‘It would take 11 seconds to hit the ground’: the roughneck daredevils who built the Empire State Building

They wrestled steel beams, hung off giant hooks and tossed red hot rivets – all while ‘strolling on the thin edge of nothingness’. Now the 3,000 unsung heroes who raised the famous skyscraper are finally being celebrated

Poised on a steel cable a quarter of a mile above Manhattan, a weather-beaten man in work dungarees reaches up to tighten a bolt. Below, though you hardly dare to look down, lies the Hudson River, the sprawling cityscape of New York and the US itself, rolling out on to the far horizon. If you fell from this rarefied spot, it would take about 11 seconds to hit the ground.

Captured by photographer Lewis Hine, The Sky Boy, as the image became known, encapsulated the daring and vigour of the men who built the Empire State Building, then the world’s tallest structure at 102 storeys and 1,250ft (381m) high. Like astronauts, they were going to places no man had gone before, testing the limits of human endurance, giving physical form to ideals of American puissance, “a land which reached for the sky with its feet on the ground”, according to John Jakob Raskob, then one of the country’s richest men, who helped bankroll the building.

Published: December 1, 2025, 2:00 pm

‘It was extremely pornographic’: Cara Hunter on the deepfake video that nearly ended her political career

The Irish politician was targeted in 2022, in the final weeks of her run for office. She has never found out who made the malicious deepfake, but knew immediately she had to try to stop this happening to other women

When Cara Hunter, the Irish politician, looks back on the moment she found out she had been deepfaked, she says it is “like watching a horror movie”. The setting is her grandmother’s rural home in the west of Tyrone on her 90th birthday, April 2022. “Everyone was there,” she says. “I was sitting with all my closest family members and family friends when I got a notification through Facebook Messenger.” It was from a stranger. “Is that you in the video … the one going round on WhatsApp?” he asked.

Hunter made videos all the time, especially then, less than three weeks before elections for the Northern Ireland assembly. She was defending her East Londonderry seat, campaigning, canvassing, debating. Yet, as a woman, this message from a man she didn’t know was enough to put her on alert. “I replied that I wasn’t sure which video he was talking about,” Hunter says. “So he asked, did I want to see it?” Then he sent it over.

Published: December 1, 2025, 5:00 am

Is it true that … a glass of wine a day is good for your heart?

Moderate wine consumption may benefit your cardiac health, but foods such as grapes and berries offer similar advantages without the negative effects

“People shouldn’t think that drinking wine is good for you,” says Dr Oliver Guttmann, a consultant cardiologist at the Wellington hospital in London.

Alcohol consumption is linked to high blood pressure, liver disease, digestive, mental health and immune system problems, as well as cancer.

Published: December 1, 2025, 8:00 am

In the NFL’s season of meh, even the battered 49ers are Super Bowl contenders

San Francisco are a flawed team with serious injuries. But with no great teams in the league this year, the playoffs are wide open

The 49ers’ season felt over after Week 6’s loss to Tampa Bay. Yes, they were 4-2. Yes, they were tied with the Seahawks and Rams and had already won head-to-head games against both. But that’s when they hit rock bottom. All Pro linebacker Fred Warner was the latest casualty, following in the footsteps of All Pro edge rusher Nick Bosa with a season-ending injury. Brock Purdy had also struggled with injuries. George Kittle was hurt in Week 1. Both were not expected to return for several games. Brandon Aiyuk had no plans to play any time soon, at least not for San Francisco. By Week 7, the only big names in action were Christian McCaffrey and Trent Williams.

Dire as the 49ers appeared on paper, they hung in. It helped that the Cardinals, Falcons, Giants, and Panthers featured in their upcoming schedule. They beat all four of them, losing only to the Texans and Rams in the next few weeks. None of the wins inspired much confidence, though. The Cardinals outgained the 49ers by 200 yards. Purdy threw three interceptions against the Panthers.

Published: December 1, 2025, 8:00 am

‘It’s going much too fast’: the inside story of the race to create the ultimate AI

In Silicon Valley, rival companies are spending trillions of dollars to reach a goal that could change humanity – or potentially destroy it

On the 8.49am train through Silicon Valley, the tables are packed with young people glued to laptops, earbuds in, rattling out code.

As the northern California hills scroll past, instructions flash up on screens from bosses: fix this bug; add new script. There is no time to enjoy the view. These commuters are foot soldiers in the global race towards artificial general intelligence – when AI systems become as or more capable than highly qualified humans.

Published: December 1, 2025, 10:00 am

The one change that worked: I used to be a compulsive shopper – until I hit upon a simple trick

The minute I had any disposable income, I would spend it on things I didn’t need. Deciding to wait a day before handing over my money changed everything

One day at work two years ago, a notification hit my phone: my paycheck had come through. It was a fair amount for someone still at university, so I did what I always did when payday arrived: I opened every shopping app on my phone. Amazon, Vinted, Etsy, Depop, Zara, you name it. Within the space of an hour, I had spent £90 on clothes, decorative items and a completely useless weighted blanket I never touched.

A few days later, I went online again and bought a hairdryer. I already owned one, but thought another couldn’t hurt. Then I added LED strip lights and two pairs of shoes that weren’t even my size. This wasn’t new behaviour. In fact, I’d been notorious for it ever since I could afford to buy my own things.

Published: December 1, 2025, 11:00 am

Trump reportedly gave Maduro ultimatum to relinquish power in Venezuela

US president sent a ‘blunt message’ to his South American counterpart, sources say

• How US campaign against Venezuela has unfolded

• US politics – live updates

Donald Trump reportedly gave Nicolás Maduro an ultimatum to relinquish power immediately during their recent call – but Venezuela’s authoritarian leader declined, demanding a “global amnesty” for himself and allies.

On Sunday, the US president confirmed the call had taken place, telling reporters: “I wouldn’t say it went well or badly, it was a phone call.”

Published: December 1, 2025, 12:34 pm

Zelenskyy sets out Ukraine’s red lines in press conference with Macron – Europe live

Ukrainian president says focus remains on security guarantees, maintaining sovereignty and territory

UK prime minister Keir Starmer is delivering a major economy speech this morning.

You can follow all the key lines on our UK live blog with my colleague Andrew Sparrow, but there’s a particular line of argument that will no doubt reasonate in Europe, too.

“Let me be crystal clear, there is no credible economic vision for Britain that does not position us as an open, trading economy.

So we must all now confront the reality that the Brexit deal we have significantly hurt our economy and so for economic renewal, we have to keep reducing frictions.

Published: December 1, 2025, 5:07 pm

FBI under Kash Patel has become ‘internally paralyzed by fear’, new report reveals

Leaked assessment based on confidential accounts from 24 FBI sources describes organization as a ‘rudderless ship’

• US politics live – latest updates

The FBI director, Kash Patel, is “in over his head” and leading a “chronically under-performing” agency paralyzed by fear and plummeting morale, according to a scathing 115-page report compiled by a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI special agents and analysts.

The leaked assessment, obtained by the New York Post and prepared for both congressional Senate and House judiciary committees, is based on confidential accounts from 24 FBI sources.

Published: December 1, 2025, 4:40 pm

Democrats hope for off-year House upset in Tennessee Maga stronghold

Even a close second could be a bellwether of Republican loss of control of House of Representatives in midterms

Fresh off a wave of successes in November’s off-year elections, Democrats are angling for an audacious victory in a Republican-heavy Tennessee congressional district where an upset win could amount to a major blow against Donald Trump’s legislative agenda.

Voters on Tuesday will cast ballots in a special election to replace Mark Green, a Republican representing a middle Tennessee district who resigned from Congress in July. Drawn by the state’s Republican leaders to ensure its voters favored their party, the district last year backed Trump and Green by 22-point margins.

Published: December 1, 2025, 1:00 pm

Sri Lanka and Indonesia deploy militaries as Asia floods death toll passes 1,100

Millions of people affected by torrential rainfall in Sri Lanka and large parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia

• How cyclones and monsoon rains combined to devastate parts of Asia – visual guide

Sri Lanka and Indonesia have deployed military personnel as they race to help victims of devastating flooding that has killed more than 1,100 people across four countries in Asia.

Millions of people have been affected by a combination of tropical cyclones and heavy monsoon rains in Sri Lanka, parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, Thailand and Malaysia in recent days.

Published: December 1, 2025, 3:57 pm

WHO says weight loss drugs are ‘new chapter’ in fight against obesity

WHO urges countries to make drugs such as Mounjaro more accessible to people and asks drugs companies to lower prices

Weight loss drugs such as Mounjaro offer huge potential to tackle soaring obesity globally that will affect 2 billion people worldwide by 2030, the World Health Organization has said.

Their proven effectiveness in helping people lose weight means the medications represent “a new chapter” in how health services can treat obesity and the killer diseases it causes, the WHO added.

Published: December 1, 2025, 1:45 pm

Luigi Mangione appears in court as lawyers ask judge to toss evidence

Alleged gunman faces nine charges including second-degree murder in New York state case

Luigi Mangione is appeared in Manhattan state court on Monday for the first day of a potentially weeklong proceeding to weigh the legality of evidence gathered during his arrest after the killing of a prominent healthcare executive.

Mangione was apprehended last December in the murder of senior United HealthCare figure Brian Thompson last December. In addition to state-level charges, he faces a Manhattan federal court case.

Published: December 1, 2025, 3:54 pm

California police plead for details on shooting at child’s party with suspect unknown

Search continues after four people, including three children, were killed and 11 were injured in Stockton

Authorities in California urged witnesses of a deadly shooting at a child’s birthday party to come forward as the search for a suspect stretched into another day.

Three children ages eight, nine and 14 and a 21-year-old were killed on Saturday when gunfire broke out at a banquet hall in Stockton, in northern California. At least 100 people were gathered at the celebration, said the San Joaquin county sheriff, Patrick Withrow. Detectives believe the gunfire continued outside and there may have been multiple shooters.

Published: December 1, 2025, 3:31 pm

Josh Brolin on Donald Trump: ‘There’s no greater genius than him in marketing’

The actor met the future president while making Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, and says he is ‘not scared’ of him

Actor Josh Brolin says President Trump was a “different guy” when he first met him in 2009, and that “there is no greater genius than [Trump] in marketing”.

Brolin was speaking to the Independent to promote his new film Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery and said that while his clergyman character was not based on the president, there was a similarity in that once he “garners a sense of power, then there are no boundaries”.

Published: December 1, 2025, 3:12 pm

Republican whose child has Down syndrome opposes redistricting after Trump’s ableist slur

Michael Bohacek, an Indiana state senator, says US president’s ‘choices of words have consequences’

• US politics live – latest updates

A Republican Indiana lawmaker whose child has Down syndrome has promised to oppose efforts to redraw the state’s congressional map to favor his party after Donald Trump aimed a slur for people with intellectual disabilities at a political opponent.

Michael Bohacek, a member of Indiana’s state senate, wrote Friday on Facebook that he has been “an unapologetic advocate for people with intellectual disabilities” since one of his daughters was born with Down. Referring to how the president used an ableist slur to insult Tim Walz, the Democratic Minnesota governor, a day earlier, Bohacek’s post added, “His choices of words have consequences.”

Published: December 1, 2025, 3:06 pm

Trump’s former lawyer Alina Habba serving unlawfully as US attorney, says appeals court

Habba disqualified from serving as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor, appeals court says

Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Alina Habba, whom his administration has maneuvered to keep in place as New Jersey top federal prosecutor, is disqualified from serving in the role, an appeals court said Monday.

A panel of judges from the third US circuit court of appeals sitting in Philadelphia sided with a lower court judge’s ruling after hearing oral arguments at which Habba herself was present on 20 October.

Published: December 1, 2025, 3:18 pm

Trump says he’ll release MRI results but has ‘no idea’ which body part was scanned

US president, who is 79, spoke about scan amid concerns over his cognitive abilities and mental fitness

• US politics live – latest updates

Donald Trump said he will release the results of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan conducted during his surprise “semiannual physical” in October – but was unable to tell reporters what part of his body was under investigation.

The oldest-ever US president faced questions over the procedure on Air Force One as he traveled back to Washington DC on Sunday night after a Thanksgiving break in Florida. It is the latest episode of recurring concern about the cognitive abilities and mental fitness of the 79-year-old, who insisted he had “aced” earlier tests relating to his brain functioning.

Published: December 1, 2025, 3:20 pm

Cooking with gas gets more expensive as Americans face rising prices into 2026

Trump promised to cut consumers’ energy costs within his first year in office but gas price is up 4% on average

Americans using gas stoves to cook during the holidays, or any other meal in the near future, are set for persistently higher bills, with the price of gas expected to keep rising into next year.

US households will pay 4% more for gas power this year, on average, compared with 2024, with the industrial and power plant sectors experiencing a much higher price rise, a recent analysis from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has found.

Published: December 1, 2025, 12:30 pm

Aipac over affordability: Democratic candidates come under fire for support of Israel

Democrats like congressman Ritchie Torres face backlash for pro-Israel stances as Americans’ views of Israel sour

At a campaign event in the Bronx last month, a congressional candidate quizzed a cheering crowd: “What do you think would happen if the US ended all aid to Israel?” At a Thanksgiving gathering with voters, another candidate in the same race fielded questions about affordability – but also about “moral leadership” when it came to Israel’s war in Gaza. A third candidate vying for the same seat devoted much of his campaign’s launch video to lambasting the current member of Congress representing the district over the funding he’s received from the pro-Israel lobby.

The incumbent in question – congressman Ritchie Torres – is one of the most staunchly pro-Israel advocates in Congress. Dalourny Nemorin, one of his challengers for the Democratic nomination to represent the district calls him the “poster boy” for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or Aipac. “Ritchie Torres cares more about Bibi than he does about the Bronx,” Michael Blake, another challenger, said in the launch video.

Published: December 1, 2025, 12:00 pm

California dreaming: who is running to succeed Gavin Newsom as governor?

More than 95 candidates have submitted paperwork but here are the early frontrunners for next year’s election

The race is on to succeed Gavin Newsom, the California governor with presidential ambitions whose terms runs out next year – and it’s already a crowded field.

More than 95 candidates have so far submitted paperwork indicating their intention to run, though the official filing period doesn’t start until 9 February.

Published: December 1, 2025, 2:00 pm

The question isn’t whether the AI bubble will burst – but what the fallout will be

Will the bubble ravage the economy when it bursts? What will it leave of value once it pops?

The California Gold Rush left an outsized imprint on America. Some 300,000 people flocked there from 1848 to 1855, from as far away as the Ottoman Empire. Prospectors massacred Indigenous people to take the gold from their lands in the Sierra Nevada mountains. And they boosted the economies of nearby states and faraway countries from whence they bought their supplies.

Gold provided the motivation for California – a former Mexican territory then controlled by the US military – to become a state with laws of its own. And yet, few “49ers” as prospectors were known, struck it rich. It was the merchants selling prospectors food and shovels who made the money. One, a Bavarian immigrant named Levi Strauss who sold denim overalls to the gold bugs passing through San Francisco, may be the most remembered figure of his day.

Published: December 1, 2025, 11:00 am

I’m part of the triple-decker sandwich generation. You probably are as well

You’ve heard of caregivers in the sandwich generation. In this anti-compassion Trump 2.0 era, it’s more like a triple-decker sandwich. Alissa Quart has experienced this first-hand

It was a crisp autumn day day, but I had been trapped inside for hours, breathing the cold air of one of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s cancer centers with my mom. We were waiting for her latest infusion to finish dripping.

Time in hospitals moves differently – minutes stretch and lose their meaning. Meanwhile, my daughter kept calling. Would I be able to go to her school volleyball game? After a few calls, I had to break it to her: the answer was no.

Published: December 1, 2025, 4:28 pm

Marty Supreme review – Timothée Chalamet a smash in spectacular screwball ping-pong nightmare

Following every dizzying spin of Chalamet’s table tennis hustler, Josh Safdie’s whip-crack comedy serves sensational shots – and a smart return by Gwyneth Paltrow

This new film from Josh Safdie has the fanatical energy of a 149-minute ping pong rally carried out by a single player running round and round the table. It’s a marathon sprint of gonzo calamities and uproar, a sociopath-screwball nightmare like something by Mel Brooks – only in place of gags, there are detonations of bad taste, cinephile allusions, alpha cameos, frantic deal-making, racism and antisemitism, sentimental yearning and erotic adventures. It’s a farcical race against time where no one needs to eat or sleep.

Timothée Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a spindly motormouth with the glasses of an intellectual, the moustache of a movie star and the physique of a tiny cartoon character. He’s loosely inspired by Marty “The Needle” Reisman, a real-life US table tennis champ from the 1950s who was given to Bobby Riggs-type shenanigans: betting, hustling and showmanship stunts. The movie probably earns the price of admission simply with one gasp-inducing setpiece involving whippet-thin Chalamet, a dog, a bathtub, cult director Abel Ferrara in a walk-on role and a scuzzy New York hotel room. Talk about not being on firm ground. Similarly disorientating is the climactic revelation of Chalamet’s naked buttocks prior to one of the most upsetting displays of corporal punishment since Lindsay Anderson’s If….

Published: December 1, 2025, 5:00 pm

‘We didn’t think Back to the Future sounded plausible – or good’: Huey Lewis and the News on The Power of Love

‘I told the producers I didn’t know how to do a song for a film – and added that, frankly, I didn’t fancy writing one called Back to the Future. They said, “No problem, just give us one of your songs”’

Steven Spielberg and Bob Zemeckis asked to meet us, along with Bob Gale and Neil Canton. They said they’d just written this film whose lead character was a guy called Marty McFly, and whose favourite band would be Huey Lewis and the News. They asked: “How about writing a song for the film?” I said: “I’m flattered but I don’t know how to write for film necessarily. And frankly, I don’t fancy writing a song called Back to the Future.” They said: “No problem. We just want one of your songs.” I said: “Tell you what, we’ll send you the next one we work on.”

Published: December 1, 2025, 2:45 pm

It's not just Gaza. From the West Bank to Syria and Lebanon, Israel's onslaught continues | Nesrine Malik

Broken ceasefires, bombing, ground incursions and mounting deaths: Israeli imperialism is now expanding across the region

It is clear now that the ceasefire in Gaza is only a “reducefire”. The onslaught continues. There are near-daily attacks on the territory. On a single day at the end of October, almost 100 Palestinians were killed. On 19 November, 32 were killed. On 23 November, 21. And on it goes. Since the ceasefire, more than 300 have been killed and almost 1,000 injured. Those numbers will rise. The real shift is that the ceasefire has reduced global attention and scrutiny. Meanwhile, Israel’s emerging blueprint becomes clearer: bloody domination not only in Gaza, but across Palestine and the wider region.

A “dangerous illusion that life in Gaza is returning to normal”, is how Amnesty International’s secretary general, Agnès Callamard, described this post-ceasefire period. Israeli authorities have reduced attacks and allowed some aid into Gaza, she said, but “the world must not be fooled. Israel’s genocide is not over.” Not a single hospital in Gaza has returned to being fully operational. The onset of rain and cooling weather has left thousands exposed in dilapidated tents. Since the ceasefire on 10 October, almost 6,500 tonnes of UN-coordinated relief materials have been denied entry into Gaza by Israeli authorities. According to Oxfam, in the two weeks after the ceasefire alone, shipments of water, food, tents and medical supplies from 17 international NGOs were denied.

Published: December 1, 2025, 6:00 am

China is bearing down on Taiwan – enabled by Trump’s weakness and vacillation | Simon Tisdall

The US hasn’t just left Ukraine vulnerable; it is also provoking Xi’s intensifying attitude towards what he considers a renegade province

Sheer ignorance, fed by malign intent, historical prejudice and mutual misunderstanding, is often the crucial spark that ignites simmering international conflicts. If Adolf Hitler, remarkably ignorant of the US, had grasped the true extent of American industrial might, would he still have fatefully declared war on Washington in 1941?

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, it evidently had no idea what it was getting into. Humiliating defeat contributed greatly to its subsequent disintegration. In 1990, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein attacked Kuwait, convinced he had a green light from the White House. In all these cases, stupidity produced disastrous misjudgments that proved fatal.

Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator

Published: November 30, 2025, 8:00 am

Hello, foreign oligarchs and corporations! Please come and sue the UK for billions | George Monbiot

The case of a planned Cumbrian coalmine shows how governments around the world are being threatened by litigation in shadowy offshore courts

How do you reckon our political system works? Perhaps something like this. We elect MPs. They vote on bills. If a majority is achieved, the bills becomes law. The law is upheld by the courts. End of story. Well, that’s how it used to work. No longer.

Today, foreign corporations, or the oligarchs who own them, can sue governments for the laws they pass, at offshore tribunals composed of corporate lawyers. The cases are held in secret. Unlike our courts, these tribunals allow no right of appeal or judicial review. You or I cannot take a case to them, nor can our government, or even businesses based in this country. They are open only to corporations based overseas.

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

Published: December 1, 2025, 8:00 am

The US love of football is reaching new levels. Just look at Arsenal super-fan Zohran Mamdani | Bryan Armen Graham

The New York mayor-elect’s devotion to a north London club shows how the global game is winning hearts across the US

• Bryan Armen Graham is the deputy sport editor of Guardian US

When Zohran Mamdani made an appearance on The Adam Friedland Show last week, the newly elected mayor of New York was expecting the typical nimble rundown of politics, jokes and conversational detours. What he wasn’t expecting was Ian Wright suddenly filling a phone screen with a congratulatory video. The former England and Arsenal striker saluted him on “what you’ve achieved”, urged him to channel that “winning energy” into the job ahead before signing off with a nod to the Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta. Mamdani cheesed guilelessly as it played before finally blurting out: “I love this man.”

For a moment, the incoming mayor of the most powerful city in the United States was simply another geeked-out Arsenal obsessive left weak by one of his childhood heroes. And in that moment lies something revealing about how football fandom in the US has changed. This was not a politician deploying a sports reference for relatability; it was a display of genuine allegiance that’s planted at the intersection of two different stories about how Americans have come to love the global game.

Bryan Armen Graham is the deputy sport editor of Guardian US

Published: December 1, 2025, 10:00 am

‘Conversion therapy’ is homophobic and dangerous. Yet it threatens to make a comeback | David Kirp

Bans on the dangerous practice, condemned by national mental health organizations, could soon be struck down

Homosexuality is an illness that therapists can and should cure: that’s the rationale for “conversion therapy”, a practice promoted as a way to change an individual’s sexual orientation from gay to straight.

But a host of studies conclude that such counseling doesn’t work – small wonder, since sexual orientation is a core part of an individual’s identity. It’s also potentially harmful, especially for minors. Research shows that youth subjected to conversion practices, often at the insistence of misguided parents, are prone to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness and suicide.

David Kirp is professor emeritus at the University of California-Berkeley and a frequent Guardian contributor.

In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. 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: December 1, 2025, 11:00 am

Tired of being a woman in 2025? Why not become a nun… | Emma Beddington

Nuns are having a moment. It’s not the religion women crave, however – it’s a sense of purpose, community and peace

Nuns are everywhere – we’ve had Isabella Rossellini’s Sister Agnes stealing the show in Conclave and nuns with main character energy in The Phoenician Scheme, And Just Like That and Nine Perfect Strangers. On #nuntok (yes, a thing), real sisters demystify and give surprisingly irreverent glimpses into their lives. There was the Austrian trio jailbreaking from a care home to return to their beloved convent, and at the other end of the demographic scale, a rise in younger women following, or at least considering, cloistered vocations.

Nun memes have become a jokey shorthand for real dissatisfaction with life as a woman in 2025 – unsolicited dick pics, workplace discrimination and the endless, soul-sapping scroll. They don’t, mostly, express a yearning for strict religiosity or voluntary celibacy, but for community, purpose and a retreat from chaos. It’s the same impulse that attracts women to single-sex communities or makes them pine, like Stella in Bernard MacLaverty’s brilliant Midwinter Break, for béguinages (the lay communities of single women that flourished in the Low Countries in the middle ages). We all just want peace.

Published: December 1, 2025, 11:00 am

Antonelli death threats prompt Red Bull apology over Norris overtake comments

• Norris passed Mercedes driver near finish of Qatar GP

• Red Bull had initially hinted at foul play in title fight

The Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has received an apology from Red Bull after being subject to death threats amid a torrent of online abuse following suggestions from some members of the Red Bull team that the teenager moved over to allow Lando Norris through at the Qatar Grand Prix.

In the final stages of the race Norris, who had been chasing Antonelli for fourth place, managed to get past the Italian when he made an error at turn nine and went wide through turn 10, ensuring the British driver’s advantage over Verstappen was 12 rather than 10 points going into the last race of the season. That gap means Norris can finish third rather than second at this weekend’s title-deciding finale in Abu Dhabi and still claim the championship from Verstappen, who is in second place.

Published: December 1, 2025, 4:26 pm

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are showing the resilience of champions

In the past, moments like Chelsea’s shorthanded goal might have sent Arsenal reeling. No longer

• Sign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson here

The gap at the top is five points. Arsenal have now played two of their three toughest away games of the season. They’ve come through a potentially extremely tricky week with reputation enhanced, despite being without one of their starting centre-backs for all three games and both for one of them. If there is any sense of disappointment, it is only that they failed to beat Chelsea, whom they have become accustomed to getting the better of, despite having a man advantage from the 38th minute on Sunday.

But really there shouldn’t be any disappointment. Coming out of the international break, having conceded a late equaliser to Sunderland in their previous game, Arsenal looked potentially vulnerable. Despite having been by far the most impressive side this season, their lead over Manchester City was only four points. They were without Gabriel, who probably ranks alongside Declan Rice as their most important player. They faced Tottenham, Bayern and Chelsea over the course of eight days, and Manchester City appeared to be beginning to gather momentum.

Published: December 1, 2025, 3:40 pm

Treylon Burks’ one-handed miracle catch draws comparisons to Odell Beckham’s Giants grab

• One-handed TD catch comes on Sunday Night Football

• Catch draws praise from Beckham himself

Odell Beckham’s Jr’s miracle grab in 2014 may remain the best NFL catch this century, but Treylon Burks’ effort on Sunday pushes it close.

During the third-quarter of Sunday’s game between the Commanders and Broncos, the Washington receiver reached behind him as he fell backwards in the end zone and grabbed a Marcus Mariota pass with his right hand. He secured the ball as he fell to the turf and his touchdown tied the game at 13-13.

Published: December 1, 2025, 3:58 am

Purists be damned: why title-deciding playoffs make soccer sing | Leander Schaerlaeckens

In MLS and NWSL alike, edge-of-your-seat contests have delivered indelible moments that even the best title race run-in can’t match

There’s a TV commercial that’s been running on Apple TV during MLS games for Lowe’s hardware stores. Lionel Messi carefully places a soccer ball on a field, ready to take a free kick. He is flanked by Lionel Messi and Lionel Messi. On the sideline, manager Lionel Messi, assisted by Lionel Messi, gesticulates. Lionel Messi lays off the ball for Lionel Messi, who crosses it to Lionel Messi. Lionel Messi chests and volleys it into the net and is mobbed by another half dozen Lionel Messis (or is it Lionels Messi?).

Facing Inter Miami in the ongoing MLS playoffs must feel more or less like living inside this ad. Before Saturday’s Eastern Conference final against New York City FC, Messi had either scored or assisted on all 12 goals Miami had scored in the postseason. Messi has smashed up the league this year, but he has saved the real savagery for the playoffs.

Published: December 1, 2025, 11:00 am

Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s football

Ruben Amorim is happy to ‘steal’ from others, Phil Foden is central to City and Thomas Frank is in trouble at Tottenham

• Latest Premier League table | Top scorers

As Barney Ronay has noted, Arsenal are facing a weekly renewal of the Game You Just Have to Win If You Want to Be Champions. Did this represent a Game You Just Have to Win Because Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo Was Sent Off? Yes and no. The hosts will naturally be more pleased with a point in the context of the first-half red card, while Arsenal perhaps looked a little jaded and below their best overall. But Enzo Maresca’s side were excellent throughout, despite having to play so much of the match with 10 men, and they deserved something from it. Compared with some Chelsea v Arsenal encounters from the olden days (when more overtly physical iterations of the Blues traditionally used to crush the fragile Gunners) there were no signs of weakness, mental or otherwise, from Arteta’s Premier League leaders in a fierce and physical derby. They will experience few harder tests than this, and a point was fair. Luke McLaughlin

Published: December 1, 2025, 8:00 am

The 100 best female footballers in the world 2025 – Nos 100-71

Signe Gaupset, Rasheedat Ajibade and Lily Yohannes all feature as we start our countdown to the year’s best players

• Meet the judges | 2024 list | 2023 list | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018

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Published: December 1, 2025, 10:29 am

NFL roundup: Panthers shock Rams as Allen sets TD record in Bills’ win over Steelers

• Bryce Young excels in Carolina victory

• Bills QB scores record 76th rushing touchdown

Bryce Young completed 15 of 20 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns – two of them coming on fourth down – and the Carolina Panthers (7-6) forced three turnovers by Matthew Stafford to beat Los Angeles (9-3) and snap the Rams’ six-game winning streak. Carolina’s defense intercepted Stafford twice with Mike Jackson returning one for a 48-yard touchdown and ended the 37-year-old’s NFL record of 28 straight TD passes without an interception. Derrick Brown, who tipped a ball resulting in one of Stafford’s first pick, came up with a key strip-sack with 2:25 left in the game to preserve the win. Stafford completed 18 of 28 passes for 243 yards with two touchdown passes to Davante Adams, his 13th and 14th of the season.

Published: December 1, 2025, 12:46 am

Mikaela Shiffrin claims another slalom victory to stay perfect in Olympic season

• American has won four straight World Cup slaloms

• Victory comes on home snow in Colorado

Mikaela Shiffrin dominated her World Cup slalom on home snow in Colorado on Sunday to remain perfect in the discipline during the Olympic season.

Shiffrin extended her winning streak in slalom to four races after also claiming the opening two races this season and the final event of last season. It was Shiffrin’s record-extending 104th World Cup victory and her 67th in slalom – extending the discipline record, too.

Published: December 1, 2025, 12:09 am

Israeli settlers attack and rob Italian and Canadian volunteers in West Bank

Group beaten in early hours of morning in village where they volunteered to help protect Palestinians from settler violence

Italy and Canada have raised concerns about the treatment of their citizens who were beaten and robbed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Three Italians and a Canadian were attacked early on Sunday morning in the village of Ein al-Duyuk, near Jericho, where they had volunteered to help protect the Palestinian population from intensifying settler violence.

Published: December 1, 2025, 4:40 pm

Hong Kong arrests 13 on suspicion of manslaughter over apartment fires

Authorities face growing criticism for detaining at least two civilians who have called for accountability

Authorities in Hong Kong have arrested 13 people on suspicion of manslaughter in relation to last week’s devastating fire, as they face growing criticism from residents over the arrests under national security laws of at least two civilians calling for accountability.

Emergency services continued to search through the seven towers of the Wang Fuk Court estate in Tai Po on Monday, days after the city’s deadliest fire in 75 years. The death toll rose to 151 and is expected to rise further as the search continues. About 40 people are still missing.

Published: December 1, 2025, 11:12 am

Flight of woman in Slender Man case casts spotlight on system that failed her

Morgan Geyser, who stabbed a classmate as a 12-year-old, fled after a decade being raised by state institutions

The haunting apparition of “Slender Man” reappeared last week when Morgan Geyser, a central character in an 11-year-old attempted murder case, briefly absconded from a Wisconsin care home to which she had been transferred after being released from a psychiatric institution over the summer.

Geyser was 12 in 2014 when she pleaded guilty to stabbing a sixth-grade classmate to appease the mythical Slender Man.

Published: December 1, 2025, 1:00 pm

‘Rage bait’ named word of the year by Oxford University Press

Existence of phrase – to describe content intended to make you angry – shows people are aware of manipulation tactics used online, says Oxford Dictionary publisher

Good news for those who find their blood pressure rising as they scroll through their online news feeds: the Oxford English Dictionary’s publisher has highlighted the term they might need to describe how they often feel, naming “rage bait” as its word of the year.

According to the Oxford University Press’ analysis, use of the phrase has tripled in the past 12 months.

Published: December 1, 2025, 10:26 am

James Cameron says AI actors are ‘horrifying to me’

Avatar director, known for his advocacy of new technology, told interviewer generative AI performance puts ‘all human experience into a blender’

Avatar director James Cameron has called AI actors “horrifying” and said what generative AI technology creates is “an average”.

Cameron was speaking to CBS on Sunday Morning in the run-up to the release of the third Avatar film, subtitled Fire and Ash, and was asked about the pioneering technology he used in his film-making. After praising motion-capture performance as “a celebration of the actor-director moment”, Cameron expressed his disdain for artificial intelligence. “Go to the other end of the spectrum [from motion capture] and you’ve got generative AI, where they can make up a character. They can make up an actor. They can make up a performance from scratch with a text prompt. It’s like, no. That’s horrifying to me. That’s the opposite. That’s exactly what we’re not doing.”

Published: December 1, 2025, 2:21 pm

Suspected members of neo-Nazi terror group arrested in Spain

Three people are accused of belonging to the Base, an ‘accelerationist’ white power organisation founded in the US

Police in Spain have arrested three people on suspicion of belonging to the Base, a global neo-Nazi terrorist group that incites and trains members in techniques to overthrow governments and bring about a race war.

The group, which has been designated a terrorist organisation by the EU, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, is part of a worldwide “accelerationist” white power movement that prepares its cells to carry out violent and destabilising attacks.

Published: December 1, 2025, 1:15 pm

Airbus finds problem with fuselage panels after fixing software glitch

Shares in French manufacturer tumble as second problem comes to light after weekend of flight disruption

Airbus has fixed most of its jets affected by a software glitch after a technical problem grounded thousands of its planes, but its shares tumbled on Monday after it discovered a separate issue with its fuselage panels.

Airlines around the world cancelled and delayed flights over the weekend after the French plane manufacturer ordered immediate repairs to 6,000 of its A320 family of jets, more than half of its global fleet.

Published: December 1, 2025, 2:15 pm

Frozen-in tenor: Italian mayor apologises over Pavarotti statue stuck in ice rink

Late singer’s widow says building ‘ugly’ ice rink around statue in Pesaro is disrespectful and ridicules his memory

An Italian mayor has apologised to the family of Luciano Pavarotti after a Christmas ice rink entrapped a statue of the legendary opera singer – and skaters were invited to “give [him] a high five”.

The lifesize bronze, featuring Pavarotti wearing a tuxedo with his arms outstretched and holding a handkerchief in one hand, was unveiled to much fanfare last year in a square in the centre of Pesaro, a coastal city in the Marche region.

Published: December 1, 2025, 4:32 pm

Long-lost Rubens painting sells for $2.7m at auction

Auctioneer found the Flemish artist’s masterpiece – depicting a crucified Christ – in a Paris mansion as he was preparing for the property to be sold

A long-lost painting by baroque master Peter Paul Rubens has sold at auction in France for €2.3m ($2.7m) – well beyond its asking price.

The work, of Jesus Christ on the cross and painted in 1613, was unearthed by auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat in a Paris mansion last year after being hidden for more than four centuries.

Published: December 1, 2025, 6:14 am

Hole in Antarctic ozone layer shrinks to smallest since 2019, scientists say

EU’s Copernicus monitoring service hails ‘reassuring sign’ of progress observed this year in hole’s size and duration

The hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctic this year was the smallest and shortest-lived since 2019, according to European space scientists, who described the finding as a “reassuring sign” of the layer’s recovery.

The yearly gap in what scientists have called “planetary sunscreen” reached a maximum area of 21m sq km (8.1m sq miles) over the southern hemisphere in September – well below the maximum of 26m sq km reached in 2023 – and shrank in size until coming to an early close on Monday, data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (Cams) shows.

Published: December 1, 2025, 3:53 pm

‘We’re true guardians of the forest’: quilombola community near Belém demand land rights and recognition

Short boat ride from Cop30 host, Afro-descendant residents of Menino Jesus say their voices are not being heard

Walk through the conference centre where the recent UN climate talks were held and representations of Indigenous people and culture were everywhere, from the spear-carrying, fiery-headed Cop30 mascot Curupira to huge mural-sized photos of people navigating the Amazon in dugout canoes and the many protests demanding dialogue outside.

Yet a short boat ride down the river from Belém, into the forest itself, takes you to another forest-dwelling community also fighting for further recognition within the Cop process. The quilombola community of Menino Jesus has existed for six generations. Quilombolas are the descendants of former enslaved people who fled into the forest as a site of refuge. Over hundreds of years, they established a unique way of life separate from mainstream Brazilian society, living in harmony with nature as fugitives protected by the jungle.

Published: December 1, 2025, 3:00 pm

Winter storm brings foot of snow to midwest over busiest US travel weekend

Plane skidded off runway and 45 cars were piled up as 53 million were under winter weather alerts over Thanksgiving

A Thanksgiving weekend storm system brought over a foot of snow and strong winds across the US midwest and thunderstorms across the south, as 53 million people from South Dakota to New York were under winter weather alerts.

Over the weekend, ahead of one of the busiest travel days of the year on Sunday, a 45-car pile-up occurred on interstate 78 in Indiana and a Delta Air Lines plane skidded off the runway in Des Moines, Iowa, during landing.

Published: November 30, 2025, 5:49 pm

Trump invites families of national guard members who were shot to White House

President plans to honor Sarah Beckstrom, who was fatally shot, as well as Andrew Wolfe, who is in critical condition

Donald Trump said on Sunday that he invited the family of a national guard member fatally shot last week to the White House, adding that he spoke to her parents and they were “devastated”.

US army specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed in a shooting on Wednesday in Washington DC. Her fellow service member, US air force staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains hospitalized in critical condition. Vigils across West Virginia have taken place in their memory.

Published: November 30, 2025, 11:29 pm

California police search for suspect who killed four including three children at family party

Victims who died in Stockton attack reportedly between ages eight and 21, while 11 others were wounded

Police are searching for the suspect who killed four people, including three children, and injured 11 in a shooting at a family gathering in Stockton, California, on Saturday night – and they are appealing to the public for any tips people may have.

“If you have surveillance footage, if you’re a local business here, if you’re in the area, live in the area, or maybe you’ve heard rumors – please contact the sheriff’s office,” said Heather Brent, a spokesperson for the San Joaquin county sheriff’s office.

Published: November 30, 2025, 6:08 pm

Power surge: law changes could soon bring balcony solar to millions across US

Tweaks to state laws mean many Americans will be able to benefit from small, simple plug-in solar panels

Acquiring solar panels at home can be an expensive hassle for people in the US. But small, simple, plug-in solar panels for use on balconies are soon to become available for millions of Americans, with advocates hoping the technology will quickly go mainstream.

Earlier this year, Utah became the first state in the country to pass legislation allowing people to purchase and install small, portable solar panels that plug into a standard wall socket.

Published: November 30, 2025, 12:00 pm

Swiss prosecutors file charges against Credit Suisse and UBS over ‘tuna bonds’ scandal

Banks accused of ‘organisational deficiencies’ relating to scam that crashed Mozambique economy nearly a decade ago

• Business live –latest updates

Switzerland’s federal prosecutor has filed charges against the failed bank Credit Suisse and its new owner, UBS, over the long-running “tuna bonds” loan scandal that crashed Mozambique’s economy nearly a decade ago.

The Swiss attorney general said on Monday that it had brought money-laundering charges against an unnamed employee of Credit Suisse, but was also taking action against the lender and its rival-turned-owner UBS.

Published: December 1, 2025, 2:23 pm

St Lucia votes in election dominated by economy, crime and passport sales

Philip Pierre hopes to fend off challenge from former PM Allen Chastanet amid tense relations with US

Voters in St Lucia have gone to the polls to elect a new legislature and choose their prime minister, in a race dominated by debates over economic management, violent crime and passport sales.

The Labour party, led by the prime minister, Philip Pierre, is seeking to fend off a challenge from the conservative opposition leader, Allen Chastanet, who preceded Pierre as prime minister of the island of 180,000 people. Labour holds a strong majority in both of St Lucia’s legislative chambers.

Published: December 1, 2025, 11:37 am

Mall-going but budget-constrained: gen-z shoppers shape the future of retail

Malls are popular with zoomers, but they show less brand loyalty and are happy to settle for ‘dupes’ over the real thing

TikTok finds and homemade gifts, trips to the mall and the endless search for “dupes” – gen Z’s shopping habits are shaking up retail in the run-up to Christmas. And with price tags climbing and brand loyalty slipping, retailers this season must work harder to earn this generation’s dollar.

Gen Z’s spending power is expected to near $12tn by 2030. But this year those aged 13 to 28 are expected to cut their holiday spending by a whopping 23% – a sharper decline compared to other generations – according to a recent PwC report.

Published: December 1, 2025, 11:00 am

Rising levels of hate forcing women out of Swedish public life, says equality agency

Country seen as champion of equal rights faces reckoning after senior politician says she felt compelled to quit

Increasing hate, threats and harassment against female politicians are scaring women away from public life and forcing them to censor themselves, the Swedish government’s equality agency has said, warning that this poses a “big threat to democracy.”

Women’s safety in politics has come under heightened scrutiny in the Scandinavian country since October, when Anna-Karin Hatt resigned as leader of the Centre party after only five months in office, citing hate and threats.

Published: December 1, 2025, 5:00 am

‘We were swimming in the mind pool of Tom Stoppard!’ – actors salute the great playwright

Rufus Sewell, Christine Baranski, Susan Wokoma, Toby Jones and Harriet Walter share their unforgettable encounters with a theatrical giant

I worked with Tom when I was quite young, on Arcadia in 1993, and again on Rock’n’Roll 13 years later. In the interim it slowly dawned on me that not all jobs were like that. He was one of the most intelligent people you could ever meet but the extraordinary thing was that you’d walk away from conversations with him feeling like you were not unintelligent or unwitty yourself. That’s not always the case with incredibly brilliant writers and funny people. That generosity of spirit marked my time with him. He was incredibly good company, very sweet, and you felt encouraged to put forward your own ideas, make your own jokes.

Published: December 1, 2025, 2:47 pm

‘No party on the planet was safe from Hoggy rocking up!’ Irvine Welsh on his friend Pam Hogg

‘I spent the 90s with Pam – clubbing and partying in the way those times demanded. What I saw was a truly groundbreaking artist, and a life marked by independence, courage and kindness’

• Pam Hogg, fashion designer with a rock’n’roll spirit, dies at 66 – news
• Pam Hogg – obituary

There are people who live life to the full, then there’s Pamela Hogg. Pam’s tenure on this earth is a trawl through just about every significant cultural and creative moment in the UK over the last 30-odd years. One of our most groundbreaking artists, Pam was a colourist of Warholian proportions, creating art to be hung on the body rather than the walls of a gallery. She was a punk who provocatively mashed up gender and sexual stereotypes. Fashion was the art form that freed her imagination, and her success was due to her talent and drive being greater than her disdain of the conformist industry and the gatekeepers surrounding it.

I sat in St Joseph’s hospice in London by her unconscious but serenely beautiful figure – as if she’d made her exit into another work of art – telling her that her jam-packed life was characterised by creativity, independence, courage and kindness. “Hoggy, you left absolutely nothing on the table.”

Published: December 1, 2025, 1:32 pm

‘Ingrained in my psyche’: why Gremlins 2: The New Batch is my feelgood movie

The latest in our series of writers highlighting their favourite comfort rewatches is a look back at Joe Dante’s raucously rule-defying sequel

“Well, it’s rather brutal here. We’re advising all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into canned food and shotguns.” Some sage advice from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, talking, glasses-wearing member of the slimy Gremlin horde that overruns Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At face value, it’s nothing more than an investment tip from one monster to another. However, in a weird way, it’s also pretty solid life advice. Seriously, hear me out.

When things go bad, the worst thing you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin knows this. In fact, most of the toothy monsters that populate Dante’s wild 1990 film (arguably his best) have the same sly, self-aware sense of humour when it comes to the blurry line separating everyday life and unadulterated chaos. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and the older I get, it’s the theme that resonates the most.

Published: December 1, 2025, 10:00 am

Why won’t Marvel let Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine retire in peace?

The actor himself has promised to accept all future cameos as the beloved claw-gremlin, but this will only wear out his superpowers

There was once a time when Hugh Jackman Wolverine cameos made a sort of sense. Bursting out of a cell in full Weapon X gear, massacring half a bunker, then vanishing, in 2016’s otherwise pretty forgettable X-Men: Apocalypse. Telling potential recruitment team Magneto and Professor X to, er, go fuck themselves while propping up a bar in 2011’s X-Men: First Class. Even popping up via archived footage from X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2018’s Deadpool 2. These were cameos we could accept: quick, self-contained sideshows that understood the sacred rule that such things ought to be fun and brief. They also arrived at a time when Jackman didn’t yet carry the weight of 25 years of audience investment.

Last week, in an appearance on the BBC’s Graham Norton Show, Jackman revealed that he has banned himself from saying no to future appearances as the surly mutant. “I am never saying ‘never’ ever again,” he said. “But I did mean it when I said ‘never’, until the day when I changed my mind. But I really did for quite a few years, I meant it.” There are suggestions that he could make a brief appearance in the forthcoming Avengers: Doomsday, in order to capitalise on the success of Marvel’s recent $1bn megahit Deadpool & Wolverine, even though he wasn’t mentioned in an interminable name-on-chair live stream from earlier this year, in which most of the main cast members were revealed.

Published: December 1, 2025, 8:00 am

‘I sang karaoke with Novak Djokovic – a surreal experience’: Jacob Collier’s honest playlist

The musical prodigy discovered Stevie Wonder aged two and danced to Brazilian jazz at a Grammys afterparty. But what song does he think is the best in the world?

The first song I fell in love with
So many songs hit me as a child, they were like windows opening up new worlds. But the first I truly loved was Did I Hear You Say You Love Me, by Stevie Wonder, which I remember clearly when I was around two years old.

The first single I bought
I bought an iTunes single by Take 6 when I was 13. They are a six-part a cappella, gospel, jazz group, and they completely exploded my creative imagination. The song, He Never Sleeps, has the most unbelievable harmonic journey.

Published: November 30, 2025, 9:00 am

What we’re reading: Geoff Dyer, Andrew Michael Hurley, Marcia Hutchinson and Guardian readers on the books they enjoyed in November

Writers and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month. Join the conversation in the comments

I finally got round to Thoreau’s Journal. It is determinedly down-to-earth and soaring, lyrical and belligerent, humane and cantankerous. Walt Whitman thought Thoreau suffered from “a very aggravated case of superciliousness”, but as Walt also said (of himself) the Journal of this brooding, solitary figure is great; it “contains multitudes.”

Homework by Geoff Dyer is published by Canongate (£20). To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.

The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson is published by Cassava Republic. To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply

Published: December 1, 2025, 4:55 pm

Five of the best food books of 2025

Sami Tamimi celebrates Palestine’s culinary heritage, Helen Goh uncovers the psychological benefits of baking and Roopa Gulati reveals tricks used in the best Indian kitchens

Lugma: Abundant Dishes & Stories from My Middle East
Noor Murad (Quadrille)
One of the greatest tests of a cookbook is not just whether the recipes appeal on first glance, but whether they have the power to weave themselves into your regular cooking life. By this measure, Lugma is my top food book this year. Its author, Noor Murad, is a young Bahraini-British food writer who has previously worked with Ottolenghi. It is a delight to find her writing here in her own voice about the Middle Eastern ingredients that mean so much to her (you’ll need black limes!). The recipes hit a sweet spot between ease and specialness. Even a simple side dish of greens becomes a feast, sauteed with fried onions and turmeric oil. Alongside a pantheon of rice dishes for celebrations, there are simpler midweek hits such as tuna jacket potatoes enlivened with a spicy tomato sauce and preserved lemons. Noor’s deeply fragrant Middle Eastern bolognese is now the recipe against which I judge all other ragus.

Baking and the Meaning of Life
Helen Goh (Murdoch)
The idea of baking as therapy is often bandied around, but Helen Goh knows whereof she speaks. Alongside her career as a baker, Goh (who was born in Malaysia to Chinese parents) was for a long time a practising psychologist. Whatever the theory behind the effect, every time I follow Goh’s wonderfully precise yet creative recipes, I feel a deep calm and happiness as well as a sense that she is teaching me new skills (“learning, growth and achievement” are among the psychological benefits of baking, according to Goh). The Shoo Fly buns are the currant buns of dreams (with a whole raw orange pureed into the dough) and I wanted to make the chocolate financiers with rosemary and hazelnuts so much that I bought a financier tin specially (no regrets there).

Published: December 1, 2025, 2:00 pm

‘I took literary revenge against the people who stole my youth’: Romanian author Mircea Cărtărescu

As the first part of his acclaimed Blinding trilogy is released in the UK, the novelist talks about communism, Vladimir Nabokov – and those Nobel rumours

In 2014, when he was travelling around the US on a book tour, Mircea Cărtărescu was able to fulfil the dream of a lifetime: a tour of Vladimir Nabokov’s butterfly collection. Cărtărescu is a great admirer of the Russian-American author, and shares with him a literary career that bridges the western and eastern cultural spheres – as well as a history of being mooted as the next Nobel literature laureate but never having won it.

Above all, the Romanian poet and novelist shares Nabokov’s fascination with butterflies. As a child, he harboured dreams of becoming a lepidopterist. On a visit to Harvard, Cărtărescu was allowed access to Nabokov’s former office and marvelled at specimens the St Petersburg-born author had collected. “His most important scientific work was about butterflies’ sexual organs, and I saw these very tiny vials with them in,” he whispers in awe. “It’s like an image from a poem or a story. It was absolutely fantastic.”

Published: November 30, 2025, 12:00 pm

EsDeeKid: why do people think the Liverpudlian rapper might actually be Timothée Chalamet?

The incognito hip-hop act known as EsDeeKid has been identified by online sleuths as Chalamet in disguise. The pair even have the same scarf – case closed

Name: EsDeeKid.

Age: Unknown.

Published: December 1, 2025, 3:23 pm

The Wiggles don’t condone drugs, spokesperson says after controversial TikTok video set to Ecstasy song

Blue Wiggle Anthony Field and ‘Tree of Wisdom’ appeared in now-deleted video from singer Keli Holiday

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The Wiggles want to make one thing very clear: they do not condone the use of MDMA.

After two of its members appeared in a controversial TikTok video, the group – which has entertained children around the world for decades – issued a statement on the weekend denying any suggestion it supports the use of drugs.

Published: December 1, 2025, 5:45 am

Love Actually star says romcoms have lost their magic

Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who played Sam in Richard Curtis’s film, thinks streaming ushered in genre’s decline

If modern romcoms aren’t sweeping you off your feet any more, you’re not the only one wondering where the magic went.

Romantic comedies are just not as good as they used to be, according to one of the stars of Love Actually.

Published: November 30, 2025, 5:14 pm

The 86+ very best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals in the US, curated and vetted

Our experts found the best deals and sales that are actually worth your money. Here are our picks for pillows, bath towels, packing cubes and more

• Snag these tech, travel, home and kitchen Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals

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

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We all have holiday traditions we look forward to each year: cooking your grandmother’s classic stuffing recipe. Opening your favorite Advent calendar. Or, if you’re a retailer, pushing deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Published: December 1, 2025, 12:16 pm

The 41+ best US Cyber Monday kitchen deals on blenders, pans, cleaning tools and more

From Le Creuset to Vitamix to KitchenAid, these are the Black Friday kitchen deals you need to replace your cutting boards, frying pans and finally snag a Dutch oven

• The 73+ very best US Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, curated and vetted

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

It’s December, which marks the kickoff to Cyber Monday and the official start of the holidays. After weeks of early sales and a day (read: weekend) of Black Friday sales, this marks the last chance you’ve got to take advantage of all the best Cyber Monday kitchen deals.

A good Black Friday or Cyber Monday sale offers the ideal opportunity to stock up on kitchen necessities. As a home and kitchen shopping writer, I’ve spent almost three years perusing these Black Friday sales. I’ve sat for hours in a test kitchen with a small army of blenders and sauce pans. I’ve chatted with cooks and food experts about their favorite picks. So I have tracked enough holiday sales over the years to know when a “deal” is just a regular price in a festive hat.

Published: December 1, 2025, 4:22 pm

The 29+ best US Black Friday and Cyber Monday home deals on bath towels, vacuum cleaners, toolsets and more

From toilet paper to toolsets, we’ve reviewed thousands of sales on home products to find the ones worth checking out

• The 86 very best US Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, curated and vetted

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

Black Friday used to be known for crazy crowds rushing into stores and fighting over the best deals. Now, that chaos has wriggled its way online. Products now come from a hundred different brands you’ve never heard of, accompanied by “reviews” that might very well be written by the very same companies.

Not to worry. More than a decade of experience as a professional product reviewer has given me a pretty well-honed nose on what’s a good deal for you and your family. Much of that time was spent in a lab, testing everything from washing machines to hair dryers. I have also covered retail shopping events such as Black Friday and Prime Day enough times to know how companies try to deceive you, and how to spot it.

Published: December 1, 2025, 12:16 pm

The 20+ best US Black Friday and Cyber Monday tech deals on TVs, tablets, phones, smart watches and more

The sales you’ve been waiting for all year have arrived. Snag deals from Samsung, Amazon, Sony and more

• The 43 very best US Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, curated and vetted

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

Black Friday started off as a way to score some great deals on gifts, but let’s be honest: it’s also a chance to pick up some nice, deeply discounted goodies for yourself. This is especially true in the world of tech, where high prices and personal taste mean it’s often just safest to buy what works for you rather than guessing on a gift. Don’t worry, we won’t judge.

But when you’re inundated with Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, it’s easy to get spun around by specs: is that really enough storage? Is the screen big enough? Will I regret not getting the newer version? That’s when you turn to the experts.

Published: December 1, 2025, 12:16 pm

The 29+ best US Black Friday and Cyber Monday travel deals on luggage, backpacks, travel adapters and more

From Away, Calpak and Samsonite, here are budget-friendly reasons to upgrade your luggage, replace your headphones and finally invest in a set of packing cubes

• The 65+ very best US Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, curated and vetted

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

While the Black Friday deals landscape can be overwhelming – and you might be tempted to avoid it completely – some actually incredible deals do exist out there, particularly in the travel space. As a travel journalist and the writer of a packing list newsletter, I’m always on the hunt for luggage, clothing and gear that will streamline my travel process. During Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, I keep a trained eye on the retailers with genuine discounts on carry-on suitcases, comfortable loungewear and more. Pro tip: if a specific item catches my eye, I will Google it to see if another website is offering a more enticing deal. (It usually is.)

So if you’re hunting for items that will upgrade your travels without blowing your budget, use my curated guide to inform your shopping. I’ll be regularly updating the deals throughout the holiday sales period, so check back here for more savings over the next two weeks.

The best luggage deal:
Away Packing Pro Bundle

Published: December 1, 2025, 12:16 pm

Nine eco-minded gifts that actually make a difference

From tool library memberships to repair kits and even refurbished electronics – here are ways to give sustainable gifts this holiday season

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

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

Here is the uncomfortable truth about gift-giving: many fun-to-unwrap baubles get used twice, shoved in a drawer, and eventually hauled off to Goodwill or the landfill. So for anyone who cares about the climate crisis or the environment, the holidays are a minefield of cognitive dissonance: you want to give loved ones something meaningful, while cringing at your own consumerism. It’s a dilemma, but it doesn’t have to be.

There are thoughtful ways to give without adding to the problem, or better yet, giving gifts that make the right kind of difference. We’re not talking about carbon credits or vague promises of planting trees – the gifts here can extend the life of things you already own, replace single-use waste, or fund conservation work directly. Some I have tested myself; others come from trusted organizations with long track records and verifiable credentials. Here are some gift ideas that you and your eco-minded recipient can both feel great about.

Published: November 30, 2025, 3:15 pm

Gratitude can be truly healing – but you need more than a checklist

Transformative gratitude occurs within sincere relationships, but building those links is not always an easy process

Recently, my psychoanalyst annoyed me. She said something and I felt misunderstood, criticised – and that she was wrong. I wanted an apology. As we worked through this, as she listened to me and I listened to her, I gradually realised that she hadn’t meant exactly what I thought, and that I was the one who had misunderstood, who was being so critical. But why couldn’t she have made it easier for me to understand, phrased it like I would have done? She responded: “That isn’t what I thought.”

In that moment, something clicked. I felt the rush and the relief of sudden emotional clarity. I think this came from seeing that my psychoanalyst, by not apologising to appease my anger, by not taking an easy way out of the conflict, by persisting in offering me her honest thoughts about what was going on in my mind and by bearing my struggle to take them in, was giving me an extremely rare and precious experience. I felt an overwhelming and surprising surge of gratitude.

Published: December 1, 2025, 11:00 am

‘I was hooked’: the rise of the intrepid female solo traveller

Women of all ages, especially older ones, are actively choosing to travel alone. What’s behind the trend?

UK travel companies have reported an increase in bookings for solo travellers, primarily older women, often leaving partners behind to “explore on their own terms”.

Last month, the tour operator Jules Verne said solo travellers accounted for 46% of bookings for its trips departing next year, up from 40% in 2023. Just under 70% of its current solo bookings are made by women.

Published: November 30, 2025, 3:00 pm

The kindness of strangers: a concierge gave me his mother’s opera ticket

I was travelling with my parents and discovered that Don Giovanni was being performed while we were there. I simply had to try to see it

• Read more in the kindness of strangers series

At age 20, I fell head over heels in love with opera. It happened after seeing Joseph Losey’s film adaptation of Don Giovanni. Something clicked in me. I became a fervent subscriber to the Australian Opera and saw every opera I possibly could.

A few years later, I was travelling in France with my parents and discovered that Don Giovanni was being performed in Avignon while we were there, with José van Dam, who had played Leporello in the film, starring as Don Giovanni. I simply had to get a ticket to see it.

Published: November 30, 2025, 2:00 pm

Autumn maples and Frankfurt in the fog: photos of the day – Monday

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

Published: December 1, 2025, 2:28 pm