7 h. ago The Guardian view on Tilly Norwood: she’s not art, she’s data | Editorial

The first 100% AI actor is a cause for alarm. But the human connection of great acting can never be replacedThe threat to human creativity from technology took another step closer this week with the appearance of Tilly Norwood, the first 100% AI-generated actor. Unsurprisingly, her unveiling at the Zurich film festival in a comic sketch called AI Commissioner caused an outcry. Emily Blunt described the film as “terrifying” and the actors’ union Sag-Aftra condemned it as “jeopardising performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry”.There is much that is problematic about Norwood, not least the message her “girl-next-door vibe” sends to young women. But the more serious point is that her face has been made from those of real actors without their knowledge or consent. Her lighthearted debut masks the fact that she is part of a new model of media production that rides roughshod over longstanding norms and laws governing artists and their work. Hollywood has been anticipating Norwood...

Politics

30 h. ago The Guardian view on the Manchester synagogue attack: a tragic wake

An assault of this kind was widely feared. Now that it has happened, Britain faces a choice between deeper division and greater toleranceThe attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester was outrageous. It took two innocent lives, and several others were injured. Yet it could have happened almost anywhere. It is an event with wider national meaning and lessons. On Thursday morning, Britain looked over the edge into one of the dark places to which modern public life has been heading. Having looked and seen, Britain now needs to learn and step back.The violence began around 9.30am, just as morning prayers were being held on Yom Kippur, Judaism’s most solemn and sacred day. The synagogue was inevitably well attended. Yet within a short period of time, two Jewish victims lay dead from stabbing, with four others injured, outside what ought to be a place of prayer and community. The attacker was then himself shot and killed, possibly as he attempted to get inside t...

Events

30 h. ago The Guardian view on climate policy: Britain needs clean power, not culture wars | Editorial

Kemi Badenoch’s plan to scrap the Climate Change Act is reckless. Ed Miliband offers a bolder, fairer vision. The future must be built on renewablesLet’s scrap Britain’s successful climate law so we can burn more gas, lose investment and have higher bills. Crazy as it might seem, that is the message of Kemi Badenoch’s new energy strategy. The Conservative leader proposes to repeal the 2008 Climate Change Act in favour of a plan to “maximise oil and gas extraction”, and remove all legally binding carbon targets. It’s pitched as pragmatism. But it’s a lurch into ideological self-harm.Britain’s energy problem isn’t its climate legislation, which is admired globally, backed by industry and supported by the public. It’s that this country remains too dependent on volatile fossil fuels. Emissions targets are not the reason for high bills. It is gas prices, which skyrocketed after Russia invaded Ukraine. They set UK electricity prices. In Europe, they don’t – that’s why bills are lower...

Events

37 h. ago How Chicago is resisting Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown

In the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk killing, the Guardian's Oliver Laughland and Tom Silverstone head to Chicago, where Donald Trump's Ice deployment, codename Operation Midway Blitz, has been met by a defiant wave of sustained protests. With political violence on the rise, they speak to a new generation of political candidates and organisers, including Kat Abughazaleh, to find out if worse is still to come Continue reading...

Politics

55 h. ago Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert on one another’s shows to ‘drive Trump nuts’

Kimmel returned to TV after his show’s suspension in the wake of comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s killing.

Politics

57 h. ago Strictly's Shirley Ballas moved to tears after heartwarming gesture from mum

Shirley Ballas is best known for role as the lead judge on Strictly Come Dancing, but in a touching moment away from the show, she shared a heartwarming tribute from her mum

Events

69 h. ago Turning Point, moving forward without Charlie Kirk, makes first return to Utah since his killing

Turning Point USA’s college tour is in Utah for the first time since its founder was assassinated on a college campus in the state earlier this month

Events

3 d. ago Charlie Kirk’s record of ‘bigotry, hatred and White Supremacy’ means there is no legacy to honor, says Ilhan Omar

Democrat tells Don Lemon ‘it is a tragedy that Charlie Kirk was killed in that way’

Events

3 d. ago Utah governor calls on people to ‘stop shooting each other’ after Kirk killing

Spencer Cox tells 60 Minutes he’s making plea after being able to ‘unsee’ video of Charlie Kirk being shotThe Utah governor, Spencer Cox, has called on people in the US to “stop shooting each other – that’s it” saying he makes that plea against political violence after being unable to “unsee” video of a sniper in his state killing rightwing activist Charlie Kirk.Cox delivered those comments in an interview aired Sunday evening on the CBS program 60 Minutes, 18 days after Kirk’s shooting death at Utah Valley University (UVU) and one week from the Turning Point USA founder’s memorial service outside Phoenix. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Charlie Kirk shooting: suspect’s lawyer requests time to examine ‘voluminous’ evidence

Lawyers representing murder accused seek more time before deciding if they will push for preliminary hearing An attorney for the 22-year-old man charged with killing Charlie Kirk asked a judge Monday for more time to review the large amount of evidence in the case before deciding if the defense will seek a preliminary hearing.A preliminary hearing would determine if there is enough evidence against Tyler Robinson to go forward with a trial. Defendants can waive that step, but Robinson’s newly appointed attorney Kathryn Nester said her team did not intend to do so. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago The Guardian view on catastrophe in Darfur: The world has looked away, but Sudan’s civilians can’t wait any longer | Editorial

A brutal war has been fuelled by outside powers. Diplomatic efforts must be intensifiedWhen the history of the 21st century is written, the name of El Fasher will surely appear on its bleakest pages. The besiegement of the city by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has lasted more than 500 days. Families are surviving on animal feed. An estimated 260,000 civilians face a terrifying choice: to stay and die of starvation or in an airstrike – or attempt to flee and face rape, robbery and death.El Fasher is the last major city in Darfur still defended by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) – and allied fighters – in the bloody and unrelenting struggle with the RSF, which has lasted almost two and a half years. Yet a conflict that has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis has remained largely ignored as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza have consumed international attention. In the runup to the UN general assembly in New York last week, the US finally appeared to be ma...

Politics

4 d. ago Attorney for suspect in Charlie Kirk assassination wants more time to review evidence

An attorney for a 22-year-old man charged with killing Charlie Kirk has asked a judge for more time to review the large amount of evidence in the case before deciding if the defense will seek a preliminary hearing

Politics

5 d. ago The Guardian view on AI and jobs: the tech revolution should be for the many not the few | Editorial

Britain risks devolving its digital destiny to Silicon Valley. As a TUC manifesto argues, those affected must have a greater say in shaping the workplace of the futureIn The Making of the English Working Class, the leftwing historian EP Thompson made a point of challenging the condescension of history towards luddism, the original anti-tech movement. The early 19th-century croppers and weavers who rebelled against new technologies should not be written off as “blindly resisting machinery”, wrote Thompson in his classic history. They were opposing a laissez-faire logic that dismissed its disastrous impact on their lives.A distinction worth bearing in mind as Britain rolls out the red carpet for US big tech, thereby outsourcing a modern industrial revolution still in its infancy. Photographers, coders and writers, for example, would sympathise with the powerlessness felt by working people who saw customary protections swept away in a search for enhanced productivity and profit. Unlice...

Politics

5 d. ago The Guardian view on the 2025 Booker prize: bringing posh bingo to the BookTok generation | Editorial

With this year’s shortlist announced live to the public, Britain’s most prestigious literary award is finding ways to engage new audiencesWith its reputation for stuffiness and elitism, the Booker prize may seem unsuited to the age of social media. Back in the 1980s, when writers’ spats and affairs made headlines, the winning ceremony was televised by the BBC. It was the book world’s Oscars. Today, the idea of tuning in to watch the dinner-suited literati tuck into supper in London’s oak-panelled Guildhall seems preposterous. But the UK’s most prestigious literary prize still needs to reach as wide an audience as possible. How do you sell “posh bingo”, as Julian Barnes memorably dubbed it, to the BookTok generation?It is no longer enough to tell people what they should be reading. Readers expect to be part of the conversation – to be in the bingo hall. This year’s shortlist was announced live by the chair and former Booker prizewinner Roddy Doyle at an event at London’s So...

Politics

5 d. ago Aston Villa 3 Fulham 1: Emery breathes sigh of relief as hosts finally win Premier League game but do it the hard way

OLLIE WATKINS ended his 10-game wait for a goal as Aston Villa finally clinched their first Premier League victory of the season. Just when Unai Emery’s season looked set to suffer another setback after Raul Jimenez had given Fulham a shock third-minute lead, Watkins put his struggles behind him with a moment of magic to...

Sport

6 d. ago South Africa v Argentina live: Springboks lead Rugby Championship thriller despite Kolbe moment of madness

After a record win over New Zealand, can the world champions show their strength again as they return to home soil?

Sport

6 d. ago ‘Free speech for me, not for thee’: how Trump’s censorship blitz is splitting the right

After Charlie Kirk’s killing, the US president has unleashed an assault on free speech. Some conservatives are questioning his razor sharp U-turnIt has taken barely two weeks for Donald Trump to turn the horrific killing of Charlie Kirk to his political advantage, unleashing an unprecedented peacetime assault on free speech and a free press on the back of the assassination.Since Kirk’s death, the president and his top team have:forced a private media company to suspend late-night TV star Jimmy Kimmel for inaccurate comments he made about Kirk’s suspected shooter;threatened other TV networks with losing their licences should they say things Trump doesn’t like;vowed to prosecute “hate speech” that is fully protected under the first amendment;declared antifa a terrorist organisation in an indiscriminate attack on political ideology;and told journalists covering the Pentagon that they will have their access revoked unless they agree to restrictions on their reporting. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Online threats of violence lead to arrests after Charlie Kirk's killing

The killing of Charlie Kirk has been followed by a string of arrests across the U.S. over alleged threats of violence in response to the assassination of the conservative activist

Events

7 d. ago Trump’s pick for State Dept. deletes violent tweets as GOP blames left for political violence after Charlie Kirk killing

Some tweets labeled January 6 Capitol rioters as “political prisoners,” another suggested Joe Biden should be imprisoned, and one called for a political opponent to be executed.

Events

7 d. ago ‘It’s all performative’: why are shooters leaving messages on shell casings?

The use of markings on ammunition is a new trend of shooters trying to ensure their messages are disseminated publicly, experts sayIn the past month, the US has had to reckon with three deadly, high-profile shootings, and in each one, investigators have dealt with a seldom-seen piece of evidence in shooting cases, high-profile and otherwise: messages the shooter left on shell casings and firearm magazines.The suspect in the 27 August shooting at Annunciation Catholic school in Minneapolis allegedly left several firearm magazines with messages like “suck on this” written in white marker. Tyler Robinson, the man who’s accused of killing Charlie Kirk, allegedly engraved his bullet casings with “Hey fascist! Catch!” and “Bella ciao.” Authorities say the man who’s suspected of opening fire at an US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility in Texas this week wrote “Anti-Ice” on his bullet casings. Continue reading...

Events