8 h. ago Having a child has been both the most transformative and mundane experience of my life | Rebecca Varcoe

Parenthood has opened the door to a new kind of love – one not necessarily more sacred or pure than the love for my friends, parents and husbandGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailTwo years ago I fell pregnant and within five weeks I was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum, a medical condition that causes extreme nausea and vomiting. It lasted my entire pregnancy and that year was (almost) the worst of my life. Now, I keep being told the relief of no longer being sick is the main reason I enjoyed the first year of my child’s life so much.Shortly after my baby was born, I started seeing social media content about Charli xcx’s song “I think about it all the time” and its articulation of the apprehension many women have about becoming mothers. I have recently started back at work and miss my child terribly. It’s the unhappiest I have been since she was born, around the same time Chappell Roan said none of her friends with children were happy.Sign up for the fun stuff with our ...

Politics

11 h. ago Forever review – an absolutely adorable TV take on Judy Blume’s banned teen sex classic

The 1975 novel might be barred from US schools and libraries, but it gets a hugely important telling here. It’s powerful, sweet – and with a cast as excellent as Heartstopper’sA couple of years ago, Judy Blume noted that book banning was not only undergoing a resurgence in the US, but was at that point “much worse” than she had noticed during the 1980s. Blume is one to know: her 1975 novel Forever..., about teenage sex and desire, continues to be banned by school districts and libraries, as repression and censorship gallop on at a pace. This Netflix adaptation of Blume’s novel, which loses the ellipsis, is not only timely but important: through it, the story continues to be told, even if it is in a different medium.This eight-part series, created by Girlfriends showrunner Mara Brock Akil, is sensitive and winningly sweet, while still managing to maintain its defiance and bite. It doesn’t so much update its source material as treat the novel as loose inspiration: details are shuffled...

Events

29 h. ago Summer of 69 film review – charming, if overfamiliar, teen sex comedy

Awkward teenager strikes deal with stripper played by SNL’s Chloe Fineman in moderately entertaining throwbackIn Summer of 69, a comedy that premiered at SXSW in March, poor Bryan Adams doesn’t even get a mention. Rather than coasting on the nostalgia summoned by his 1985 hit, the title is instead a reference to the top-and-tail sex position (Adams has claimed, much to the annoyance of his co-writer, that the song was also referring to the same thing).It’s the unusual focus of awkward teen gamer Abby (relative newcomer Sam Morelos) who has a long-running obsession with her classmate Max (Disney star Matt Cornett). The best she’s been able to manage throughout their time at school is small talk, but when he breaks up with his longtime girlfriend, she sees an opportunity. Through the grapevine she hears that Max is a fan of the 69 position and Abby, whose experience of kissing has been limited to the back of her hand, seeks assistance. It arrives in the form of Santa Monica (Saturday ...

Culture

29 h. ago Summer of 69 review – charming, if overfamiliar, teen sex comedy

Awkward teenager strikes deal with stripper played by SNL’s Chloe Fineman in moderately entertaining throwbackIn Summer of 69, a comedy that premiered at SXSW in March, poor Bryan Adams doesn’t even get a mention. Rather than coasting on the nostalgia summoned by his 1985 hit, the title is instead a reference to the top-and-tail sex position (Adams has claimed, much to the annoyance of his co-writer, that the song was also referring to the same thing).It’s the unusual focus of awkward teen gamer Abby (relative newcomer Sam Morelos) who has a long-running obsession with her classmate Max (Disney star Matt Cornett). The best she’s been able to manage throughout their time at school is small talk, but when he breaks up with his longtime girlfriend, she sees an opportunity. Through the grapevine she hears that Max is a fan of the 69 position and Abby, whose experience of kissing has been limited to the back of her hand, seeks assistance. It arrives in the form of Santa Monica (Saturday ...

Politics

47 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Hegseth’s sudden arms halt ‘cost US up to $2.2m’ – report

Missile attack against Kyiv after deadly strike on Sumy; Zelenskyy seeks ramp-up of drone interceptor development. What we know on day 1,169 The Pentagon under Pete Hegseth stopped arms shipments to Ukraine in February without being ordered to do so by Donald Trump, the newly inaugurated president, Reuters reports. The order – which the news agency said blindsided top US national security officials, and the Ukrainians – was reversed within a week, but it cost up to $US2.2m to cancel the 11 flights involved, according to records. Reuters said records showed Hegseth gave a verbal order for the stoppage after a 30 January Oval Office meeting where only the idea of stopping military assistance was discussed.Ukraine’s air defence units were trying repel a missile attack on Kyiv, the mayor said, after explosions shook the city just after 1am local time on Wednesday. A Russian ballistic missile attack killed three people including a child at Sumy in Ukraine and wounded 10 other people – mo...

Economics

50 h. ago Child killed as India fires missiles across Pakistan border, officials say

It follows rising tensions after militants killed 26 civilians in a resort town in Indian-administered Kashmir

Events

59 h. ago The Uninvited review – Walton Goggins and Pedro Pascal shine in tasty satire

An agent hosts a fancy soiree in the Hollywood Hills in this gently incisive drama about the privileged class, written and directed by Nadia ConnersAs the sun goes down in the Hollywood Hills, talent agent Sammy (Walton Goggins) and his actor wife Rose (Elizabeth Reaser) prepare for a house party they are throwing. It’s pretty quickly apparent that, despite Sammy’s sudden lustful lunges at his wife and her tinkling laughter, there is plenty of backstory to be revealed behind the landscaped garden succulents. Sammy’s career is in trouble and he is worried about retaining his star client, megalomaniac director Gerald (Rufus Sewell). Rose is not getting cast much these days, and while she dotes on their only child Wilder (Roland Rubio), she misses her career. Up-and-coming star Delia (Eva De Dominici) is coming by for the evening, as is big-time movie star Lucien (Pedro Pascal), who just happens to be Rose’s old flame from back in the days when they were struggling theatre actors toget...

Politics

6 d. ago Florida woman, 20, accused of sex with underage boy she met at a funeral

Ayla Gonzalez Salinas was arrested after allegedly messaging the boy on social media and then meeting up with him

Politics

6 d. ago Florida woman, 20, accused of having sex with underage boy she met at a funeral

Ayla Gonzalez Salinas was arrested after allegedly messaging the boy on social media and then meeting up with him

Politics

7 d. ago Max Verstappen to miss Miami Grand Prix media day to stay with his girlfriend ahead of imminent birth of his first child

Max Verstappen has been withdrawn from his scheduled media commitments for this weekend's Miami Grand Prix ahead of the birth of his first child.

Sport

8 d. ago Husband walks in on naked wife having sex with his son, 15, on sofa before teen legs it

Alexis Von Yates, 35, is awaiting a criminal trial for the alleged statutory rape of a minor who was visiting his father in Florida for summer vacation last July, it has been reported

Politics

1 week ago Teen found in 23st sex offender's wardrobe after sending SOS Instagram message

After the 16 year old girl had been missing for months, the teen sent a desperate Instagram message to her friend which helped police track her to the registered sex offenders house

Events

1 week ago Virginia Giuffre's brother releases 'last' smiling photo before her death

Virginia Giuffre died by suicide at the age of 41, after years of seeking justice for being sex trafficked as a teen - accusing both Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew, the royal continually denying claims

Events

1 week ago Urgent HMRC warning to anyone earning under £80k missing out on one benefit

HMRC has urged families to explore whether they are eligible for Child Benefit, as they are likely missing out on free money, here’s everything your need to know

Events

2 w. ago Kanye West details sickening sex act with teen cousin who inspired new song

Rapper Kanye West has taken to X/Twitter to confess that he previously performed a sexual act on his cousin after they "looked at dirty magazines together" when they were kids

Politics

2 w. ago Missing child found wandering on M25 just metres from moving cars, police say

Emergency services were alerted to reports of the child walking on the hard shoulder in Kent

Events

3 w. ago Child molester questioned after missing gran found 'encased in concrete'

Marcia Norman went missing on April 1 with detectives baffled at the scene left in her house, immediately launching a manhunt after deeming her disappearance 'suspicious'

Events

3 w. ago Nebraska officials search the Missouri River near Omaha for two teens and a child

Firefighters and police are searching for the bodies of two teenagers and a child who went missing in the frigid waters of Missouri River at Omaha, Nebraska

Politics

3 w. ago Primary school offer day 2025: how to appeal if your child misses first choice

Children starting reception in September will find out on Wednesday which school they’ll be attending

Politics

3 w. ago Mother taken to court and fined after her child missed two days of school following term break when family got stranded abroad

The Stoke-on-Trent woman, unnamed for legal reasons, defended the absence by arguing that her daughter's health condition necessitated the trip.

Society