14 h. ago ‘The risk was worth it’: All Fours author Miranda July on sex, power and giving women permission to blow up their lives

The artist and author’s hit book had so much in common with her own life that even her friends forgot it wasn’t real. How did this revolutionary portrayal of midlife desire come to inspire a generation of women?When Miranda July’s All Fours was published in May last year, it triggered what felt like both a spontaneous resistance movement and the sort of mania last experienced when the final Twilight book dropped, except this time for women in midlife rather than teenage girls. Two friends separately brought it to my house, like contraband dropped out of a biplane. Book groups hastily convened, strategically timed for when the men were out of the picture.The story opens with a 45-year-old woman about to take a road trip, a break from her husband and child and general domestic noise. She’s intending to drive from LA to New York, but is derailed in the first half hour by a young guy, Davey, in a car hire place, to whom she is passionately attracted. The next several weeks pas...

Events

14 h. ago Trump is deeply obsessed with US history – but he has learned all the wrong lessons from it | David Reynolds

His ostentatious birthday parade is his latest reimagining of America’s past. He’d do well to remember that pride must be rooted in honestyDavid Reynolds is the author of Mirrors of Greatness: Churchill and the leaders who shaped himToday the US army will parade in style along the National Mall in Washington DC to celebrate its 250th anniversary. This also just happens to be the 79th birthday of President Donald J Trump. As commander-in-chief, he will take the salute from a viewing platform on Constitution Avenue.But this is not a mere vanity project, as some critics have claimed. History really matters to the US’s 47th president. One of Trump’s last acts before reluctantly leaving the White House in January 2021 was to publish a report by his “1776 Commission”, created to “restore understanding of the greatness of the American Founding”. Deliberately, the commissioners included few university historians because universities were described as often being “hotbeds of anti-Americanism...

Politics

19 h. ago Two men rushed to hospital after being struck by lightning during road trip

The rescue teams were first alerted about the incident at 5pm but it wasn't until around midnight that the helicopter made a second trip to rerscue the less seriously hurt man

Transport

21 h. ago Drunk Karen learns harsh lesson after forcing entire plane to disembark because of her entitled antics

A woman named Alicia could barely keep her eyes open as she refused to get off a plane from Dallas to Boston.

Politics

24 h. ago Australia learn cricket’s oldest lesson as South Africa turn the tables in WTC

An Australian win looked inevitable after setting 282 to win, but Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma defied the oddsRight from the start of the day, there was an inevitability that this match was Australia’s. They started 218 runs in front, in the third innings, walking back onto a Lord’s field where 28 wickets had fallen in the previous two days. They had the four-star bowling attack, their opponents had the shooting-star batting order, one that had flashed and vanished in its first sighting. Soon this would be compounded by Temba Bavuma’s hamstring injury. The lead as it stood looked a chance to be enough, and first would come the chance to increase it a smidgen more.The sense of inevitability only grew as that smidgen broadened into a big dirty smudge. There is nothing more galling for a cricket team than a long tenth-wicket partnership. Every ball is more annoying than the one before. Things had started right, Kagiso Rabada in his second over of the day trapping Nathan Lyon with onl...

Politics

26 h. ago The Guardian view on Israel’s shock attack on Iran: confusing US signals add to the peril | Editorial

The recklessness of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the incoherence of Donald Trump’s deepen the crisis in the Middle EastUS presidents who thought they could easily restrain Benjamin Netanyahu have quickly learned their lesson. “Who’s the fucking superpower?” Bill Clinton reportedly exploded after his first meeting with the Israeli prime minister.Did Donald Trump make the same mistake? The state department quickly declared that the devastating overnight Israeli attack on Iran – which killed key military commanders and nuclear scientists as well as striking its missile capacity and a nuclear enrichment site – was unilateral. Mr Trump had reportedly urged Mr Netanyahu to hold off in a call on Monday, pending US talks with Iran over its nuclear programme due this weekend. The suspicion is that Israel feared that a deal might be reached and wanted to strike first. But Israeli officials have briefed that they had a secret green light from the US, with Mr Trump only claiming to oppos...

Events

32 h. ago Trophy wives, subversive reading and ejaculation: lessons from 2025’s best graduation speeches

Percival Everett, Simone Biles, Kermit the Frog and Donald Trump deliver words of wisdom, and a few of grotesque stupidity, at commencement ceremonies across USAmerica’s higher education may be under attack from the federal government – but students from the class of 2025 still have to graduate. And so commencement season, somehow, occurred, with the world’s best and brightest politicians, entertainers and athletes, plus a frog, presenting their hard-earned wisdom. From Percival Everett to Simone Biles to President Trump himself, here are 10 lessons we’ve learned from the year’s graduation speeches. Continue reading...

Politics

44 h. ago Why the Air India flight crashed: Expert Julian Bray has advised on the deadliest calamities. Now he examines the footage to reveal 'weird' inconsistencies... and a horrifying possibility

All plane crashes horrify us at a visceral level - but yesterday's Air India disaster is in a league of its own. What really happened? Can any lessons be learned?

Events

52 h. ago I took my city kids on a road trip to teach them about the outback – and learned a few lessons myself | Emily Mulligan

Sensing a golden opportunity to impart some Aussie folklore, I confidently told my kids about a Bunyip. I was unable to answer their follow-up questionsRecently, I bundled the family into our beaten up station wagon and set out on a 3,000km journey from Sydney to the outback to instil some core memories into the kids. We had an ambitious agenda. The distances we had to cover to achieve my red dirt dreams were, to a sane minded person with two small kids in the back, loopy.And I will admit that, for the majority of this road trip, we were gripped with a palpable, vibrating rage towards each other, about the distance yet to travel, and the discomfort of every moment we were in the car. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago 'It's about refusing to be silent when it matters most': Pep Guardiola says Gaza war 'hurts him' in impassioned speech

Man City boss Pep Guardiola warned 'the next kids will be ours' as he spoke about the Israel-Gaza war

Events

4 d. ago Pep Guardiola speaks out on Gaza and 'refusing to be silent when it matters most'

Man City boss Pep Guardiola warned 'the next kids will be ours' as he spoke about the Israel-Gaza war

Politics

4 d. ago Mario Kart World review – a riotous road trip for every player

Nintendo Switch 2; NintendoThe Nintendo Switch 2’s flagship game is a winner, and often feels more like a journey with your friends than a straight competitionI realised that we might have a Mario Kart World problem in our house when my sons ran up to me after our first few hours with the game, proudly showing off circular indentations on their little thumbs from holding down the accelerator button so hard. Mildly alarmed, I examined my own thumb to find the same evidence of getting over-absorbed in the knockabout, chaotic fun of our tournaments. You can play Mario Kart online now – even with video chat, in World – but it’s just not the same as playing with people on the couch next to you. I imagine this game will revive living-room multiplayer for millions of families.God only knows how many hours I have spent racing Mario and his pals around their cartoon wonderland circuits since 1992 – this series has accompanied me through my entire life, the reliable mainstay that everyone wan...

Sport

5 d. ago The lessons Britain can learn from Denmark's migrant crackdown: How nation has cut asylum claims by 90% with its 'zero refugee' policy

Head to Denmark and you'll find their fellow-wingers aren't just outspoken about the need to tackle the issue - they've put their words into action, to dramatic effect.

Events

7 d. ago Should you take your dog on holiday? We went on a European road trip with our border terrier to find out

Dogs have a sense of adventure, don’t they? We thought Missy would enjoy exploring France and Spain. She had other ideasPlus tips on travelling with dogsWhen, two years ago now, our dog sitters cancelled on us just 24 hours before we were due to go on our summer holiday, we felt more than a little put out. Aware that we couldn’t leave Missy, our border terrier, home alone with a tin opener, we sent out frantic texts and made urgent phone calls before at last finding someone, a friend of a friend of, I think, another friend, and simply hoped for the best. What else were we to do? The flights were non-refundable.It all turned out fine, but it was not an experience we were keen to repeat. And so, the following year, we took Missy with us. Dogs are portable, after all, and have a nose for adventure. Also, this was to be an extended holiday, away for a full month – working part time in order to fund it – and we couldn’t be apart from her for that long. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago BBC Bargain Hunt expert jailed after failing to report sales to ‘Hezbollah financier’

The art dealer also appeared on Antiques Road Trip and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Economics

8 d. ago BBC Bargain Hunt star is jailed for more than two years for terror offence after selling £140k of art to 'suspected Hezbollah terrorist financier'

The 53-year-old art dealer, who has also appeared on the BBC 's Antiques Road Trip, sold artwork to Nazem Ahmad, a wealthy collector and diamond dealer who was under US sanctions.

Economics

8 d. ago Seal spotting and majestic waterfalls: how to see the wild side of the Isle of Man

The Isle of Man offers up majestic landscapes an hour’s flight from London. Here’s the seven sights not to be missed if you take a road trip of the island, according to author Andy North

Politics

1 week ago The spirit of Liz Truss, ridiculous but relentless, stalks British politics | Rafael Behr

Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch have much more in common with the failed Tory leader than either cares to admitWe need to talk about Liz Truss, although there are reasons not to bother. The prime minister who failed faster than any previous holder of the office has much to say about her dismal record, but nothing insightful. She cuts a pitiful spectacle padding out the schedule at rightwing conferences, chasing attention and relevance with an addict’s fervour.Last week, Truss was at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest, sharing the big lesson she learned in government. It was that British institutions have been captured by a leftist doctrine and that they “hate western civilisation”. She couldn’t possibly counter this threat from No 10 because supposedly the real power was wielded by a well-financed “globalist network”, operating through such engines of anti-democratic subterfuge as the International Monetary Fund and the World Health Organization.Rafael Be...

Politics

1 week ago The spirit of Liz Truss, ridiculous but relentless, still stalks British politics | Rafael Behr

Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch have much more in common with the failed Tory leader than either cares to admitWe need to talk about Liz Truss, although there are reasons not to bother. The prime minister who failed faster than any previous holder of the office has much to say about her dismal record, but nothing insightful. She cuts a pitiful spectacle padding out the schedule at rightwing conferences, chasing attention and relevance with an addict’s fervour.Last week, Truss was at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest, sharing the big lesson she learned in government. It was that British institutions have been captured by a leftist doctrine and that they “hate western civilisation”. She couldn’t possibly counter this threat from No 10 because supposedly the real power was wielded by a well-financed “globalist network”, operating through such engines of anti-democratic subterfuge as the International Monetary Fund and the World Health Organization.Rafael Be...

Politics

1 week ago England hero Mary Earps told 'quitting should never be an option' after Joe Root example

Mary Earps took the easier option when told she wouldn't be the Lionesses' first choice goalkeeper at the Euros - she could learn a lesson from one of Britain's greatest living sportspeople Joe Root

Politics