45 m. ago ‘The film wouldn’t even be made today’: the story behind Back to the Future at 40

The time travel comedy was a surprise smash in 1985 and remains a Hollywood touchpoint and as it reaches a major anniversary, those who made it share their memoriesThe actor Lea Thompson has had a distinguished screen career but hesitated to share it with her daughters when they were growing up. “I did not show them most of my stuff because I end up kissing people all the time and it was traumatic to my children,” she recalls. “Even when they were little the headline was, ‘Mom is kissing someone that’s not Dad and it’s making me cry!’”Thompson’s most celebrated role would be especially hard to explain. As Lorraine Baines in Back to the Future, she falls in lust with her own son, Marty McFly, a teenage time traveller from 1985 who plunges into 1955 at the wheel of a DeLorean car. Continue reading...

Politics

46 m. ago Is it safe to travel to Crete? What to know as wildfires rip through holiday towns

Firefighters continue to battle the blaze in its second day after authorities said it's hard to contain

Events

1 hour ago ‘Delay is catastrophic’: how instant antibiotics could save thousands of African children in comas

Analysis finds key to survival for children found to be unconscious and unresponsive is a quick dose of drugs and fast access to specialist careFor the hundreds of children who arrive every day at hospitals in parts of Africa unconscious and unresponsive, their survival chances have remained unchanged for nearly 50 years. But new research is raising hopes that swift treatment with antibiotics could improve those chances.Despite huge strides in healthcare and vaccination rates for children in sub Saharan Africa, the odds remain stacked against those who become so ill they fall into a coma. Depending on the cause, between 17% and 45% are expected to die. Many more will be left with disabilities. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago British woman, 29, is fighting for life in a coma after falling seriously ill moments after getting a tattoo during friend's hen do in Benidorm

A British woman has been left fighting for her life in a coma after falling ill moments after getting a tattoo during her friend's hen do in Benidorm. 

Sport

2 h. ago Currys reveals stronger profits amid boost from ‘resilient’ UK shoppers

The technology retailer said slower inflation and falling interest rates helped support sales from shoppers in the UK.

Economics

3 h. ago Crete wildfire: Tourists evacuated as rapidly spreading blaze threatens holiday beach resorts

‘It’s a very difficult situation. The fire is very hard to contain. Right now, they cannot contain it’ - Nektarios Papadakis, civil protection official

Events

3 h. ago What Prince Harry and Prince William could learn from Liam and Noel Gallagher as the Oasis frontmen gear up for their reunion tour

They might not be members of the Royal Family but Liam and Noel Gallagher could certainly be considered Rock n Roll royalty.

Politics

5 h. ago The two Mr Ps on life in the classroom: ‘I’ve worked with teachers who have been hit or kicked’

In their popular podcast, the brothers talk about all the hidden horrors and hilarity of teaching – from burnout to bad behaviour, stress, trolling and a constant stream of embarrassing incidents ...You can learn a lot about British society from what children bring into classrooms. Take sex toys, Lee Parkinson says. He co-hosts the highly popular Two Mr Ps in a Pod(Cast) with his brother Adam – they both work in primary schools – and their inboxes are bursting with stories from teachers of X-rated show-and-tells.“You would not believe,” Lee says. Continue reading...

Events

5 h. ago ‘People pay to be told lies’: the rise and fall of the world’s first ayahuasca multinational

Alberto Varela claimed he wanted to use sacred plant medicine to free people’s minds. But as the organisation grew, his followers discovered a darker realityThe first time Dalia* took ayahuasca nothing happened. The second time it changed her life. It was 2017, and she had joined a dozen strangers in a chalet outside Barcelona. Everyone was searching for something. For many it was a way out of misery: an escape from years of addiction, or a last-ditch attempt to survive crippling depression. Dalia, a therapist in her early 30s, hoped ayahuasca would help her process the recent death of her mother. “I felt completely alone at that time,” she said. “And I think in some form that’s how everyone there felt.”The retreat, run by a wellness company called Inner Mastery, began with the two dozen participants talking about their expectations, before imbibing ayahuasca. The Amazonian plant brew, which contains dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a powerful naturally occurring psychoactive, induces an a...

Politics

7 h. ago House voting on rule to pave the way to final debate on Trump’s tax

Procedural vote would open final debate but measure has already been voted against by enough Republicans to have it failWhat’s in Trump’s major tax bill?Republican voters on Trump legislation: ‘This bill is a no-brainer!’Donald Trump on Tuesday toured “Alligator Alcatraz”, a controversial new migrant detention jail in the remote Florida Everglades, and celebrated the harsh conditions that people sent there would experience.The president was chaperoned by Florida’s hard-right governor, Ron DeSantis, who hailed the tented camp on mosquito-infested land 50 miles west of Miami as an example for other states that supported Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago Moment military helicopter explodes into ball of flames after crash as it arrived back at airport

The Mi-24 helicopter with eight people on board was arriving from an airfield in the Lower Shabelle region before it plummeted to the ground and went up in flames.

Events

10 h. ago In 1948 a Labour government founded the NHS. My job now is to make it fit for the future | Wes Streeting

Our 10-year plan, backed by an extra £29bn, will transform the service through AI and neighbourhood care – and hand power back to patientsWes Streeting is secretary of state for health and social careThere are moments in our national story when our choices define who we are. In 1948, Clement Attlee’s government made a choice founded on fairness: that everyone in our country deserves to receive the care they need, not the care they can afford.That the National Health Service was created amid the rubble and ruin of the aftermath of war makes that choice all the more remarkable. It enshrined in law and in the service itself our collective conviction that healthcare is not a privilege to be bought and sold, but a right to be cherished and protected. Now it falls to our generation to make the same choice.Wes Streeting is secretary of state for health and social care Continue reading...

Politics

10 h. ago Children are receiving ‘life lessons’ from influencers and AI – Ofsted boss

Sir Martyn Oliver will say classroom learning with human interaction ‘has never been more important’ as more pupils spend time online.

Politics

11 h. ago ‘If you want Medicaid, get a f***ing job!’ Republicans take hard line in support of Trump bill despite constituent worries

Republicans have no problem with the fact the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ could hurt people who vote for them and Trump

Politics

12 h. ago Ozzy Osbourne charging £1400 for photo and autograph days after Black Sabbath show

EXCLUSIVE: Frontman Ozzy Osbourne will end his performing days this weekend, then head to an event where he'll pose with fans for big payday with family

Culture

12 h. ago Manchester United learn Ollie Watkins price as 'transfer talks begin' amid Viktor Gyokeres uncertainty

United could turn their attentions to the Aston Villa striker as Ruben Amorim seeks to improve his attacking options

Sport

12 h. ago Inside £2.2m Welsh home for sale which has 'devastating' backstory

In the latest episode of Britain's Most Expensive Houses, Channel 4 viewers saw agents Sorcha Rodbard-Hedderwick and Jemma Friday head down to the Vale of Glamorgan.

Economics

13 h. ago The world's richest (homeless) man could be driven to an idyllic safe haven... but it'll ignite a huge firestorm

He's the richest man in the world with unlimited funds and an army of supporters who have his back. But he could be in deep trouble after falling out with his former best friend.

Events

13 h. ago Teacher tells jury how he sprinted towards scene of schoolboy Harvey Willgoose's fatal stabbing after hearing cries of 'knife, knife' on staff radio system

Harvey, 15, collapsed less than a minute after he was knifed in the heart at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield on February 3. Shocking CCTV footage of the attack was played to a jury.

Events

13 h. ago House at standstill as Republican leaders continue to try to rally holdouts, delaying rule vote – US politics live

Democrats criticize tax-and-spending bill as House Republicans scramble to get legislation passed by Trump-imposed deadlineWhat’s in Trump’s major tax bill?Donald Trump on Tuesday toured “Alligator Alcatraz”, a controversial new migrant detention jail in the remote Florida Everglades, and celebrated the harsh conditions that people sent there would experience.The president was chaperoned by Florida’s hard-right governor, Ron DeSantis, who hailed the tented camp on mosquito-infested land 50 miles west of Miami as an example for other states that supported Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Continue reading...

Politics