Fed chair accuses DoJ of threatening criminal charges over building renovation projects because central bank defied Trump’s interest rate demands The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve, a significant escalation in Donald Trump’s extraordinary attack on the US central bank. Powell said the Department of Justice had served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas on Friday, threatening a criminal indictment related to his testimony before the Senate banking committee in June last year, regarding renovations to the Fed’s historic office buildings in Washington DC. Continue reading...

San Francisco 49ers 23-19 Philadelphia Eagles Niners will play Seahawks in divisional round AFC wildcard: Allen shines as Bills beat Jags Brock Purdy threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey late in the fourth quarter, San Francisco used a trick play on a TD toss from wide receiver Jauan Jennings, and the 49ers eliminated the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles with a 23-19 wildcard victory on Sunday. The 49ers head to top-seeded Seattle next weekend for an NFC divisional playoff game. The NFC West rivals split the season series. Continue reading...

UK government starts contest to have deep-strike prototypes delivered within 12 months; heat-starved Kyiv under Russian attack again. What we know on day 1,419 Britain is to develop a new deep-strike ballistic missile for Ukraine, the government has announced. Under the project, named Nightfall, the British government said on Sunday that it had launched a competition to rapidly develop ground-launched ballistic missiles that could carry a 200kg (440lb) warhead to a range of more than 500km (310 miles). “Nightfall missiles will be capable of being launched from a range of vehicles,” said the UK defence ministry (MoD), “firing multiple missiles in quick succession and withdrawing within minutes – allowing Ukrainian forces to hit key military targets before Russian forces can respond.” Three industry teams would each get £9m to design, develop and deliver their first three Nightfall missiles within 12 months for test firings, said the MoD. Ukraine’s current ballistic missiles include Atacms, for which it relies on the US, and the self-developed Sapsan. Russia was again attacking Kyiv early on Monday, the Ukrainian military said, sparking a fire in at least one district. Ukrainian air defences were at work against incoming targets, said Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration. The renewed attack came as more than 1,000 apartment buildings in the Ukrainian capital remained without heating because of a Russian bombardment on Friday. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, said that despite repairs the situation was “still extremely difficult”, particularly in border regions. At the Vatican, Pope Leo offered prayers for the people of Ukraine, saying the “particularly serious” strikes on energy infrastructure were “hitting the civilian population hard, just as the cold weather is getting worse … I pray for those who are suffering and renew my appeal for an end to violence and for efforts to achieve peace to be intensified.” Ukraine’s forces hit three drilling platforms operated by Russian oil company Lukoil in the waters of the Caspian Sea, the Ukrainian military general staff announced on Sunday. The strikes on Russian energy sites aim to deprive Moscow of oil export revenue used to fund the war. Moscow meanwhile said a Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh. Continue reading...

Possible next steps for US include military strikes, sanctions and cyber attacks – key US politics stories from 11 January Donald Trump is weighing up his options for responding to protests in Iran, as deaths mount in a crackdown on demonstrations against the regime in Tehran. Possible actions for the US include military strikes, deploying secretive cyber weapons against Iranian military and civilian sites, placing more sanctions on Iran’s government and boosting anti-government sources online, sources say. Continue reading...

British Museum, London This retelling of Captain Cook’s death and the merging of two cultures is a trove of miraculously preserved wonders – but beware of the shark-toothed club! Relations between Britain and the Pacific kingdom of Hawaii didn’t get off to a great start. On 14 February 1779 the global explorer James Cook was clubbed and stabbed to death at Hawaii’s Kealakekua Bay in a dispute over a boat: it was a tragedy of cultural misunderstanding that still has anthropologists arguing over its meaning. Cook had previously visited Hawaii and apparently been identified as the god Lono, but didn’t know this. Marshall Sahlins argued that Cook was killed because by coming twice he transgressed the Lono myth, while another anthropologist, Gananath Obeyesekere, attacked him for imposing colonialist assumptions of “native” irrationality on the Hawaiians. It’s a fascinating, contentious debate. But the aftermath of Cook’s death is less well known – and the British Museum’s telling of it, in collaboration with indigenous Hawaii curators, community leaders and artists, reveals a surprisingly complex if doomed encounter between different cultures. Continue reading...

An outstanding critical voice, his deep knowledge and love of music was evident in everything he wrote The Guardian’s long-serving and much admired classical music critic Andrew Clements died on Sunday aged 75 after a period of illness. Clements joined the Guardian arts team in August 1993, succeeding Edward Greenfield as the paper’s chief music critic. His appointment was clinched by a personal recommendation to the editor from the late Alfred Brendel, who argued for Clements to get the job on account of his deep understanding of contemporary music. For the next 32 years, Clements ranged across all fields of classical music in his writing for the Guardian, and often beyond. Continue reading...

Rising costs and economic uncertainty take toll, in contrast to Keir Starmer saying Britain will start to feel richer UK business confidence weakened sharply at the end of 2025 and hiring fell amid rising costs and uncertainty about the economic outlook, according to key business surveys. Contrasting with the prime minister’s optimistic new year message that the country was about to start feeling richer again, the jobs market weakened, with full-time and temporary appointments falling in December, according to a study by the accountants KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). Continue reading...

This year will see films such as Sinners, One Battle After Another and Marty Supreme and shows including Adolescence and The Pitt compete Ayo Edebiri – nominated for her performance in that classic comedy, The Bear – is always a good place to start. I suspect this black velvet panelled off the shoulder gown is new Chanel (under Matthieu Blazy) given she’s an ambassador of the brand. It’s pushing classicism forward but the stylised bob and Hollywood finger hold gives the whole thing a refined approach. Hello from the Guardian’s fashion desk. I’ll be tracking the gowns and jackets on the red carpet tonight. Continue reading...

Murphy beaten 6-2 by China’s Wu Yize UK champion Mark Selby also knocked out Defending champion Shaun Murphy is out of the Masters after a shock 6-2 loss to China’s Wu Yize on the opening day of this year’s tournament at Alexandra Palace. Wu, the world number 13, dominated from the outset and won the opening three frames, recording a superb break of 137 in the second. Continue reading...

Tech giant says ongoing compliance will be a ‘multi-layered process’ as UK Labour faces pressure to bring in similar ban for teenagers Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Meta has deactivated more than half a million accounts for teenagers across Facebook, Instagram and Threads as a result of Australia’s under-16s social media ban, the company has announced. Just over one month since the ban came into effect, Meta announced on Monday that between 4 December, when the company began deactivating accounts, and 11 December, 544,052 accounts Meta believed to be held by users under 16 were deactivated. Continue reading...

Multiple Torah scrolls were damaged after fire broke out early Saturday at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson A suspect has been taken into custody after a historic synagogue in Mississippi was badly damaged in a fire that authorities described on Sunday as an arson case. According to officials, the blaze broke out shortly after 3am Saturday at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson. No one was hurt in the fire. Continue reading...

Police allege a 47-year-old imam was assaulted after he and his wife were forced off the road by three people in Melbourne’s south-east Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A Victorian Muslim religious leader was punched in the face after he and his wife were allegedly forced from their car on a Melbourne freeway in what police allege was a racially motivated attack. Police allege the pair were travelling along the South Gippsland Highway in Melbourne’s south-east at 7.40pm on Saturday when they were “racially abused” by three occupants of a small black hatchback. Continue reading...

Lawyers for Abu Zubaydah accused British intelligence services of providing questions to his CIA interrogators The UK has settled out of court by paying a “substantial sum” to a Guantánamo Bay detainee who was suing the government for its alleged complicity in his rendition and torture, according to the inmate’s legal team. Lawyers for Abu Zubaydah have accused the British intelligence services of providing questions to his CIA interrogators to put to him while they were torturing him at a string of CIA “black sites” around the world where he was held between 2002 and 2006. Continue reading...

Former midfielder ahead of Solskjær after interviews Darren Fletcher admits he is in the dark over his position Michael Carrick has emerged from the interview process as the favourite ahead of Ole Gunnar Solskjær to be Manchester United’s interim manager for the rest of the season, with the club’s executive expected to seal the decision on Monday. While Omar Berrada, the chief executive, and Jason Wilcox, the director of football, are understood to have not made a formal offer, they are leaning towards Carrick, sources have informed the Guardian. This follows both Carrick and Solskjær having had face-to-face discussions with the hierarchy. Berrada and Wilcox met Carrick on Thursday and Solskjær on Saturday at the club’s Carrington training ground. Continue reading...

Supercopa de España: Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid Raphinha 36 73, Lewandowski 45+4; Vinícius 45+2, García 45+7 Football is wild sometimes, and this was one of those times. A night that didn’t always make sense but was a lot of fun ended with every player on the pitch inside the Barcelona penalty area and the ball dropping through the crowd to Raúl Asencio, standing there on the edge of the six yard box. The board had gone up with six minutes on it, those six minutes had passed and now here it was, his moment and another twist: the chance to somehow take the Super Cup final to a penalty shootout. Instead, with the clock on 96.43 Asencio headed at Joan García. On his line, the goalkeeper grabbed and shot and held on hard; his team had done the same, two goals from Raphinha and another from Robert Lewandowski enough to take the trophy, goals from Vinícius Júnior and Gonzalo García not enough to take it from them. Whether they will be enough to keep Xabi Alonso in his job remains to be seem; Jeddah was supposed to be the final judgment but there may be those that judge Madrid’s reaction here reason for him to remain. Continue reading...

AFC wildcard: Buffalo Bills 27-24 Jacksonville Jaguars Quarterback’s fourth-quarter touchdown seals win Buffalo grab first playoff road win in more than 30 years San Francisco 49ers v Philadelphia Eagles – live updates Josh Allen took a pounding, doled out punishment and delivered Buffalo their first road playoff victory in more than three decades, a 27-24 win over Jacksonville in the AFC’s wildcard opener on Sunday. With linebacker Devin Lloyd bearing down, Allen found Brandin Cooks for 36 yards just before the two-minute warning and then capped the go-ahead drive with a one-yard touchdown run. On the play before his score, Allen gained 10 yards on a sneak, refusing to go down while being pushed and pulled to the goalline. Continue reading...

Man, thought to be in his 50s, was found under 2.5 metres of snow and had been skiing off-piste A British skier has been killed by an avalanche in the French Alps. The man, believed to be in his 50s, was found under 2.5 metres of snow after a 50-minute search, a statement from the La Plagne resort in south-eastern France said. Continue reading...

Pool 1: Saracens 20-14 Toulouse Rotimi Segun also scores twice for Prem side Even for the world’s best rugby player it is not all glamour. As he sniffed the damp air on a blustery, cheerless Sunday night in north London, Antoine Dupont must privately have been wondering if this was some sort of fiendish Anglo-Saxon conspiracy. Any similarity with the classic cathedrals and comforting familiarity of the Stade de France in next month’s Six Nations was conspicuously lacking. For a defiant Saracens, though, this chilly, sodden evening delivered the most beautiful of outcomes and a result that transforms the mood of their previous flagging season. They fully deserved this rousing victory, two first-half tries from Rotimi Segun and a barnstorming display from man of the match Tom Willis laying the foundations for the hosts’ best performance of the season which has sharply improved their Champions Cup knockout qualification prospects. Continue reading...

Observers say if US gets response wrong to Tehran’s repression it could end up entrenching regime’s ​position Iran warns US against attack as protest death toll reportedly soars Donald Trump is being warned by Iranians that it will be too late unless he acts quickly to fulfil his promise to help protesters under fire from security services in Iran but the president is receiving conflicting advice about the potential effectiveness of a US intervention. A major intervention by Washington, some are warning, will only fuel the fire of an Iranian government narrative that the protests are being manipulated as part of an anti-Islamic plot being led by the US and Israel. Continue reading...

Skilled workers at Leonardo Helicopters fear it will close Yeovil factory if Ministry of Defence delays awarding contract The UK’s last military helicopter factory must land a long-awaited order from the Ministry of Defence within the coming weeks to secure about 3,000 manufacturing jobs, industry sources suggest. Skilled workers at Leonardo Helicopters – the Italian owner of the former Westland factory in Yeovil, Somerset – fear the company will follow through on threats to close the facility at the end of March, if the UK military fails to place an order for new helicopters by that time. Continue reading...

Manchester United’s hunt for trophies is over inside the second week of January after a ruthless Brighton took advantage of yet another loose defensive performance. This FA Cup third-round knockout means the 13-times winners have been dumped from the competition and the League Cup at the first opportunity for a first time since 1981-82. By the end of May United’s season will stand at a total of 40 games – their lowest number in a complete campaign since 1914-15. If August’s Carabao Cup penalty shootout elimination at Grimsby was dire, this disappointment was as concerningly insipid, goals from Brajan Gruda and Danny Welbeck, one in each half, (probably) ending Darren Fletcher’s record as the interim manager as winless – this defeat following Wednesday’s draw at Burnley in the Premier League. Continue reading...

Stars from Andy Cohen to Brandi Carlile remember rock band co-founder as ‘beautiful human’ after his death at 78 The death of Bob Weir, the Grateful Dead co-founder, rhythm guitarist, vocalist and writer of much of the legendary psychedelic rock band’s songs, drew a chorus of tributes from fellow musicians and fans who described him as a “musical guru” and “the last actual hippie”. Weir recently survived cancer but died from “underlying lung issues”, according to a statement posted on Saturday on Instagram. Continue reading...

Also: advice to reduce screen time, how to maximize your toaster oven, the best gloves and at-home fitness staples This piece was originally published in the Filter US newsletter on buying fewer, better things. Sign up here to get early access to it Each week we cut through the noise to bring you smart, practical recommendations on how to live better – from what is worth buying to the tools, habits and ideas that actually last. At this time last year, I was a full-time student, throwing on the requisite leggings and an oversized sweatshirt for evening classes and late-night library sessions. This year, I’ve joined countless others in office life, zipping in and out of conference rooms and hopping on video calls for interviews and meetings. I love any excuse to shop, but many office-friendly pieces, including pricey blazers and crisp button-downs, are far outside my price range. The 27 best fashion gifts in the US – curated by our favorite stylists and creators Eight winter clothing essentials Scandinavians swear by – from heated socks to ‘allværsjakke’ Continue reading...

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Exclusive: Lord chancellor urges MPs to back judge-only trials in thousands of criminal cases in England and Wales The backlog of nearly 80,000 trials clogging up the court system could be cleared within a decade if parliament agrees to slash the number of jury trials, David Lammy, the lord chancellor, has claimed. In an interview with the Guardian, the deputy prime minister, who is facing a backbench rebellion over the proposals, has urged Labour MPs and the public to back a version of Canada’s judge-only trials in thousands of criminal cases in England and Wales. Continue reading...