Over-by-over updates from Sydney Cricket Ground
Play starts at 10am local at the SCG/11pm GMT
The Ashes top 100 | Follow us on Bluesky | Email Rob

128th over: Australia 542-7 (Smith 136, Webster 58) England hit Australia with a five-man pace attack on the first day at Perth. Brydon Carse is the last man standing and continues to charge in with intent, if not always accuracy. A poor ball is tickled for four by Webster to bring up the hundred partnership. England are face down in the dirt and there’s nothing they can do about it.

127th over: Australia 535-7 (Smith 136, Webster 52) Webster works Stokes for a single to reach a breezy half-century from 64 balls. He looks a really good player, has from the moment he turned the India series Australia’s way on debut a year ago.

Democrats held hearing to examine impact of January 6, while protesters commemorated attack on Capitol grounds

Congressional Republicans were largely silent on the fifth anniversary of the January 6 insurrection on Tuesday, even as Democrats sought to use the occasion to blast Donald Trump and a small group of protesters convened on the grounds of the US Capitol in solidarity with those who carried out the attack.

Democrats, who are in the minority in Congress after fruitlessly hoping that the well-documented violence would cause voters to reject Trump for good, seized on the anniversary to decry the president as a threat to democracy, and accuse Republicans of acting as his accomplices.

AI company’s chatbot faces criticism over its generation of sexualized, nonconsensual images of women and girls

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company has raised $20bn in its latest funding round, the startup announced Tuesday, even as its marquee chatbot Grok faces backlash over generating sexualized, nonconsensual images of women and underage girls.

xAI’s Series E funding round featured big name investors, including Nvidia, Fidelity Management and Resource Company, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, and Valor Equity Partners – the private investment firm of Musk’s longtime friend and former Doge member Antonio Gracias. The funding round exceeded its initial $15bn target, according to xAI’s press release. The company touted Grok’s image generation abilities in the announcement of its latest funding round

• Resolution has been delayed by packed fixture schedule

• Manager says defender may be sold for the right price

Oliver Glasner expects to decide in the coming weeks whether he will sign a new contract at Crystal Palace and has said Marc Guéhi could be sold this month if his “threshold” is met.

Glasner is the bookmakers’ early favourite to be the permanent replacement for Ruben Amorim at Manchester United. The Austrian’s contract expires this summer and the ambitious 51-year-old is understood to be open then to joining United or another big club.

West Ham are drifting towards the most gutless of relegations. The London Stadium was half empty on another dismal night, encapsulating the apathy gripping this miserable club, and it is hard to see a way out for Nuno Espírito Santo’s accident prone side after a combination of misfortune and dismal defending left them seven points below Nottingham Forest in 17th place.

There was a disallowed goal for Crysencio Summerville when West Ham were leading 1-0 at the start of the second half. Nuno had charged around his technical area, a big grin spread across his face, but he was watching in despair moments later. Forest replied straight away, Nicolás Domínguez heading in an opportunistic equaliser, and they boosted their survival hopes when a clumsy attempt at a clearing punch from Alphonse Areola sparked the video assistant referee review that ended with Morgan Gibbs-White scoring the winning penalty in the 89th minute.

• Last 16: Côte d’Ivoire 3-0 Burkina Faso

• Heavyweight quarter-final meeting with Egypt awaits

Amad Diallo scored one goal and created another to continue his excellent form in Morocco as the defending champions Côte d’Ivoire eased past Burkina Faso 3-0 in their Africa Cup of Nations last-16 game in Marrakech on Tuesday.

Côte d’Ivoire will face the seven-time winners Egypt in a heavyweight quarter-final in Agadir on Saturday, a repeat of the 2006 decider where the north African side triumphed on penalties after a 0-0 draw.

Police leaders defend position after being recalled to give further evidence in second hearing to home affairs committee

Police chiefs facing scrutiny over a decision to ban fans of an Israeli football team from attending a match in Birmingham have insisted the move was not politically influenced.

West Midlands police (WMP) leaders defended their position at the home affairs committee on Tuesday after being recalled to give further evidence over the decision to ban fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv from attending a Europa League match against Aston Villa on 6 November.

Another 2,000 ICE and homeland security agents will reportedly head to the state, targeting immigrant populations

The Trump administration has sent more immigration agents to Minnesota, part of escalating attacks and rhetoric against the state and its immigrant populations in what immigration officials are saying is the agency’s “largest operation to date”.

“A 100% chance of ICE in the Twin Cities — our largest operation to date,” the official Immigration and Customs Enforcement account on X wrote on Tuesday afternoon. “If you’re a criminal illegal alien and/or you are engaged in fraud, expect a visit from ICE.”

American Federation of Teachers sues over what it says are unconstitutional investigations into social media comments

A major Texas teachers’ union filed a federal lawsuit against the state on Tuesday challenging what it describes as unconstitutional investigations into hundreds of educators who posted comments on social media following the September killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The Texas American Federation of Teachers, which represents approximately 66,000 public school employees, is asking a federal court to block the Texas Education Agency and its commissioner, Mike Morath, from continuing investigations that the union argues violate teachers’ free speech protections.

Trilateral declaration of intent signed after ‘coalition of the willing’ summit in Paris with plan to establish military hubs

Britain and France have declared they are ready to deploy troops to Ukraine in the aftermath of a peace deal, a major new commitment that has been under discussion for months, although one which Russia is likely to block forcefully.

The announcement came after a summit in Paris hosted by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and attended by more than two dozen leaders of the states that make up the “coalition of the willing” of Ukrainian allies, plus the US envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who said the US president “strongly stands” behind the security protocols.

Justices rule 4-1 that laws, including a ban on abortion pills, violate a state amendment protecting healthcare choices

Abortion will stay legal in Wyoming after the state’s supreme court struck down two near-total abortion bans on Tuesday, ruling that the laws violate the constitution of the profoundly conservative state.

In a 4-1 decision, the justices decided that the two bans – which include the nation’s first exclusive ban on abortion pills – violated a 2012 state constitutional amendment. That amendment affirmed competent adults’ right to make their own healthcare decisions and was originally passed as part of Wyoming’s response to the Affordable Care Act.

The seizure of Venezuelan leader was induced by the prize of petroleum, but driven by spectacle, geopolitics and domestic politics

It’s all about oil. That was the reason Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan leader illegally abducted by US forces at the weekend, had given for Donald Trump’s fixation with his country. A better way to think about Venezuela is that oil was necessary but not sufficient. The presence of vast reserves made Mr Trump’s interest understandable – if Venezuela’s main export was bananas this would not have happened. But oil alone cannot explain the timing or scale of the move.

Venezuelan crude is extra-heavy as well as expensive and slow to bring online; it will not immediately transform US energy systems, nor rescue refineries that have already adapted to years without it. Instead, oil is the “prize” around which other agendas cohere. These include future profits for US firms; modest downward pressure on oil prices; depriving China of a meaningful ally in America’s backyard; putting pressure on Cuba; and US domestic political signalling in Florida. Each gain is small. But collectively Mr Trump could justify a high‑profile, theatrical – and unlawful – intervention even if the economic returns are incremental.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Industry insiders say US oil firms want to ‘avoid getting screwed’ and will proceed with extreme caution in region

• Analysis: Trump’s focus on Venezuelan oil reinforces claim action was never about ‘war on drugs’

Industry experts have expressed skepticism over Donald Trump’s bullish prediction that US big oil firms will rapidly invest tens of billions of dollars to fix Venezuelan infrastructure and ramp up production after the rendition of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.

Without an “iron-clad guarantee” that the US federal government will fully reimburse them for the cost of rebuilding the country’s oil market, analysts expect global energy giants to proceed with extreme caution.

In Manchester United’s brave new world coaches are more like Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the food, but still to blame if it arrives cold

Turns out he could survive losing against Grimsby. Survive losing a crucial European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to some of the club’s best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994‑95 season, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a coach who often railed at his players for losing one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

Democrats and ‘make America healthy again’ movement pushed back on the rider in a funding bill led by Bayer

In a setback for the pesticide industry, Democrats have succeeded in removing a rider from a congressional appropriations bill that would have helped protect pesticide makers from being sued and could have hindered state efforts to warn about pesticide risks.

Chellie Pingree, a Democratic representative from Maine and ranking member of the House appropriations interior, environment, and related agencies subcommittee, said Monday that the controversial measure pushed by the agrochemical giant Bayer and industry allies has been stripped from the 2026 funding bill.

The next 12 months promise blockbuster surveys of noted greats and introductions to intriguing lesser-known artists

From old masters to pop artists, contemporary greats and even a major Mexican film-maker, art museums and galleries across the US have some dazzling shows coming up in 2026.

New leadership claims former allies are trying to repurpose $160m in NRA Foundation donations for personal gain

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is suing its own charitable arm, the NRA Foundation, claiming that its leaders are trying to seize control of the gun rights organization and illegally “repurposing” $160m in donations to support their “thirst for power”.

The allegations come in a lawsuit filed on Monday in federal court in Washington DC laying bare the turmoil that has plagued the NRA since its disgraced longtime chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, was ousted in 2024 alongside other senior figures after a financial corruption scandal.

LaMalfa’s death cuts the House Republican majority to 218-213, tightening GOP control for passing bills

Doug LaMalfa, a California Republican who represented the state’s rural northern region in the House of Representatives and was known for his work on water and forestry policy, has died at age 65, according to statements from Republican officials.

LaMalfa, a fourth-generation rice farmer who previously served in the California state legislature, was in his seventh term representing California’s first congressional district. He sat on the House agriculture, natural resources, and transportation and infrastructure committees.

Late-night hosts react to Trump’s shocking attack on Venezuela and surprise capture of Nicolás Maduro

Late-night hosts tore into the Trump administration’s surprise military attack on Caracas, capture of president Nicolás Maduro and vague plans to “run” Venezuela.

Pushback from Susan Collins and Thom Tillis is striking amid tepid response from most other Republican senators

Two senior Republican senators on Monday openly opposed Pentagon secretary Pete Hegseth’s attempt to punish their fellow Senator Mark Kelly by demoting him and cutting his pension after he released a video telling active-duty military to follow the law.

Susan Collins of Maine, who chairs the Senate appropriations committee with jurisdiction over the Pentagon’s budget, said she believed it was wrong to target Kelly’s military benefits because of a political video.

Grok still being used to digitally undress women and children, while US takes TikTok approach to drones

Hello, and welcome to TechScape. Happy new year! I hope your 2026 is off to a great start. Today in tech, we are examining the output of Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, and the US’s ban on foreign drones.

What happened after Tesla opened a diner in Los Angeles?

China’s BYD overtakes Tesla as world’s biggest electric car seller

Google AI Overviews put people at risk of harm with misleading health advice

Reddit overtakes TikTok in UK thanks to search algorithms and gen Z

From RFK Jr to Pete Hegseth, the president’s top aides have been disastrous. We shouldn’t be surprised

As 2024 ended and Donald Trump’s cabinet picks were rolled out, commentators scrambled to decide which one was the worst. Was it Matt Gaetz for attorney general? Or Pete Hegseth, for secretary of defense? Or maybe Robert F Kennedy Jr to lead the Department of Health and Human Services?

Soon after, the White House crowed that Trump had assembled “the greatest cabinet of all time”.

Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, is the author or editor of more than 100 books, including Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America’s Death Penalty

Increasingly, teens are given only parts of books, and they often read not in print but on school-issued laptops

Reading fiction has been such a joy for me that my heart broke a little to learn recently that many schools no longer assign full books to high school students.

Rather, teens are given excerpts of books, and they often read them not in print but on school-issued laptops, according to a survey of 2,000 teachers, students and parents by the New York Times.

Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture

The moral purpose of civilized society is to prevent the stronger from attacking the weaker. The US was founded on that principle

• Get Robert Reich’s latest columns delivered straight to your inbox

Trump’s domestic and foreign policies – ranging from his attempted coup against the United States five years ago, to his incursion into Venezuela last weekend, to his current threats against Cuba, Colombia, and Greenland – undermine domestic and international law. But that’s not all.

They threaten what we mean by civilization.

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

Guardian newsroom: Year One of Trumpism: Is Britain Emulating the US? On Wednesday 21 January 2026, join Jonathan Freedland, Tania Branigan and Nick Lowles as they reflect on the first year of Donald Trump’s second presidency. Book tickets here or at guardian.live