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Iga Swiatek and other top female seeds progressed while Stan Wawrinka said goodbye after his 21st French Open at the age of 41Jones 1-2 Swiatek* (* denotes server): Better from Jones. Six shots of baseline exchanges, and Jones finishes it off with a forehand winner past Swiatek to make 30-15 in her favour. Swiatek's backhand then goes long after 11 shots between the pair. However Swiatek crawls back and takes it to deuce. The pair exchange advantages for a while but Jones strikes and gets the break back with a forehand winner.*Jones 0-2 Swiatek (* denotes server): Swiatek breaks Jones at love. Three break points at 0-40, sealed with a crushing forehand winner. Continue reading...

Engine failure in Canada is latest setback for British driver, who is 43 points behind teenager Kimi Antonelli after five racesGeorge Russell was left wondering quite which deity he had offended as he despairingly contemplated his retirement from the Canadian Grand Prix with a mechanical failure. Fortune, for good or ill, will always play a part but what also became clear in Montreal is that Russell's teammate and championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, is going to be fearsomely hard to beat this season, whatever the circumstances.Russell ground to a halt on the circuit Gilles Villeneuve on lap 30 after a thrilling battle with his Mercedes teammate that had ebbed and flowed. The British driver deserved better, the two had been exchanging the lead and going side by side repeatedly, inches apart and trading paint on one occasion, only for Russell's efforts to count for naught as he went out not with a whimper when the systems on his car shut down due to battery failure. Continue reading...

John A Walko was identified through DNA and brought home to Pennsylvania 80 years after his WWII deathThe remains of a US soldier killed during the second world war were returned to his Pennsylvania hometown more than 80 years after he died after DNA analysis identified him.John A Walko, a US army Pfc who died on 20 October 1944 during the Battle of Aachen in Germany, was escorted from the Pittsburgh airport to Commodore, Pennsylvania by a veteran's motorcycle group earlier this month, according to Cleveland.com. Continue reading...

The twists and turns in this saga are bewildering, but Donald Trump appears to have the cards stacked against himFor those following the crisis between the US and Iran, the past few days have been bewildering. On Friday, the six-week-old ceasefire seemed doomed. Donald Trump skipped his son's wedding to remain in the White House and was reportedly contemplating renewed military strikes on Iran. On Saturday, apprehension was replaced by optimism. Trump announced that an agreement with Iran would be concluded shortly". On Sunday, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, added to the hope by saying that there would soon be good news".Iran's leaders soon dampened the optimism. The country's media dismissed Trump's social media post as propaganda, and Iranian officials highlighted several remaining points of dispute. As Tehran began revealing - in very general terms - its conception of a deal, the gap between it and Washington became even more evident. Continue reading...

The Spurs are up against the best team in the NBA in the Western Conference finals. But their star player has enough sorcery to give them confidenceVictor Wembanyama called for the ball. His San Antonio Spurs were up by nine at the tail end of the second quarter, but had led by as many as 16 in the first half. Down 2-1 in the Western Conference Finals to the Oklahoma City Thunder, building the lead in the final seconds of the half felt urgent - in the previous game, the Spurs had exploded into a 15-0 lead, only to lose heavily. In Game 4 on Sunday night, the klaxon was closing in, and so might the Thunder. Wembanyama got in a couple dribbles, but only had time to reach half-court before the clock forced him to shoot. He hoisted the ball into the air from 43ft; the buzzer sounded. The ball slammed cleanly into the basket.Buoyed up by that shot and the Thunder clanking almost all their three-point attempts off the rim as if in solidarity with one another, the Spurs completed a 21-point annihilation to tie the series. Continue reading...

Ever-growing influence of social media and AI means such ideas spreading at faster rates than before, experts sayHantavirus and Ebola outbreaks carry with them familiar attendants in the US: extreme conspiracy theories about a planned pandemic, or plandemic", designed to upend midterm elections or push new vaccines or any one of a myriad of wild ideas.Ebola, which the World Health Organization warned on Friday is spreading rapidly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, poses a very high" risk at the national level. In the upside-down world of conspiracy theories it could be a bioweapon, a financial plot, or a scheme to extract national resources. Continue reading...

Media credentials for the accused gunman's New York trial acquired by his supporters have provoked sharp reactionsOn what felt like an early New York City summer day, a gaggle of women in the bloom of youth gathered outside Manhattan's criminal courthouse last week, waxing philosophical about Luigi Mangione and the man he is accused of murdering.Fuck Brian Thompson, that's all I'm going to say," one of the three women, who sported a button adorned with Mangione's face, said of the late UnitedHealthcare executive. After directing the same invective towards Thompson's mother, the woman continued: I said what I said." Continue reading...

Luna and Zavier Gozo's World Cup dreams ended with a Friday email from US SoccerReal Salt Lake coach Pablo Mastroeni was in disbelief. The US roster for the World Cup would include neither his team's star playmaker Diego Luna nor their head-turning youngster, Zavier Gozo. While the uncapped Gozo was a late long shot to make the squad, Luna seemed a near-lock given his importance to the national team throughout 2025.Mastroeni knows the magnitude of these moments. As a player, he was the proverbial 23rd man in 2002, relaying that US coach Bruce Arena told him he'd made the roster as a rah -ah guy." Injuries and circumstance, plus his own approach, landed the midfielder in the lineup for the USMNT's 3-2 win over Portugal to open group play as well as both of its ensuing knock-out matches. Continue reading...

Trump and his allies have so undermined the US government that we need a new vocabulary to describe themWords matter. When describing a government, they inevitably carry moral weight.Over the past 16 months, Trump and his appointees have so profoundly undermined the United States government that different words should be used to describe them than have been used to describe all previous administrations.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Guardian US columnist and his newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com. His new book, Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America, is out now in the US and in the UK Continue reading...

The state saw 33 tornadoes last year and severe flooding as researchers say links to climate change are undeniableThe tornado hit west Ann Arbor at 1.45am on 15 April, passing through Veterans Memorial park, where it knocked several mature oak trees and ripped up baseball field fences before setting its sights on a local ice rink.It came up through the parking lot and, in that time, the pressure differential between the tornado and the air inside the rink collapsed the wall," said Scott Spooner, a manager at Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation. Continue reading...

US president says he is not rushing into a deal after proposed plan to end war prompts Republican backlash. Plus, mood in Russia turns against Putin

President insists I don't make bad deals!' as hawks from his own party call proposed agreement a disaster - key US politics stories from Sunday 24 May at a glanceDonald Trump defended himself against criticism from fellow Republicans on Sunday as he appeared on the verge of agreeing a deal with Iran to end the war.As hawks in his party called the proposed agreement a disaster and questioned why the US president had launched the conflict in the first place, Trump claimed on social media that his deal would be THE EXACT OPPOSITE" of the one agreed by Barack Obama, which Trump pulled out of in 2018. Continue reading...

A margin of a fraction of a second separated winner from second place at the landmark raceFelix Rosenqvist swung to the outside of David Malukas, then found a way past the Team Penske driver to win the closest Indianapolis 500 in history by a margin of 0.0233 seconds on Sunday.Malukas looked as if he was in position to win when he passed race leader Marcus Armstrong off the final restart with one lap to go while Meyer Shank Racing teammates Rosenqvist and Armstrong battled wheel to wheel down the back straightaway and through the fourth and final turn. Continue reading...

Lee Zeldin says low-volume release' of flammable chemicals is most likely amid fears of explosion at Orange county facility near DisneylandGovernment officials in Orange county, California, have warned that an overheated chemical tank will fail" and could result in a chemical explosion in the area, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator said on Sunday.We're being told that the tank will fail, but there are different scenarios as to what that means," Lee Zeldin, told CNN's State of the Union on Sunday. Zeldin, a former Republican congressman with no prior experience in environmental policy, was chosen by Trump as the head of the EPA. Continue reading...

Emma Raducanu suffered her first opening-round loss with an error-strewn display against Argentina's Solana SierraKhachanov has reached the last eight of this competition twice - Wimbledon likewise - and the last four of the other two slams. That tells us he's got an all-court game, with the eye-test advising that he lacks the power-augmenting finesse go further. He does, though, have Gea's number ... so of course, as I type, the young Frenchman flat-bats an incredible pass cross-court to save set point. For all the difference it makes, Khachanov closing out from there to lead 6-3.It looks a lovely day in Paris, by the way - which isn't always the case. It's going to be seriously hard work for those involved in tight matches, given clay-court rallies and soaring tempteratures. Continue reading...

Trump insists US won't rush talks with Tehran after rebukes from Republicans, including Ted Cruz and Lindsey GrahamRepublican hawks have issued a rare rebuke of Donald Trump over his planned peace deal with Iran, describing it as a disaster" and questioning why the US president launched the war in the first place.Allies of Trump who strongly backed his controversial decision to order war on Iran alongside Israel urged him to hold the line" this weekend, despite mounting economic costs and no sign of progress on many of the the initial objectives set out by his administration. Continue reading...

GOP congressman says his party is set to count cost of Trump disappointment syndrome' after primary defeatDonald Trump's Republican party is on course for a damaging rejection at the ballot box in November, according to a maverick US congressman ousted by a challenger handpicked by the president.Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, became the latest of Trump's targets to be defeated in the party's primaries this week. He had repeatedly broken with the president over military action against Iran, government spending and the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Continue reading...

Suspect who died after exchanging fire with agents had tried to enter the complex last summer, records showA gunman who opened fire outside the White House on Saturday before he was shot by federal agents was already known to the US Secret Service, court records show.The man, 21, was taken to a nearby hospital, before he was later pronounced dead. He had previously tried to enter the complex, according to an affidavit filed in DC superior court in 2025, following an arrest nearby. Continue reading...

The United States' rail system has a dedicated customer base, but remains a niche option for most this summerSebastian Caillat didn't know how fascinating the dental industry could be until he sat next to a dentist on an Amtrak ride from college in New York City to his childhood home in Washington DC in 2023. They spent the ride discussing the dentist's efforts to self-fund his own practice. Caillat was surprised to learn the extraordinary cost of dental technology equipment - but also how interesting a conversation about dental technology equipment could be.In Caillat's view, that conversation represented the magic of Amtrak trains, a mode of transport that he says encourages social interaction. He also saw this dynamic play out last summer, when he rode from New York City to Philadelphia for a Club World Cup match between Palmeiras and Botafogo. Fans of the Brazilian clubs engulfed a train that traveled through New York City and New Jersey, an area home to more than 70,000 Brazilians. Continue reading...

As the summer season warms up, long-haul truck drivers lament their bills and vendors worry about raising pricesThe self-proclaimed largest truck stop in the world offers drivers just about everything they might need during a break. The Iowa 80 parking lots offer 900 spots for trucks and dozens more for passenger cars, while the varieties of snacks, drinks and souvenirs in the market are uncountable. Elsewhere on the premises is a dentist, a barber and a chiropractor, a weight room, a 24-hour diner and a movie theater. There is also a Truckomat, to wash your truck, and a Dogomat, to wash your dog.But the one thing that Iowa 80 does not offer is relief from the price of gas, which has increased sharply ever since the US joined Israel in attacking Iran and sparking a global energy crisis. On a recent afternoon, a gallon of regular gasoline at the sprawling stop in eastern Iowa went for $4.26, and diesel $5.72. Continue reading...

La Brea Tar Pits - the only urban, active ice age excavation site in world - gets a mammoth face lift for the first time in nearly 50 yearsLos Angeles is known for famous museum such as the Getty and the Lacma, but perhaps fewer people are aware that - in the heart of the city - lies a museum that contains one of the world's most remarkable fossil sites.The La Brea Tar Pits and Museum is home to the remains of more than 2 million ice age flora and fauna, including mastodons and saber-toothed cats, that became trapped in oily pools that still bubble up today. Continue reading...

The document is full of disclaimers and does not address fundamental issues, including Gaza and the Biden-to-Harris transitionWhen the Democratic National Committee finally released its autopsy on the 2024 election disaster, not even the DNC chair could defend it. I don't endorse what's in this report," Ken Martin conceded as the autopsy went public on Thursday. After several months of withholding the autopsy on the grounds of not wanting it to be a distraction, Martin fessed up at last: When I received the report late last year, it wasn't ready for primetime. Not even close. And because no source material was provided, fixing it would have meant starting over, from the beginning."In response, a former Obama speechwriter, Jon Favreau, summed up eight stages of Martin's tortuous process that has spanned more than a year: Promise to release autopsy; put incompetent friend in charge; incompetent friend produces incoherent product; announce you're not releasing the autopsy; lie about why; gaslight people who ask, saying they're the problem; face internal revolt; release autopsy."Norman Solomon is the director of RootsAction and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. His latest book is The Blue Road to Trump Hell: How Corporate Democrats Paved the Way for Autocracy Continue reading...

The director of national intelligence was sidelined as the president abandoned his pose as the candidate of peace'Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, stayed loyal to Donald Trump until the end - and nurtured the president's grievances against his political enemies. Last year, she accused Barack Obama and several of his top national security officials of leading a treasonous conspiracy" to highlight Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. In January, Gabbard showed up at the scene of an FBI raid in Georgia where officials sought ballots from the 2020 election, even though her role is mainly focused on foreign intelligence.On Friday, Gabbard submitted her resignation to Trump, saying she would leave her post on 30 June, so she could support her husband after he was recently diagnosed with cancer. News reports quickly emerged that the White House had forced Gabbard to resign. The Guardian reported last month that Trump had privately asked cabinet members whether he should replace her from the post that oversees 18 US intelligence agencies.Mohamad Bazzi is director of the Center for Near Eastern Studies, and a journalism professor, at New York University Continue reading...

Ohio State is grappling with sexual abuse allegations and questions over donor influence as financial pressures mount across higher educationWhen Rocky Ratliff transferred to Ohio State University in Columbus to study political science and wrestle for the college in the mid-1990s, he soon found himself being sexually abused by a prominent member of the university athletic department's medical staff.At the time, Dr Richard Strauss, who is believed to have abused hundreds of student athletes over a period of decades at Ohio State, and who killed himself in 2005, would subject young men to intense abuse, including rape. Continue reading...

Global Pepfar program has long had Republican leadership and bipartisan support, but initiative is under fireUS midterm voters overwhelmingly support Pepfar, an initiative to end HIV/Aids that also has strengthened health systems against other infectious disease threats but has come under fire from the Trump administration.About three in four (74%) likely voters in the US midterm elections say they support funding the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar), with voters more likely to back candidates who support Pepfar, according to a recent poll. Four in five (80%) of the voters said there is a moral argument for supporting lifesaving treatment for people at risk for or living with HIV/Aids, regardless of their personal choices. Continue reading...

Global prices are approaching a tipping point that could trigger inflation, shortages and, over time, recessionIf a US-Iran deal is about to be reached, three months on from the launch of Donald Trump's Operation Epic Fury, it will not be a day too soon for oil markets, which are approaching a dangerous tipping point.The cost of a barrel of crude on the spot market - for immediate purchase, effectively - has bounced about $100 since Iran predictably responded to the onslaught from the US and Israel by closing the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

His recent concerts are a thunderous call to fight for democracy. The nation could use more like himThe Bruce Springsteen concert I went to in Brooklyn last week was unlike any concert I've attended in decades. It was far more than a fabulous, joyous concert; it was also an inspiring resistance event.From the get-go, the Boss made clear that this concert would be part of the anti-Trump resistance. It was a three-hour-long ode to the resistance and a thunderous call to Springsteen fans to step up and do more to fight for democracy and against authoritarianism. In this way, Springsteen is serving as a model for how celebrities can stand up against Trump and fight for what's right.Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voiceSinging through the bloody mistSteven Greenhouse is a journalist and author, focusing on labor and the workplace, as well as economic and legal issues Continue reading...

Andrew Weissmann argues for new law to hold political liars like US president accountable for harming democracyPoliticians must be held accountable if their lies damage democracy, according to a former US federal prosecutor and FBI general counsel who was pursued by Donald Trump.The US must be as creative as possible" and introduce sweeping structural reforms if it escapes its current mess", said Andrew Weissmann, laying out a proposal for a legislative crackdown on election deceit.Liar's Kingdom: How to Stop Trump's Deceit and Save America is out now Continue reading...

Proposed framework hinges on a 60-day truce, reopening strait of Hormuz, and revived talks on limiting Iran nuclear programme Middle East crisis: live updatesDonald Trump has said a memorandum of understanding" in talks to end the US-Israel war on Iran has been largely negotiated".Official details of the deal remain scant and it remains possible some aspects of the memo could change, but here is what we know so far about the potential agreement that could bring an end to the war. Continue reading...

US secretary of state tells reporters peace talks with Iran have progressed but cautions that a deal not 'final' at this stage Continue reading...

President's claim is tempered by Pakistani PM's hopes of hosting more talks very soon', and Iran's Fars news agency saying strait of Hormuz will remain under Iranian control

Suspect dies after firing upon agents at White House checkpoint, Secret Service says, with a bystander also injuredA gunman has been shot dead after approaching a White House security checkpoint and firing at officers, federal officials have said.The White House, where Donald Trump was present, was briefly locked down on Saturday as the sound of a sustained volley of gunshots rang out, sending journalists in the area running for cover. Continue reading...

Donald Trump appeared upbeat about the prospects of an imminent deal with Tehran, although Iran and mediators Pakistan appear slightly less sure - key US politics stories from Saturday 23 MayDonald Trump appeared hopeful of an end to his war on Iran, saying the final aspects and details" of a deal were being discussed and would be announced shortly.An agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries," Trump posted. Continue reading...

Order facilitates support for 40,000 people told to evacuate Orange county as responders try to divert explosionCalifornia's governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Saturday in response to the looming threat of chemical disaster in Orange county.The proclamation directs the governor's office of emergency services and other state agencies to provide additional support to Orange county responders. The governor's office is also making state-owned properties available to shelter the 40,000 people ordered to evacuate from the area. Continue reading...

George Russell backed up his fractious sprint race win in Montreal with pole position in qualifyingOuch. Lance Stroll's car is in pieces. Suspension problem, Collins diagnoses.Lewis Hamilton zooms by on a scooter, setting a good example to any watching kids by wearing a helmet. Continue reading...

Order aimed at preventing spread of Ebola to US affects travelers who have visited three countries in last 21 daysUS authorities have temporarily banned green-card holders from entering the country if they have traveled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda or South Sudan in the last 21 days.The order issued on Friday is part of an expanding attempt to prevent Ebola from entering US borders. A previously announced travel restriction blocked only people without US passports who had visited those countries from entering but exempted US citizens and lawful permanent residents. Continue reading...

A Mad Men-style steakhouse break would be welcome. But I've had it with the Lunch Industrial ComplexIt's 12.30pm as I write this. My mind is preoccupied with moving my fingers from key to key on my ageing laptop, a task I paused briefly to remove a hair from the screen. Then, I scratched my leg again, which kicked up another hair. I should get back to work, but I can't concentrate. Why? Because I'm incredibly hungry. It is, after all, lunchtime - the most worthless part of any work day.It is not that there's shame in lunch. It's just that we're not programmed to eat at a certain time. We're all different and the whole concept of the office lunch is obsolete nonsense in 2026. Let it go.Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist Continue reading...

SpaceX launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test flight on Friday. It was an upgraded version of the spacecraft Nasa is counting on to land astronauts on the moon. It blasted off from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites that were released midway through the hour-long flight that stretched halfway around the world. Despite some engine trouble, the spacecraft reached its final destination in the Indian Ocean where it erupted into flames on impact. The fire was not unexpected, according to SpaceX

With razor-thin majorities in Congress, the US president needs the votes of the very people whose careers he has destroyedAs Abba's Dancing Queen played, Donald Trump walked across a lawn featuring cornhole, oversized Connect Four, a ferris wheel and a food tent offering short ribs, mac and cheese and apple pie. Members of Congress and their families had come for the annual White House picnic. But not every member of Congress.Missing the fun was Thomas Massie, a longtime thorn in the US president's side. Massie was at home in Kentucky, suffering a primary election defeat that made him the latest victim of Trump's revenge tour. We won the Massie thing," the president told guests at the picnic on Tuesday evening. He was a bad guy. He deserves to lose." Continue reading...

Figures from around the American men's soccer scene agree that the talent level is rising, but much work remains to improve the US men's national teamThe US men's national team roster for the 2026 World Cup will be unveiled on Tuesday, and according to head coach Mauricio Pochettino, the team is suffering from a talent deficit.We are USA," he said after a 2-0 loss to Portugal in March, which followed a 5-2 loss to Belgium three days earlier. And we are competing against Belgium, Portugal. I think for sure Belgium and Portugal have in the top 100 players, few or some players playing in that top 100. I think we don't have [that]." Continue reading...