68 minutes ago Mississippi shooting: Three dead and eight injured at football game as gunman on the run

Three people were killed and another eight injured after a disagreement broke out amid celebrations after the Holmes County Consolidated School's homecoming win in Mississippi

Events

79 minutes ago Five things Erik ten Hag learned as Man Utd survive controversial scare to beat Brentford

A dominant second half performance from Manchester United secured a much needed victory for Erik ten Hag who lives to fight another day after a scare against Brentford

Events

79 minutes ago The week in audio: Origin Story: Russell Brand – Confidence Man; Lost Notes: Groupies; The Lion, the Witch and the Wonder – review

Brand’s strange journey from darling of the left to cancelled crank makes for an informed podcast, while a power imbalance impairs rock groupies’ tales. Plus, writer Katherine Rundell on the power of children’s fictionOrigin Story: Russell Brand – Confidence Man (Podmasters)Lost Notes: Groupies: Women of the Sunset Strip from the Pill to Punk (KCRW)The Lion, the Witch and the Wonder (Radio 4) | BBC SoundsOrigin Story, a podcast about understanding politics (topics covered: centrism, George Orwell, No 10, among others), has just launched its sixth series. The opening episode is a 90-minute show on that renowned political powerhouse Russell Brand. Which may seem odd, but hosts Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey use Brand in a way, you could argue, that Brand has used others: as a means of gettin...

Politics

79 minutes ago Good with numbers: the sketchbook art of director Tim Burton – in pictures

In the early 1980s, while working as an apprentice animator at Disney, a young Tim Burton channelled his creative energies into personal projects. One of these was this series of extravagantly decorated numbers, created for an unpublished children’s book; they were later repurposed as chapter headings for The Art of Tim Burton , a 2009 book bringing together 40 years of his artistry. “Anthropomorphic creatures feature heavily across Burton’s work,” says Maria McLintock, curator of a new exhibition displaying more than 600 Tim Burton designs and objects including costumes and storyboards. “He sketches voraciously, often engrossed in a pocket-sized sketchbook with a small watercolour kit in tow. The genesis of almost every shot in his films is a drawing.”The World of Tim Burton is at the ...

Culture

80 minutes ago Strictly star Shayne Ward's fiancée refused to speak to him for 24 hours after huge shock

Strictly Come Dancing contestant Shayne Ward is engaged to actress Sophie Ward, with two children together. His career success once left her speechless for a very good reason

Events

80 minutes ago Paul Merson's huge net worth, eight children and who his Strictly money goes directly to

Former Arsenal and England star Paul Merson is currently competing on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, but his life away from the cameras has been anything but smooth sailing

Politics

88 minutes ago PETER HITCHENS: Parents are in quiet revolt against Labour's horrible comprehensive school monopoly

Governments have been raising the school leaving age for decades, but what has this actually achieved? If the time spent in class was a measure of how educated the country was, it would be marvellous.

Events

97 minutes ago Callous UK catfisher drove heartbroken US dad and daughter, 12, to their deaths

Warning: This article contains details readers may find distressing. Sick Alexander McCartney, 26, tricked children into believing he was a young girl before persuading them to send intimate photos and then blackmailing them.

Events

1 hour ago Of course teenagers want to be pop idols like Liam Payne. Given the perils, should we let them? | Martha Gill

The singer is the latest casualty of an industry that thrusts fame on children too young to copeSex, drinking, smoking, gambling, joining the army, being put to work – we now take it as obvious that there should be strict laws protecting young people from certain parts of the adult world.Of course there should. Young brains are soft, excitable and easily addled. There are many things they should be sheltered from, and some choices that should not be theirs to make.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...

Politics

2 hours ago Coach fumes at 'laughable' Scarlets v Bulls red card as 'fight' pledge made

The contentious decision was made minutes before the Welsh side scored the winning try

Sport