:00 UTC (which is about three hours and 30 minutes ago), shows a continued widespread blackout. Iran has been under an internet shutdown since Thursday night.

Brief windows of connectivity were observed on Friday, but these did not last, according to Cloudfare.

Netblocks, an independent global internet monitor, also notes that while some phone calls from Iran are connecting, there is “no secure way to communicate” and the general public remain cut off from the outside world.

Published: January 15, 2026, 1:15 am

US Senate kills resolution that would have limited Trump action in Venezuela

Republicans Josh Hawley and Todd Young flipped after receiving ‘assurances’ from Trump administration

The US Senate has voted against a war powers resolution that would have prevented Donald Trump from taking further military action against Venezuela without giving Congress advance notice.

Senators Josh Hawley of Missouri and Todd Young of Indiana, who had joined three other Republicans to advance the resolution alongside Democrats last week, flipped after they said they received assurances from the Trump administration.

Published: January 15, 2026, 12:41 am

Trump is making China – not America – great again, global survey suggests

Exclusive: US is less feared by its traditional adversaries, while its allies feel ever more distant, results show

A year after Donald Trump’s return to the White House, a global survey suggests much of the world believes his nation-first, “Make America Great Again” approach is instead helping to make China great again.

The 21-country survey for the influential European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) thinktank also found that under Trump, the US is less feared by its traditional adversaries, while its allies – particularly in Europe – feel ever more distant.

Published: January 15, 2026, 12:01 am

Trump insists Greenland is crucial for national security after Denmark talks

Talks fail to solve ‘fundamental disagreement’ over Arctic island controlled by Copenhagen

Donald Trump reiterated on Wednesday that the US needs Greenland and that Denmark cannot be relied upon to protect the island, even as he said that “something will work out” with respect to the future governance of the Danish overseas territory.

The remarks, which came after a high-stakes meeting between US, Danish and Greenlandic officials, indicate that fundamental differences remain between how Washington, Copenhagen and Nuuk see the political future of the island.

Published: January 14, 2026, 10:20 pm

Suspended Michigan autoworker who heckled Trump gets outpouring of donations

Tens of thousands of dollars raised for TJ Sabula after he reportedly calls Trump ‘pedophile protector’ during Ford plant tour

Tens of thousands of dollars have been raised for an autoworker at a Ford plant in Michigan who was suspended without pay after heckling Donald Trump.

TJ Sabula is said to have called the president a “pedophile protector” as Trump toured the automotive giant’s River Rouge complex on Tuesday.

Published: January 14, 2026, 3:23 pm

House oversight chair says panel will move to hold Hillary Clinton in contempt

James Comer says action follows refusal by the former first lady and Bill Clinton to testify about Jeffrey Epstein

• US politics live – latest updates

The House oversight committee will move to hold Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress, its Republican chair James Comer said on Wednesday, after the former first lady joined her husband Bill Clinton in refusing to comply with a subpoena for testimony regarding the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The announcement came a day after the Clintons said they would not honor subpoenas from the investigative panel to discuss Epstein, a former friend of the ex-president, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

Published: January 14, 2026, 5:36 pm

Prop 50: appeals court rejects Republican bid to block California maps

Judges uphold redrawing to offset Texas gerrymandering as Newsom attacks lawsuit as ‘weak attempt to silence voters’

A federal appeals panel on Wednesday upheld the California ballot initiative that allows temporary changes to congressional district maps designed to benefit Democrats in upcoming elections.

The measure, known as Proposition 50, emerged in response to actions taken in Texas, where Republican leaders sought to adjust congressional districts to increase GOP representation in the US House. As the midterm elections approach, a period when shifts in party control are common, Trump urged Texas officials to redraw their maps to boost Republican seats.

Published: January 14, 2026, 10:30 pm

Wolf’s dinner preserved in Siberia for 14,400 years sheds light on woolly rhino

Decoded genome of meat in pup’s stomach helps scientists build picture of what caused extinction of species

Researchers have shed light on the final centuries of the woolly rhinoceros after studying a hairy lump of meat from the stomach of an ancient wolf cub that became mummified in the Siberian permafrost.

The beautifully preserved remains of a two-month-old female wolf cub were discovered in 2011 near the village of Tumat in northeastern Siberia. The animal is thought to have died 14,400 years ago when a landslide collapsed its den, trapping the cub and others inside.

Published: January 14, 2026, 5:01 pm

Trump signs bill returning whole milk to US school lunches

Move allowing whole and 2% milk to be served in cafeterias overturns Obama-era limits to higher-fat milk options

Whole milk is heading back to school cafeterias across the country after Donald Trump signed a bill on Wednesday overturning Obama-era limits on higher-fat milk options.

Non-dairy drinks such as fortified soy milk may also be on the menu in the coming months after adoption of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which cleared Congress in the fall.

Published: January 14, 2026, 9:38 pm

FBI raids home of Washington Post reporter in ‘highly unusual and aggressive’ move

Agents searched Hannah Natanson’s Virginia home and seized devices in inquiry tied to a classified materials case

The FBI raided the home of a Washington Post reporter early on Wednesday in what the newspaper called a “highly unusual and aggressive” move by law enforcement, and press freedom groups condemned as a “tremendous intrusion” by the Trump administration.

Agents descended on the Virginia home of Hannah Natanson as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified government materials.

Published: January 14, 2026, 6:20 pm

Democratic lawmakers file articles of impeachment against Kristi Noem

Robin Kelly and other House Democrats move against homeland security secretary over ICE killing of Renee Good

The Democratic representative Robin Kelly on Wednesday formally introduced articles of impeachment against Donald Trump’s homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, following the fatal shooting of a US citizen by an immigration agent in Minneapolis last week.

“Secretary Noem has brought her reign of terror to the Chicagoland area, LA, New Orleans, Charlotte, Durham and communities east, north, to south to east to west” Kelly said in a press conference on Wednesday. “She needs to be held accountable for her actions”.

Published: January 14, 2026, 4:27 pm

‘People will die’: Trump administration cancels up to $1.9bn for substance use and mental health

Funding to end immediately for up to 2,800 grantees of US agency that serves thousands seeking help and in recovery

The Trump administration on Tuesday evening unexpectedly canceled up to $1.9bn in funding for substance use and mental health care, which providers say will immediately affect thousands of patients.

“It feels like Armageddon for everyone who’s on the frontlines of the addiction and mental health space,” said Ryan Hampton, founder of Mobilize Recovery, a national advocacy organization for people in and seeking recovery.

Published: January 14, 2026, 7:00 pm

‘Are they going to bring their violence here?’: Fear – but little preparation – as threat of invasion looms over Greenland

Ahead of high-stakes talks, people tell of alarm, thoughts of fleeing and lack of information on what to do if US invades

• Europe live – latest updates

When she was living in Denmark, the seemingly unshakeable safety of Greenland was a comforting source of reassurance for Najannguaq Hegelund. Whenever there was any instability in the world, she would joke with her family: “Well we will just go to Greenland, nothing ever happens in Greenland.”

But in the past two weeks – during which Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened military action on the largely autonomous Arctic territory the US president claims he “needs” for national security purposes, despite it being part of the Danish kingdom – Hegelund, 37, has realised this is suddenly no longer true.

Published: January 14, 2026, 1:26 pm

Elon Musk’s stubborn spin on Grok’s sexualized images controversy

Musk attempts to recast AI tool’s misuse. Plus, tech billionaires plot against a proposed California tax on their fortunes

Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, US tech editor for the Guardian. Today, we discuss Elon Musk’s rosy depiction of Grok’s image generation controversy; the seven-figure panic among Silicon Valley billionaires over a proposed wealth tax in California, though with one notable exception; and how AI and robotics have revitalized the Consumer Electronics Showcase.

Under a tax proposal that could be put to voters this November, any California resident worth more than $1bn would have to pay a one-off, 5% tax on their assets to help cover education, food assistance and healthcare programs in the state.

Several Silicon Valley figures have already threatened to leave California and take their business elsewhere. But Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, whose net worth is nearly $159bn, told Bloomberg Television this week that he is “perfectly fine with it”.

Published: January 14, 2026, 7:37 pm

Massacres and executions: what are we hearing from inside Iran? – The Latest

Protesters face execution as the Iranian regime continues its violent crackdown, defying the US president, Donald Trump, who has threatened ‘very strong action’ if demonstrators are killed. Erfan Soltani, 26, is the first protester to be sentenced to death, but it is unclear whether or not his execution has taken place. Lucy Hough speaks to journalist Deepa Parent about what she is hearing from those inside Iran – watch on YouTube

Published: January 14, 2026, 6:18 pm

You own an electric toothbrush, why not an ultrasonic knife? We had a pro chef test the world’s first

The C-200 vibrates 30,000 times per second, and as our pro chef tester found, it’s not as gimmicky as it sounds

• This versatile Japanese chef’s knife has lasted longer than some of my relationships

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Knife technology evolves at glacial speed. If an 18th-century chef time-traveled to my present-day kitchen, they’d be terrified of the immersion blender, thrilled by the nonstick pans and perplexed by the can opener. But they could pick up any of the knives in my drawer and get to work on a ratatouille.

As long as they didn’t pick up my ultrasonic knife. The C-200 Ultrasonic Chef’s Knife by Seattle Ultrasonics, first launched this fall, marks a pivotal upgrade to the science of slicing: almost imperceptible vibrations move the blade 30,000 times per second, making it behave “sharper than it physically is”, according to the company.

World’s first ultrasonic knife:
C-200 Ultrasonic 8in Chef’s Knife

Chef-approved knife sharpener:
Tormek T-2 Pro

Published: January 14, 2026, 8:15 pm

Why is Stephen A Smith blaming Renee Good for her own death? | Etan Thomas

The ESPN broadcaster’s comments about the ICE shooting in Minnesota moves him closer to the stance of another media figure he has long attacked

This past weekend there were hundreds of demonstrations across the United States after Renee Good, an American citizen and mother of three, was shot dead by Jonathan Ross, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, in Minnesota.

The anger has permeated throughout the NBA as well. Steve Kerr and Doc Rivers, the head coaches of the Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks respectively, described Good’s death as “murder”. Kerr also attacked the Trump administration’s attempts to portray Good as a terrorist.

Published: January 14, 2026, 11:00 am

Bronx dog-walkers in the rubble of a dangerous New York: Camilo José Vergara’s best photograph

‘Huge parts of the city were being destroyed. This was part of my attempt to preserve the whole damn thing. The area became a juvenile prison’

I landed in America in 1965 from Chile. I literally arrived on a banana boat. I went to the University of Notre Dame in the midwest and then to Columbia in New York. I had a teacher – also a photographer – who taught foreign students to write and speak better English. I would try to write poetry, which he thought was terrible. I’d never taken a picture before but he encouraged me to try photography and offered to lend me the money for a Pentax Spotmatic he’d seen for sale downtown. After that, I would just walk around New York with it and take photos. It quickly became clear to me how divided the city was. Half was white and the other half was Black and Latino. There was tremendous segregation.

Columbia was very prosperous. The students were well off and many were the sons of extremely rich people. I felt out of place. Also, there’s just a huge sense of loss when you leave your country and you don’t know anybody and are on your own. It made me want to look at what else was going on: to see the other side and the underside of the city. I found it easily because, in the late 60s and early 70s, deindustrialisation was going on. Big companies and car plants were shutting down and there were huge job losses and store closures. That contrast resonated with me. My family had lost a lot of money. The first part of my life was about seeing things disappear and having to make do with less and less. I was interested to see that in the US.

Published: January 14, 2026, 2:59 pm

Jimmy Kimmel on ICE shooting of Renee Good: ‘They’re investigating the victims instead of the perpetrator’

Late-night hosts discussed the Trump administration’s deployment of yet more ICE agents to Minneapolis

Late-night hosts responded to the Trump administration’s escalation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) action in Minneapolis and its criminal investigation into the Fed chair, Jerome Powell.

Published: January 14, 2026, 3:58 pm

Cities and states must hold ICE accountable for violence. The feds won’t | Kristy Parker and Samantha Trepel

As former federal prosecutors, we know an incident like the Minneapolis shooting must be followed by a credible inquiry

Last Wednesday, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old American mother. Already, the federal investigation into the killing raises serious concerns, which is why the parallel investigation Minnesota officials are conducting is vital.

Mere hours after Good’s death, the Trump administration prejudged the case before any investigation could begin. The administration was swift to blame the victim, with the president and the DHS secretary making disparaging, accusatory, and prejudicial statements about her motives and conduct; Donald Trump said she was a “professional agitator” who had “viciously” run over the officer, while Kristi Noem accused her of “domestic terrorism”. Additionally, JD Vance, the vice-president, incorrectly claimed the shooter had “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution by state officials. And the FBI has shut state investigators out.

Published: January 14, 2026, 1:00 pm

Donald Trump is waging war against human conscience | Osita Nwanevu

The Trump administration’s assaults on liberty are the kinds of abuses that spurred the American revolution that the nation will commemorate this year

It’s garnered less attention than the other events of our already wretched new year. But to understand why Renee Nicole Good was killed on Wednesday, why the White House has designs on Greenland, and why the people of Venezuela may soon be governed, in effect, by a junta of oil companies backed by the US military, we should also consider an email Martin Peterson, a philosophy professor at Texas A&M, received about his course Contemporary Moral Problems last week.

His syllabus, he was informed, contained material banned by the college’s board of regents in December – part of the wave of censorship the Trump administration and the Republican party have encouraged at universities across the country. He was given two options: change the syllabus “to remove the modules on race ideology and gender ideology, and the Plato readings that may include these” or teach another course.

Published: January 14, 2026, 1:00 pm

I witnessed the brutality of America’s prisons first hand. We need urgent reform | Alex Duran

It shouldn’t take suing departments of corrections or capturing atrocities on illegal cellphones to see what happens behind prison walls

When a camera records an act of lethal violence against someone in official custody, the state cannot hide what it typically keeps in the dark. That’s what happened when correction officers murdered Robert Brooks at Marcy correctional facility in New York. Restrained in handcuffs, Brooks was beaten to death by officers unaware that their own body-worn cameras were documenting every blow.

The deaths of Brooks and another handcuffed man, Messiah Nantwi, were the catalysts of a recent investigation by the New York Times that found guards in New York prisons use violence at alarming rates. Because the public is largely unaware of what their tax dollars fund behind prison walls, these revelations are significant. But the violence is not unique to New York.

Alex Duran is program director at Galaxy Gives and a co-producer of The Alabama Solution

Published: January 14, 2026, 3:00 pm

The Trump dynasty could run and run – but will Ivanka, Barron or Kai take the crown? | Arwa Mahdawi

This week, Trump’s granddaughter announced she definitely doesn’t want to go into politics. Expect a run for office very soon

Last week Kai Trump, Donald Trump Jr’s daughter and the president’s eldest grandchild, publicly declared she had no plans to run for office. The 18-year-old appeared on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast, where she stated that “politics is such a dangerous thing … I think if both sides met in the middle, everyone would be so much more happier.” (Maybe tell that to your grandpa, kid.) “To be honest with you,” she said, “I stay out of politics completely … I don’t want anything to do with politics.”

Look, I know you’re still very young, Kai, so here’s a little advice from an old lady: maybe work just a teeny bit harder at keeping a safe distance from politics. It has not gone unobserved that the influencer and golfer has made a lot of content about life behind the scenes at the White House. She’s also launched an apparel collection, which she’s modelled on the White House lawn. And, notably, she spoke at the 2024 Republican national convention (RNC), where she insisted Trump was “just a normal grandpa”. I don’t know about that; my grandad didn’t invade Venezuela.

Kai, by the way, stressed to Logan Paul that she was the one who decided to speak at the RNC; it was “literally all my idea”. But the nasty media, she noted, spun it otherwise. “[They said] ‘Oh well, that’s like a political plan that was put in place, to like get more voters or anything like that’.” Well, yes, because it was a political convention. They tend to be, you know, political.

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: January 14, 2026, 11:00 am

Sánchez errors hand Arsenal first-leg lead despite Garnacho’s Chelsea double

It was the latest display of Arsenal’s power and aggression, their remorselessness. And when it was over, this Carabao Cup semi-final felt firmly within their grip. But for a late goal from the Chelsea substitute Alejandro Garnacho, his second of an eventful cameo, it would surely have been over.

Even so, it was difficult on this evidence to predict anything other than Arsenal progressing into the final; moving closer to a rare piece of silverware under Mikel Arteta – one to pave the way for others this season?

Published: January 14, 2026, 10:10 pm

Sam Coffey’s Man City move is another blow for a hamstrung NWSL

USWNT stars have a world of options as their domestic league struggles to match European teams’ ambition

Sam Coffey’s transfer from the Portland Thorns to Manchester City marks a tipping point: more than half of the USWNT’s starting lineup that secured the 2024 Olympic gold medal now play their professional soccer in Europe. If free agent Trinity Rodman signs abroad, too, that’ll leave only four players from that lineup on NWSL rosters to start the domestic season.

The distribution of where USWNT players compete has dramatically shifted under Emma Hayes. So many star players have headed to European Goliaths, including Hayes’s former club Chelsea, that last year she had to assure the NWSL board of governors she isn’t pushing her athletes to leave the league, per a report from ESPN. Hayes insists she simply supports her players’ aspirations, whatever they may be. Today, out of the seven players with the most USWNT minutes in 2025, only two of them – Emily Sonnett and Claire Hutton – are playing stateside.

Published: January 14, 2026, 3:43 pm

Sheriff investigates burglary at late Nascar driver Greg Biffle’s home

• Cash, guns and memorabilia reported stolen

• Home last secure day before burglary report

• Memorial service set for Friday in Charlotte

Sheriff’s deputies are investigating an alleged break-in and theft last week at the North Carolina home of retired Nascar driver Greg Biffle, one of seven people who died in a plane crash last month.

The alleged burglary and forcible entry into the Biffle home in Mooresville was reported on 8 January, according to an incident report from the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.

Published: January 14, 2026, 9:42 pm

Morocco book place in home Afcon final as Bounou denies Nigeria in shootout

Morocco advanced to the Africa Cup of Nations final on penalties, beating Nigeria 4-2 in the final shootout after their semi-final ended goalless after extra time.

Yassine Bounou saved two spot kicks for the tournament hosts, keeping out Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi’s efforts. Nigeria keeper Stanley Nwabali denied Hamza Igamane with the first save of the shootout, but it proved to be in vain.

Published: January 14, 2026, 11:10 pm

Amateur stuns pros to win One Point Slam and A$1m in boost for Australian Open

Tennis Australia is the big winner as new format draws full house and makes Jordan Smith a millionaire

A 29-year-old tennis coach from Sydney won the inaugural One Point Slam at the Australian Open and its A$1m prize on Wednesday, after upstaging a field that included Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.

It is Tennis Australia, however, which won the jackpot, after the new concept – despite its near three-hour duration, often confusing format and awkward exchanges between players – attracted a full house to Rod Laver Arena during opening week as organisers look at non‑traditional ways to attract fans to Melbourne Park.

Published: January 14, 2026, 3:44 pm

Pitch Points: Alonso’s future and Wrexham’s Premier League dreams

The world of soccer throws up no shortage of questions. In today’s column, we endeavor to answer three of them

As damaging as Sunday’s Spanish Super Cup defeat to Barcelona was for Xabi Alonso’s credibility as Real Madrid manager, the scenes after the game ultimately finished him off. The sight of Kylian Mbappé overriding Alonso, insisting his teammates leave the pitch as the manager requested in vain that they give Barça a guard of honour, summed up an untenable situation.

Published: January 14, 2026, 2:00 pm

Canada’s ‘Camp Poutine’ kickstarts a World Cup year with a long-term eye

A January camp for domestic players allows Jesse Marsch to boost a development system that will outlast his tenure

Men have stood broken on her piers. It can be a desolate place, too, especially in winter, which is of course when the lobster boats do the bulk of their fishing. But the weather had improved by the time Canadian men’s national team head coach Jesse Marsch ferried his squad from around the world to Halifax, Nova Scotia, for a training camp ahead of last summer’s Gold Cup. It was the first time the men’s national team had visited the province.

But it was not Marsch’s first time in town, having previously kicked off a cross-country coaching clinic – a whirlwind tour meant to share with local soccer communities what he’d done with the national team at Copa América in 2024 – at a local hotel and convention centre. He’d promised, and pitched a vision, to make the national team truly national in a way no coach had before him. And he was delivering, having also made similar coaching stops in Québec City, Saskatoon and Calgary.

Published: January 14, 2026, 11:00 am

US announces start of second phase of Gaza ceasefire

No details given of committee members who will run territory but they are expected be technocrats, not politicians

The US has announced the start of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, including the creation of a committee of Palestinian technocrats who are supposed to take over the day-to-day running of the territory for a transition period.

The announcement was made on social media by Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, but it lacked any detail or names of potential members of the proposed “national committee for the administration of Gaza”. The committee is not expected to begin work until mandated by a “peace board” chaired by Trump, which has yet to be created.

Published: January 14, 2026, 7:28 pm

California attorney general investigates Musk’s Grok AI over lewd fake images

AI tool made by Elon Musk’s xAI makes it easy to harass women with deepfake images, says state’s top attorney

California authorities have announced an investigation into the output of Elon Musk’s Grok.

The state’s top attorney said Grok, an AI tool and image generator made by Musk’s company xAI, appears to be making it easy to harass women and girls with deepfake images on X and elsewhere online.

Published: January 14, 2026, 8:09 pm

Pro-Israel group Betar to end New York operations after inquiry finds ‘violent conduct’

State attorney general found far-right group harassed ‘Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and Jewish New Yorkers’

New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, announced a settlement on Tuesday with Betar US, a far-right pro-Israel group, after an investigation from her office that found the organization engaged in what her office described as “bias-motivated assaults, threats, and harassment targeting Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and Jewish New Yorkers”.

The settlement requires Betar to “immediately cease instigating or encouraging violence against individuals, threatening protesters, and harassing individuals exercising their civil rights”, and subjects the organization to a suspended $50,000 penalty that will be enforced if the group violates the terms.

Published: January 14, 2026, 4:16 pm

Health secretary RFK Jr appoints two vaccine skeptics to CDC advisory panel

Physicians have disputed prevailing scientific views on vaccines and use of antidepressants during pregnancy

The health and human services secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has appointed two new obstetrician-gynecologists to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee. Both are physicians who have publicly disputed prevailing scientific views on vaccines and the use of antidepressants during pregnancy.

Kennedy announced on Tuesday that the two doctors will join the advisory committee on immunization practices (ACIP), which advises the CDC on vaccine recommendations. The additions bring the committee’s membership to 13, following Kennedy’s controversial decision in June to dismiss the previous panel and replace it with 11 new members of his choosing.

Published: January 14, 2026, 5:24 pm

Ukraine able to buy weapons from non-European suppliers with €90bn EU loan

Loan will be repaid only if Moscow pays reparations and plan to use Russia’s frozen assets still on table

Ukraine will be able to buy military equipment from non-European suppliers when it is given access to a €90bn (£78bn) EU loan later this year under a proposal outlined by the EU executive.

The European Commission on Wednesday published detailed proposals to lend Kyiv €90bn, but said an alternative plan based on using Russia’s frozen assets remained on the table.

Published: January 14, 2026, 1:11 pm

Two-star Michelin restaurant in Wales handed one-star hygiene rating

Ynyshir’s Gareth Ward ‘not embarrassed’ by score and says it was due to concerns about the use of raw ingredients

The chef behind a Welsh restaurant with two Michelin stars says it has “the highest standards in the world”, despite being given a one-star hygiene rating in a recent inspection.

Ynyshir, a restaurant with rooms near Machynlleth on the southern edge of the Eryri national park, has been praised as one of the best in the world.

Published: January 14, 2026, 10:49 pm

Michigan senator says she is being investigated for imploring US troops to refuse illegal orders

Elissa Slotkin says US is investigating her for video in which Democrats say service members ‘must refuse illegal orders’

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Michigan senator Elissa Slotkin said on Tuesday that she was under federal investigation for her participation in a video last year in which she and fellow Democrats implored troops to refuse illegal orders.

Slotkin, a former CIA officer and military veteran who served three tours in Iraq, organized the video with five other Democrats with military and intelligence backgrounds. Donald Trump called it “seditious behavior by traitors” that was “punishable by death”, an assertion that caused outrage and was quickly walked back by the White House, which clarified that the president did not want to execute members of Congress but wanted to see them “held accountable”.

Published: January 14, 2026, 5:24 pm

California’s Highway 1 reopens after years-long closure due to landslides

Scenic coastal throughfare from Los Angeles to San Francisco had been cut in tourism-reliant Big Sur area

A portion of California’s scenic Highway 1, which winds through rugged cliffs along the coast and has long been a highlight for travelers admiring the ocean views, reopened on Wednesday after a years-long closure.

A large section of the road in Big Sur has been cut off due to landslides since 2023, creating challenges for visitors and businesses that rely on tourism.

Published: January 14, 2026, 8:24 pm

Bears under California homes go from one-off to trend

It’s unclear whether bear removed from Altadena house is same one seen under other homes

Last week, it appeared the the saga of a black bear that had captivated the Los Angeles community of Altadena for months had come to an end: the Bear League, a Lake Tahoe-based non-profit, was able to successfully remove a 550lb black bear that had been living in a crawlspace under Ken Johnson’s home in Altadena since late November.

This week, however, reports emerged of bears appearing under other homes.

Published: January 14, 2026, 9:02 pm

Horses can smell fear in humans, researchers say

Tests showed horses that smelled body odour from people watching scary films startled more easily

Horses can smell fear, or at least whether you have scared yourself witless watching a horror movie, according to researchers who say the effect has consequences for riders, trainers and others who work with the animals.

In a series of tests, horses that smelled body odour from people watching scary films startled more easily, had higher heart rates and approached their handlers less often than when the odour came from people watching more joyful scenes.

Published: January 14, 2026, 7:00 pm

EPA to stop calculating money and lives saved by curbs on air pollution

Agency to focus rules for fine particulate matter and ozone only on cost to industry, aligning with Trump approach

The Environmental Protection Agency says it will stop calculating how much money is saved in healthcare costs avoided and deaths prevented from air pollution rules that curb two deadly pollutants.

The change means the EPA will focus rules for fine particulate matter and ozone only on the cost to industry, part of a broader realignment under Donald Trump toward a business-friendly approach that has included the rollback of multiple policies meant to safeguard human health and the environment and slow climate change.

Published: January 14, 2026, 5:46 pm

Human activity helped make 2025 third-hottest year on record, experts say

Data leads scientists to declare 2015 Paris agreement to keep global heating below 1.5C ‘dead in the water’

Last year was the third hottest on record, scientists have said, with mounting fossil fuel pollution behind “exceptional” temperatures.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said 2025 had continued a three-year streak of “extraordinary global temperatures” during which surface air temperatures averaged 1.48C above preindustrial levels.

Published: January 14, 2026, 3:59 pm

Union leaders accuse Trump labor department of echoing Nazi rhetoric

Labor department rhetoric, such as ‘One Homeland. One People. One Heritage’, prompt comparisons to Nazi slogan

Union leaders have accused the Trump administration of a “rhetorical shift towards white supremacy” after social media posts by the US Department of Labor drew comparison with a Nazi slogan.

Recent posts from the agency include a video captioned “remember who you are, American”, with the phrase: “One Homeland. One People. One Heritage.”

Published: January 14, 2026, 11:00 am

Puppies treated for suspected fentanyl overdose to go up for adoption in Washington

Six puppies were revived and treated by first responders and are now being monitored at a local animal shelter

Six puppies in rural Washington state will soon be up for adoption after being revived following a suspected drug overdose – and some of them might go home with the fire-station staff who saved them.

Two people dropped off three of the sickened puppies at the Sky Valley fire station, about an hour’s drive north-east of Seattle, on Sunday. Officials believe the animals either breathed or ate fentanyl.

Published: January 14, 2026, 3:47 pm

US supreme court rules Republican can challenge Illinois mail-in ballot law

Lawsuit from Mike Bost was viewed by Trump-aligned conservatives as route to continue attacks on mail-in voting

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The US supreme court on Wednesday revived a lawsuit by a Republican congressman in Illinois that challenges a state law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted if they are received after election day.

The lawsuit from Mike Bost was viewed by Donald Trump-aligned conservatives as an avenue to continue attacks on mail-in voting. Bost argued that the Illinois law allowing ballots to be counted up to two weeks after election day if they are postmarked by the deadline unconstitutionally allows an extension of the election period.

Published: January 14, 2026, 4:33 pm

Saks Global files for bankruptcy after takeover leads to financial collapse

Debt-riddled retail giant’s demise has cast uncertainty over the future of US luxury fashion

Beleaguered high-end department store conglomerate Saks Global filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, a month after missing the deadline on a $100m interest payment, in one of the largest retail collapses since the pandemic.

Barely a year after a deal brought the chains Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus together, Saks Global said it had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy “to facilitate its ongoing transformation”.

Published: January 14, 2026, 1:00 pm

Julio Iglesias faces claims female staff were told to have sexual health tests, say reports

Spanish singer, 82, had already been accused of sexually assaulting two female former employees

The Spanish singer Julio Iglesias, who has been accused of sexually assaulting two female former employees, is also alleged to have ordered some women who worked for him to undergo tests for sexually transmitted diseases, local media have reported.

The sexual assault allegations against the 82-year-old singer, whose career spans six decades, were published on Tuesday after a three-year joint investigation by the Spanish news site elDiario.es and the Spanish-language TV network Univision Noticias.

Published: January 14, 2026, 12:34 pm

Quebec premier François Legault resigns from post in surprise move

Legault’s abrupt resignation follows months of chaos that has rocked the governing Coalition Avenir Québec party

Quebec’s premier, François Legault, has announced his resignation as leader of the province, in an abrupt departure for the polarizing figure whose embattled government faces the prospects of an electoral wipeout in the coming months.

Speaking at a hastily arranged press conference in Quebec City on Wednesday, Legault said he was proud to have founded the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) party and won consecutive majority governments beginning in 2018.

Published: January 14, 2026, 5:22 pm

France records more deaths than births for first time since end of second world war

Country joins EU neighbours in demographic crunch of ageing population and falling birthrate

For the first time since the end of the second world war, France has recorded more deaths than births, suggesting that the country’s long-held demographic advantage over other EU countries is slipping away.

Across the country in 2025, there were 651,000 deaths and 645,000 births, according to newly released figures from the national statistics institute Insee.

Published: January 14, 2026, 1:30 pm

Italian influencer Chiara Ferragni cleared of fraud over charity Christmas cake scandal

Social media star says ‘justice has been done’ in cases involving cakes and Easter eggs being promoted as charitable initiatives

The Italian fashion influencer Chiara Ferragni has said “the nightmare is over” after being acquitted on fraud charges in a trial linked to Christmas cake and Easter egg charity initiatives.

The social media star, 38, had been on trial in Milan accused of duping consumers in two separate fundraisers – one a Christmas campaign in 2022 promoting pandoro cake, an alternative to the more famous panettone, and the other selling chocolate eggs during Easter campaigns in 2021 and 2022.

Published: January 14, 2026, 5:22 pm

‘I fell in love with him on the spot’: Alan Rickman remembered, 10 years after his death

On the anniversary of his death aged 69, stars from Sigourney Weaver to Sharleen Spiteri, Tom Felton to Harriet Walter, remember the wit, charm and endless generosity of one of Britain’s best-loved actors

Ruby Wax

Published: January 14, 2026, 5:00 am

Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy – the follow-up to I’m Glad My Mom Died

Family trauma shapes a student’s affair with her teacher in this bleak and funny fiction debut from the American memoirist

When it was published in 2022, Jennette McCurdy’s memoir lit a touchpaper to a nascent cultural conversation. I’m Glad My Mom Died introduced her mother Debra’s narcissistic personality disorder into a world eager to discuss adult child and parent estrangement. McCurdy had also suffered sexual abuse, and claimed her mother had contributed to her developing an eating disorder. The memoir was a bestseller, walking readers through the realities of generational trauma; a step change for the former Disney child star who had been “the funny one” on obnoxious Nickelodeon kids’ shows.

In her debut work of fiction, Half His Age, McCurdy continues to shake open a Pandora’s box, shedding light on blurred parent-child boundaries and loss of identity due to over-enmeshment, with solid one-liners that feel straight out of a sitcom writers’ room.

Published: January 14, 2026, 7:00 am

Pole to Pole With Will Smith review – every single moment is gorgeous or thrilling

It may feel like a redemption tour, but the star’s epic jolly across seven continents is consistently funny, moving and quite frankly breathtaking

Hollywood stars – they’re just like us! Except that when we want to go on a massive jolly/rehabilitative journey for ourselves and/or our careers, we have to pay for it. And we generally cannot go on a 100-day adventure across seven continents, with experts on hand to introduce us to their indigenous inhabitants, talk us through world-changing research being done in the most isolated regions on Earth, show us new and fascinating species that can be found there that may hold the cure to all known diseases, and guide us through the breathtaking landscapes that make you want to throw yourself to the ground and weep at the beauty laid out before humanity’s largely uncaring eyes.

Not so for Willard Carroll Smith II, the Academy award, Bafta and Grammy-winning actor and rapper who enjoyed an uninterruptedly stellar career from the late 80s until 2022, when he put a crimp in things by lamping the Oscars’ host Chris Rock for insulting Smith’s wife. This was followed by a tour violinist suing him for alleged predatory behaviour, unlawful termination and retaliation, which is working its way through the California legal system now. Smith has categorically denied all allegations. He is getting away from it all in the meantime by doing all the adventuring noted above – a septet of episodes of Pole to Pole With Will Smith (the name by which of course he is known to us) in honour of his late mentor Dr Allen Counter. Counter was a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, the inaugural director of the university’s Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations and – in his spare time, I guess? – a noted explorer. I cannot help but feel a biopic must be in the works, and I hope it comes soon.

Published: January 14, 2026, 8:00 am

A Gangster’s Life review – funny in parts, but not always deliberately

Despite some interesting visuals, not even Tony Cook and Jonny Weldon can lift this poorly produced tale of a pair of dodgy lads hiding in Greece from a gangster

Here is an odd film about a couple of dodgy lads who get on the wrong side of a bona fide gangster and have to hide out in Greece. It’s not thoughtless per se; rather, it lacks the resources to bring its vision successfully to screen. Its quirks are sometimes appealing and sometimes amateurish and, while a mixture of influences swirl about, from Bond to Kingsman to Guy Ritchie and even Mission: Impossible, the film-makers don’t have the necessary budget, meaning that it feels at times like a TikTok parody of more expensive films.

It is a shame, because there are some interesting visual ideas that go beyond route one filming. Example: a goon beating a man tied to a chair on a crispy manicured lawn is filmed in a lovely wide shot, with a guy in the far distance calmly clipping the hedge. But it’s the post-production that is the biggest letdown: the sound mix is poor, and it’s a real shame that the final image before the credits roll, which should be genuinely nasty, is derailed by risible FX.

Published: January 14, 2026, 7:00 am

The Flower Bearers by Rachel Eliza Griffiths review – a powerful portrait of loss and violence

The death of a friend and the attempted murder of her husband Salman Rushdie loom large in the poet’s moving memoir

The night before her wedding to Salman Rushdie in 2021, the American poet and novelist Rachel Eliza Griffiths was fretting about her best friend. Kamilah Aisha Moon was due to read a poem at the ceremony, but no one had heard from her. Her phone was going straight to voicemail and staff at her hotel said she hadn’t checked in. “We’ll find her. She wouldn’t miss your wedding,” Griffiths’s sister, Melissa, assured her. But the next afternoon, in the middle of her wedding reception, Griffiths learned that Moon had died alone at home in Atlanta of unknown causes. On hearing the news she collapsed, hit her head on a table and blacked out. Paramedics pried open her eyes to shine a torch on them: “A particle of light that is so distant from the world I once knew.”

For Griffiths, 47, the death of her best friend and “chosen sister” was one in a series of upheavals stretching across a decade. It began with the death of her mother, who was her greatest cheerleader and fiercest critic. She had instilled in her daughter the importance of “independence above everything. I was raised not to lose myself in the stories of others, especially men.”

Published: January 14, 2026, 9:00 am

What’s behind the phenomenon of ‘gamer brain’

If you’ve ever refused to knock down a game’s difficulty level, or chased a purposefully pointless achievement, you might have this pernicious but pleasurable affliction

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Studies on gaming’s effect on the brain usually focus on aggression or the cognitive benefits of playing games. The former topic has fallen out of fashion now, after more than a decade’s worth of scientific research failed to prove any causative link between video games and real-world violence. But studies on the positive effects of games have shown that performing complex tasks with your brain and hands is actually quite good for you, and that games can be beneficial for your emotional wellbeing and stress management.

That’s all well and good, but I’m obsessed with the concept of “gamer brain” – that part of us that is drawn to objectively pointless achievements. Mastering a game or finishing a story are normal sources of motivation, but gamer brain is inexplicable. When you retry the same pointless mini-game over and over because you want to get a better high score? When you walk around the invisible boundaries of a level, clicking the mouse just in case something happens? When you stay with a game longer than you should because you feel compelled to unlock that trophy or achievement? When you refuse to knock the difficulty down a level on a particularly evil boss, because that would be letting the game win? That’s gamer brain.

Published: January 14, 2026, 3:00 pm

He lived in a cage, jumped from a window and spent a year roped to a friend: is Tehching Hsieh the most extreme performance artist ever?

He has broken his ankles, endured 365 days in a cell and faced down the 20th century’s worst winter. Yet he says he is not a masochist. We meet the man Marina Abramovich calls ‘the master’

For one year, beginning on 30 September 1978, Tehching Hsieh lived in an 11ft 6in x 9ft wooden cage. He was not permitted to speak, read or consume any media, but every day a friend visited with food and to remove his waste.

The vital context here is that this incarceration was voluntary: Hsieh is a Taiwanese-American artist whose chosen practice is performance art, undertaking durational “actions” for long periods. Marina Abramović has called him the “master” of the form. In 1980, seven months after the end of Cage Piece, Hsieh began another year-long work, Time Clock Piece, which required him to punch a factory-style clock-in machine in his studio, every hour of each day for 365 days.

Published: January 14, 2026, 4:37 pm

John Forté, Grammy-nominated musician who worked with Fugees, dies at 50

Musician, whose 14-year prison sentence was commuted by George W Bush, was found dead in his Massachusetts home

John Forté, the Grammy-nominated musician known for his work with the Fugees and the Refugee Camp All-Stars among others, has died at age 50.

He was found dead Monday afternoon in his home in Chilmark, Massachusetts, according to police.

Published: January 14, 2026, 2:35 pm

Sex, drugs and sugar babies: first trailer for Euphoria season three drops

Sam Levinson’s hit HBO drama series returns in April with Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Elordi returning

The first trailer for the third season of Euphoria promises more sex, drugs and violence, teasing a troubled life after high school for the show’s characters.

Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Hunter Schafer and Jacob Elordi are among those returning for episodes four years in the making. The new season will take place five years after the characters were last seen.

Published: January 14, 2026, 4:42 pm

Nan Goldin: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency review – an electrifying parade of sex, smoke and sullen silence

Gagosian, London
More than four decades on, Goldin’s louche lovers, waxwork royals, divorcing Mexicans and frightening wallpaper feel uncannily present – normal even

Now more than 40 years old, Nan Goldin’s The Ballad of Sexual Dependency records a lost world, but one that feels as present as it did when I first saw these images. A compilation of photographs taken by the artist between 1973 and 1986, the Ballad has been presented as an ever-changing slide show, with various accompanying soundtracks and voiceovers, since the 1980s.

It has also been presented on video, as a film and a book. I’ve been familiar with these images for much of my adult life, watching Robin smoking, with Kenny in the background in the purple room. The smoke still hangs there beneath the mirrorball and Robin’s profile is still astonishing. I have seen Suzanne in tears and, in another shot, looking at her face in the mirror in a tiled bathroom dizzy with slanting reflections.

Published: January 14, 2026, 2:30 pm

Don’t ‘over-engage your core muscles’ and other tips for looking after your pelvic floor

From not treating your rectum as a storage facility to lifting weights, experts offer advice on how to maintain a healthy pelvic floor for longer

Pelvic floor health has long been relegated to whispered conversations about pregnancy or aging, often reduced to vague instructions to “do your kegels”.

But according to experts, daily maintenance of the pelvic floor is important.

Published: January 14, 2026, 2:00 pm

The woman who made her family disappear: how Karen Palmer escaped her abusive husband

He had threatened her, locked her up and absconded with one of their daughters. Palmer knew she and her girls needed to escape – but it would involve huge risk and total reinvention

In the summer of 1989, Karen Palmer bought a used car for cash, filled it with belongings – some clothes, toys, one pot, one pan and a shoebox of photos – and “disappeared” with her new husband and two young daughters. She didn’t tell her mother, her friends or her neighbours where she was going. She gave no notice to her employers and landlord, leaving items out on her apartment balcony as a sign she still lived there.

“I have such a clear memory of the day we left Los Angeles,” says Palmer. “It was this weird combination of fear and exhilaration, heart pounding, driving into the unknown.” Palmer was fleeing her ex-husband, Gil, the man she feared, and the father of her two daughters, Erin and Amy, then seven and three.

Published: January 14, 2026, 5:00 am

Mix and mismatch: if it doesn’t go with anything, it goes with everything

Bring your ostracised wardrobe items in from the cold by forgetting about whether they go with each other. Instead, let them shine in all their glory

Fashion is a dance between rules and rebellion. Great style requires a bit of both. The rules are essential, because one of the key emotional benefits that a great wardrobe can deliver is a sense of control in a chaotic world. The rules are there to simplify and clarify, lighting our route to a well put-together outfit. That well put-together outfit has the power to help you feel calmer, simply because you look in the mirror and see a competent person and therefore feel like a competent person. Style rules also come in useful for making sense of the world around us. Dress codes, style tribes, the signals we send – whether as blatant as the slogan on a T-shirt, or as subtle as the brand of your rucksack – hold an important social function, making other people legible to us.

But style also needs friction. Fashion dies if it stops moving, because moving with the times is what makes it fashion rather than just pretty clothes. The restless forward energy that moves hemlines and invents new silhouettes is what drives the plot and keeps us interested.

Published: January 14, 2026, 2:00 pm

Sali Hughes on beauty: if you don’t like strong scents, layering could be the answer

Looking for something gentle and kind for a sensitive nose? The new gen Z brands have you covered

For someone who makes no secret of her obsession with fragrance, I’m always surprised by how frequently people ask me to recommend one for someone who hates the stuff.

Sometimes wearing more potent fragrances is impossible for those prone to allergies or migraines, but mostly it’s an instinctive aversion to being held captive all day by scent too pervasive for one’s liking. And in these instances, I invariably suggest the layering of two more subtly scented products with compatible aromas, to add depth and interest without the same strength as a power perfume.

Published: January 14, 2026, 10:00 am

I am terrible at football – but love playing. Can I change my game completely in my mid-30s?

For fifteen years I have been devoted to the sport, but can still barely tackle or shoot. I decided to get a coach and give him the challenge of a lifetime

If I told you I have played football for 15 years, you’d probably assume that I’m decent. Unfortunately, I am not. I have three left feet and a not-very-convincing shot on goal. Despite how many years I have put into the sport, these things show little to no improvement.

I play football for the joy of it: the rush of the first whistle; the exhilaration of making a successful tackle or a clever pass; and the feeling of all fears and concerns melting away the moment the game starts. So until recently, the fact that I’m so bad at it occurred to me as, at worst, incidental. I grew up at a time when football was largely considered a men’s sport. In the 90s, there were about 80 girls’ football clubs in England (there are more than 12,000 now); there wasn’t a women’s premier league until 1994; and by the time I was in my 20s, boring jokes about women knowing the offside rule were wheeled out with disappointing regularity. As someone who still remembers the feeling of getting kicked off the pitch by the boys as soon as I entered year 3, I’ve always just felt blessed to play.

Published: January 14, 2026, 10:00 am

‘Aisle lice’: bad behaviour on planes – and how public shaming could stop it

Jumping up as soon as the seatbelt sign goes off can provoke fury among fellow passengers. And what goes on at the luggage carousel is possibly even worse …

Name: “Aisle lice”.

Age: Any age, as long as they’re ambulatory.

Published: January 14, 2026, 5:21 pm

How to turn any root vegetables into latkes – recipe | Waste not

It’s not just potatoes that you can turn into these moreish fried cakes – just about any root veg will do the trick

Crisp, savoury and satiating latkes are my idea of the perfect brunch and, rather than sticking to potatoes, I often make them with a mixture of root vegetables, using up whatever I have to hand – just 25-50g of any vegetable will make a latke – and adding some ground linseeds or flax, which gives breakfast some nutrition-boosting omega-3s. I usually have them with a poached egg for protein or apple compote and soya yoghurt.

Published: January 14, 2026, 1:00 pm

A moment that changed me: the Brexit result came through – and my life in Britain fell apart

I had my first teaching job lined up and a mortgage application in process. Now it looked like I would have to return to Germany and start training again from scratch. There were just 72 hours to save my dream of living in the UK

In the early hours of Friday 24 June 2016, the result glowed on my phone: 52%. Barely a majority, but nonetheless a verdict. I lay in my rented bedroom in Devon, still in pyjamas, watching everything I’d planned dissolve. When I saw the headline “UK votes to leave EU”, my first thought wasn’t political. It was: “What does this mean for me?”

It was the final day of my second school placement, the culmination of my teacher training for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). I’d moved from Germany the year before to train as a Religious Education teacher, convinced I’d found a profession and a place to call home. In Germany, RE meant teaching Protestant children Protestantism or Catholic children Catholicism – separate lessons, separate truths. Here, I could teach all major faiths side by side, invite discussion and let curiosity lead the lesson. In a world pulling itself apart along religious and cultural lines, that felt like the better approach.

Published: January 14, 2026, 6:55 am

‘The settlers brought the violence’: the ethnic cleansing of a West Bank village

Ras ‘Ein al ‘Auja is a community of about 135 families – and the only one remaining in this part of the Jordan valley

Five decades in the south Jordan valley were ending in a day, and Mahmoud Eshaq struggled to hold back his tears. The 55-year-old had not cried since he was a boy, but as he dismantled the family home and prepared to flee the village where his whole life had played out, he was overwhelmed by grief.

While Eshaq’s children loaded mattresses, a fridge, sacks of flour and suitcases of clothes into a truck, masked soldiers escorted a teenage Israeli shepherd down the main village road, where he posed for photos on his donkey, flashing a V sign.

Published: January 14, 2026, 6:00 am

Young people, parents and teachers: share your views about Grok AI

We’d like to hear from young people, parents and teachers about how Elon Musk’s controversial chatbot is affecting you

Degrading images of real women and children with their clothes digitally removed by Elon Musk’s Grok tool continue to be shared online, despite widespread alarm and a pledge by the platform to suspend users who generate them.

While some safeguards have been introduced, the ease with which the AI tool can be abused has raised urgent questions about consent, online safety and the ability of governments worldwide to regulate fast-moving AI technologies. Meanwhile, the misuse of AI to harass, humiliate and sexually exploit people – particularly women and girls – is rapidly escalating.

Published: January 14, 2026, 11:53 am

Yodellers, bathing monkeys and a ballroom clean: photos of the day – Wednesday

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

Published: January 14, 2026, 2:15 pm