Scott Galloway on the masculinity crisis: ‘I worry we are evolving a new breed of asexual, asocial males’

When his book Notes on Being a Man was released last month, it raced to the top of the bestseller lists. The US author, tech entrepreneur and podcaster explains his theories on dating, crying – and the rise of Donald Trump

It takes balls to title your book Notes on Being a Man. And, superficially, Scott Galloway could easily be lumped in with a dozen other manosphere-friendly alpha-bros promising to teach young men how to find their inner wolf. He is, after all, a wealthy, healthy, white, heterosexual, shaven-headed, 61-year-old Californian who made his name and fortune as a successful investor and podcaster.

But in reality, he is almost the opposite: liberal, left-leaning and surprisingly sensitive. The guy who advises his readers on “how to address the masculinity crisis, build mental strength and raise good sons” has been described as a “progressive Jordan Peterson”, or “Gordon Gekko with a social conscience”.

Published: December 3, 2025, 5:00 am

An eco obscenity: Norman Foster’s steroidal new skyscraper is an affront to the New York skyline

It contains enough steel to go round the world twice – and even has a fake breeze to flutter the star-and-stripes flag in its lobby. If this colossus is just the first of a new breed of bulky supertalls, is Britain next?

Among the slender needles and elegant spires of the Manhattan skyline, a mountainous lump has reared into view. It galumphs its way up above the others, climbing in bulky steps with the look of several towers strapped together, forming a dark, looming mass. From some angles it forms the silhouette of a hulking bar chart. From others, it glowers like a coffin, ready to swallow the dainty Chrysler building that trembles in its shadow. It is New York’s final boss, a brawny, bronzed behemoth that now lords it over the city with a brutish swagger.

Fittingly, this is the new global headquarters of JP Morgan, the world’s biggest bank. The firm enjoys a market capitalisation of $855bn (£645bn), more than Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup’s combined, and it looks as if it might have swallowed all three inside its tinted glass envelope. Last year, for the first time, it made more than $1bn a week in profits. Chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon likes to boast of its “fortress balance sheet”, and he now has an actual fortress to go with it – built at a cost, he revealed at the opening, of around $4bn. He has certainly made his mark. It would be hard to design a more menacing building if you tried.

Published: December 3, 2025, 8:00 am

‘BDSM on screen used to just mean a gimp in the basement’: the kink community’s verdict on Pillion

Pillion, which explores a relationship between leather dom Ray (Alexander Skarsgård) and submissive Colin (Harry Melling), has just opened in UK cinemas. But how realistic is its portrayal of a group little seen in mainstream cinema?

Dr Lori Beth Bisbey, 62, Edinburgh

Published: December 3, 2025, 7:00 am

The 20 best songs of 2025

This year’s outstanding tracks – from post-punk rap to indie-disco and operatic pop – as voted for by 30 Guardian music writers

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Published: December 3, 2025, 8:00 am

The best science and nature books of 2025

From the threat of superintelligent AI to the secrets of a longer life; plus the evolution of language and the restless genius of Francis Crick

This felt like the year that AI really arrived. It is on our phones and laptops; it is creeping into digital and corporate infrastructure; it is changing the way we learn, work and create; and the global economy rests on the stratospheric valuations of the corporate giants vying to control it.

But the unchecked rush to go faster and further could extinguish humanity, according to the surprisingly readable and chillingly plausible If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies (Bodley Head), by computer scientists Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares, which argues against creating superintelligent AI able to cognitively outpace Homo sapiens in all departments. “Even an AI that cares about understanding the universe is likely to annihilate humans as a side-effect,” they write, “because humans are not the most efficient method for producing truths … out of all possible ways to arrange matter.” Not exactly cheery Christmas reading but, as the machines literally calculate our demise, you’ll finally grasp all that tech bro lingo about tokens, weights and maximising preferences.

Published: December 3, 2025, 6:00 am

‘A lot of bad things happened’: the most shocking moments from the Diddy docuseries

Netflix and 50 Cent’s harrowing new series looks back at the disgraced music mogul’s rise to fame and fall from grace

The controversial Netflix docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning had already been called a “shameful hitpiece” by the disgraced mogul’s lawyers after a trailer was released on Monday.

Now after all four episodes have been dropped on Netflix, it’s been called “grimly necessary” and a “relentless” portrait of “a terrifying individual” by critics.

Published: December 2, 2025, 8:30 pm

Family of victim in Trump drug boat killings files first formal complaint

Exclusive: Petition says Colombia citizen Alejandro Carranza Medina was illegally killed in US airstrike on 15 September

A family in Colombia filed a petition on Tuesday with the Washington DC-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, alleging that the Colombian citizen Alejandro Carranza Medina was illegally killed in a US airstrike on 15 September.

The petition marks the first formal complaint over the airstrikes by the Trump administration against suspected drug boats, attacks that the White House says are justified under a novel interpretation of law.

Published: December 2, 2025, 9:00 pm

Republican Matt Van Epps wins US House special election in Tennessee

Van Epps defeats Aftyn Behn in congressional election closely watched for signs of Republican weakness

Republican Matt Van Epps defeated Democrat Aftyn Behn in a congressional special election in the western Nashville suburbs, which was being closely watched for signs of Republican weakness going into congressional midterms next year.

The Associated Press called the race at 9.47 EST with Van Epps holding a 52% to 46% lead.

Published: December 3, 2025, 2:50 am

Russia ‘ready’ for war with Europe, Putin says, as US peace talks end without progress

Kremlin aide says Ukraine crisis is no closer to resolution after Witkoff talks, as Russian president accuses European powers of sabotaging peace

Russia and the US did not make progress toward a peace deal for Ukraine during their talks, a senior aide to Vladimir Putin has said, hours after the Russian president issued threats that Russia was ready for war with Europe.

In remarks to Russian media, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that after a five-hour meeting with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the two sides were “neither further nor closer to resolving the crisis in Ukraine. There is a lot of work to be done.”

Published: December 3, 2025, 4:33 am

Search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 to resume more than 11 years after plane went missing

The country’s transport ministry said the search would resume on 30 December and confirmed that US robotic company Ocean Infinity would take part

The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will resume this month, the Malaysian transport ministry has said, more than a decade after the plane disappeared in one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.

In a statement on Wednesday, the transport ministry confirmed the search would resume on 30 December, saying that US-based robotic company Ocean Infinity would recommence a search of the seabed over a period of 55 days, conducted intermittently.

Published: December 3, 2025, 5:41 am

Murdochs blessed Fox News plan to air 2020 election fraud claims, Smartmatic alleges

In key hearing in defamation case, Fox counters that network simply covered allegations by Trump associates

Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch authorized a plan for Fox News to embrace Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud in 2020 in a bid to win back viewers angry with the network, a lawyer for the voting technology company Smartmatic argued on Tuesday.

“The conservative viewers, their bread and butter, abandoned them,” J Erik Connolly told the New York state supreme court judge David B Cohen. “So what do they do? They return back to what they know best: they return back to disinformation, pro-Trump propaganda and xenophobia. The election story and the election fraud claims was the perfect vehicle for them to get back onto their core messaging.”

Published: December 3, 2025, 1:10 am

Trump claims to void all documents signed by Biden, citing autopen use

Presidents of both major parties have used the device and experts called into question legality of Trump’s move

Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is terminating all documents, including pardons, that he said his predecessor Joe Biden signed using an autopen – an unprecedented attempt to rollback a previous president’s actions using what legal thinkers view as a flimsy pretext.

The autopen is a device used to replicate a person’s signature with precision, typically for high-volume or ceremonial documents. It has been employed by presidents of both major parties to sign letters and proclamations.

Published: December 3, 2025, 1:32 am

Family members identify victims of shooting at toddler’s birthday party in California

Dead included children, aged eight, nine and 14, and a 21-year-old man who were shot at a banquet hall

Details are beginning to emerge about the victims of the shooting at a toddler’s birthday party in Stockton, California, that left four people dead and at least 11 injured over the weekend.

The dead included children, aged eight, nine and 14, and a 21-year-old man who were shot at a banquet hall in the Central valley city where they had gathered with at least 100 other people to celebrate a two-year-old’s birthday.

Published: December 2, 2025, 10:02 pm

Trump officials threaten to withhold Snap funds from Democratic-led states

Agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins threatens to pull funds unless states turn over recipient data to US government

The Trump administration has threatened to suspend Snap food assistance to several Democratic-led states unless they turn over recipient data to the federal government.

The agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, said on Tuesday that the USDA could begin blocking funds as early as next week if Democratic-led states continue to reject federal requests for Snap recipient data – information that includes immigration status and social security numbers.

Published: December 2, 2025, 10:54 pm

‘Iconic swamp king’: San Francisco’s beloved albino alligator dies aged 30

Claude, the de facto mascot for a local museum, was the subject of a children’s book and regularly received fan mail

Claude, the beloved albino alligator who called the California Academy of Sciences home for the better part of two decades, has died at age 30.

The San Francisco museum announced his death on Tuesday and said that the reptile had in recent weeks received treatment for a “suspected infection”. Claude, with his unusual white scales, had become a sort of mascot for the academy and the city. He was the subject of a children’s book and regularly received fan mail and gifts from around the world, the museum said.

Published: December 3, 2025, 1:24 am

Eric Trump’s cryptocurrency firm tumbles nearly 40% amid ‘crypto winter’

American Bitcoin Corp’s shares fell from $2.39 to $1.90 after closing in what some are calling ‘crypto winter’

Shares in Eric Trump’s crypto mining business lost nearly 40% of their value in less than 30 minutes on Tuesday.

The nosedive of American Bitcoin Corp, which triggered repeated trading halts, followed the steep decline of many cryptocurrencies and crypto-linked companies into what some observers are calling the onset of a “crypto winter”. Bitcoin’s value has fallen sharply since the start of October and erased a year of large gains.

Published: December 2, 2025, 8:14 pm

Trump administration puts Fema workers back on administrative leave

Fourteen workers who signed a petition that warned cuts put the US at risk were initially suspended in August

The Trump administration is reversing the reinstatement of workers at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) who were placed on administrative leave after writing an open letter of dissent.

Fema in August suspended 14 workers who signed a petition warning that cuts to the agency were putting the nation at risk of repeating the mistakes made during the botched response to 2005’s Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Published: December 2, 2025, 8:23 pm

Sabrina Carpenter condemns ‘evil and disgusting’ ICE video that uses her song

Pop star calls out White House’s ‘inhumane agenda’ after post that soundtracks immigration raids to her song Juno

Sabrina Carpenter has spoken out against Donald Trump’s White House for using her song Juno to soundtrack videos of immigration raids.

In response to a video posted on the official White House X account, which depicts Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) officials arresting several people in what appears to be Chicago, the singer wrote: “this video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”

Published: December 2, 2025, 7:29 pm

Trump news at a glance: Hegseth scrutinized over boat strikes as first formal complaint filed by victim’s family

Trump says any country he believes is making drugs destined illegally for the US is vulnerable to military attack – key US politics stories from Tuesday, 2 December 2025

A deadly US strike on an alleged drug vessel has triggered bipartisan anger in Washington as lawmakers question whether the double-tap attack, which killed survivors of an initial strike, may amount to a war crime. The Pentagon and members of the Trump administration appeared to shift blame onto Adm Frank M Bradley, who oversaw the operation with authorization from defense secretary Pete Hegseth, while insisting the mission was lawful.

In a length cabinet meeting on Tuesday, president Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric on drug trafficking by threatening military action against any country he claims is sending narcotics illegally into the US.

Published: December 3, 2025, 12:47 am

How do ‘Trump accounts’ work – and who will benefit?

Donation of $6.25bn for children’s investment accounts prompts wave of questions – but details remain scarce

A tech billionaire and his wife said on Tuesday they would pour $6.25bn into individual investment accounts for 25 million children under 10, prompting a wave of new questions about how these so-called “Trump accounts” will work.

The creation of these accounts was included as part of Donald Trump’s sprawling tax and spending bill, which he signed into law in July. Every child born between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2028, can receive a Trump account that includes a $1,000 initial deposit from the administration. The money will then be invested.

Published: December 2, 2025, 10:09 pm

‘A king above all’: The rise and rise of Asim Munir, Pakistan’s increasingly powerful army chief

Known as Trump’s ‘favourite field marshal’, Munir’s power now extends over all the armed forces, along with lifelong immunity from prosecution, thanks to a constitutional amendment

Since it was penned in 1973, Pakistan’s constitution has been dealt many blows. Originally a statement of democracy, it was just a matter of years before a pattern of endless constitutional amendments began, validating successive coups and military dictatorships.

Yet for the past 15 years, the constitution had – at least on the surface – returned Pakistan to some semblance of civilian rule. That was until last month.

Published: December 3, 2025, 2:26 am

Survivors of New Orleans clergy abuse weigh forgiveness in court: ‘It destroyed my faith in God’

Victims share painful memories in trial aiming to determine fairness of archdiocese’s $230m settlement proposal

Some who spoke in federal court on Tuesday about being victimized in the Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans’s enduring child molestation saga had forgiven. Others had not.

None had forgotten, even decades later.

Published: December 2, 2025, 9:19 pm

A moment that changed me: My unbearable grief kept growing – until I found solace in a silent community

After my dad died, I tried to cope by keeping busy: a day job, a side hustle, socialising and working out. But I kept bursting into tears in public. At a Quaker meeting, it was as if someone had turned down the volume of the world

It was 2022, and my dad had just died from a rare blood disease. In the aftermath, I quit my PhD and moved back to London from Brighton. I coped by keeping incredibly busy. I regularly informed friends “I’m fine, actually”, as I threw myself into a new job in communications, went clubbing every weekend, picked up a side hustle selling secondhand clothes and got suspiciously invested in my gym routine. If I could just keep busy, I thought, perhaps I could drown out the growing tidal wave of grief.

And it worked, until it just didn’t any more. I began to burst into tears randomly – during a work meeting, at the gym, on my commute – and everyone around me would politely pretend they didn’t notice the 28-year-old man weeping on the tube at 8.30am. I tried to push through it, but my ability to keep up with my own life was faltering, and all of it – the clubs, the job, the gym – suddenly felt unbearably loud and overwhelming.

Published: December 3, 2025, 6:55 am

The 13 custom travel gifts in the US to make every trip special – curated by a travel writer

Here are the best and bespoke travel bags, passport cases and more – for the one who’s always packing and planning

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

A leather tote bag stitched with their initials. Christmas ornaments printed with snapshots from favorite vacations. A phone case illustrated with the pet they’re missing while they’re on the road. Personalized gifts show the frequent traveler on your list that you put thought and care into a present made just for them.

As a travel writer with an incurable case of wanderlust myself, I’ve road-tested more than my share of travel gear and accessories. These are my 13 top picks for gifts that will help your recipients globetrot – or reminisce at home – with a personal touch. And the best news? “One-of-a-kind” doesn’t have to mean pricey – these bespoke gifts start at $32.

Published: December 2, 2025, 9:04 pm

John Roberts has badly weakened our democracy. Will he ever stand up to Trump? | Steven Greenhouse

Under the chief justice, the US supreme court has bolstered authoritarian agendas while undercutting the voice of voters

Throughout his two decades as chief justice of the US supreme court, John Roberts has sought to project the notion that he is the ultimate institutionalist, striving (supposedly) to safeguard the venerated foundations of American democracy. But with each passing year, it has become increasingly clear that Roberts will be remembered as the chief justice who helped wreck numerous institutions vital to our democracy – they include fair, non-gerrymandered elections, a sane campaign finance system, the Voting Rights Act’s protections of minority voters, and the bedrock notion that presidents are not above the law.

Roberts said in his confirmation hearings that he would merely “call balls and strikes” as chief justice, but now two decades later, many legal commentators are deeply dismayed that he has shunned the role of neutral umpire and instead spearheaded a rightwing judicial revolution that took a wrecking ball to many precedents, laws and institutions. Some have called him the worst chief justice since Roger Taney, who wrote the horrific Dred Scott decision of 1857, which held that enslaved Black people couldn’t be citizens.

Published: December 2, 2025, 2:00 pm

At this dark and turbulent moment, a newsroom’s values matter – and ours are clear

A note from our US editor: Today is Giving Tuesday, the most important fundraising day of our year. What we raise in these 24 hours helps determine the resources we have available to us in 2026. Can you support us?

• Betsy Reed is US editor of the Guardian

This year has been like no other I can remember. I don’t know exactly how we’ll move past this turbulent moment in US history. But I believe that honest, uncompromised journalism is a critical force for helping our country move forward, especially with some of our biggest news organizations wavering or in retreat.

What a newsroom chooses to spotlight reveals its underlying values, and the Guardian’s global perspective and people-centered approach guides our editorial decision-making every day.

Published: December 2, 2025, 7:54 pm

The White House’s new media ‘bias’ tracker is a desperate gimmick | Margaret Sullivan

The site isn’t exposing misleading reporting – it’s revealing the bubble Trump increasingly inhabits

Donald Trump has used the mainstream press as a punching bag for many years, but in recent weeks his jabs have become even more frequent – and more ill-tempered.

He threatened to sue the BBC for $1bn last month over the editing of a documentary that aired more than a year ago. He called one White House reporter “piggy”, and told another – the well-regarded Mary Bruce of ABC News – that she was a “terrible person and a terrible reporter”. He called a New York Times reporter “ugly, both inside and out”.

Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture

Published: December 2, 2025, 11:00 am

AI poses unprecedented threats. Congress must act now | Bernie Sanders

Despite the speed at which it is progressing, AI is getting far too little discussion in Congress, the media and within the general population. That has got to change

Artificial intelligence and robotics will transform the world. It will bring unimaginable changes to our economy, our politics, warfare, our emotional wellbeing, our environment, and how we educate and raise our children. Further, there is a very real fear that, in the not-so-distant future, a super-intelligent AI could replace humans in controlling the planet.

Despite the extraordinary importance of this issue and the speed at which it is progressing, AI is getting far too little discussion in Congress, the media and within the general population. That has got to change. Now.

Published: December 2, 2025, 12:00 pm

Ellen DeGeneres left Trump's America. Will the British weather force her to return? | Arwa Mahdawi

She’s far from the only celebrity to have declared her intention to live outside the US. As with many others though, it looks like a reverse ferret could be in the works

I’m not some sort of secret Reform voter, OK? As a Brit (albeit a Brit abroad), I’ve got no problem with rich immigrants coming to the UK and taking all our mansions. I just think they really ought to integrate and not bring their funny foreign ideas with them.

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, I’m talking to you. The California couple arrived in the UK last year, just before Donald Trump won the election. As soon as the votes were in, they declared they weren’t going back, and would stay on the saner side of the Atlantic. I’m not sure how the immigration logistics worked, but it seems “one in, one out” schemes don’t apply to people coming in on big jets, only small boats. The pair bought a fancy pad in the Cotswolds and DeGeneres buttered up the locals during a public appearance in July by declaring “Everything here is just better.”

Published: December 2, 2025, 4:21 pm

It’s entirely reasonable to be in awe of surgeons – but patients need someone they can talk to | Ranjana Srivastava

Technical prowess must not come at the cost of good bedside manner – and being able to balance facts with empathy

Some time ago, a judicious and considered surgeon was describing the complex operation required by our mutual cancer patient. The operation necessitated a large incision, prolonged anaesthesia and possibly a second operation. Then there were the long-term complications, including pain and disfigurement. The patient was elderly and somewhat vulnerable to begin with, so just listening to the plan filled me with consternation.

So, without telling him how to do his job, I asked politely: “What does the patient want?”

Ranjana Srivastava is an Australian oncologist, award-winning author and Fulbright scholar. Her latest book is Every Word Matters: Writing to Engage the Public

Published: December 2, 2025, 2:00 pm

Manchester City hold off heroic Fulham fightback to win nine-goal epic

Fancy a bit of history? Under the floodlights of this storied old ground you were welcome to take your pick. The inevitable Erling Haaland smashed through the 100-goal barrier and a Premier League record. Phil Foden scored his second double in four days. City raced to a 5-1 lead before an hour was even on the clock only for Fulham to come agonisingly close to parity by the end. All of that resulted in the seventh highest-scoring match in three ­decades of the Premier League. Not bad.

The pendulum swung throughout the contest in movements big and small. City set off with gusto and looked to have sealed the result with two short spells of dominance before and after half-time. But Fulham had more shots and more possession and were in charge of the match from the moment Alex Iwobi calmly scored their second 12 minutes into the second half. City have the points on the board in their ongoing pursuit of Arsenal, they could not disguise defensive vulnerabilities. Fulham, meanwhile, were unable to halt a run of defeats against City that now runs to an astonishing 19, but yet showed they could compete with anyone.

Published: December 2, 2025, 9:42 pm

Mike Tomlin says Pittsburgh Steelers fans are right to boo his team

• Steelers lost heavily to Bills on Sunday

• Team struggling despite 6-6 record

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin says fans who booed the team during their 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday are in the right.

“In general, I agree with them, from this perspective: Football is our game, we’re in a sport entertainment business,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “And so if you root for the Steelers, entertaining them is winning. And so when you’re not winning, it’s not entertaining.”

Published: December 2, 2025, 8:51 pm

Serena Williams quietly re-enters drug-testing pool in step toward possible 2026 return

• Williams back in ITIA pool for first time since 2022

• Move required before any potential competitive return

• American claims move does not signal comeback

Serena Williams has taken the procedural move required of any player contemplating a competitive comeback, after the 23-time grand slam singles champion re-entered the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s (ITIA) registered testing pool for the first time since 2022.

Williams, 44, has not played an official match since her run to the third round of the US Open more than three years ago. Although she described her departure at the time as “evolving away” from the sport rather than a hard retirement, she filed the paperwork with the ITIA that September that exempted her from the sport’s stringent whereabouts requirements. To return to competition, however, players must make themselves available for out-of-competition testing for six months before they are allowed to enter an event.

Published: December 2, 2025, 5:33 pm

‘We make a great living’: Emma Raducanu on why she won’t moan about the tennis calendar

British No 1 on home comforts of Bromley, joys of commuting and being ‘creeped out’ by paparazzi

Emma Raducanu has garnered many endorsement deals in her nascent career, but there is perhaps one elusive sponsorship that would be most pleasing to the British No 1 women’s tennis player: ambassador of the London borough of Bromley.

During a roundtable discussion with tennis journalists at the end of a gruelling yet satisfying season, Raducanu is merely attempting to describe a quiet off-season spent in her family home when she finds herself delivering a sales pitch about the benefits of living in Bromley. “I’m just so settled,” she says. “I’ve barely been in the UK this year because I’ve been competing so much, but I think just spending really good quality time with my parents has been so nice. I have loved just being in Bromley. It just reminds me of when I was a younger kid and it’s the same bedroom, same everything.

Published: December 2, 2025, 10:11 am

‘Your column was very unfair’: what happened when I met World Athletics | Sean Ingle

John Ridgeon believes I was downbeat about state of his sport. CEO may have a point … so we thrashed out our differences

It really is quite the scene. Midnight in Tokyo, Usain Bolt is DJing and the launch party for the World Athletics Ultimate Championships is in full swing. And then the World Athletics chief executive, Jon Ridgeon, walks up to me and says: “I read your recent Guardian column, and I thought it was very unfair.”

Imagine Gary Lineker going in two-footed, having never picked up a yellow card in his career. This is the track and field equivalent. Ridgeon, a former world silver medallist over the 110m hurdles, is one of the smartest and most reasonable people in sport. He is saying, in a polite way, that he is really rather annoyed.

Published: December 2, 2025, 6:58 am

USMNT to face Portugal, Belgium and Germany in pre-World Cup 2026 friendlies

• Portugal and Belgium to visit Atlanta in March window

• Germany among two pre-World Cup tune-ups

The US men’s national team have lined up a parade of top-tier European opposition to serve as warm-up opponents ahead of their opening game in the 2026 World Cup.

The US Soccer Federation announced on Tuesday that the national team will play Belgium and Portugal in the March Fifa window, with both matches taking place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on 28 and 31 March, respectively. Those matches will be followed by two friendlies in the window immediately preceding the World Cup, with the second one coming against Germany in Chicago on 6 June. The first game of the pre-World Cup series is against an opponent to be determined in Charlotte, North Carolina, on 31 May. Multiple reports have indicated that the opponent will be announced after the World Cup draw. (Fifa rules forbid group opponents from playing each other in a friendly ahead of the tournament.)

Published: December 2, 2025, 9:00 pm

‘We’re not playing soccer’: Dart OK with latest big hit during Giants’ loss to streaking Patriots

• New York Giants 15-33 New England Patriots

• Patriots move to 11-2 after comfortable victory

Drake Maye passed for two touchdowns, Marcus Jones had a 94-yard punt return for a TD and the New England Patriots became the first NFL team to reach 11 wins this season, beating the New York Giants 33-15 on Monday night.

It was the 10th straight victory for the AFC-leading Patriots (11-2), the franchise’s longest streak since winning 10 consecutive games in 2015. Coach Mike Vrabel also became the third coach since 1970 to have a win streak of 10 or more games in his first season with a team.

Published: December 2, 2025, 1:09 pm

Hillsborough families decry ‘bitter injustice’ that no officers will face disciplinary proceedings

None of the former officers named by the IOPC will face disciplinary proceedings because they have all retired

• Timeline: decades seeking justice and change

The families of those who died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster have said it is a “bitter injustice” that no police officer will ever be held accountable for a catalogue of failings set out in the final report of the police watchdog after a 14-year investigation.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found that 12 police officers, most of them senior, would have faced disciplinary cases of gross misconduct if they were still serving.

Published: December 2, 2025, 6:30 pm

Terminally ill Ajax fan unable to take place as game’s only supporter after health worsens

• Match against Groningen was abandoned on Sunday

• Fan had permission to watch behind-closed-doors game

A seriously ill Ajax fan invited to be the only supporter in attendance for the completion of their abandoned game against Groningen on Tuesday, was unable to realise his final wish after experiencing worsening health.

The fan, named Peter, is living in a hospice and had expressed the desire to attend an Ajax game for the last time. They had arranged for him to visit the original fixture on Sunday but there was immense disappointment when it was curtailed within five minutes of kick-off owing to a huge pyrotechnic display by a section of the support.

Published: December 2, 2025, 4:47 pm

‘A terror inflicted on our communities’: why ICE is targeting car washes in LA

Andrea Gonzalez and Norma Fajardo of Clean Carwash Worker Center, an advocacy group, describe ICE’s ‘psychological warfare’ as car wash workers are disappeared

In June, Donald Trump’s administration turned Los Angeles into a testing ground for the tactics that have come to define its sweeping mass deportation agenda across the US – launching large-scale, public arrests aimed at netting as many people as possible into a growing immigrant detention system.

Throughout the raids, one of the recurring targets of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents has been car wash workers.

Published: December 2, 2025, 1:00 pm

A year after South Korea’s martial law crisis, the president urges unity, but the wounds are still raw

President Lee praised South Koreans for overcoming ‘an unprecedented democratic crisis in world history’ but some fears its society is becoming increasingly polarised

South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung has marked the anniversary of an attempt to impose martial law by declaring that those behind the bid to topple its democracy must face justice, while adding that the fight to secure the country remains unfinished.

“Investigations and trials of those who participated are still ongoing,” Lee said in a televised address. He pledged that “righteous unity” would be possible only once accountability was delivered.

Published: December 3, 2025, 7:01 am

Global heating and other human activity are making Asia’s floods more lethal

Much improved response systems are struggling to cope with ever more powerful and destructive storms

• Death toll from Indonesia floods passes 700 as 1 million evacuated

Families stranded on their rooftops. Homes buried by fast-flowing mud. Jagged brown craters scarring lush green hillsides.

The scenes are the result of a series of cyclones and storms in a heavy monsoon season that have struck Asia with torrential rains, gutting essential infrastructure and reshaping landscapes. The violent weather has killed at least 1,200 people in the past week and forced a million to flee without knowing whether their homes will still be standing when they go back.

Published: December 2, 2025, 7:19 pm

Family alarmed over Jimmy Lai’s deteriorating health as he languishes in solitary confinement in Hong Kong

Hong Kong media mogul has suffered dramatic weight loss and other worrying ailments since being jailed in 2020, Lai’s family say

The children of Hong Kong’s jailed pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai have voiced new alarm for his health, describing his dramatic weight loss, teeth rotting and nails turning green before falling off.

Lai, who turns 78 next Monday, has been behind bars in Hong Kong since late 2020 as China clamps down on the financial hub to which it promised a separate system when Britain handed it over in 1997.

Published: December 3, 2025, 1:14 am

More than 200 leading cultural figures call for release of jailed Palestinian leader

Group including Margaret Atwood, Ian McKellen and Richard Branson sign open letter to free Marwan Barghouti

More than 200 leading cultural figures have come together to call for the release of Marwan Barghouti, the jailed Palestinian leader seen as capable of uniting factions and bringing the best hope to the stalled mission of creating a Palestinian state.

The prestigious and diverse group calling for his release in an open letter includes a variety of prominent names, including the writers Margaret Atwood, Philip Pullman, Zadie Smith and Annie Ernaux; actors Sir Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Josh O’Connor and Mark Ruffalo, and the broadcaster and former footballer Gary Lineker.

Published: December 3, 2025, 12:01 am

Fabergé egg made for mother of Russia’s last tsar sells for £23m

Christie’s says the sale price is the highest for a Fabergé, beating a £8.9m auction in 2007

A vintage jewel-studded Fabergé egg that belonged to the mother of Russia’s last emperor has been sold for a record £22.9m in London.

The Winter egg was commissioned in 1913 by Emperor Nicholas II as an Easter gift for his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, and is described as one of the most lavish of Fabergé’s imperial creations.

Published: December 2, 2025, 11:37 pm

Police were skeptical about tip that led to arrest of UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect

Officers joked about tip that Luigi Mangione was at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, where they arrested him

Police involved with Luigi Mangione’s arrest were so skeptical that the tip on his whereabouts was true that they joked about a reward sandwich in text messages, Manhattan state court proceedings revealed on Tuesday.

“He said, ‘if you get the New York City shooter, I’ll buy you a hoagie from a local restaurant,’” testified Joseph Detwiler, an Altoona, Pennsylvania police officer, of texts exchanged with a supervisor. “I said, ‘Consider it done.’”

Published: December 2, 2025, 10:20 pm

Pentagon says every national guard soldier deployed in Washington DC ‘is now armed’

Move to arm all 2,375 estimated troops marks shift in rules of engagement for domestic military deployments

The Pentagon said on Tuesday that every national guard member deployed in Washington DC would now be armed with live weapons, and that they had begun conducting joint patrols with the local police department.

“I can confirm that everybody in DC is now armed, and a lot of our DC national guardsmen are now also doing joint patrols with members of the police department here in DC,” said Kingsley Wilson, the defense department’s press secretary, at a press conference.

Published: December 2, 2025, 7:22 pm

Jodie Foster, who began her career aged three, calls acting ‘a cruel job’ she never would have chosen

Actor, who started working in commercials before making her first film at six, calls acting a job that was ‘chosen’ for her

Jodie Foster has spoken out about parents who encourage their children to act, saying she “know[s] how dangerous it is”.

Speaking at the Marrakesh film festival, Foster said that she “would never have chosen to be an actor, I don’t have the personality of an actor. I’m not somebody that wants to dance on a table and, you know, sing songs for people.”

Published: December 2, 2025, 6:19 pm

Revealed: Mexico’s industrial boomtown is making goods for the US. Residents say they’re ‘breathing poison’

Polluting facilities in Monterrey, which has close ties to the US, are pumping toxic heavy metals into the city’s air and threatening residents’ health

• Leer en español en Quinto Elemento Lab

An industrial boom in a US manufacturing hub in Mexico is contributing to a massive air pollution crisis that is threatening residents’ health, according to new research by the Guardian and Quinto Elemento Lab.

The polluting facilities in Monterrey include factories that are operated by companies from around the world – including the US, Europe, Asia and Mexico – but export largely to the US.

Published: December 2, 2025, 2:00 pm

New York City bill aims to ban toxic ‘forever chemicals’ in firefighting gear

Approval of legislation to ban Pfas would be major win for advocates pushing for safer gear alternatives across US

A new bill proposed in the New York city council would ban the use of toxic Pfas “forever chemicals” in protective gear worn by the city’s 11,000 firefighters.

The New York fire department is the nation’s largest firefighting force, and approval of the legislation would mark a major win for advocates who are pushing for safer “turnout gear” alternatives across the US. Massachusetts and Connecticut last year became the first states to ban the use of Pfas in turnout gear, and Illinois enacted a ban this year.

Published: December 2, 2025, 6:46 pm

‘They’re a lot like us’: saving the tiny punk monkeys facing extinction

In the tropical dry forests of northern Colombia, a small team is gradually restoring the degraded habitat of the rare cotton-top tamarin

Luis Enrique Centena spent decades silencing the forest. Now, he listens. Making a whistle, the former logger points up to a flash of white and reddish fur in the canopy. Inquisitive eyes peer back – a cotton-top tamarin, one of the world’s rarest primates.

“I used to cut trees and never took the titís into account,” says Centena, calling the cotton-tops by their local name. “I ignored them. I didn’t know that they were in danger of extinction, I only knew I had to feed my family. But now we have become friends.”

Published: December 2, 2025, 1:00 pm

Costco sues Trump administration over sweeping emergency tariff powers

The wholesale giant claims the White House misused emergency authority and warns importers could lose refunds even if duties are ruled unlawful

Costco is suing the Trump administration over its tariffs, arguing that the White House has exceeded its executive authority in instituting tariffs and that it should be entitled to a refund if the tariffs are found unconstitutional.

In a lawsuit filed to the court of international trade last Friday, the retail giant argued the Trump administration had misused the federal law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), it cited to impose the tariffs.

Published: December 2, 2025, 5:27 pm

Publisher condemns ‘violent’ use of Franklin the Turtle after Hegseth’s boat strike post

US defense secretary posted meme depicting beloved children’s character aiming rocket launcher at set of boats

• Pete Hegseth told US soldiers in Iraq to ignore legal advice on rules of engagement

A post on social media by US defense secretary Pete Hegseth, depicting a beloved children’s character aiming a rocket launcher at a cluster of boats, has elicited condemnation from the book’s Canadian publisher.

Hegseth’s post of the mocked cover of a Franklin the Turtle book titled Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists prompted disbelief and outrage. The image shows a smiling anthropomorphic turtle in military helmet and vest, with a US flag on his arm and a drug-laden boat exploding in the background. “For your Christmas wish list,” Hegseth wrote as the caption.

Published: December 2, 2025, 4:42 pm

San Francisco sues food giants over ultra-processed products

City argues corporations profit while communities bear the cost of diseases linked to ultra-processed foods

San Francisco filed the nation’s first government lawsuit against food manufacturers over ultra-processed foods (UPFs) on Tuesday, arguing that local governments have been shouldering the costs of treating diseases that stem from public consumption of the companies’ products.

The city’s attorney, David Chiu, sued 10 corporations that create some of the country’s most popular food and drinks, from chicken nuggets and frozen pizzas to potato chips and sugary breakfast cereals – but also foods like breads and granola bars that are marketed as “healthy”.

Published: December 3, 2025, 1:00 am

Stranger Things season 5 breaks Netflix viewership record

New episodes of sci-fi series achieve 59.6m views in first five days of release, a new record for an English language show

The upside-down is still the right way for Netflix – Stranger Things 5 is now the company’s biggest English-language debut ever.

The fifth season of the streaming company’s flagship sci-fi series achieved 59.6m views in its first five days on the platform, making for the best premiere week for an English-language series ever on Netflix, and the third biggest debut overall behind the second and third seasons of the Korean sensation Squid Game.

Published: December 2, 2025, 9:13 pm

Sam Altman issues ‘code red’ at OpenAI as ChatGPT contends with rivals

Chief executive tells staff it is ‘critical time’ for chatbot as it faces intense competition from Google’s new Gemini 3

Sam Altman has declared a “code red” at OpenAI to improve ChatGPT as the chatbot faces intense competition from rivals.

According to a report by tech news site the Information, the chief executive of the San Francisco-based startup told staff in an internal memo: “We are at a critical time for ChatGPT.”

Published: December 2, 2025, 5:11 pm

British military instructor arrested in Ukraine on suspicion of spying for Russia

Ross David Cutmore, from Dunfermline, was allegedly recruited to assist in assassinations on Ukrainian soil

Ukrainian authorities have arrested a British military instructor accused of spying for Russia and plotting assassinations.

Ross David Cutmore, 40, from Dunfermline, was allegedly recruited by Russia’s intelligence service, the FSB, to “carry out targeted killings on the territory of Ukraine” between 2024 and 2025.

Published: December 2, 2025, 8:05 pm

Pope Leo urges Trump not to try to overthrow Venezuelan president with military force

Pontiff calls on US president to ‘seek dialogue’ as White House steps up campaign against Nicolás Maduro

Pope Leo has urged Donald Trump not to attempt to overthrow the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, using military force, and to instead seek dialogue.

Trump’s administration has been considering its options as it steps up its campaign against Maduro, who it accuses of links to the illegal drug trade. The country’s authoritarian leader has denied the accusations.

Published: December 2, 2025, 6:25 pm

British women stranded by landslides in Sri Lankan mountains running out of food and water, daughter says

Friends Melanie Watters and Janine Reid have been trapped in Pussellawa since Thursday

Two British women stranded by landslides in Sri Lanka’s tea mountains are running out of food and water, the daughter of one of them has said, as officials reported that the death toll of Cyclone Ditwah has reached 465.

Melanie Watters, 54, and her friend Janine Reid, 55, both from London, were being driven through the mountains from Kandy in central Sri Lanka on Thursday when the road in front of them was swamped, sending a bus nearby over a cliff-edge.

Published: December 2, 2025, 6:04 pm

On yer bike! American speed demons – in pictures

Jack Lueders-Booth has been racing, repairing and photographing motorbikes for decades. His new book captures those people who crave the risk and romance of the road

Published: December 3, 2025, 7:00 am

Quentin Tarantino has strong opinions about Paul Dano and none of them are right | Sian Cain

Tarantino has called Dano a ‘weak, weak uninteresting guy’, ‘the giant flaw’ in There Will Be Blood – and the main reason it is not his favourite film of the 21st century

How does the saying go? Opinions are like arseholes? Arseholes like opinions? Anyway: Quentin Tarantino went on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast this week to announce his 20 favourite films of the 21st century – a list that starts with Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down at No 1 and finishes on Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story at 20, by way of a few surprises (Toy Story 3 in second spot, Midnight in Paris at 10).

But the wildest of wild takes was revealed in his No 5 pick, There Will Be Blood, when Tarantino declared Paul Dano was the film’s “giant flaw”.

Published: December 3, 2025, 7:02 am

The Outsiders: why Francis Ford Coppola’s coming-of-age drama is secretly gay

It’s about rival gangs of straight boys in 60s Oklahoma fighting it out – but the abundance of male beauty in this 1983 adaptation of the SE Hinton novel tells another story

While serious film lovers reach for Francis Ford Coppola’s Rumble Fish as their favourite screen adaptation of an SE Hinton novel, I can never go past The Outsiders, as much for what it did to me as a gay kid growing up in the mid-80s who was terrified of being discovered as for any artistic merit.

There are cheesy things about the movie, for sure – it’s superficial wash of nostalgia for the 60s, there are a few egregious continuity errors, some rawness in the performances – but none of that matters as the opening strains of Stevie Wonder’s Stay Gold hit your ears and the cinematographer Stephen H Burum’s montage of overexposed sunsets fills the screen. The story of kids from the wrong side of the tracks in Tulsa, Oklahoma, always makes me, a kid who grew up in the leafy suburbs of south-east Melbourne, feel entirely at home.

Published: December 2, 2025, 2:00 pm

Prime Minister review – portrait of Jacinda Ardern shows a fully human being in charge for once

Documentary about New Zealand’s former leader records a shrewd but likable premier who did without the usual politician’s defences

New Zealand’s former prime minister Jacinda Ardern emerges from this documentary portrait the way she did when she was in power from 2017 to 2023 … as a human being. More than any politician anywhere in the world in my adult lifetime, she looked like an actual member of the human race who was catapulted to office too fast to have acquired the defensive carapace of the professional politician. She was vulnerable and scrutable and likable in ways utterly alien to everyone else.

Obviously this sympathetic film has been edited in such a way as to omit most of the hard business of internal politics and to foreground this humanity, although there is one fascinating moment at the very end when her partner Clarke Gayford gently asks if she might be doing too much; with a tiny flash of temper she asks if he is telling her to “delegate”. Gayford got his Denis Thatcher closeup there. Did we see a subliminal moment of the non-niceness vital for all successful politicians?

Published: December 2, 2025, 1:00 pm

The best history and politics books of 2025

The revolutionary spirit in politics and architecture; histories of free speech and civil war; plus how the Tories fell apart and Starmer won

We live in a hyper-political yet curiously unrevolutionary age, one of hashtags rather than barricades. Perhaps that’s why so many writers this year have looked wistfully back to a time when strongly held convictions still made waves in the real world.

In The Revolutionists (Bodley Head), Jason Burke revisits the 1970s, when it seemed the future of the Middle East might end up red instead of green – communist rather than Islamist. It’s a geopolitical period piece: louche men with corduroy jackets and sideburns, women with theories and submachine guns. Many were in it less for the Marxism than for the sheer mayhem. Reading about the hijackings and kidnappings they orchestrated makes today’s orange-paint protests seem quaint by comparison.

Published: December 2, 2025, 11:00 am

The best graphic novels of 2025

Alison Bechdel and Joe Sacco return; plus Black Country cowboys, vengeful gods and an angling classic reimagined

Many of 2025’s best graphic novels looked to the past with mixed emotions. Growing up in 1970s California, Mimi Pond found the aristocratic Mitfords, born in the early years of the 20th century, compellingly exotic. She shares her lifelong fascination in Do Admit! (Jonathan Cape), a splendid book of geopolitics, jolly hockey sticks and gossipy asides, as the sisters choose between fascism and socialism and help shape attitudes to everything from class to funeral rites.

Pioneering photographer William Henry Jackson captured the old west for posterity, yet the popularity of his images speeded its destruction. Veteran cartoonist Bill Griffith recounts his great-grandfather’s life in Photographic Memory (Abrams), which takes in the civil war, slavery, the obliteration of the Great Plains peoples and the inauguration of the United States national parks, as well as the brutal legwork and dangerous alchemy of 19th-century photography. The narrative sometimes clunks, but the story is so good it’s hard to care.

Published: December 2, 2025, 7:00 am

The best crime and thrillers of 2025

Mick Herron’s Slow Horses, Belinda Bauer’s obsessive world of bird egg collectors, Uketsu’s innovative Japanese detective mystery – and more

If we get the heroes we deserve, then Jackson Lamb, foul-mouthed and slovenly ringmaster of a circus of failed spies, is truly the man for our times. With Clown Town (Baskerville), the ninth book in Mick Herron’s state-of-the-nation satire/thriller mashup series, hitting the bestseller lists, and the fifth series of the Slow Horses TV adaptation streaming, this has been the author’s year. In the latest outing, Lamb and his stable of “losers, misfits and boozers” are well up to the mark as secrets about an IRA double agent threaten to come to light, exposing the seamier side of state security for a story of loyalty and betrayal.

Complicity and culpability, as well as class and professional ethics, are the subjects of Denise Mina’s The Good Liar (Harvill). When the creator of a revolutionary blood splatter probability scale realises that its flaws may have led to an unsafe conviction, she has to decide what to do about it. Tense and powerful, this is a sobering reminder of how the human element can undermine an apparently objective scientific method. The Confessions by Paul Bradley Carr (Faber) ventures into similar territory to terrifying effect. It takes place in an all-too-plausible future in which the world has become reliant on a decision-making algorithm; things go catastrophically awry when the AI tool begins to feel remorse for some of its decisions, and carnage results.

Published: December 2, 2025, 7:00 am

From Gears of War to Uno: the 15 most important Xbox 360 games

As the Xbox 360 turns 20, we celebrate its most influential and memorable games – both exclusives, and those that came to the console first

Originally featured as a minigame in Project Gotham, this 80s-style twin-stick shooter was rebuilt as a standalone digital-only release, attracting a huge new fanbase. Fast, frenetic and super stylish, with lovely vector visuals, it was the game that first showed the potential of Xbox Live Arcade.

Published: December 2, 2025, 10:00 am

Mad Men begins streaming on HBO Max and viewers spot bizarre mistakes

The award-winning drama series has received a 4K restoration that has seen jumbled up episodes and a vomit machine goof

A recent 4K restoration of Mad Men has brought new fans to HBO Max – as well as technical headaches.

Bemused and bewildered fans of the groundbreaking television series, which ran from 2007 until 2015 on AMC, have spotted numerous errors after the supposedly sleek restoration began streaming on HBO Max, including several episodes out of order and one particularly glaring post-production goof.

Published: December 2, 2025, 5:44 pm

One Battle After Another gains Oscars traction after early awards season wins

Paul Thomas Anderson’s comedy thriller named best film by Gotham awards and New York Film Critics Circle

Paul Thomas Anderson’s acclaimed comedy thriller One Battle After Another has emerged as an early best picture frontrunner as the awards season kicks off.

The Thomas Pynchon adaptation, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as an ex-revolutionary searching for his daughter, was named best feature at Monday’s Gotham awards. “I didn’t expect this, actually,” Anderson said on stage. “I started to think I didn’t know what was going on.”

Published: December 2, 2025, 6:54 pm

Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel face off in first trailer for pop star epic Mother Mary

‘Psychosexual pop thriller’ comes from The Green Knight’s David Lowery and will feature new music from Charli xcx

Anne Hathaway plays a pop star and Michaela Coel her estranged fashion designer in the first trailer for the highly anticipated drama Mother Mary.

The film comes from David Lowery, whose previous films range from The Green Knight to A Ghost Story to Pete’s Dragon. His last film was the Disney+ original Peter Pan & Wendy starring Jude Law.

Published: December 2, 2025, 3:01 pm

‘He asked me what I’d done sexually with a woman’: how Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor turned her asylum grilling into a film

The rising star has made her debut film, Dreamers, a semi-autobiographical love story set in an immigration detention centre. She talks about fleeing persecution in Nigeria – and what she learned from French new wave

Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor had a little wobble when she stepped on to the stage after the screening of her debut feature, Dreamers, at the London film festival. The Nigerian-British director’s film is a love story set in an immigration detention centre. It had already premiered in Berlin earlier this year. But showing her semi-autobiographical film to a home crowd in London felt exposing. “I suddenly had this feeling: Oh my God, everyone can see me. Everyone knows everything about me.” She laughs.

Gharoro-Akpojotor has built a reputation as a rising star producer. Her company Joi Productions makes films telling black, female and gay stories. (“All of the above, sometimes individually.”) Her credits include Rapman’s Blue Story and Aml Ameen’s romcom Boxing Day, and she is currently working on Ashley Walters’ directing debut Animol.

Published: December 2, 2025, 3:30 pm

Missed the weekend? Here are 10 best Cyber Monday deals still up for grabs

If you skipped the weekend frenzy, consider this a second chance at the deals: here are the best from Starz, Apple, Away and more

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

At this point in late-stage capitalism, words like “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” are more akin to strong suggestions than real days of the week. Today, many deals start before Black Friday and spill past Cyber Monday. At the Filter US, we caught 110 of the very best Cyber Monday sales, plus more discounts in streaming, tech, travel, home and kitchen.

Some of those are still going strong, so we made a short list of the 10 best deals from Starz, Apple, Away and more. Maybe you’re catching up on gifts or finally shopping for yourself. If you skipped the marathon of tabs (or just needed a breather during the holiday weekend), consider this a second chance at Cyber Monday shopping, minus the overwhelm.

Published: December 2, 2025, 7:44 pm

The 15 best tech gifts in the US for moms, as requested by moms

From TheraGuns to koala breathing lights, here are good gizmos for mom, whether your budget is $20 or $220

• The 163 best holiday gift ideas for 2025, vetted by the Guardian US staff

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

The best gift you can give a mom this holiday season is some time to herself. A day with no responsibilities where everyone else handles the cooking, cleaning and household chores. She can sit back and relax, go for brunch with friends, maybe treat herself to some shopping. But that doesn’t mean you should forget to wrap something under the tree for her, too.

As a tech reviewer for more than two decades and a mom myself, I’m particularly fond of unwrapping gadgets, but you don’t have to be a techie to appreciate the utility, convenience and luxury of a thoughtful gizmo. I spoke to several moms to get their thoughts on what they want this holiday season when it comes to tech, with ideas in every price range.

Published: December 2, 2025, 3:52 pm

Is love addiction real – and what does it look like?

Experts still debate whether ‘love addiction’ appropriately describes destructive romantic fixation

Elizabeth Gilbert was using people like drugs: a point she emphasizes throughout her memoir All the Way to the River, released in September.

In the book, Gilbert describes falling in love with her friend Rayya Elias. Elias’s terminal cancer diagnosis compelled Gilbert to reveal her feelings, despite being married at the time. She admits to enabling Elias, a self-described “ex-junkie”, to access hard drugs and alcohol during her final months as a warped act of care.

Published: December 2, 2025, 5:00 pm

The art of tablescaping | Jess Cartner-Morley

Laying a table well is one of the best ways to make guests feel relaxed and cosy. Queen of tablescaping Laura Jackson’s advice? Forget the stiff old rules and have fun with it

A feast is not just about food. Just to sit at a table surrounded by the faces of your people: nothing beats it. A feast is about togetherness, whether there are two people at the table, or 16. The primal joy of good food taps into something even more fundamental than hunger; if food is a love language, a feast is a big hug.

Is it sacrilege to say that being a host matters more than being a cook? Not to disparage the skill of the chef. Quite the opposite, it takes skill to make really good gravy, concentration to remember to take the cake out of the oven before it burns, and years of experience to time a roast to come together at the right moment. It takes no skill to fold a napkin and light a candle, yet with a beautifully laid and bounteously laden table, the night feels special before dinner is served, which takes the pressure off.

Published: December 2, 2025, 4:00 pm

Ozempets: will weight-loss jabs for cats and dogs make them miserable?

The era of plump, cuddly pets may soon be over, as overweight animals are being prescribed a version of Ozempic. What will this do to their love for food?

Name: Ozempets.

Age: Depending on the species, anywhere from 0 to 18 years or so.

Published: December 2, 2025, 5:11 pm

Houseplant hacks: how can I stop my plants dying when I turn on the central heating?

Ease your houseplants into winter by giving them a seasonal reset and moving them away from radiators

The problem
As soon as the heating is switched on, houseplants start to struggle. Warm, dry air strips moisture from leaves, dries soil faster, and turns cosy corners into arid microclimates. Many people mistakenly think radiator heat is similar to sunlight – warm and life-giving – but it isn’t. Sunlight provides energy for photosynthesis, while radiator heat is dry, stagnant and relentless, closer to a slow cooker than sunshine.

The hack
Before turning on the heating, give your plants a seasonal reset. Move them away from radiators or vents (at least half a metre, ideally). Group plants together to create a pocket of humidity, or place a bowl of water nearby to counteract dryness. Top-dress tired soil with fresh compost, trim off any yellowing leaves and wipe dust from the foliage so the plants can breathe. Water lightly, then let them rest in bright, indirect light to adjust before winter sets in.

Published: December 2, 2025, 10:00 am

The fading of Japan’s Shōwa era – in pictures

Lee Chapman’s photographs document the scenes, signages and family businesses of the postwar Shōwa era Japan. They focus on a unique aspect of Japanese life, and one that in Tokyo in particular is rapidly disappearing: the buildings are long past their natural lifespans, and their occupants are reaching the end of theirs. With most of the country’s new buildings resembling those seen in many other cities around the world, the Shōwa era is now being recognised as visually appealing as well as an important period

Published: December 2, 2025, 7:00 am

Saunas, skating and celebratory toilet seats: 25 ways to get into the Christmas spirit

Are you feeling festive? If not, here are some great and unexpected shortcuts, from fish pie to ‘intermittent wrapping’ to watching a seasonal film every day of December

If I haven’t wrapped up warm and wobbled around in circles, it isn’t Christmas. I can measure out my life in London’s ice rinks. Broadgate Circus in the early 00s, because it was cheapest and I was skint. Several seasons of Skate at Somerset House with my ex, because it was our “romantic” Christmas tradition (actually, he hated skating). This year, I’ll be mixing old and new: Hampton Court Palace, where people have been skating since the 1800s, and the inaugural Skate Leicester Square. As long as there’s a mug of something mulled afterwards, I’m happy. Rachel Dixon, travel writer

Years ago, a regrettable ex-boyfriend bought me a merman Christmas tree ornament so bizarre that it short-circuited my brain, unleashing something primal within me. Ever since, I have scoured department stores, gift shops and the darkest reaches of the internet for more mermaid baubles, like some kind of gay Gollum. I now have more than a hundred, including a flautist mermaid, several Santa Claus mermen and (my favourite) a merperson who is somehow also a pig and a ballerina. Unboxing my treasures at the start of December is both the first gladdening sign that Christmas is upon us and – arguably – a cry for help. Joe Stone, lifestyle editor, Guardian Saturday magazine

Published: December 2, 2025, 5:00 am

Life Invisible: the fight against superbugs starts in the driest place on Earth – documentary

Cristina Dorador is on an urgent mission in the world’s highest desert, the Atacama in Chile. As the rise of drug-resistant superbugs kills millions per year, Cristina has made it her mission to uncover new, life-saving antibiotics in the stunning salt flats she has studied since she was 14. Against the magnificent backdrop of endless plains, microscopic discoveries lead her team of scientists to question how critically lithium mining is damaging the delicate ecosystem and impacting Indigenous communities

Published: December 2, 2025, 10:38 am

‘The biggest decision yet’: Jared Kaplan on allowing AI to train itself

Anthropic’s chief scientist says AI autonomy could spark a beneficial ‘intelligence explosion’ – or be the moment humans lose control

Humanity will have to decide by 2030 whether to take the “ultimate risk” of letting artificial intelligence systems train themselves to become more powerful, one of the world’s leading AI scientists has said.

Jared Kaplan, the chief scientist and co-owner of the $180bn (£135bn) US startup Anthropic, said a choice was looming about how much autonomy the systems should be given to evolve.

Published: December 2, 2025, 12:37 pm

The slow death of Pokrovsk

An 18-month battle, now in its endgame, has left the strategically important Ukrainian city in ruins

• Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates

For a time Pokrovsk was a haven, a wartime Ukrainian boom city because of its strategic position in the east, 30 miles (48km) from the front. But that was before the summer of 2024, when a rapid Russian advance engulfed the industrial centre in a shattering conflict, a duel only now reaching its endgame.

The 18-month battle for Pokrovsk epitomises the current state of the Ukraine war: an attritional struggle in which gradual Russian advances have been made at extraordinary human cost. Though it demonstrates Russia cannot easily capture urban areas, the fight has also drained Ukraine, and consequences are emerging elsewhere.

Published: December 2, 2025, 2:17 pm

Trump’s full-throttle threats suggest no backing down from aims to topple Maduro’s regime

As US-Venezuela tensions have long simmered, Trump’s alleged ultimatum may tip relations to boiling point

• Deadly airstrikes and a military buildup: how the US pressure campaign against Venezuela has unfolded in the Caribbean

Weeks of saber-rattling, dark threats and a US military buildup not seen in Latin America since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis led on 21 November, somewhat anticlimactically, to a telephone call, when Donald Trump rang the man he has cast as his arch-adversary, Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela.

By Trump’s own account, it was less an attempt at opening dialogue en route to a mutually beneficial compromise than a bid to up the ante by imparting an ultimatum.

Published: December 2, 2025, 12:31 pm

Tell us your favourite albums of 2025

We would like to hear about the best album you have heard this year and why

There have been bold British rap breakthroughs from Jim Legxacy and John Glacier, highly personal grief-stricken albums by Blood Orange, Jerskin Fendrix, Jennifer Walton and the Tubs; breakup albums for the ages by Rosalía, Lily Allen and Cate Le Bon; proof there’s life in Britpop yet from Pulp and Suede; emphatic arrivals on pop’s main stage from CMAT and Olivia Dean.

As the Guardian prepares to count down the best albums of 2025, we’d like to know what your top records were, and why: the returns to form, bolts from the blue, slow-burners and surprises. Let us know and we’ll run the best submissions after the Guardian’s No 1 is unveiled later in December.

Published: December 2, 2025, 9:15 am

A fallen sculpture and a desert storm: photos of the day – Tuesday

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

Published: December 2, 2025, 1:57 pm