‘I don’t go out’: Vermont’s undocumented dairy workers live in fear after immigration raids

A tenfold increase in the number of immigration detentions has compelled many workers to barely leave the farms where they work

• ‘They want to keep denying us our rights’: workers in Vermont’s $5.4bn dairy industry fight for basic labor protections

Last spring, José Edilberto Molina-Aguilar was resting in his bedroom when a co-worker burst through the front door. Out his window, Molina-Aguilar, a 37-year-old dairy worker from Chiapas, Mexico, caught sight of the olive green uniforms of immigration enforcement officials who later claimed they had pursued a worker on to the farm property.

A farm manager told Molina-Aguilar and five of his co-workers at Pleasant Valley Farms, Vermont’s largest dairy, in Berkshire, about three miles from the Canadian border, to come outside.

Published: April 16, 2026, 11:00 am

The power of the Dunst: Kirsten’s best film performances – ranked!

As she approaches her 44th birthday, we celebrate an actor who can move from dreamy psychodrama for Sofia Coppola to gritty angst for Jane Campion

An elegant, sun-soaked Patricia Highsmith adaptation with fine work from Viggo Mortensen as a con man and Dunst as his wife, holidaying in early 1960s Athens when they meet an American tour guide (Oscar Isaac). It seems tantalisingly unclear at first whether his designs are on the chirpy young bride or her shady older husband.

Published: April 16, 2026, 1:52 pm

Behind the bluster, Donald Trump desperately needs a peace deal with Iran. Here's a solution | Rajan Menon

Washington and Tehran will have to make compromises and the current deadline must be extended. But with the will there’s clearly a way

The failure of the Islamabad talks to end the US-Israel war on Iran was hardly surprising, given the stark differences between Washington’s 15-point proposal and Tehran’s 10-point equivalent. The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which capped Iran’s uranium enrichment, took more than two years to negotiate, and its roots actually reach back to 2003. The US vice-president, JD Vance, spent less than a full day in Islamabad for negotiations that included the nuclear question and several others.

The surprise was Vance’s explanation for the failure – that Iran rejected the terms presented by the US. The American side was not in a position to dictate terms because Iran stood firm when the 8 April ceasefire took effect. But Vance seemed to believe, as does his boss Donald Trump, that the Iranians had been defeated and the US didn’t have to budge.

Rajan Menon is professor emeritus of international relations at Powell School, City University of New York, and senior research fellow at Columbia University’s Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies

Published: April 16, 2026, 1:00 pm

A journalist filmed an ICE protest at a Minnesota church. Then federal agents showed up at her door

After Georgia Fort and Don Lemon reported from a church whose pastor reportedly works for ICE, agents arrested Fort in front of her children

When federal agents arrived at Georgia Fort’s front door to arrest her, she knew what to do: be a journalist.

Fort, an independent Minnesota reporter who faces criminal charges after covering a protest inside a St Paul church, took out her phone and spoke directly to the camera, livestreaming to her audience that her lawyer advised her to go with the agents. Her three kids were in the house at the time, she said.

Published: April 16, 2026, 10:00 am

Now you can break up with big tech at a bar: ‘cybersecurity disguised as a party’

These digital security organizers bring the fight for online privacy to dance parties, wine meetups and reading groups

Imani Thompson shows up at Wonderville Bar in Brooklyn looking ready for a DJ set, or to drink, or to dance the night away with friends. While she’ll probably do the latter, she’s also a cybersecurity organizer leading the evening’s event.

Thompson is the host, along with the New York City-based tech organizing coalition Cypurr Collective, of Break Up With Google. Its purpose isn’t a mystery; the main goal is to help attenders understand how to mitigate their vulnerability to surveillance through major tech services. But it’s also important for people to have fun while they do it, Thompson said – hence the DJs playing until the wee hours of the morning.

Published: April 16, 2026, 2:00 pm

You need to sit down for this – the best seat cushions in the US to relieve your back

Whether you have a medical condition or you want to be comfortable while sitting for long periods, these cushion seats have your behind

As a writer and frequent traveler, I often find myself sitting for very long periods of time. Normally, that’s not something to worry about too much, but just over a year ago, I was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, which is a fancy way of saying my back hurts if I stand, sit or walk for too long. Thus began my quest to find the best seat cushion I could find so I can do my job and not go to bed in pain every night.

Whether you have a medical condition or you just want to be more comfortable while sitting for long periods of time, you are my people. Seat cushions come in all shapes and sizes, and finding one that’s right for you can make a night and day difference. Read on for the best seat cushions that I could get my hands, and my posterior, on.

Best overall:
Xtreme Comfort Office Chair Cushion

Best upgrade pick:
Purple Ultimate Seat Cushion

Published: April 16, 2026, 2:15 pm

Middle East crisis live: ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon takes effect; Hezbollah tells citizens to postpone returning home

Group urges caution as it says Israel has history of ‘breaking agreements’; Israeli prime minister says key demand is that Hezbollah must be dismantled

• Trump announces 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon after ‘excellent conversations’

Iran has stopped all petrochemical exports to prioritise domestic supply and prevent shortages of raw materials, Reuters reported.

The state-owned National Petrochemical Company ordered firms to suspend exports until further notice.

Published: April 17, 2026, 12:02 am

Newly unsealed records reveal Amazon’s price-fixing tactics, California attorney general claims

Exclusive: A trove of previously redacted documents was filed as part of the tech giant’s anti-trust battle with the state of California. Amazon denies it engages in price-fixing

Hundreds of previously redacted records reveal how Amazon has put pressure on independent sellers using its platform into raising their prices on the sites of competitors such as Walmart and Target, so that Amazon can appear to have lower prices, California authorities allege.

The global conglomerate became concerned even if a competitor was selling an item for as little as a penny less, according to one segment of the newly unredacted evidence.

Published: April 16, 2026, 9:58 pm

Department of Justice investigating Eric Swalwell amid sexual assault allegations

Democratic representative from California has suspended gubernatorial campaign and resigned from Congress

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has opened an investigation into Eric Swalwell following his resignation from Congress, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The news of a federal investigation comes days after the Democratic representative from California stepped down due to multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.

Published: April 16, 2026, 11:11 pm

Texas immigration court interpreter detained by ICE says ‘they want to make me disappear’

Meenu Batra, the state’s only licensed Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu interpreter, says she was treated ‘like a criminal’

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A Texas court interpreter who was arrested by ICE after living in the US for more than 35 years is speaking out from detention, saying she has been “treated like a criminal” and fears being deported to a country where she has never been.

Meenu Batra is the only licensed Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu court interpreter in the state, and has served as an interpreter for hundreds of people in immigration court.

Published: April 16, 2026, 3:00 pm

Trump nominates former deputy surgeon general to lead embattled CDC – US politics live

President taps Erica Schwartz to lead agency; its last director was fired less than a month into tenure after clashing with health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr over his vaccine agenda

• RFK Jr accused of ‘dangerous conspiracy theories’ at heated budget hearing

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Chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Dan Caine says the US military remains ready to re-engage in combat “at literally a moment’s notice”.

He says the blockade covers Iran’s ports and coastlines and applies to all ships, regardless of which flag they are sailing under.

Published: April 16, 2026, 11:54 pm

Pope says ‘world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants’ amid feud with Trump’s White House

Pontiff denounces leaders who invoke religion to justify war, after US bishops offer him support after Vance remarks

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Pope Leo XIV has said that the world is being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” who spend billions on war, in comments that will be seen as another sharp escalation in his almost week-long feud with the White House over the US-Israel war on Iran.

The first American-born pontiff did not mention Donald Trump by name, but used his speech in Cameroon on Thursday to denounce world leaders that invoke religion to justify violence against other nations.

Published: April 16, 2026, 1:53 pm

Justin Fairfax, ex-lieutenant governor of Virginia, kills wife and himself

Police say couple were living together amid divorce and that teenage children called 911 from Annandale home

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Justin Fairfax, a former lieutenant governor of Virginia whose tenure was upended by allegations of sexual assault, shot and killed his wife Cerina Fairfax on Thursday before killing himself, police said.

Kevin Davis, the chief of the Fairfax county police department in Virginia, said at a press conference that the killings took place in the context of “an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce”.

In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org

Published: April 16, 2026, 11:32 pm

New Jersey governor hits out at Fifa over reported $100 World Cup train tickets: ‘They should pay’

• Mikie Sherrill says taxpayers should not carry burden

• Costs at World Cup have come under increased scrutiny

New Jersey’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, has hit out at Fifa after reports her state’s transport system will charge $100 for a return ticket to World Cup matches this summer.

New Jersey Transit lists the price for a round-trip ticket from New York’s Penn Station to MetLife Stadium, which will host eight World Cup matches this summer, including the final, as $12.90. The new pricing, reported by The Athletic earlier this week, puts the return ticket at more than $100 with no reductions for children, seniors or people with disabilities. NJ Transit told Fox 5 New York that the price has not been finalized. A decision is expected in the coming days.

Published: April 16, 2026, 2:37 pm

Tiger Woods mentioned drones over home and car, ‘president’ in remarks after crash, filing shows

• Filing details remarks about drones over home

• Woods said he spoke to ‘the president’ after crash

• Prosecutors seek access to prescription records

Tiger Woods told police he had taken multiple prescription medications, including Vicodin, on the day of a crash that led to his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to court filings released on Wednesday.

The filing, submitted by prosecutors in Florida as part of routine pretrial discovery and obtained by the Guardian, also details a series of unusual remarks Woods made to officers at the scene of the 27 March crash in Hobe Sound, including references to drones flying over his home and a claim that he had spoken to “the president”.

Published: April 16, 2026, 8:17 pm

RFK Jr and podcast guest suggest food is affordable in the US – despite rising costs

Health secretary and chef Robert Irvine claim Americans could eat healthier and more cheaply if they shopped better

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The first episode of the new Secretary Kennedy Podcast, produced by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), opens with this quote from guest Robert Irvine, who creates meal plans for the US military: “We talk about food being expensive. If you’re buying expensive food, it’s expensive. But if you’re buying food and you know what to do with it, it’s not expensive.”

The episode is titled Fixing America’s Food System – Robert Irvine, and features a 45-minute conversation with the HHS secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, the host of the show, and guest Irvine. Best known as a celebrity chef, Irvine has collaborated with the US military to launch Victory Fresh, a program that offers healthy grab-and-go meals on military bases, during the Biden administration. The program’s Biden-era origins are never acknowledged during the show.

Published: April 16, 2026, 7:26 pm

Trump’s triumphal arch moves closer to approval after key agency meets

US Commission of Fine Arts reviews plan while judge lets below-ground work at White House ballroom site proceed

Donald Trump’s design for the triumphal arch he wants built at an entrance to the nation’s capital moved a step forward on Thursday after a key agency reviewed the proposal for the first time.

One commissioner suggested changes, including losing the Lady Liberty-like statue and pair of eagles that would sit on top of the arch and add to its height.

Published: April 16, 2026, 5:09 pm

Trump officials urge other countries to join ‘trade over aid’ push

US calls free-market capitalism ‘surest path to prosperity’ and seeks to forgo direct aid to developing countries

• Middle East crisis – live updates

The Trump administration has moved to formally enlist foreign governments in a sweeping reorientation of global development policy, directing American diplomats worldwide to seek official support for a “trade over aid” declaration before its introduction at the United Nations later this month. This would mean a move away from direct aid to poor nations in favor of increased trade, led by private companies.

Principal deputy spokesperson at the state department Tommy Pigott confirmed the initiative on Wednesday, framing it as a rejection of what he called a failed aid model. “The idea that trade and free market capitalism is the surest path to prosperity has been proven by the facts and by history,” Pigott said, adding that those calling for “aid not trade” were “really arguing for lining the pockets of a corrupt NGO industrial complex”.

Published: April 16, 2026, 5:41 pm

Former Trump lawyer John Eastman disbarred over efforts to overturn 2020 election

California supreme court upholds lower court decision as Eastman says he will appeal to US supreme court

John Eastman, a lawyer who played a key role in Donald Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 election, officially lost his law license in California on Wednesday.

The California supreme court upheld a 2024 ruling from a state judge, who recommended Eastman be disbarred. Eastman “exhibited gross negligence by making false statements about the 2020 election without conducting any meaningful investigation or verification of the information he was relying upon”, Judge Yvette Roland wrote in 2024.

Published: April 16, 2026, 3:35 pm

Israel escalates attacks on medics in Lebanon with deadly ‘quadruple tap’

Lebanese health ministry says killing of 91 healthcare workers shows ‘total disregard’ for international law

• Middle East crisis – live updates

When they received the call to respond to an Israeli airstrike in the city of Mayfadoun, in southern Lebanon, most of the paramedics held back, having previously seen colleagues killed by double-tap attacks targeting rescuers. But the medics from the Islamic Health Association (IHA) rushed to the scene.

By the time the other emergency workers arrived at the site, they found the IHA medics had indeed been caught in a second strike. They started evacuating their wounded colleagues, only for their ambulances to be hit in two further attacks.

Published: April 16, 2026, 5:12 pm

Hampshire College was ‘a magical place’ for a progressive education. It couldn’t survive this era

Hampshire is latest school to fall to declining enrollment amid a decades-long crisis affecting liberal arts colleges

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When Hampshire College enrolled its first class of students in 1970, it offered a new breed of liberal arts education, one meeting each student’s interests and motivations, emphasizing learning across disciplines and close relationships with teachers.

For the next 56 years, Hampshire provided just that, becoming a beloved alma mater to scores of unconventional learners who sought, and found, a college experience “unlike anywhere else – and unlike anyone else’s”, as the school’s site still promises to deliver.

Published: April 16, 2026, 3:50 pm

My friend keeps sending me unsettling social media videos. How do I tell her to stop? | Leading questions

People down the rabbit hole don’t always realise their experience isn’t universal, advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith writes. You might have more luck trying a new tactic

• Read more Leading questions

My friend of 30 years keeps sending me social media posts and videos that I either don’t find funny or are disturbing. We live far away and rarely see each other, so we communicate through a messaging app. I’ve told her many times that I prefer positive or cute things, and I don’t follow American politics.

Her life is difficult and I understand why she spends so much time on social media. Last week she sent me multiple videos each day that were not of interest to me at all, including one with women slapping each other. She often buys into conspiracy theories until I disprove them. All of it upsets me. It’s like she doesn’t know who I am. I’m not replying to any of these messages but she keeps sending them.

Published: April 16, 2026, 3:00 pm

Like a concrete aircraft carrier: was LA’s giant new $724m gallery really worth all the carbon emissions?

Built on tar swamps and two tortuous decades in the making, Lacma’s latest addition used twice as much metal as the Eiffel Tower. How did America supersize revered architect Peter Zumthor?

Driving down the palm-lined strip of Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, a striking new crossing heaves into view. A ribbon of glass leaps over the road, sandwiched between two gigantic planes of concrete. As you get closer, the bridge swells out in sinuous arcs, swooping back on itself to inscribe an amoebic, shape-shifting blob, spreading out like an inkblot. From some angles it has a retro-futuristic air, recalling a Jetsons airport terminal, or one of California’s “Googie” style gas stations. From others, the curving roof looks like a great big tongue, flaring out to give the neighbours a raspy lick.

This concrete colossus is home to the new David Geffen Galleries of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma), a $724m mothership designed by the fabled Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. It is less a museum than a mighty piece of infrastructure, a 110,000 sq ft warehouse-cum-bridge, jacked up nine metres in the air and looming above the street with a brooding, muscular heft. Two decades in the making, and subject to tortuous years of delays, controversies and cost escalations – building on a tar swamp in a seismic zone is not straightforward – it finally opens this weekend.

The Fitzcarraldian feat is the brainchild of Michael Govan, who became Lacma’s director in 2006 with an ambition to build a museum like no other, using the promise of a dazzling structure to lure donations of artworks and dollars ($125m came from LA county, the rest was fundraised). Govan cut his teeth at the Guggenheim, and on Frank Gehry’s Bilbao outpost, where he clearly got a taste for the transformative fairy dust of signature architecture. He later moved to Dia:Beacon, in New York’s Hudson Valley, where he commissioned Zumthor for a project that was ultimately unrealised. At Lacma, he was determined to make a monument for posterity, at any cost.

Published: April 16, 2026, 5:32 pm

Gossip around Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers’s relationship misreads the WNBA

The former UConn star’s draft night should have been about her talent. Instead, speculation shows how the league is still being viewed through the wrong lens

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For the first time in a while, there was no consensus on who would go No 1 overall in the WNBA draft this year. When the Dallas Wings did make their pick, they chose Azzi Fudd, who had distinguished herself under Geno Auriemma at UConn, including a national championship in 2025.

The moment she was picked was pure: a delighted and seemingly nervous Fudd joined WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert onstage. She took photos with her jersey, made it through the ESPN interview that immediately followed, and beamed at her family and teammates in the audience. Paige Bueckers, who played alongside the 23-year-old at UConn and was the No 1 pick for the Wings in 2025, was there also to celebrate a well-deserved honor for Fudd.

Published: April 16, 2026, 9:00 am

Eat my dust: what is slow vacuuming – and does it work?

When it comes to vacuuming, slow and steady wins the rug race, according to social media users. But experts caution against overdoing the method

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In what feels like less of a trend and more like the correct way to do something, people on social media have discovered “slow vacuuming”. Instead of doing a quick once over, they are taking their time over any and all carpeted areas – it’s just vacuuming, but slowly.

Proponents of slow vacuuming claim it removes dirt more effectively, thereby keeping carpets cleaner for longer and airborne allergens at bay.

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Published: April 16, 2026, 3:00 pm

Kimmel on Trump’s AI images: ‘Someone’s been looksmaxxing!’

Late night hosts discussed Trump’s AI images, the closure of 7-Eleven stores and JD Vance’s advice to the Pope

On Wednesday night, late night hosts discussed Donald Trump’s fondness for religious AI images, a new way to protest ICE and Maga’s reaction to the Pope condemning the Iran war.

Published: April 16, 2026, 3:32 pm

Ben Jennings on the US-Iran war and AI slop – cartoon

Continue reading...

Published: April 16, 2026, 5:14 pm

A single Epstein email shines a light on myths about American justice – and art | Alex Duran

In prison, I witnessed the gap in accountability between the poor and the elite. A banker’s message to Epstein is racist and reductive

Here is an email that should bring shame to Jes Staley:

you want to know why we are not São Paolo, watch the TV adds on the Superbowl. Its all about hip blacks in hip cars with white women.

The group that should be in the streets, has been bought off. By Jay Z

Published: April 16, 2026, 1:00 pm

Teleportation, aliens and cancer-busting soda - it’s not just Trump going cuckoo, his officials are too | Arwa Mahdawi

As the president’s men rave about paranormal events and Diet Coke, it seems the US’s only hope is extraterrestrial intervention

People often criticise the Democrats for being overly cautious and never getting anything done. But this week they’ve surprised us all by unveiling concepts of a plan for getting Donald Trump out of the White House.

On Tuesday House Democrats introduced legislation that would create a commission to assess whether Trump is unfit to serve and should be removed under the 25th amendment. I don’t need to tell you what precipitated this: Trump is growingly increasingly erratic, threatening genocide one minute and posting pictures of himself as Jesus Christ the next.

Published: April 16, 2026, 3:48 pm

I thought hell would freeze over before I agreed with the pope. But in a world riven by cruelty, that day has finally come | Rebecca Shaw

It’s a relief to see the pontiff decrying brutality, because it seems most current world leaders lack the necessary spine

I have never been a religious or spiritual person, even though I grew up in a religious area and had friends (and strangers) throughout school and university trying to lure me into whatever prayer disguised as organised fun they were up to. I did try it out shortly for a desperate period when I was young, attempting to pray to a God I didn’t really believe in to make me not gay, but blessedly he never answered.

Despite my resistance to organised religion, I have always had a soft spot for nuns and their counterparts. The girlies.

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Published: April 16, 2026, 3:00 pm

I was one of Lena Dunham’s haters. I want to say I’m sorry | Dave Schilling

The truth is, we were all just jealous

To Lena Dunham, I need to say that I’m sorry. I’m sure she’ll never read this, since she doesn’t seem like the kind of person who Googles herself. If I was Lena, I certainly wouldn’t. The internet is full of mockery, sarcasm and outright cruelty. I’ve been part of the problem, too. Lena and I were starting off our careers at the same time, those halcyon days of the 2010s, when people still subscribed to cable TV and social media was just a fun new tool to post random thoughts and photos of your brunch. Now, if you post a photo of a meal, people will scream at you for bragging that you can afford food.

Fourteen years since HBO’s Girls turned Dunham from an indie film darling into a mainstream superstar, the writer/director is now releasing a memoir that reflects on her time in the cultural crosshairs. The headline of a New York Times interview reads: “Lena Dunham Is Still Trying to Figure Out Why People Hated Her So Much.”

Published: April 16, 2026, 10:00 am

Ticket to ride? Fifa premium makes this the World Cup that actively hates you | Jonathan Liew

The $95 bus trip to Foxborough highlights a tournament unique in modern times – one that ultimately makes no secret of its disdain for the paying public

Like any journalist with an unerring nose for an offbeat feature, my interest was sharply piqued by this week’s announcement of the $95 bus ride. What magnificent accoutrements might conceivably justify the £70 fare for a half-hour journey from south Boston to Foxborough? An at-seat shiatsu? A pool deck? A five-course dining experience? A brief but moving Céline Dion set in the aisles? At the very least, I felt I owed it to my profession to find out for sure.

Alas upon closer investigation, the Boston Stadium Express being launched for this summer’s World Cup appears to be an entirely regular bus journey on an entirely regular bus with entirely regular bus seats. Your non-refundable ticket – no child concessions – entitles you simply to be dropped off a 15-minute walk from the ground, and picked up again from the same place. There is, in short, no more complex rationale for the Boston organising committee to charge £70 than the fact that they can, and the World Cup only comes once, and if you don’t want to pay then some other rube will.

Published: April 16, 2026, 7:00 am

Justin Trudeau at Coachella? That’s just wrong: at a certain age, things must change | Emma Brockes

If you have to consult the Reddit thread ‘am I too old for Coachella?’, then the answer is probably ‘yes’

This morning, over breakfast, in the course of discussing the week’s news, I happened to say the word “Coachella” in front of my two scornful 11-year-olds, whose heads snapped up from their screens in unison. “How have you heard of Coachella?” said one in amazement. “How have you heard of Coachella?” I replied. They exchanged a look with which I’ve become increasingly familiar – namely, the “here we go” look reserved by the very young for the very middle-aged. “What is Coachella, then?” I said, to which they replied: “It’s where influencers go.”

This is, of course, an accurate summary of what the California music and arts festival has become in the 27 years since its inception, but that’s not why I bring it up. The festival, which is running this week, has featured Jack White, FKA Twigs and Sabrina Carpenter, but most of the publicity has gone on the audience; specifically, on the attendance of Justin Trudeau, the former prime minister of Canada, who, along with his girlfriend, Katy Perry, was photographed dancing to Justin Bieber and squatting chairless on a kerb, red plastic cups perched on their knees.

Published: April 16, 2026, 5:00 am

The Guardian view on a ceasefire for Lebanon: Trump has promised a pause. Civilians need real peace | Editorial

A deeply scarred country is caught in a war not of its making, seeking a solution which lies outside its hands

The 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon that Donald Trump announced on Thursday is desperately needed. It must also be regarded with immense caution. Iran and mediator Pakistan believed that Lebanon was covered by last week’s US-Israel-Iran ceasefire, before Israel unleashed 100 strikes in 10 minutes – killing hundreds and wounding many more on “Black Wednesday”. Lebanon was pulled into this crisis by Mr Trump’s illegal war on Tehran, and should not have been excluded from his truce. The US president, desperately seeking an exit to the broader conflict, is now reining in Mr Netanyahu. But only up to a point.

Israeli forces on Thursday destroyed the last bridge linking Lebanon’s south to the rest of the country and struck a school. The previous day they killed at least four paramedics – the latest of scores to have died. More than 2,100 people have reportedly been killed, including at least 172 children. Thousands have been injured. One in five of the population are displaced, some permanently: having occupied a vast swathe of land, Israel is wiping whole villages from the map. Its own defence minister described that as modelled on its actions in Gaza.

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Published: April 16, 2026, 5:58 pm

LIV golf stars face career limbo with Saudi investment expected to end in 2026

• LIV chief’s rallying email to staff did not refer to 2027

• Without alternative funding future is bleak for rebel tour

Several of golf’s leading names are facing career limbo at the end of 2026 amid expectation Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will withdraw backing for the LIV Tour.

While the likelihood is Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm will be afforded a pathway back to the PGA Tour, the future for others who made lucrative switches to LIV is far more uncertain.

Published: April 16, 2026, 4:53 pm

Alex Manninger, former Arsenal goalkeeper, dies aged 48 after road accident

• Austrian was capped 33 times for his national team

• Manninger won Premier League during Arsenal spell

Alex Manninger, the former goalkeeper who helped Arsenal win the Double in 1998, has died in a car accident in Austria, aged 48.

His first club, Red Bull Salzburg, broke the sad news on Thursday. The Austrian Bundesliga club said in a post on its official X account: “We mourn our former goalkeeper Alexander Manninger, who tragically lost his life in a traffic accident. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Rest in peace, Alexander.”

Published: April 16, 2026, 1:51 pm

Gibbs-White’s early strike decisive as Nottingham Forest edge past 10-man Porto

The final whistle brought a second of relief before the celebrations truly kicked in after Nottingham Forest secured a place in the Europa League semi-finals. It should have been easier but nothing is simple at the City Ground as they made hard work of overcoming Porto, who played almost the entire match with 10 men.

Morgan Gibbs-White settled the match, to set up an all-English clash with Aston Villa for a place in the final. His goal came in the aftermath of Jan Bednarek’s early sending off and should have laid the foundations for more but Forest’s finishing was poor, forcing them to grind out the victory by surviving Porto hitting the crossbar twice. Even so, the ultimate jubilation was reminiscent of those great nights of the 1980s under Brian Clough when the club last reached this stage in Europe.

Published: April 16, 2026, 9:04 pm

Curry and Green roll back the years to keep Warriors’ season alive: ‘For one night, we’re us’

• Curry scores 35 points in dazzling display of shooting

• Golden State face Phoenix for place in playoffs

• 76ers progress after win over Orlando Magic

Stephen Curry hit seven three-pointers while scoring 35 points with a dazzling display of his unmatched shooting skill as the Golden State Warriors won Wednesday’s play-in game against the Los Angeles Clippers to keep their season alive.

Curry wasn’t the only Warriors player rolling back the years. In the fourth quarter, Draymond Green bodied up to Kawhi Leonard and utterly shut down one of the greatest scorers of their generation.

Published: April 16, 2026, 11:41 am

Michael Bradley’s Red Bulls are impressing in MLS – what could come next?

The longtime USMNT standout is following in the footsteps of his father, coaching with a deep appreciation of what makes American soccer special

The timing was ideal. The day after Red Bull New York won their 2026 MLS home opener 1-0, with three academy products becoming the youngest trio to combine for a goal in the history of the league, the club hosted their annual youth summit. Coaches and administrators convened in the Audi Club Lounge of Sports Illustrated Stadium where they were fed, presented to, encouraged to learn, network and, of course, stick around until head coach Michael Bradley arrived for a panel to wrap up the event.

Most of them did. A long line quickly formed between Bradley and his exit, and he obliged all of the people waiting for a photo. It’s the same patience he still affords the media, whose numbers noticeably increased at RBNY games when the New Jersey native took the reins, following in the footsteps of his father, Bob, under whom Michael learned as a son, a player, and an assistant before striking out on his own.

Published: April 16, 2026, 11:00 am

Revealed: Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision

Guardian investigation uncovers decision by UK security officials to deny clearance before Mandelson took up role as US ambassador

• Top civil servant Olly Robbins forced out over vetting row

• Officials debate withholding Mandelson vetting documents from parliament

• Five key questions: Who overruled the decision to deny Mandelson security clearance?

Peter Mandelson failed his security vetting clearance but the decision was overruled by the Foreign Office to ensure he could take up his post as ambassador to the US, an investigation by the Guardian can reveal.

According to multiple sources, Mandelson was initially denied clearance in late January 2025 after a developed vetting process, a highly confidential background check by security officials.

Published: April 16, 2026, 5:16 pm

Zohran Mamdani still making money from fleeting rap career, filings show

New York mayor, ‘C-list rapper’ who went by Mr Cardamon and Young Cardamon, collected $1,643 in royalties last year

The New York mayor Zohran Mamdani is still making money from his short-lived career as a multilingual rapper, tax filings show.

But the 34-year-old Democrat’s meteoric rise as a celebrity politician has brought only a modest increase in hip-hop profits: he took home $1,643 in music royalties last year, up only slightly from $1,267 in 2024, according to the filings.

Published: April 17, 2026, 12:00 am

‘A dollar or two increase is devastating’: US consumers on toll of rising gas prices

Guardian readers describe how their lives have been upended by cost hikes stemming from Trump’s Iran war

With the US and Israel’s war on Iran now in its seventh week, with a fragile ceasefire in place since earlier this month, Americans are continuing to feel the effects at the pump as global fuel prices rise.

For several readers who spoke to the Guardian, the impact has forced difficult trade-offs – from accessing essential medicines and groceries to facing the brink of homelessness amid an already rising cost of living.

Published: April 16, 2026, 11:00 am

Co-founder Reed Hastings to step down from Netflix board

Chair’s decision to not seek re-election in June ‘not as a result of any disagreement’, company says in SEC filing

Reed Hastings, the Netflix chair, is leaving the streaming service he co-founded 29 years ago as the company regains its footing after it lost its $72bn deal for Warner Bros Discovery.

In a letter to investors released on Thursday, Netflix said Hastings will not stand for re-election at its annual meeting in June and plans to focus on philanthropy and other pursuits.

Published: April 16, 2026, 8:53 pm

US House approves bill to shield 350,000 Haitians from deportations

Rare rebuke of Trump’s mass deportation agenda, enabled by small group of Republican defectors, to last three years

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The US House of Representatives on Thursday approved legislation to shield 350,000 Haitians from deportations for three years, a rare bipartisan rebuke of Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda enabled by a small group of Republican defectors.

The 224-204 vote saw 11 members of the House Republican conference join with all Democrats to pass the New York Democrat Lauren Gillen’s bill to continue temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitians, a designation that allows them to live and work in the United States without fear of deportation.

Published: April 16, 2026, 7:30 pm

ICE agent charged with assault in Minnesota for allegedly pointing gun at motorists

Prosecutors say this is first criminal case against a federal agent involved in Trump’s immigration crackdown

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An ICE agent has been charged with assault for allegedly pointing his gun at people in a car while driving on a Minneapolis highway, prosecutors in Minnesota said on Thursday.

Hennepin county attorney Mary Moriarty said she believed it was the first criminal case brought against a federal immigration officer involved in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown that surged federal authorities into cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland and New Orleans.

Published: April 16, 2026, 6:08 pm

Man charged over 2002 Jam Master Jay killing to plead guilty, documents show

Jay Bryant negotiating plea deal in New York death of Run-DMC star, over which one conviction has been overturned

One of the three men charged in the killing of Jam Master Jay plans to plead guilty, court records show, in what would be the first admission anyone has made in court to any role in the Run-DMC star’s death in 2002.

Jay Bryant pleaded not guilty to murder after his 2023 indictment, but his lawyer and federal prosecutors told the court in recent letters that they were negotiating a plea agreement.

Published: April 16, 2026, 6:29 pm

Stakes high as supreme court set to rule on law involving Monsanto’s weed-killing pesticide

Risks from cancer and other diseases could be hidden with little accountability if justices favor big firms, critics warn

The US could face foreign attacks, food shortages and agricultural “devastation” if the supreme court rules against Monsanto in a closely watched case over pesticide regulation that is set for arguments later this month, according to a series of legal briefs supporting the company.

In contrast, opposing legal briefs warn that if the court sides with Monsanto, consumers will be stripped of their rights to sue when they develop cancer or other serious diseases they attribute to exposure to dangerous chemicals. Companies will be able to hide product risks with little accountability, they warn.

Published: April 16, 2026, 12:00 pm

Puerto Rico’s rainforest center reborn: in pictures

After two devastating hurricanes, El Yunque national forest has built a new visitors center that hosts a vibrant arts festival

Published: April 16, 2026, 1:00 pm

MSC’s ‘blue tick’ scheme creates illusion of ethically sourced fish, study claims

Sustainability certification by Marine Stewardship Council may be obscuring labour abuses in seafood supply chains, say researchers

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), which operates a “blue tick” scheme to indicate the sustainability of fish, has been accused of creating an “illusion” of ethical sourcing, after a study reported that widespread labour abuses have taken place on the fishing vessels it approves.

One in five vessels where the crew reported abuses to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) over the last five years took place on ships catching seafood certified as sustainable by the MSC, researchers found.

Published: April 16, 2026, 11:00 am

More US young men than young women say religion is important to them

Men aged 18-29 who see religion as central rises to 42%, Gallup survey finds, compared with 30% of young women

Young men are now more likely than young women in the US to say religion plays a major role in their lives, according to the newest findings from Gallup.

Data covering 2024-25 indicates that 42% of men aged 18 to 29 describe religion as very important to them, a significant rise from 28% in 2022-23. In comparison, young women’s responses have remained largely unchanged over the same period, holding at roughly 30%.

Published: April 16, 2026, 4:04 pm

Condé Nast will close its women’s health magazine, Self, after 47 years

The magazine company is also shuttering some editions of Glamour and Wired deemed to be unprofitable

Condé Nast is planning to shutter Self, its women’s health magazine, after 47 years.

In a memo published on the magazine giant’s website on Thursday, the media company’s CEO, Roger Lynch, explained the decision by saying: “As audience behaviors shift, we have not seen a path for Self to continue in its current form as a digital publication.”

Published: April 16, 2026, 5:52 pm

Utah reports more than 600 measles cases as outbreak spreads across US

Data shows 85% of those infected in the state have been not vaccinated against measles as dozens are hospitalized

• Measles: how does it spread and how can I protect my child?

Utah has emerged as a major center of measles infections in the US, as an outbreak that has been building for some time continues to expand.

State officials reported a total of 602 measles cases on Wednesday tied to an outbreak that started last year and is still ongoing, including 19 newly identified infections, according to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (Cidrap). Recent exposures have been reported at several preschools and elementary schools.

Published: April 16, 2026, 5:38 pm

NYPD investigates after video shows two officers punching and kicking man

New York mayor Mamdani calls footage of arrest of wrongly identified suspect ‘extremely disturbing and unacceptable’

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The New York police department has launched an internal investigation after videos posted online showed two police officers repeatedly punching and kicking a man they were attempting to arrest on Tuesday.

In a statement on Wednesday, the New York City police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, said that “there are a number of videos circulating online of an incident that occurred yesterday inside a store in Brooklyn involving two members of the NYPD.

Published: April 16, 2026, 2:47 pm

Millionaires fund last-ditch attempt to save humpback whale stranded in Germany

Critics say efforts to rescue the animal, nicknamed Timmy, unlikely to succeed and could lead to further harm

A last-ditch effort to rescue a wayward whale that has transfixed Germans for weeks has begun in the Baltic Sea despite criticism it has little chance of success and could further harm the 12-tonne creature.

The male humpback whale was first spotted last month near Timmendorfer Strand on the northern coast of Germany, giving rise to its nickname Timmy. It has repeatedly become stranded and then freed itself after human assistance but it is now stranded again, with rescuers saying it is fighting a losing battle for its life.

Published: April 16, 2026, 3:37 pm

At least 17 people killed in Russia’s deadliest attack on Ukraine this year

More than 100 injured across country after Russia launches nearly 700 drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles

Russia has carried out its deadliest attack against Ukraine this year, killing at least 17 people and injuring more than 100 in a wave of drone and missile strikes across the country.

Nine people died in the southern port city of Odesa and four were killed in Kyiv, including a 12-year-old boy. There were three fatalities in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Another person died in Zaporizhzhia oblast.

Published: April 16, 2026, 2:22 pm

Europe has only six weeks’ supply of jet fuel left owing to Iran war, says energy chief

There will be flight cancellations ‘soon’ if oil supplies are not restored in coming weeks, says head of IEA

• Business live – latest updates

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Europe has only six weeks of jet fuel left before shortages will hit because of the Iran war, according to the head of a global energy watchdog.

Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, said there would be flight cancellations “soon” if oil supplies from the Middle East were not restored within the coming weeks.

Published: April 16, 2026, 4:59 pm

Armed robbers hold 25 people hostage at Naples bank before fleeing through hole in floor

Thieves believed to have escaped into sewers after holding staff and customers in Crédit Agricole branch for two hours

Armed robbers held 25 people hostage at a bank in Naples for two hours on Thursday, before fleeing through a tunnel.

The three thieves entered a branch of Crédit Agricole in the southern Italian city at about 11.30am, taking hostage staff and customers, who were freed by police a couple of hours later.

Published: April 16, 2026, 6:08 pm

Massive Attack: Boots on the Ground (ft Tom Waits) review – first single in a decade is a dark hymn for our times

(Play It Again Sam)
Unsettling breathing, arrhythmic clatter, gloomy piano and military snares underpin a Beefheartian portrayal of a boorish warmonger on the band’s ominous return

Even by the standards of a band noted for their unhurried approach, Massive Attack’s recorded output has dwindled to a trickle in recent years. They’ve seldom been out of the press, but less as a result of their music than their political campaigning: frontman Robert Del Naja was among the 500 people arrested at last Saturday’s Palestine Action protest. It is six years since they last released any new music – a trio of YouTube videos on which their music effectively acted as a soundbed for spoken-word pieces about global system change – and a decade since they released something you could actually buy, a single called The Spoils. Their most recent album, Heligoland, came out in 2010: Taylor Swift was still a country star, Harry Styles was still at school, Instagram and TikTok had yet to be launched.

It means that any new release automatically carries a sense of event, particularly if you’re old enough to remember how significantly Massive Attack altered the musical landscape of the 90s. You could formulate an argument that their debut album, Blue Lines, was the single most influential British album of its era: it spawned an entire subgenre, trip-hop, in its wake; 35 years on, you can still hear its echoes everywhere, from the mainstream pop of Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey to the nu-soul of Joy Crookes and Greentea Peng to the endless swathes of anonymous “lo-fi beats” that get millions of streams on Spotify.

Published: April 16, 2026, 9:00 am

Asha Bhosle obituary

One of the great Bollywood singers whose thousands of songs ranged from ghazals to dance tunes and pop

Asha Bhosle, who has died aged 92, was the best-known singer in India, an extraordinary artist whose career spanned over eight decades, during which she recorded about 12,000 songs.

She first became famous as a playback singer – recording songs that would then be lip-synced by actors in Bollywood movies. Though she was not on screen, her voice made her even more celebrated than those pretending to sing her songs. She also recorded extensively under her own name, and after establishing her reputation in Asia became known to western audiences first through Brimful of Asha, the 1997 tribute song by Cornershop, and then through her collaborations with musicians as varied as Boy George, Kronos Quartet and, most recently, Gorillaz.

Published: April 16, 2026, 12:43 pm

The Mummy review – classic monster gets dug up for unravelling resurrection

Irish director Lee Cronin follows his Evil Dead reboot with what feels like another Evil Dead film but without a real sense of humour

Warner Bros would prefer that you referred to their new hard R take on The Mummy as Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, a bafflingly grandiose insistence that has earned some deserved ridicule online over the past few weeks. It’s partly to separate it from Universal’s upcoming return to the 90s-00s franchise (Blumhouse, the horror hit-makers behind the film, on X posted: “BRENDAN FRASER IS NOT IN LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY” last week) as well as what those films represented – safe, family-friendly and easily theme park-able. It’s also an attempt to capitalise on our pop auteur moment, one that Warners has helped to create with Ryan Coogler and Zach Cregger both front and centre of the campaigns for their hit genre films last year (The Mummy’s trailer notably heralds it as “from the studio who brought you Weapons” as if that were to mean all that much).

While it is refreshing to see a studio focus on pushing a director over an actor (the last attempt at a Mummy movie relied on the star power of Tom Cruise, a decision that couldn’t stop the film from losing a considerable amount of money), it also speaks to an unearned indulgence and an expedited crowning of a genius before one has really had the chance to prove oneself (a lose-lose of-the-moment trend we need to move away from and one that, to his credit, Cronin was unsure about being a part of). Cronin, an Irish film-maker who has made just two films to date (The Hole in the Ground and Evil Dead Rise), is an undeniable visual talent but his Mummy is also absurdly, watch-checkingly overlong (134 minutes is an unacceptable length for a genre film as thin as this), tonally unsure and, fatally, not all that scary. It’s also, for something so clearly attributed to just one person, a film so deeply influenced by the work of many, many others. It might not feel like a Mummy movie you’ve seen before but it’ll feel like a great deal else.

Published: April 16, 2026, 1:26 pm

The Fear of 13 review – Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson lead sturdy, safe Broadway transfer

James Earl Jones theatre, New York

There’s a strong emotional pull to this fact-based story of injustice, but on stage it’s all a little too polite to truly soar

If the meat and potatoes of Death of a Salesman comes at too high a ticket cost, one needs venture only a few blocks south and a half-block east to get a (slightly) more affordable version of standard-issue Broadway fare. The Fear of 13, from playwright Lindsey Ferrentino, is so earnest and accessible one could almost mistake it for a filmed biopic of the sort that premieres in the fall with hopes of awards attention. Like those films, Ferrentino’s play is sturdy, dependable and mostly unremarkable.

The true story on which the play is based is certainly of note, one of all too many instances in the US of a person wrongfully imprisoned for decades. The Fear of 13 concerns Nick Yarris, who spent a troubled youth addicted to drugs and stealing cars before he was railroaded into a murder conviction, which came with a death sentence. Yarris maintained his innocence throughout his 22 years on death row, enlisting the help of various lawyers and a volunteer, Jackie Schaffer, whom he married while still incarcerated. Yarris was eventually exonerated based on DNA evidence and turned his hardship into a memoir and a documentary, which make up the narrative foundation of the play.

Published: April 16, 2026, 3:00 am

‘A feeling of ecstasy’: how Anne Hathaway and FKA twigs created the thunderous Mother Mary soundtrack

The stars of David Lowery’s psychodrama on the secrets behind creating music for a fictional pop diva

As David Lowery, the director, was writing the fictional pop star Mother Mary for his new film of the same name, he spent a lot of time studying the last 25 years in music. He listened to Taylor Swift (whose Reputation concert film inspired the performances in the film), Lorde and FKA twigs, who appears on screen as a medium named Imogene. But as the film’s haunted love story between Mary (played by Anne Hathaway) and her former best friend and designer Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel) emerged, his listening habits shifted.

“The pop music fell away and other music started to enter that sphere,” he says in A24’s New York offices. He’s sitting beside twigs and Hathaway the day after the trio attended the film’s premiere in the city. “James Blake and Aldous Harding really captured the emotion that I was trying to type out between Sam and Mother Mary. They began to help me channel the feeling of the movie itself.”

Published: April 16, 2026, 9:00 am

Miroirs No 3 review – Christian Petzold’s elegantly unnerving mystery of grief and family dysfunction

There’s a hint of PD James about this cuckoo in the nest story starring Paula Beer as a depressed pianist

German director Christian Petzold, the Chabrol of modern European cinema, delivers an elegant and disquieting psychological mystery of the sort that doesn’t interest today’s British film-makers, though this one appears to have more than a taste of PD James or Ruth Rendell. There’s also a hint of Joseph Losey’s Accident. It is about family dysfunction and grief and unnervingly lays out the aftermath of a sudden violent trauma. The faint suggestion that the film itself has gone into a kind of shock could have layered the proceedings with something infinitesimally dreamlike and unreal, an atmosphere often to be found in Petzold’s films. What makes this film interesting is that it isn’t heading for a macabre twist or chilling denouement but something positive and even redemptive.

Petzold’s longtime female lead Paula Beer plays Laura, a brilliant pianist studying music in Berlin, clearly in a fragile and depressed state. We are ultimately to see her on stage performing the third movement of Maurice Ravel’s Miroirs, the dreamily rippling A Boat on the Ocean, which gives the film its title. Paula is stuck in an unhappy relationship with boorish would-be music mogul Jakob (Philip Froissant), who one tense afternoon loses control of his open-topped sports car in the Brandenburg countryside. The results are catastrophic for Jakob, but Laura, thrown clear from the passenger seat, miraculously survives with hardly more than a scratch.

Published: April 16, 2026, 8:00 am

90s rock icon Bob Mould: ‘When Cobain died, I pulled the plug – there was nothing worth saving’

Mould’s fearsomely loud power trio Sugar rode the wave of grunge, but called it quits when the scene lost its innocence. Now the band are reuniting – before it’s too late

The beating heart of Sugar was always the sound of Bob Mould’s guitar: a colossal, metallic, thunderous thing, like a sonic boom you could whistle. “It was incredible, being engulfed by that wall of sound,” remembers bassist David Barbe from his office at the University of Georgia, weeks before the group are due to play their first shows in more than three decades. “Bob was so loud, there were times on stage when I could see Malcolm drumming, but I couldn’t actually hear him.”

“I didn’t wear earplugs when I started playing with Bob,” adds Malcolm Travis, the aforementioned drummer, from his home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. “But soon afterwards, I did. It was just deafening.” And while everyone involved is 30 years older than the last time they played together, age has not withered them; anyone who’s caught Mould playing solo in recent years will attest that his guitar is still fearsomely loud.

Published: April 16, 2026, 7:00 am

DJ Shadow: ‘Kraftwerk are a touchstone for every phase of my career’

The hip-hop producer, remixer and crate-digger on staying fresh creatively, the influence of David Lynch and giving away his most valuable record

Can you share any regrets or missed opportunities from your career? nnagewad
In 1999, I was approached by Deftones to work on White Pony, but I had just come off of Unkle’s Psyence Fiction album. I was nursing a hip-hop image and reputation, so I was wary of working with anything that felt like it was too alternative or rock-oriented. So I missed out on being a part of a pretty seminal album. I wouldn’t say it’s a regret, necessarily, because I feel like my rationale was sound, but it’s kind of a missed opportunity.

Was your move towards sample-free production on your recent albums driven by the headache and costliness of sample clearance, a desire to keep the creative process fresh, or a bit of both? EditorialJoe
Definitely both. There have been times in my career where I’ve wondered: at the end of the day, am I going to own only 15% of my catalogue because of all the samples? So that was part of it. But equally, I became known as somebody who was trying to be on the vanguard of making music with samples but I always knew I would want to make music in as many different ways as possible.

Published: April 16, 2026, 2:09 pm

Samuel Hasselhorn: Schubert Hoffnung review – timbral and emotional flexibility is in ample supply

Hasselhorn/Bushakevitz
(Harmonia Mundi)
The German baritone’s all-Schubert disc with pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz is full of communicative diction and poetic phrasing

Now in his mid-30s, German baritone Samuel Hasselhorn is a major player in a veritable rat-pack of high-flying young lieder singers. His growing discography includes an ongoing series with pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz, part of Harmonia Mundi’s Schubert 200 project to record all the composer’s songs, from 1823 onwards, ahead of the 2028 bicentenary of his death.

The year 1826 found Schubert in affirmative mood, a torrent of lieder reflecting a newfound sense of optimism. The album, appropriately entitled Hoffnung, the German word for hope, opens with a nuanced account of the expansive Im Freien. The combination of Hasselhorn’s communicative diction and Bushakevitz’s poetic phrasing brings a rapt intimacy to this six-minute celebration of nocturnal beauty.

Published: April 16, 2026, 2:00 pm

‘Fame quickly became a nightmare’: Preston on Big Brother, falling from a balcony – and reforming the Ordinary Boys

‘Trauma-bonding’ with his future wife on Big Brother, selling their wedding pics to OK!, walking off Buzzcocks, writing hits for stars like Kylie and Olly Murs … as the singer returns, he looks back at a tumultuous career

‘I hated being famous,” Samuel Preston says. “I hated, hated, hated it.” Twenty years ago, Preston, who presented himself by his surname to emulate Morrissey, was experiencing a very intense type of notoriety. He had been NME-famous with Worthing band the Ordinary Boys, whose socially conscious ska-influenced indie-punk had a strong cult following known as the Ordinary Army, thanks to hits such as Boys Will Be Boys. But his stint in the 2006 edition of Celebrity Big Brother, and the national interest in his will-they-won’t-they relationship with fellow contestant Chantelle Houghton – the fake “celebrity” sent in to dupe the B-listers – was what sent his profile through the roof.

After leaving the show, he says, “I was on loads of Prozac. I was in a weird space.” Now, after years living on-off in the US, becoming a successful songwriter for hire (to the likes of Kylie Minogue, Cher, Olly Murs, Liam Payne and Jessie Ware), and surviving a near-death experience and OxyContin addiction, Preston is making a comeback with the Ordinary Boys. The band’s new single Peer Pressure is their first music since 2015 (not counting a Christmas single with Olly Murs).

Published: April 16, 2026, 4:00 am

The Possibility of Tenderness by Jason Allen-Paisant audiobook review – meditations on nature and belonging

The poet reconnects with the landscape of the May Day Mountains in Jamaica where he grew up in a personal story of migration, race and rural life

An award-winning poet living in Roundhay Park, Leeds, Jason Allen-Paisant spent his early childhood living with his grandmother in Coffee Grove, a hilly rural district of Jamaica which was cut off from basic amenities such as electricity and water. Seen through the eyes of a child, Coffee Grove was, he notes, “both a tiny place and a huge planet”. There he developed a close relationship with the local plant life through climbing trees, picking fruit and helping his grandmother harvest yams on the “grung”, the local name for their small plot of land.

Allen-Paisant later yearned for pastures new, moving first to Paris and then to Britain to study at Oxford. His dream of upward mobility had become a reality, yet in the UK he noticed his interactions with nature were few and far between. He came to realise “just how much class keeps people in Britain from the privileges of land and soil and also keeps them from the tenderness that comes with forming kinship with the earth”.

Published: April 16, 2026, 2:01 pm

Pragmata review – soulful sad dad saga in stunning outer space

PlayStation 5 (version tested), Xbox, PC, Switch 2; Capcom
Engineer Hugh is sent from Earth to investigate a malfunctioning research station and meets a young android who helps him fend off murderous mechs

When Pragmata was announced alongside the PlayStation 5 in 2020, its shiny trailer promised slick sci-fi action in outer space. While it certainly delivers those futuristic thrills in spades, what I didn’t expect was a tender tale of paternal love. This is Capcom’s belated, surprisingly soulful first entry into gaming’s sad dad genre.

In this near-future fiction, a corporation named Delphi has established a research station on the moon’s surface to experiment with advanced 3D printing tech, using “Lunafilament” to easily recreate everything from tools to entire buildings. Predictably, things soon go very wrong. As the station suddenly goes dark, engineer Hugh is sent from Earth to investigate.

Pragmata is out April 17; £49.99

Published: April 16, 2026, 7:30 am

Top Gun 3 officially confirmed with Tom Cruise returning

Paramount confirmed the actor will play flying ace Maverick again in one of first major films in new era

Tom Cruise is heading to the skies once again with the confirmation of Top Gun 3.

While a sequel had been reportedly in the works since 2024, this week saw an official announcement from Paramount during the annual CinemaCon presentation. The 63-year-old will headline the third film in the action drama series with no other returning cast members confirmed.

Published: April 16, 2026, 6:17 pm

Artists, clowns, runaways: a stay at the Chelsea Hotel – in pictures

Patti Smith lived there in ‘creative chaos’, while others paid their bills with paintings. Fellow guest Albert Scopin unpacked his camera to capture the iconic New York hotel and its clientele

Published: April 16, 2026, 6:00 am

‘Designed to disorient’: LA art museum unveils enormous concrete gallery, 20 years in the making

Stretched across a boulevard and shaped like an ‘amoeba’, the divisive Geffen Galleries open next week

Two decades ago, the new director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma) began a project to revitalize the space for the 21st century. On Wednesday, the institution unveiled the results of that $724m effort: the David Geffen Galleries, a hulking, curving concrete building that spans Wilshire Boulevard.

In a city of striking modern architecture, from the Getty Museum to the Disney Concert Hall, the opening is a landmark event. The project, whose unconventional shape has been likened to an amoeba, has inspired praise and polarization.

Published: April 16, 2026, 12:31 am

First trailer released for western starring AI version of Val Kilmer

Footage of As Deep As the Grave screened in the US, featuring an authorised visual deepfake of the actor who died in 2025

A trailer has been released for the first film to star an authorised generative AI version of a major Hollywood actor.

Val Kilmer was cast in western As Deep As the Grave before his death in April 2025. Production delays meant he never shot any scenes, but the creative team worked with UK-based company Sonantic to create an AI speaking voice based on his old recordings.

Published: April 16, 2026, 1:42 pm

You be the judge: should my girlfriend change the way she bags her supermarket shopping?

Dougie and Teresa don’t see eye to eye when it comes to supermarket packing. You decide whose argument checks out

• Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror

She says if you’re bagging stuff at the checkout, you’re holding up the people behind you

He just doesn’t understand the system. The packing shelves at the back are there to help customers

Published: April 16, 2026, 7:00 am

Meghan’s Sydney wellness retreat promises ‘a girls’ weekend like no other’ – but what does a $3,200 ticket buy?

The top-secret program for the Her Best Life event at a beachside luxury hotel has been leaked. But is it legit?

Hi Caitlin. The top-secret program for Meghan’s Her Best Life retreat in Sydney has reportedly been leaked – but is it legit?

Hi Daisy. Well, maybe. Social media and news outlets kicked into a frenzy after the apparent full itinerary was published online this week, partially because so much of the women’s wellness retreat has remained a mystery.

Published: April 16, 2026, 6:33 am

The surprising value of boring chats, ‘super El Niño’ and Alzheimer’s evidence reviewed – podcast

Madeleine Finlay sits down with co-host and science editor Ian Sample to discuss three eye-catching stories from the week, including a review into the effectiveness of a new class of Alzheimer’s drug that was once hailed as a game-changer in slowing the progress of the disease. Also on the agenda is the news that the world could be heading for a ‘super El Niño’ this summer and a study exploring whether conversations about dull topics really are as boring as we expect them to be

Hate small talk? You may enjoy that ‘dull’ chat more than you think, say researchers

Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod

Published: April 16, 2026, 4:00 am

Stella McCartney launches sustainable collection with H&M

British designer aims to bring eco-friendly awareness to the high street in second collection with retailer

Stella McCartney, the luxury fashion designer who refuses to use leather, fur or feathers, is returning to the high street for a sustainable collection with H&M.

The collaboration between the British designer and the Swedish retail company will go on sale in May.

Published: April 16, 2026, 7:00 am

Wildings in Newport, Wales: the grand department store that became an illicit cannabis farm

For decades, Wildings was the poshest shop in town. But since it closed down in 2019, the storied building has fallen into disrepair and been commandeered as a drug den and a skate park. What happened?

I’m standing outside a lift in a department store in Newport, Wales, looking at the sign, wondering where to go. Stay on the ground floor for shoes, giftware and presents, ladies’ accessories and Estée Lauder? Or up to the first floor for furniture and ladies’ fashions – Annabelle, Tigi-Wear, Autonomy? It’s the second floor for cookshop and homeware. Lingerie is on three, plus Alfred’s coffee shop and tea room. Maybe I’ll go straight there for a cappuccino and a ponder …

But nothing happens when I press the button. The panel is hanging from the wall by its wires and doesn’t look safe. I’d be nervous about stepping into this lift. Plus, it’s dark. I’m using the torch on my phone to read the sign. There’s no giftware on this floor, no presents, no cosmetics counter. Once, this floor would have smelled of perfume; now, it’s musty, cold and empty. Because, on 19 January 2019, after 144 years of trading, this department store, Wildings, closed its doors for ever.

Published: April 16, 2026, 9:00 am

Utah passes new law to combat overcharges at dollar stores after Guardian investigation

Investigation of Family Dollar and Dollar General prompts lawmakers to double penalties for retailers that repeatedly charge more at checkout than prices listed on shelves

Utah lawmakers have voted to stiffen penalties on retailers who chronically overcharge customers.

The new state law, which takes effect on 6 May, was introduced in direct response to a Guardian investigation of pricing practices at two national chains, Dollar General and Family Dollar, according to an official who oversees the state’s price-accuracy inspections.

Published: April 16, 2026, 11:00 am

Tell us: do you use AI for fitness?

Is AI helping with your workouts? We want to hear about it

According to reports, people are incorporating AI into their fitness routines in a variety of ways; they have it write up training plans, design meal plans and workout playlists, and provide feedback on form.

We want to hear from you: how are you using AI in your workouts?

Published: April 16, 2026, 3:55 pm

A water fight in Laos and a coal-fired Fiat: photos of the day – Thursday

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

Published: April 16, 2026, 12:51 pm