‘She would pop up in my sexual fantasies’: what happens when you fancy your therapist?

They’re often compassionate good listeners who focus on their clients’ needs – so is it any wonder many patients find themselves with a crush? A writer, who is in exactly this position, talks to people on both sides of the couch

I was half-watching the latest series of the Netflix romcom Nobody Wants This when suddenly things got interesting. Spoiler alert: it had just been revealed that one of the characters (Morgan) was in a relationship with her newly ex-therapist (Dr Andy). While some of the characters freaked out, declaring the relationship very concerning, I felt a frisson of excitement. Because I, too, have harboured the desire to date my therapist.

As it turns out, this fantasy is neither unusual nor unexpected. “Psychoanalysis almost insists on transference,” explains psychotherapist Charlotte Fox Weber, using the term coined by Sigmund Freud, the founding father of psychoanalysis, in his 1895 work Studies on Hysteria. The basic premise is that the patient projects old feelings, attitudes, desires or fantasies on to their therapist. This can manifest in numerous ways – often at the same time – covering the whole gamut of emotions and relationships, from love to hate, maternal to erotic, and everything in between.

Published: February 22, 2026, 12:00 pm

Prominent Brits are facing a reckoning over Epstein. In the US, not so much | Arwa Mahdawi

After Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, officials said ‘nobody is above the law’. Sadly that doesn’t seem true

Schadenfreude isn’t a particularly noble sentiment. But who cares, eh? These days bad things never seem to happen to bad people; accountability is fleetingly rare. So I think we should all take a moment to really appreciate how glorious the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office on Thursday was. Not only was the disgraced royal dragged in for questioning like a mere commoner; the arrest happened on his 66th birthday. Instead of birthday cake, he got his just deserts. And, to top things off, the occasion was immortalized with a photo – an instant classic – of Andrew leaving the police station looking shell shocked and decrepit.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

Published: February 22, 2026, 6:31 pm

These are the nine best US laptop backpacks for hauling tech gear on the go – tested

Your $1,000 laptop deserves a protective home on the road. A tech journalist and frequent traveler recommends his nine favorites

• The four best personal-item backpacks that fit under US airline seats

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

Whether you’re flying across the country on vacation, meeting with an important client downtown or just heading to your local coffee shop for work, there is a good chance you’re bringing a backpack along, with a laptop squirreled away inside.

While you can toss a laptop into just about any bag, the best laptop backpacks are specially tailored to pamper what is probably one of your most expensive (and delicate) possessions. That means a padded pocket lined with soft non-scratch material, easy access to your computer without unpacking everything and lots of extra pockets for portable mice, chargers and other accessories. Add in all of the standard backpack considerations such as capacity, comfort and durability, and you have a lot of factors to consider.

Best overall:
Mission Workshop Meridian backpack

Best for travel:
Peak Design Travel Backpack

Published: February 22, 2026, 6:15 pm

Are we really overdiagnosing mental illness?

It’s tempting to dismiss the proliferation of labels as a fad, but there’s more to this phenomenon than a simple culture-war reading allows

My psychological research rarely makes good comedy material, but in a standup show in London recently, those two worlds collided. One of the jokes was about how everyone is getting diagnosed with ADHD these days – about the social media videos that encourage viewers to identify common human experiences, like daydreaming or talking a lot, as evidence of the condition. The audience laughed because everyone got it – they’ve all witnessed how common it seems to have become in the last few years. When something becomes this prevalent in society, and this mystifying, it’s no surprise it ends up as a punchline.

Part of my work as an academic involves trying to solve the puzzle of why so many more people, especially young people, are reporting symptoms of mental illness compared to even five or 10 years ago. (ADHD is a form of neurodivergence, rather than a mental illness, but both have seen an increase, so they are related questions.) Whenever I talk about this – to colleagues, school staff, parents – it doesn’t take long until someone brings up that judgment-laden, hot-button word: overdiagnosis.

Published: February 22, 2026, 12:00 pm

‘A reminder of how careless I was’: from cringe cartoons to cancelled rockstars, the tattoos fans regret

What happens when you’re sporting signs of your devotion long after your idol has fallen from grace? Meet the fans whose tattoos have become embarrassing – even problematic

On 20 February 2012, Coté Arias met Morrissey at a fan meet-up in Santiago, Chile. The former Smiths frontman signed her forearm in spiky capitalised lettering, which Coté later had traced permanently on to her skin with ink. Her years-long plan for the tattoo, which had started with her founding Morrissey’s Chilean fanclub, had worked. “Morrissey had such an impact on me growing up,” she says. “I struggled with shyness and lacked confidence for much of my life, and his lyrics helped me feel seen while transitioning into adulthood.”

But in recent years, that inked signature has taken on more complicated associations for Coté. “The tattoo is very visible,” she says, “so it’s brought up many discussions regarding Morrissey’s comments.” Morrissey has publicly supported a far-right party, and made inflammatory comments about immigration, but denies allegations of racism.

Published: February 22, 2026, 10:00 am

Amateur YouTube detectives’ constant streams put cases in jeopardy: ‘It’s clickbait’

Self-declared sleuths have inserted themselves into the search for Nancy Guthrie, compromising the investigation for views and clicks

On the 10th day of the search for Nancy Guthrie, reporters camped outside of the missing woman’s home noticed a strange man strut right up to the front door. It had been more than a week since the mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie had disappeared, and authorities had just announced they had a new lead from Ring footage of what looked like a “potential subject” attempting to tamper with the doorbell camera on the morning of her disappearance. So now who was this unknown person, clad in a gray top and black pants, carrying a large black bag and striding to the door?

It was a Domino’s delivery driver.

Published: February 22, 2026, 12:00 pm

US tariff policy ‘hasn’t changed’ despite supreme court ruling, trade chief says

Jamieson Greer also said US won’t pull out of deals with UK, EU and others after court declared Trump tariffs illegal

Top US trade negotiator Jamieson Greer insisted on Sunday that the Trump administration was set to persist with its tariffs policy, two days after the supreme court declared many of Donald Trump’s tariffs illegal.

The ruling issued on Friday by the highest US court was a sharp rebuke to the Republican president that toppled a key pillar of his aggressive economic agenda – even as it prompted Trump to announce a new global tariff using different statutes, albeit temporary.

Published: February 22, 2026, 6:41 pm

Secret Service fatally shoots armed man who breached Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence

Authorities say agents confronted a white male in his early 20s carrying shotgun and gasoline can early Sunday

The US Secret Service shot and killed an armed intruder who breached the perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s Florida residence and private club in Palm Beach, early on Sunday.

Although the US president often spends weekends at the oceanfront resort, he was at the White House in Washington during this incident, as was first lady Melania Trump.

Published: February 22, 2026, 6:51 pm

Violence erupts after Mexican security forces kill drug cartel boss ‘El Mencho’

Death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, one of world’s most wanted drug traffickers, sets off wave of disorder across several Mexican states

One of the world’s most wanted drug traffickers, the Mexican cartel boss known as “El Mencho”, has been killed by security forces, Mexico’s defence ministry has confirmed. The operation set off a wave of violence, with torched cars and gunmen blocking highways in more than half a dozen states.

The drug lord, whose real name is Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, was killed on Sunday in the western state of Jalisco along with at least six alleged accomplices, the ministry said in a statement.

Published: February 23, 2026, 12:39 am

Worst of the worst? Most US immigrants targeted for deportation in 2025 had no criminal charges, documents reveal

A Guardian analysis finds the vast majority of people who entered deportation proceedings for the first time from January to August last year had no criminal convictions

A Guardian analysis of government records has found that the vast majority – 77% – of people who entered deportation proceedings for the first time in 2025 had no criminal conviction, exposing a stark gap between the Trump administration’s rhetoric and reality.

Within days of Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) trotted out a phrase that his surrogates would come to use over and over again: “the worst of the worst.”

Fewer than half of the people in the data (40%) had any criminal charge against them, and only 23% had a conviction.

Of those who did have a criminal conviction, nearly half were for non-violent traffic and immigration offenses.

Traffic offenses alone made up nearly 30% of the convictions, the largest category by far.

Some 9% of criminal convictions were for assault, while only 1% were for sexual assault and just 0.5% were for homicide.

Published: February 22, 2026, 1:00 pm

Duterte refuses to attend ICC pre-trial hearing, as former Philippine leader’s ‘drug war’ case begins

Duterte, 80, is accused of crimes against humanity over an anti-drugs crackdowns in which thousands of people were killed in the South-east Asian nation

The pre-trial hearing for former Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte for his alleged role in a deadly “drug war” is set to begin at the international criminal court on Monday, despite his refusal to attend the proceedings.

Duterte, 80, who was arrested in Manila and flown to The Hague last year, is accused of crimes against humanity over an anti-drugs crackdown in which thousands of people were killed.

Published: February 23, 2026, 1:32 am

US north-east braces for heavy snow and ferocious winds amid blizzard warnings

East coast scrambles to prepare for storm forecast to bring major disruption to more than 35 million people

Snow began falling across parts of the north-eastern United States on Sunday to mark the onset of an intense winter storm that is forecast to reach blizzard strength and bring major disruption amid heavy snowfall and ferocious wind gusts of up to 70mph.

Residents along the east coast scrambled to prepare for the late-winter storm that spurred blizzard alerts and weather warnings from Maryland to Massachusetts, affecting more than 35 million people. More than a foot of snow was expected, with gales inland and warnings of potential coastal flooding from Cape Cod to Delaware.

Published: February 22, 2026, 9:16 pm

One Battle After Another defeats Hamnet and Sinners at Baftas, as I Swear’s Robert Aramayo takes best actor

Paul Thomas Anderson drama scores six awards, as Jessie Buckley becomes first Irish woman to win leading actress prize

• Full list of winners

• Peter Bradshaw’s verdict

• How the ceremony unfolded – the action as it happened

One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson’s counterculture comedy about a washed-up revolutionary trying to protect his daughter from a ruthless military officer, has dominated the Baftas, taking home six awards including best film, best director, best cinematography, best editing, best supporting actor and best adapted screenplay.

The film, inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland, was nominated for 14 awards going into Sunday’s ceremony, the most of any contender – including nods for stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Chase Infiniti and Teyana Taylor.

Published: February 22, 2026, 8:29 pm

USA stun Canada in overtime to win first Olympic men’s ice hockey gold since 1980

• US win third Olympic gold, first since Miracle on Ice

• Jack Hughes’ golden goal ends 46-year wait in Milan

The United States claimed their third Olympic men’s hockey title – and first since the Miracle on Ice team of 1980 – with a thrilling 2-1 overtime win over Canada in Sunday’s gold medal game at the Milano Cortina Games. In the third Olympic final meeting between the border rivals and the first since Sidney Crosby’s epochal golden goal in 2010, the Americans seized their moment despite getting outplayed for long stretches to end a 46-year wait and dethrone the sport’s most decorated nation on its grandest stage.

Canada had been chasing a record-extending 10th gold medal in men’s ice hockey, but it was the United States who delivered when it mattered most through Jack Hughes’ winner less than two minutes into the extra period and a superhuman effort from goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, capping an unbeaten run through the first Olympic tournament to feature National Hockey League players in 12 years.

Published: February 22, 2026, 4:13 pm

Trump warns Netflix of ‘consequences’ unless it pulls top Democrat from board

US president calls for removal of Susan Rice as streaming platform pursues takeover of Warner Bros Discovery

Donald Trump has told Netflix to remove the Democratic foreign policy expert Susan Rice from its board or “face the consequences”, while the streaming platform is locked in an extraordinary corporate battle to take control of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).

In comments posted on his Truth Social platform, the US president described Rice – who served as national security adviser to Barack Obama and UN ambassador and White House adviser under Joe Biden – as a “political hack” and accused her of having “no talent or skills”.

Published: February 22, 2026, 1:30 pm

‘Trump’s reign of terror must end’: California Democrats plot national return to power

Emboldened by recent wins, elected officials gathered in San Francisco to share strategy for a midterm ‘reckoning’

Fury at Donald Trump was the coin of the realm, as thousands of California delegates, activists and elected officials gathered in San Francisco this weekend, emboldened by a string of victories and confident the Golden State would help deliver a power check on the president in the upcoming midterm elections.

On Saturday, Democrats streamed through the Moscone Center convention complex, sporting lanyards emblazoned with Gavin Newsom’s name and tote bags adorned with one of Nancy Pelosi’s favorite aphorisms: “We don’t Agonize, we organize” – symbols of a party in transition as the former speaker approaches retirement and the term-limited governor eyes a presidential campaign.

Published: February 22, 2026, 11:24 pm

Greenland says ‘no, thanks’ to Trump’s US hospital boat

Leaders of both Denmark and Arctic territory rebuff US president’s claim that islanders are ‘not being taken care of’

Greenland has said it does not need medical assistance from other countries, after Donald Trump said he was sending a hospital ship to the autonomous Danish territory he wants to acquire.

The US president said he would dispatch the vessel in a social media post on Saturday, claiming that Greenlanders were not getting the healthcare they needed.

Published: February 22, 2026, 10:41 am

The world order we’re leaving behind may be replaced by no order at all | Eduardo Porter

In the world being ushered in by Trump, power will prevail over cooperation. We will come to rue having taken this path

The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, inspired a wave of enthusiastic nodding among the cosmopolitan crowd gathered in Davos last month when he took to the podium and proclaimed that the world order underwritten by the United States, which prevailed in the west throughout the postwar era, was over.

The organizing principle that emerged from the ashes of the second world war, that interdependence would promote world peace by knitting nations’ interests together in a drive for common security and prosperity, no longer works. The US blew it up.

Published: February 22, 2026, 2:00 pm

How daily routines in Minneapolis and St Paul have changed amid 3,000 federal immigration agents – in pictures

Many people have been sheltering at home. Protests have become part of the daily rhythm. Community networks continue to patrol and document agents’ interactions

In St Paul, Minnesota, Brittany Kubricky pulled into a school parking lot. Normally, she was there just to pick up her daughter. But today, two of her daughter’s schoolmates also climbed into the backseat. Their mother had been sheltering at home for weeks, afraid of a run-in with federal immigration agents. So friends coordinated school pickup for her.

In December, the Trump administration launched Operation Metro Surge, deploying a reported 3,000 agents to Minnesota to target undocumented immigrants with criminal records, officials said. But in two months, agents have instead detained thousands of people, regardless of legal status, including US citizens pulled out of their cars, taken from their homes and picked up while working. Agents have also killed two Minneapolis residents – and US citizens – Renee Good and Alex Pretti, while they were monitoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities.

Published: February 22, 2026, 1:00 pm

‘We want to rebuild trust’: fired CDC workers form group to combat Trump’s war on science

Former employees stepped up to create the National Public Health Coalition to advocate for public health after Trump’s cuts to the agency

Abby Tighe thought she had landed her forever job. She joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in December 2023, managing a national youth substance abuse prevention program. The project focused on rural communities, and Tighe, whose family is from Appalachia, was proud to be using her public health training to support often-overlooked parts of the country. “The CDC was different than anywhere else I’ve worked,” says Tighe. “People didn’t care about their own ambitions as much as they cared about the larger mission. It was always my dream to work there.”

That dream ended a year ago, when Tighe received a form email on 14 February letting her know the Trump administration was firing her. Classified as a probationary worker, she was one of the first to lose her job in what quickly became a dramatic downsizing of the CDC workforce. To date, the current administration has either fired or is in the process of firing more than 4,000 CDC employees – a third of the agency.

Published: February 22, 2026, 1:00 pm

The next Mamdani? Progressive Nithya Raman shakes up LA mayor’s race

Highly rated councilmember makes last-minute entry after endorsing former ally Karen Bass – can she build a campaign to win?

Nithya Raman, a progressive urban planner, entered Los Angeles politics with a bang when she was elected to city council in 2020, defeating an incumbent Democrat endorsed by Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton.

More than five years on, the 44-year-old is making waves again with her last-minute entry into the LA mayoral race. Raman filed to run just hours before the deadline – after recently endorsing Mayor Karen Bass for re-election – to the surprise of constituents, and political allies and opponents alike.

Published: February 22, 2026, 2:00 pm

‘She did kill. There’s no grey area there’: Labour MP Naz Shah on the day she and her mother were arrested for murder

The politician was 18 when she and her mum were hauled off to a police station for the killing of the man she’d considered an uncle. What happened next would shape her future. She talks Labour’s woes, making mistakes, and why it’s finally time to share her own traumatic story

• Read an extract from Naz Shah’s memoir

Naz Shah found it thrilling when she was arrested on suspicion of murder. “I’ll be honest with you, I had fun. It was the most excitement I’d ever had in my flipping life. I’d never been to a police station before. I was 18 and wet behind the ears. I was this really sheltered kid who’d been arrested. And I was like, they’ve got it wrong, so in my head it was all going to be over soon,” the MP for Bradford West says. “They took my clothes and gave me this white suit to wear, and I was saying, ‘Ooh, I look foxy in this, don’t I? Can you imagine taking me on a date in this?’ I was having a right laugh with the police officers. Honestly, I was so naive.”

Shah’s beloved “Uncle” Azam had died unexpectedly in April 1992. An autopsy revealed that he had been poisoned with arsenic. Shah and her mother, Zoora, who spoke little English, had cooked the previous night’s supper. They were arrested and taken to different police stations. Shah was released. Zoora admitted that she had made the dessert that contained the arsenic. After a month-long trial, she was convicted of Azam’s murder in December 1993 and sentenced to 20 years in jail.

Published: February 22, 2026, 6:00 am

‘A global hero’: Jesse Jackson’s legacy of activism around the world

From opposing apartheid in South Africa to supporting Palestinian rights, the US civil rights leader left his mark across the globe

When Jesse Jackson called for the Democratic party platform to include Palestinian statehood, the pushback was fierce. “While we had strong support from delegates at the convention, there was still a fear factor that the issue couldn’t be discussed,” recalls James Zogby, who was deputy manager of Jackson’s presidential campaign. “I was told by the [nominee Michael] Dukakis negotiators, if you even say the P-word, you’ll destroy the Democratic party.”

Jackson’s effort did not succeed at the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta. But 10 Democratic state parties had already passed resolutions in favour of Palestinian self-determination. And as the decades rolled by, more and more progressives came to share Jackson’s stance. Zogby, founder of the Arab American Institute, reflects: “He was way ahead of the base. Even the activists who supported Palestinians did not have the same depth of understanding.”

Published: February 22, 2026, 10:00 am

This is how we do it: ‘He gives me the confidence to try things I’ve never done before’

A new relationship in their 50s brought adventure, curiosity and freedom for Alexandra and Laurent

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

I love how committed and loyal Laurent is. For him, I’m at the top of the pyramid

Published: February 22, 2026, 11:00 am

Dining across the divide: ‘Universities should be free. We all lose for every bright kid who doesn’t go’

Two south-westerners shared a love of boats, but how would they fare on tuition fees and NHS funding?

Grant, 61, Yelverton, Devon

Occupation Retired: restored properties

Published: February 22, 2026, 12:00 pm

‘A patriotic act’: the Ukrainians having babies and raising children in wartime

Birthrates have fallen since Russia’s invasion but some have held on to hope and are bringing up children despite risks

Four years ago Russian troops were a few kilometres away from Leleka maternity hospital, beyond a pine forest and a lake. Vladimir Putin’s plan to conquer Ukraine – wrapping it into a new Russian empire – began just down the road. His forces were meant to seize Kyiv and topple Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s pro-western government.

To the Kremlin’s surprise, Ukraine fought back. A Russian armoured column was destroyed in nearby Bucha. For five weeks a battle raged. Maternity staff treated wounded Ukrainian soldiers. Then, in March 2022, Russian troops pulled out of the Kyiv region. They left behind the bodies of hundreds of civilians they had killed, including fleeing families gunned down in their cars.

Published: February 22, 2026, 6:00 am

Decades of feminism paved the road to Andrew’s arrest | Rebecca Solnit

The outcry and activism of the 2010s – itself enabled by earlier generations of feminists – brought us to this moment. But if the Trump administration has its way, opposing forces will prevail

This week, for the first time since 1647, a member of the royal family was arrested in the United Kingdom, not over allegations of sexual wrongdoing but for trade-related communications with the supplier of those victims, Jeffrey Epstein, to whom he is supposed to have leaked state secrets. The public outrage in the US about Epstein forced the government to release the files, including emails between Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein now under investigation in the criminal case.

The arrestee formerly known as Prince Andrew was accused by Virginia Guiffre with having had sex with her when she was a minor being trafficked by Epstein. He has always denied wrongdoing. Until his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office, only his family had held him accountable for his ongoing association with Epstein after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution. “Today our broken hearts have lifted,” Virginia Giuffre’s family stated, “at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty.”

Rebecca Solnit is a Guardian US columnist. She is the author of Orwell’s Roses and the forthcoming The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change

Published: February 22, 2026, 7:46 pm

How loose social ties can help heal political division | Eva M Meyersson Milgrom

Weak connections known as ‘bridge ties’ cross the boundaries that normally structure our lives. We must restore this connective tissue

The first time a woman I’ll call Shoshana went toBrandi Carlile’s music festival, she arrived alone. She had just been through another unsuccessful round of IVF. During one of the songs, about motherhood, she began to cry in the middle of the crowd. Then two women she had never met stepped closer and wordlessly wrapped their arms around her until her breathing slowed.

“That’s when I realized,” Shoshana told me in an interview, “this place isn’t just about music.”

Eva M Meyersson Milgrom is a social scientist and professor emerita from Stanford University, where she was affiliated with the department of sociology, the Institute of Economic Policy, and the Graduate School of Business. She is working on a book on the importance of diversifying our social networks

Published: February 22, 2026, 12:00 pm

Do you have a ‘competence hangover’? | Emma Beddington

It’s what happens when people, especially women, are overworked and underappreciated. Time for all the incompetent slackers to step up ...

Are you bone-deep exhausted and struggling to cope? Do you have “insomnia, headaches, irritability, emotional flatness and a sense of being permanently on?” I mean, obviously you do, you’re a person existing in 2026, but you may also have a “competence hangover”. That’s what Grazia says some women in the workplace are experiencing. They are depleted by accepting additional responsibilities, over delivering, taking on emotional labour, supplying the Colin the Caterpillar birthday cake, and generally being the person to whom everyone complacently says: “What would we do without you?!”

It’s a familiar story in the domestic sphere, where women shoulder disproportionate responsibilities plus a bonus mental load. At work, as multiple surveys and reports have indicated in recent years, they are more likely to burn out (the “competence hangover” sounds like burnout lite). In large part this is due to difficulties reconciling the domestic burden and professional obligations. Other factors also amp up the pressure to over perform professionally: women’s extra hours are rewarded less than men’s, according to a 2024 study; presenteeism means women who work more efficiently (completing their work in fewer hours) are judged negatively for it; and they lack the “status shield” men enjoy, meaning they’re more likely to bear the brunt of negative emotions and perceptions. No wonder McKinsey’s 2025 Women in the Workplace report suggested for the first time that “women are less interested in being promoted than men”.

Published: February 22, 2026, 2:00 pm

Trump’s trade war risks undermining his hopes of hefty US interest rate cuts | Graeme Wearden

Upping tariffs may have lifted the president’s mood but it is a headache for the Federal Reserve and its next chair

Donald Trump and Denis Healey don’t have much in common. One of the greatest prime ministers Britain never had shares little of his famous hinterland with what some historians see as one of the worst occupants of the White House.

But Trump would be well advised to remember Healey’s first law of holes – when you’re in one, stop digging

Published: February 22, 2026, 11:58 am

My daughter turns 18 today. I’m giving her the gift of shared caring responsibilities with her brothers | Ranjana Srivastava

As a doctor, I have a front-row seat to the physical, emotional and financial impact on women who find themselves in the role of primary carer

‘Why do you always grip the dashboard like that when I am driving?’

It’s the bleary-eyed 5am run to rowing practice and I have just relented to the eager “can I drive?” When your teenager takes a reluctant “I guess” as full-throated approval, you still want to show grace. Especially when there are many more mandated hours of supervision en route to a probationary licence.

Published: February 22, 2026, 2:00 pm

‘He is an animal’: Jack Hughes loses teeth then scores Olympic ice hockey winner for US

• Center secures first men’s title for US since 1980

• Americans break Canadian hearts in overtime

It might not have been a shocker on the order of a bunch of scrappy college kids toppling the polished Soviet juggernaut at Lake Placid. But 46 years to the day of the Miracle on Ice, it often felt that way as another underdog United States men’s hockey team ended their Olympic gold drought in a white-knuckle contest dominated by Canada until Jack Hughes’ seismic overtime winner.

Call it the Marvel in Milan.

Published: February 22, 2026, 9:12 pm

‘Hockey’s not hockey any more’: did three-on-three overtime ruin Canada’s Olympics?

Two Olympic finals between Canada and the US were settled by sudden death. The format made the showpieces feel more like a coin toss than a climax

Two Olympic finals against the US, two strong performances, two sudden-death losses. Canada is so over overtime.

While all good things must come to an end, it’s hard to fathom why hockey’s international rule-makers think that the very best things – huge clashes that were some of the hottest tickets of the entire Olympics – should be ended using three-on-three golden-goal overtime, a concept beloved only by people with a train to catch or firm dinner reservations.

Published: February 23, 2026, 12:05 am

Norway (population: 5.7m) beats US (342m) to top Winter Olympics medal table

• Country wins most golds (18) in Winter Games history

• USA, GB and Australia also set team records

• Norwegians put emphasis on participation

Norway has once again topped the Winter Olympics medal table, surpassing countries with far larger populations.

The Scandinavian country won more gold medals (18) and more total medals (41) than the US, who came second in both categories (12 golds and 33 total medals). Norway’s 18 golds were the most by a country in Winter Olympics history, while their cross-country skiing hero Johannes Høsflot Klæbo accounted for six golds on his own, more than the all but seven other countries at this year’s Games.

Published: February 22, 2026, 4:24 pm

Lindsey Vonn hits back at ‘haters’ who questioned her place at Winter Olympics

• American fractured tibia in downhill last week

• Skier is recovering from injuries in US

Lindsey Vonn has hit back at the “haters” who were critical of her decision to take part at this year’s Winter Olympics.

The American crashed out early in her run during the women’s downhill competition during the opening weekend of this month’s Games. She suffered a complex tibia fracture and underwent multiple surgeries in Italy before being flown back to the US for further treatment earlier this week.

Published: February 22, 2026, 5:16 pm

China’s Eileen Gu soars to ski halfpipe gold but controversy surrounds Zoe Atkin’s bronze

• Gu and Li Fanghui take Winter Olympic gold and silver

• Atkin’s bronze matches that of sister Izzy in 2018

Say what you like about Eileen Gu. Plenty have since she switched allegiances from the US to China in 2019. But the most compelling athlete at these Winter Olympic Games sure knows how to deliver. On the slopes. In front of the world’s media. And especially in the blazing heat of competition.

On the final run of a women’s halfpipe final that many in Livigno reckoned was the greatest in history, Gu stepped up again, sliding down a 22-foot wall of ice before twisting and spinning her body high into the brightest of blue skies to become these Games’ alpha female yet again – just as in Beijing four years ago.

Published: February 22, 2026, 12:30 pm

Beating Tottenham can be a ‘turning point’ for Arsenal, says proud Arteta

• Manager delighted with reaction to midweek draw

• Arsenal go five points clear of Manchester City at top

Mikel Arteta said that he could not be “prouder or happier” after his Arsenal side restored their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table with a 4-1 win against Tottenham on Sunday that he suggested could be a “turning point” in their season.

This was an emphatic response after squandering a 2-0 lead at Wolves on Wednesday, a result that means City will win the league if they win all their remaining 11 games this season.

Published: February 22, 2026, 9:19 pm

Lionel Messi’s referee confrontation in tunnel did not violate policy, MLS says

• Miami star confronted officials in a doorway after 3-0 loss

• League determined area was not off-limits to players

• MLS has suspended players for entering officials’ room

Major League Soccer has cleared Lionel Messi of wrongdoing after the Argentinian appeared to pursue match officials after Inter Miami’s season-opening loss to LAFC on Saturday evening.

In a video posted to X by Síntesis Deportes reporter Giovanni Guerrero, Messi appears to confront match officials as they entered a doorway within the LA Coliseum after the match, a 3-0 win for LAFC. Miami forward Luis Suárez is seen restraining Messi, who slips out of his teammate’s grip and disappears behind a door. He emerged seconds later and retreated with Suárez to Miami’s locker room.

Published: February 22, 2026, 8:23 pm

NFL receiver Rondale Moore dies at age of 25: ‘Way too soon. Way too special’

• Former coach says player was ‘complete joy’

• Teammates pay tribute after Moore’s death

NFL wide receiver Rondale Moore died on Saturday at the age of 25, his former college coach, Jeff Brohm, has confirmed.

“Rondale Moore was a complete joy to coach,” Brohm, who worked with Moore at Purdue, said in a statement. “The ultimate competitor that wouldn’t back down from any challenge. Rondale had a work ethic unmatched by anyone. A great teammate that would come through in any situation. We all loved Rondale, we loved his smile and competitive edge that always wanted to please everyone he came in contact with. We offer all of our thoughts and prayers to Rondale and his family, we love him very much.”

In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

Published: February 22, 2026, 3:33 am

The Great Olympic lie: untold story of Winter Games’ huge environmental impact

Rivers drained dry to create artificial snow, a forest cut down for the bobsleigh track – IOC’s claims to prioritise sustainability at Milano Cortina exposed

On the foothills of the mountains, by the banks of the river in Cortina, there was a forest. It was full of tall larch trees. Arborists said the oldest of them had been there for 150 years and dendrologists that it was unique because it was unusual to find a monocultural forest growing at such a low altitude in the southern Alps.

The locals knew mostly it was the place where the old wooden bobsleigh run was, where you went on your walks in summer or autumn, or when you wanted to play tennis on the small courts built near the bottom. They called it the Bosco di Ronco and it isn’t there any more.

Published: February 22, 2026, 8:00 am

Mac Allister’s last-gasp winner gives Liverpool points at Nottingham Forest

As this game ticked into the 97th minute – or as Arne Slot put it, the extra time of extra time – Liverpool snatched victory with Alexis Mac Allister feasting on a loose ball in the Nottingham Forest six-yard box. If it felt like a touch of deja vu, that was because just before stoppage time it was Mac Allister who hurtled off celebrating what would have been a bizarre winner.

After Stefan Ortega pawed away Hugo Ekitiké’s header from Rio Ngumoha’s feathery dinked cross with his right glove, the Forest defender Ola Aina sought to clear the danger once and for all. But he inadvertently smashed his clearance against Mac Allister, who turned his back on the ball and it cannoned off his elbow and into the back of the Forest net. The intervention of the video assistant referee, Paul Tierney, extended the at least five minutes of added time.

Published: February 22, 2026, 4:13 pm

How Italians fell in love with their Winter Olympics after gaffes turned into gold

After a slow start, when the hosts began to pick up medals in the second week the public’s imagination was captured

With the atmosphere in Rome subdued as the Winter Olympics unfolded across northern Italy, travelling to the Games was not on Amity Neumeister’s radar.

That was until the event entered its second week and, inspired by images of the Dolomites on TV, Italy racking up the medals and friends in Milan describing an energetic vibe, Neumeister, originally from the US, decided she wanted to join the action. “It was a late-night, last-minute crazy decision, completely unplanned,” she said. “I hadn’t even considered going before, but it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the Games and celebrate people coming together from around the world.”

Published: February 22, 2026, 8:00 am

Washington and Tehran to hold more nuclear talks as protests reignite in Iran

Fresh Geneva negotiations suggest Trump’s team believes the Iranian government is making serious proposals

Iran and the US are expected to meet for a further round of talks in Geneva this week in a sign that Donald Trump’s team believes Tehran is making serious proposals to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and show it is not seeking a nuclear weapon.

As fears loomed of renewed conflict after Washington carried out a major redeployment of military assets to the region, the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said he thought there was still a good chance of finding a diplomatic solution.

Published: February 22, 2026, 7:33 pm

Inquiry into Andrew’s Epstein links not ruled out as police searches continue

Calls mount for Mountbatten-Windsor to be dropped from royal line of succession

Police searches of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home on the Windsor estate in Berkshire continued on Sunday as a government minister did not rule out having a judge-led inquiry into the former prince’s links with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, representing the government, did not rule out such an inquiry but said it was premature because of the police investigation.

Published: February 22, 2026, 11:21 pm

Russia fires scores of missiles at Ukraine as Hungary threatens to block EU sanctions

‘Moscow continues to invest in strikes more than diplomacy,’ says Zelenskyy, as logistics and energy facilities targeted

Russia has fired scores of missiles and drones at targets across Ukraine, flattening a residential house in the capital, two days before the fourth anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Kremlin had launched 297 drones and nearly 50 missiles on Sunday, in the latest in a wave of overnight strikes. He said “a significant proportion” had been shot down as he called on allies to strengthen the country’s air defences against enemy attacks.

Published: February 22, 2026, 4:12 pm

Reform would create ICE-style agency and end leave to remain, Zia Yusuf to say

Nigel Farage’s party plans to deport up to 288,000 people a year on five flights a day and expand stop and search

Reform UK would create an ICE-style agency dedicated to deporting hundreds of thousands of people, as well as terminating the status of those with indefinite leave to remain (ILR), the party will say.

It would also ban the conversion of churches into mosques and fund a radical expansion of stop and search, the party’s new home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, will also say in a speech on Monday. The deradicalisation programme Prevent would also have its mandate redrawn to focus on Islamist extremism.

Published: February 22, 2026, 10:01 pm

Saint Francis of Assisi’s skeleton goes on public display for first time

Hundreds of thousands of visitors expected for month-long display of 13th-century saint’s remains

Saint Francis of Assisi’s skeleton is going on full public display from Sunday for the first time, in a move that is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Inside a nitrogen-filled case with the Latin inscription “Corpus Sancti Francisci” (the body of Saint Francis), the remains are being shown in the Italian hillside town’s Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Published: February 22, 2026, 10:08 am

Less snow, or more risk? What you need to know about avalanches and climate change

Rising temperatures are forcing some ski resorts to close, while leaving others at greater risk of extreme weather

Avalanches kill about 100 people in Europe each year, with vast masses of ice, snow and rock regularly crashing down on hikers and skiers who have been caught unawares.

The structure of the snow, angle of the slope and variation of the weather can dictate whether a gentle disturbance – like a gust of wind or the glide of a snowboard – can trigger a deadly shift in the mountain.

Published: February 22, 2026, 9:00 am

‘That’s a losing battle’: baboon incursions cause tense human-wildlife standoff in Cape Town

Animal rights activists disagree with authorities on how best to handle boom in primate population near Table Mountain

At the edge of Da Gama Park, where the Cape Town suburb meets the mountain, baboons jumped from the road to garden walls to roofs and back again. Children from South African navy families living in the area’s modest houses played in the street. Some were delighted; some wary; most were unfazed by the animals.

A few miles away, overlooking a soaring peak and sweeping bay, Nicola de Chaud showed photos of food strewn across her kitchen by a baboon. In another incident, a baboon threw one of her dogs across the veranda. In January, a male baboon lunged at her and refused to leave the house for 10 minutes.

Published: February 22, 2026, 7:00 am

Huckabee’s Israel land remarks condemned as ‘dangerous and inflammatory’

Arab and Islamic governments issue statement denouncing comments made on Tucker Carlson podcast

Governments from across the Islamic world have condemned remarks by the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, suggesting it would “be fine” for Israel to claim a broad swath of the Middle East.

Huckabee, an evangelical Christian pastor and former Arkansas governor, has long been an outspoken supporter of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.

Published: February 22, 2026, 3:39 pm

Homeland security reverses course on TSA PreCheck suspension

DHS official reportedly says Global Entry program would remain halted amid partial government shutdown

The Department of Homeland Security partially reversed course Sunday morning on an order that had suspended the TSA PreCheck and Global Entry airport security programs as a result of staffing shortages caused by the partial government shutdown.

“TSA PreCheck remains operational with no change for the traveling public,” the Transportation Security Administration said in a social media post. “As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case by case basis and adjust operations accordingly.”

Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report

Published: February 22, 2026, 6:37 pm

France to summon US ambassador over comments on far-right activist’s death

Official US social media accounts posted about rise of ‘violent radical leftism’ after killing of Quentin Deranque

The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, has said he will summon Charles Kushner, the US ambassador to France, over comments related to the killing of the French far-right activist Quentin Deranque.

Deranque was beaten to death in Lyon last week during a fight with allegedly hard-left activists.

Published: February 22, 2026, 12:02 pm

Thailand moves to cut sugar in popular drinks amid health drive

Major chains agree to halve default sweetness, but street vendors and cafes remain outside sugar tax rules

A crowd of customers, holding phones aloft, watch intently as Auntie Nid mixes up her bestseller: an iced Thai tea.

Condensed milk is poured into a glass, followed by three heaped tablespoons of sugar, and then freshly strained tea. The end product – a deep orange, creamy treat – is poured into a plastic bag filled with ice.

Published: February 22, 2026, 5:00 am

‘I’m going to fight’: freed Venezuelan activist on life after Maduro’s downfall

Jesús Armas’s joy at being released has been tempered by reality that the march towards democracy will be slow

Jesús Armas was asleep inside Venezuela’s most infamous political prison at the start of January when a thunderous explosion and a blackout announced the start of a new era.

The activist remembers roars of excitement rippling through the jail’s cells as befuddled guards scurried around “like something really big was happening”. Prisoners began to belt out Venezuela’s national anthem, a stirring battle cry against tyranny: “Glory to the brave people! … Down with the chains! … Death to oppression!”

Published: February 22, 2026, 10:00 am

China overtakes US as Germany’s top trading partner

Friedrich Merz to meet Xi Jinping in Beijing, with goods worth €251bn traded between two countries in 2025

China has overtaken the US as Germany’s top trading partner, figures have shown, as the chancellor, Friedrich Merz, prepares for his first visit to Beijing since taking office.

Merz will head to China on Tuesday and will be welcomed with military honours on Wednesday in Beijing by the prime minister, Li Qiang, before later meeting the president, Xi Jinping, for talks over dinner, his spokesperson Sebastian Hille said.

Published: February 22, 2026, 10:51 am

The Baftas’ biggest drama is the red carpet fashion battle

A fabulously fashionable entrance in an eye-catching designer outfit can add star-wattage to a fledgling career, and earn A-listers a tidy paycheck. So who performed best this year?

• The Baftas red carpet – in pictures
• How the night went down
• Peter Bradshaw’s verdict on the Baftas’ winners and losers
• News: One Battle After Another defeats Hamnet and Sinners as Robert Aramayo takes best actor
• Find the full list of the night’s winners here
• The best quotes of the night

Paddington in his duffel coat, and a prince and princess putting on a brave face and black tie in the white heat of royal disgrace. Move over, movie stars: who can compete with red carpet drama like this?

Paul Mescal stepped up early with a big swing, hard-launching his relationship with Gracie Abrams with a red-carpet kiss. The frayed rolled cuffs and Henley collar of his Prada shirt gave him the air of having walked to the red carpet straight from the boards of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre. Method dressing is the new power dressing, and this could be the season of Hamnet-core: see, also, Archie Madekwe’s doublet-shaped Dior jacket and Elizabeth-adjacent sparkly ruff.

Published: February 22, 2026, 8:10 pm

Peter Bradshaw’s Baftas 2026 predictions – who’ll get the gongs, who’ll be the goners?

Will Paul Thomas Anderson’s ICE age conspiracy thriller sweep the board, or will Sinners and Hamnet share some glory? Our critic places his bets
Full list of Bafta 2026 nominations

Will win One Battle After Another
Should win Hamnet
Shoulda been a contender The Secret Agent

Published: February 22, 2026, 8:00 am

‘What do I play at a party? Oasis’s Wonderwall goes down a storm’: Alex James’s honest playlist

The Blur bassist loves his Britpop rivals, weeps over Radiohead’s Creep and finds Chitty Chitty Bang Bang sexy. But which Beatles hit did he get sick of?

The first song I fell in love with
I remember standing up in year 3 and doing the routine to The Trail of the Lonesome Pine by Laurel and Hardy and the Avalon Boys. I really wanted it for Christmas – it went to No 2 in 1975 – and Father Christmas managed to get it in my stocking.

The first single I bought
I was on a canal boat holiday with the Scouts and Come on Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners was all over the radio, so I went down on my bike to buy it from Wilco in Bradpole Road in Bournemouth.

Published: February 22, 2026, 9:00 am

Myth, monsters and making sense of a disenchanted world: why everyone is reading fantasy

I have made the leap from literary fiction to fantasy – for those who think it’s mere wish-fulfilment, here’s why we need that thing with the dragons

Fantasy doesn’t need defending. It is one of the great cultural forms at the moment, all-pervading, ubiquitous. Maybe even the dominant form of writing just now, in line with the bookseller’s joke that contemporary publishing divides into A: romantasy and B: everything else.

But it might need explaining a little bit, for those who don’t get its pleasures; who still see it as wish-fulfilment, or as a low form that literary fiction gets to look down upon or direct a puzzled tolerance towards. As a writer of literary fiction who has borrowed and rejoiced in fantasy tropes for years, and has now himself written an out-and-out fantasy, I’m beyond embarrassment. I’ve been reading and loving fantasy all my life, and for me its best creators stand comfortably alongside the greats of any genre. And yet, I’m still encountering a faint sense that there is something to be accounted for in writing fantasy. That I ought to have reasons for wanting to do that thing with the dragons, no matter how culturally pervasive it is.

Published: February 22, 2026, 12:00 pm

I’m worried my boyfriend’s use of AI is affecting his ability to think for himself | Annalisa Barbieri

Overdependence on chatbots is a growing problem, and though your boyfriend’s ADHD may be a factor, he needs to find the root of his anxiety

My boyfriend of eight years, who is 44, has ADHD and runs his own business. He’s always struggled with admin and mundane tasks, but AI has revolutionised how he works. Now I’m worried he can’t seem to do anything without AI. He is a heavy ChatGPT user and uses it even when there’s a better non-AI alternative (eg he’ll ask it for train times rather than using Trainline, even though it’s less accurate). He just got his ChatGPT Wrapped and he’s in the top 0.3% of users worldwide.

I worry about his ability to think independently, as well as the environmental impact. I know it’s a useful tool for him at work, but he uses it for everything in life.

Published: February 22, 2026, 6:00 am

Body diversity returns to London fashion week as wider industry heads ultra-thin

Karoline Vitto, Phoebe English and Sinead Gorey include wide range of body shapes on catwalks

Body diversity has made a comeback at London fashion week despite a wider shift towards ultra-thinness in the fashion industry.

Emerging designers including Karoline Vitto, Phoebe English and Sinead Gorey included a wide range of body shapes on catwalks over the past four days. Sizes have ranged from a UK size 10-16, a category referred to as mid-size in the industry, to plus-size, also known as curve models, which measures from a UK size 18 upwards. Sample size, often referred to as straight models, ranges from a UK 4-8.

Published: February 22, 2026, 7:30 pm

‘A natural paradise’: the south of France’s beautiful blue lagoon

With pine-fringed beaches, crystal waters and affordable seafood restaurants, L’Étang de Thau is a hidden gem worth visiting at any time of year

When I asked Nordine Nid Hsain, the owner of my favourite Parisian bistro, why he sold up and left the capital to join the arty diaspora living in the Mediterranean port of Sète, he said: “What really drew me here was not Sète itself, but the natural paradise of the adjoining Thau lagoon. I love cycling and, after 10 years here, I am still excited to go out every day to explore the bike paths that run around the lagoon.”

He added: “There’s always something new to discover – beaches; wetland landscapes; enjoying a plate of freshly harvested oysters at the water’s edge; riding through the vineyards then tasting the wine in the vigneron’s cellar.”

Published: February 22, 2026, 7:00 am

Chinese new year in London and floods in France: photos of the weekend

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

Published: February 22, 2026, 2:36 pm