Presidents of both major parties have used the device and experts called into question legality of Trump’s move Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is terminating all documents, including pardons, that he said his predecessor Joe Biden signed using an autopen – an unprecedented attempt to rollback a previous president’s actions using what legal thinkers view as a flimsy pretext. The autopen is a device used to replicate a person’s signature with precision, typically for high-volume or ceremonial documents. It has been employed by presidents of both major parties to sign letters and proclamations. Continue reading...

Hong Kong media mogul has suffered dramatic weight loss and other worrying ailments since being jailed in 2020, Lai’s family say The children of Hong Kong’s jailed pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai have voiced new alarm for his health, describing his dramatic weight loss, teeth rotting and nails turning green before falling off. Lai, who turns 78 next Monday, has been behind bars in Hong Kong since late 2020 as China clamps down on the financial hub to which it promised a separate system when Britain handed it over in 1997. Continue reading...

Group including Margaret Atwood, Ian McKellen and Richard Branson sign open letter to free Marwan Barghouti More than 200 leading cultural figures have come together to call for the release of Marwan Barghouti, the jailed Palestinian leader seen as capable of uniting factions and bringing the best hope to the stalled mission of creating a Palestinian state. The prestigious and diverse group calling for his release in an open letter includes a variety of prominent names, including the writers Margaret Atwood, Philip Pullman, Zadie Smith and Annie Ernaux; actors Sir Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Josh O’Connor and Mark Ruffalo, and the broadcaster and former footballer Gary Lineker. Continue reading...

Report says ‘systemic failures’ led to collapse of trial, but found no evidence of UK government interference Parliament’s security committee has criticised prosecutors for pulling their charges against two men accused of spying for Beijing, in a damning report that concluded the handling of the case was “shambolic”. MPs said that a process “beset by confusion and misaligned expectations” and “inadequate” communication between the government and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had contributed to the collapse of the trial, while several “opportunities to correct course were missed”. It was “unclear” why the CPS had concluded that a July 2024 ruling concerning a Bulgarian spy ring “altered the legal landscape so significantly” that they had to change their approach. It was “surprised” the CPS had deemed the government’s evidence insufficient to put to a jury when it had set out how China “posed a range of threats to the United Kingdom’s national security” that “amounted to a more general active threat”. The government “did not have sufficiently clear processes for escalating issues where there was a lack of clarity” and “the level of senior oversight” from cabinet ministers and national security advisers “was insufficiently robust”. Continue reading...

Survey of 11,000 13- to 17-year-olds says emotional and physical abuse includes control, pressure or violence Two in five teenagers in intimate relationships say they have experienced emotional or physical abuse, including control, pressure or violence, according to a survey in England and Wales. “Teenage years are often when children first begin to explore romantic relationships,” the report says. “At their best, these can bring joy and companionship and teach important lessons about trust. Continue reading...

Soaring demand has led to ‘shocking’ rise in untreated patients leaving NHS emergency departments in England, data shows The number of people in England walking out of A&E without treatment has tripled in the past six years, new figures show. Analysis of NHS data by the Royal College of Nursing shows soaring demand for urgent hospital care and long waits has led to what it describes as a “shocking” rise in the number of patients leaving emergency departments untreated. Continue reading...

Advertising watchdog says all three firms misled shoppers by using term ‘sustainable’ in paid-for Google adverts Ads for Nike, Superdry and Lacoste have been banned in the UK for misleading consumers about the environmental sustainability credentials of their products. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said paid-for Google ads run by all three retailers used terms such as “sustainable”, “sustainable materials” or “sustainable style” without providing evidence proving the green claims. Continue reading...

Christie’s says the sale price is the highest for a Fabergé, beating a £8.9m auction in 2007 A vintage jewel-studded Fabergé egg that belonged to the mother of Russia’s last emperor has been sold for a record £22.9m in London. The Winter egg was commissioned in 1913 by Emperor Nicholas II as a gift for his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, and is described as one of the most lavish of Fabergé’s imperial creations. Continue reading...

Agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins threatens to pull funds unless states turn over recipient data to US government The Trump administration has threatened to suspend Snap food assistance to several Democratic-led states unless they turn over recipient data to the federal government. Agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins said Tuesday that the USDA could begin blocking funds as early as next week if Democratic-led states continue to reject federal requests for Snap recipient data – information that includes immigration status and social security numbers. Continue reading...

Exclusive: New laws will also curb questioning and aim to stop complainants being discredited over previous reports Rape victims will no longer be depicted as serial liars in courtrooms in England and Wales as part of the biggest shake-up “in a generation”, the Guardian can reveal. New measures will stop the “profound injustice” of victims being questioned, sometimes without warning, about past rapes that they have reported to the police, said David Lammy, the justice secretary. Continue reading...

Cristian Romero ensured that Thomas Frank could leave Tyneside celebrating the sort of draw that managers can easily construe as moral victories. The Tottenham captain’s stoppage-time equaliser, his second goal of the scrappiest of nights, not merely camouflaged plenty of visiting flaws but surely reinforced his manager’s recently fragile looking job security. Continue reading...

President says countries manufacturing and selling drugs to the US are “subject to attack”, adding that strikes wouldn’t be limited to Venezuela Trump says he and Hegseth didn’t know about second strike on alleged Venezuelan drug boat Pete Hegseth told US soldiers in Iraq to ignore legal advice on rules of engagement Joseph Gedeon is a politics breaking news reporter based in Washington 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. Continue reading...

Now he’s free of the BBC, he’s gone combative. He drives a horse and cart through a piece of Dominic Grieve sophistry, and tries his best to skewer the institution based around a jewelled velvet hat Settling down in front of David Dimbleby’s new three-parter, and looking at that confrontational title, you wonder why the question it asks is not debated more often. Dimbleby himself has trailed the series by worrying aloud that during his stint as a BBC staffer he was part of an organisation that didn’t challenge the monarchy robustly enough. But retirement means the shackles he wore when he was the corporation’s top politics presenter have been loosened. The opening episode cleaves closest to the titular question – parts two and three are more like “Is the Monarchy a Giant Ponzi Scheme?” and “Are the Monarchy Personally Repellent?”, respectively – with its theme of how much power the monarchy has and how it wields it. Continue reading...

Another game to show off the concertinaed qualities of the Premier League this season. If anyone can beat anyone, they can also play out landlocked contests such as this. It took a deflection to win it, Jack Grealish’s shot smashing off Bafodé Diakité’s shins and into the opposite corner. Two clubs from the mid-table blob that stretches from seventh to 15th fought and ran hard, effort never in short supply. The same could not always be said of quality, entertainment or chance creation. Continue reading...

Fancy a bit of history? Under the floodlights of this storied old ground you were welcome to take your pick. The inevitable Erling Haaland smashed through the 100-goal barrier and a Premier League record. Phil Foden scored his second brace in four days. City raced to a 5-1 lead before an hour was even on the clock only for Fulham to come agonisingly close to parity by the end. All of it culminating in one of the highest-scoring matches in three decades of the Premier League. Not bad. Full value for money was achieved before half-time as City imposed themselves on their hosts with ruthless timing. Erling Haaland had come into the game on 99 Premier League goals, but had drawn a blank in his past two league matches. With just five minutes gone and bearing down on Bernd Leno, after being played in by Phil Foden, it appeared the wait was swiftly over. But in the most unusual of occurrences, Haaland calmly wrapped a shot beyond the Fulham keeper but watched stunned as the ball hit the post. Continue reading...

England 2-0 Ghana Young star Kendall courts praise from Wiegman Lucia Kendall was already living the dream, slotting into life in the WSL after she joined Aston Villa from Southampton this summer with an ease that earned her a first senior call up in October. The 21-year-old made her full debut against Australia, remarkably picking up the player of the match trophy at the end of the 3-0 win. In the cold and rain at St Mary’s against Ghana on Tuesday night, it took her just six minutes to ensure the dream remains a recurring one, slotting in from close range after Bénédicte Simon had scuffed her clearance from Chloe Kelly’s cross and the ball fell fortuitously at the midfielder’s feet. Continue reading...

New episodes of sci-fi series achieve 59.6m views in first five days of release, a new record for an English language show The upside-down is still the right way for Netflix – Stranger Things 5 is now the company’s biggest English-language debut ever. The fifth season of the streaming company’s flagship sci-fi series achieved 59.6m views in its first five days on the platform, making for the best premiere week for an English-language series ever on Netflix, and the third biggest debut overall behind the second and third seasons of the Korean sensation Squid Game. Continue reading...

Smith stood up to West Indies bowling and scored centuries against Australia in the most demanding of circumstances A Robin Smith square cut was more than a whipcrack snap of the bat. For English cricket fans of the late 80s and early 90s, it was a nudge in the ribs that, underneath the pastings, the dismal collapses and Rentaghost selections, the national team would fight another day. Smith’s cut, alongside a David Gower cover drive, gave hope where there was little left in the bucket. Those famous forearms – half oak, half baobab – the white shirt unbuttoned past the clavicle, the chain glinting through his chest hair, smelt enticingly like bravery, and old spice and one last throw of the dice. Continue reading...

American Bitcoin Corp’s shares fell from $2.39 to $1.90 after closing in what some are calling ‘crypto winter’ Shares in Eric Trump’s crypto mining business lost more than half their value in less than 30 minutes on Tuesday. The nosedive of American Bitcoin Corp, which triggered repeated trading halts, followed the steep decline of many cryptocurrencies and crypto-linked companies into what some observers are calling the onset of a “crypto winter”. Bitcoin’s value has fallen sharply since the start of October and erased a year of large gains. Continue reading...

Exclusive: George Cottrell ‘gave control’ of gambling accounts to syndicate headed by Tony Bloom, the owner of Brighton & Hove Albion FC George Cottrell, a close associate of Nigel Farage and a key figure in Reform UK’s inner circle, acted as a front for a major gambling syndicate that was “given control” of his betting accounts, a high court document alleges. Cottrell acted as a stalking horse for a syndicate involving one of the world’s most successful gamblers, Tony Bloom, it is claimed in the public documents, filed at the high court. Continue reading...

Spain reaffirmed their standing as the best team in the world as they outclassed Germany and retained the Women’s Nations League title in spite of the absence of their injured superstar Aitana Bonmatí. The world champions were playing their first game since their Ballon d’Or-winning midfielder Bonmatí was ruled out for around five months after undergoing surgery on a broken leg but they demonstrated the extensive depth of talent across their classy team as they eventually played some ruthless football to dispatch with their rivals at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid. Continue reading...

Presenter fell during build-up of game against Ghana ITV confirm Woods was unwell and ‘in good hands’ ITV presenter Laura Woods collapsed during the broadcaster’s live build-up of England’s final match of 2025 against Ghana on Tuesday night. The 38-year-old was leading ITV’s coverage of the friendly at St Mary’s in Southampton and fell forward. Woods was caught by pundits Ian Wright and Anita Asante before the camera cut away from the scene and went to an advert break. Continue reading...

⚽ Premier League updates from the 8.15pm GMT kick-off ⚽ Live scores | Table | Read Football Daily | Mail Scott Newcastle make two changes to their starting XI after the 4-1 win at Everton. Sandro Tonali and Jacob Murphy come in for Anthony Elanga and captain Bruno Guimarães, who both drop to the bench. Spurs make four changes to their starting line-up following the Fulham fiasco. Brennan Johnson, Pape Sarr, Rodrigo Bentancur and captain Cristian Romero return; Archie Gray, Richarlison, Micky van de Ven and João Palhinha are benched. Continue reading...

Ben Stokes is still bullish but the omens suggests pink-ball Test could be a nightmare on Vulture Street My first day at the Gabba was 23 years ago, half a lifetime having passed since I slept on my brother’s sofa across the river and followed the Ashes tour as a backpacker. The coin went up, Nasser Hussain decided to have a bowl, and Steve Waugh’s Australians cashed in on generosity. Having not returned until 2017‑18, and then covered the Covid tour four years later, the Sydney finale in 2003 remains the only time I have seen England win a Test on Australian soil. Even then I missed the last day: flat broke and forced to head back to Queensland to find work, I eventually found myself on a farm upstate, shovelling melons like a scrum-half for eight hot hours a day while dodging venomous snakes underfoot. Continue reading...

Paul Thomas Anderson’s comedy thriller named best film by Gotham awards and New York Film Critics Circle Paul Thomas Anderson’s acclaimed comedy thriller One Battle After Another has emerged as an early best picture frontrunner as the awards season kicks off. The Thomas Pynchon adaptation, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as an ex-revolutionary searching for his daughter, was named best feature at Monday’s Gotham awards. “I didn’t expect this, actually,” Anderson said on stage. “I started to think I didn’t know what was going on.” Continue reading...