54 h. ago Gregory Porter: ‘My worst job? Shovelling exterminated rats’

The singer on a precious photograph of his mother, losing his brother and the wonders of cooking with butterBorn in California, Gregory Porter, 53, released his Grammy-nominated debut album, Water, in 2010. He went on to receive best jazz vocal album Grammys for Liquid Spirit in 2014 and Take Me to the Alley in 2017. He sang for Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee and was the first celebrity to sing a lullaby on CBeebies Bedtime Stories. Next week, he begins a UK tour. He is married with two children and lives in California.What is your greatest fear? Immunity to cruelty. Continue reading...

Politics

62 h. ago 'My son is scared. Men do strange things. There are drug needles. We can't live here any more'

Aimee Richards lives with her partner and two young children in a block of flats

Events

3 d. ago Mum 'at the end of her tether' lives with eight children in three

She is one of hundreds waiting years for a suitable home on Cardiff's housing waiting list

Society

4 d. ago Cheeky fan asks Vernon Kay if he's 'punching' with Tess Daly and reply is great

Tess Daly and husband Vernon Kay may have been married for nearly 20 years and share two children together but they rarely post about their private lives online.

Politics

6 d. ago ‘The grief takes your breath away’: how death transformed a loving family – and shaped a remarkable film

Nik and Maria Payne were raising their ‘wild and free’ children in the Norwegian countryside when cancer turned their lives upside down. The reluctant stars of A New Kind of Wilderness talk about a world without MariaPeace hangs over a farm in rural Norway. The last of the melting snow lingers in hummocks and bikes are strewn outside the Payne family’s small rented cottage. Nik Payne materialises from behind the barn where he has been feeding the cows. One of his three children, Falk, 12, is lying on the sofa with a fever and a Biggles novel; later, Freja, 15, and Ulv, nine (known as Wolf or Wolfie), return from school. Their home is as warm and chaotic as any family’s – boots and coats strewn in the hallway, a fridge covered in photos, shelves of books – but with a few differences: there is no television and behind the living room door is an unobtrusive, very personal shrine.The Paynes find themselves the reluctant stars of a film, A New Kind of Wilderness, which has won awards at ...

Events

7 d. ago Health secretary orders inquiry into how botched NHS hearing tests may have blighted the lives of thousands of children

The errors could have hampered the learning and communication skills of those affected, with 'devastating and lifelong' consequences, Wes Streeting said.

Society

8 d. ago There’s a place for audience participation, but ‘chicken jockey’ chaos takes it too far | Kate Maltby

Barrages of popcorn and even live poultry are featuring at screenings of A Minecraft Movie‘Chicken jockey!” If you know what this phrase means, you’re either a preteen boy or have accompanied one to a recent cinema screening of A Minecraft Movie.Warner Bros’ latest money-spinner is a movie adaptation of the Swedish game Minecraft, a prerequisite in the social lives of children between the age of eight and 12. The game enables children to explore and reconfigure a creative digital environment, accumulating resources in a world built from blocks. The movie enables children to explore and reconfigure the codes of basic decency in a cinema environment, testing the limits of any hapless usher left to supervise. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing review – nothing about this shocking tale feels OK

This grim documentary shines a light on child social media star Piper Rockelle, the hugely murky ethics surrounding this kind of content – and the high-profile lawsuit that engulfed their careerThe title of the new documentary Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing is interesting. It could be said to presuppose the existence of a good side to allowing, encouraging or coercing young children and early teens to put their lives online for attention and validation (or deliberately creating content to attract subscribers, brand interest and sponsorship deals). But perhaps, you think, I am being hopelessly old-fashioned. Perhaps this is the way forward. Perhaps it is the way things are these days. Who am I to say how youngsters should connect, spend their time, be raised in 2025?I understand this impulse to ignore the past. I almost admire it. It is good for us all, as we get older, to fight against the creeping belief that the past was better. It is a canard, a conflation of the ha...

Events

2 w. ago Mark Bonnar: ‘I wanted to be a historian, then a drummer, and then I just wanted to be employed’ | Q&A

The actor on how an aside about sex became big news, getting let off for weed, and crying at advertsBorn in Edinburgh, Mark Bonnar, 56, studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. In 2017, he won a best actor Bafta Scotland for his role in Unforgotten, and his other TV work spans Line of Duty, Catastrophe and the Netflix series Department Q, which is released in May. His films include Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, Operation Mincemeat and Last Breath, which is out now. He is married to actor Lucy Gaskell, has two children and lives in Hertfordshire.What is your greatest fear? That we’re all going to hell in a handcart and Trump is driving. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Both her home and school burned down during the LA fires. She’s just one of 700,000 uprooted kids

Los Angeles children suffered traumatic disruptions to their education and social lives from the wildfiresThe Eaton fire that devastated Altadena in early January burned down Juan Carlos Perez’s family home and the school where his younger daughter attended sixth grade.Losing both anchors at once, Perez said, has been traumatizing for the 12-year-old. As the family moved from hotel to Airbnb, his daughter has become increasingly withdrawn and too anxious to return to school, asking to finish the semester online. The only time she interacted with friends was during soccer practice, Perez said, but that routine was suspended last month when the family moved this month to a friend’s house in Connecticut. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Family feared for their lives when Land Rover Defender burst into flames on country road as mother yelled at children: 'Run as fast as you can!'

Caroline Rodda and her family were left fearing for their lives when their Land Rover suddenly 'exploded' into flames on a country road as they shouted at the children to 'run as fast as you can'.

Society

2 w. ago SNP Government told to 'think the unthinkable' to finally end 'brutal housing emergency'

Shelter Scotland asked whether the public would tolerate closing libraries if it meant all children were guaranteed a secure place to live.

Politics

3 w. ago Adolescence: what teen boys really think of girls, influencers and porn – podcast

From misogynist content creators such as Andrew Tate to the ubiquity of pornography, boys face a barrage of toxic influences. We talk to sixth-formers about the pressures and joys they experienceThe release of the hit Netflix drama Adolescence this month has unleashed a wave of panic around teenage boys. Keir Starmer said the UK “may have a problem with boys and young men”, while parents began worried conversations about their children’s online lives. But how true to life is it?Michael Conroy, who has been going into schools to train teachers and professionals about boys’ personal development for years, says he has seen a shift in what he hears about. “Just 10 years ago, we didn’t have young men speaking in very sexualised ways to female teachers, quite a few in the same school.” He sees the ubiquity of pornography as a huge factor, with boys as young as 11 using it obsessively. “I’m getting invited to work with primary schools now.” The knock-on effect, he says, is an unrealistic a...

Politics

3 w. ago Inside Gogglebox brothers Tremaine, Twaine and Tristan's lives from children to health battles

The Plummer brothers first appeared on Gogglebox back in 2016 and have amassed a legion of fans thanks to their sibling banter, but they have very different lives away from the TV screens

Society

3 w. ago Firebomb attack pair jailed after planning attack on Scots family of five

The sinister attack organised by Darren Reape and Robert Lawrie left the family, including three young children, "fearing for their lives".

Events

3 w. ago The terrifying magnet trend putting children's lives at risk: Urgent warning over terrifying social media craze that burns holes in youngster's bowels and leaves them with stoma bags for life

Pressure is mounting for tighter rules over the sale of magnetic toys including balls and beads which are increasingly putting in peril youngsters who swallow them.

Events