Governor Tim Walz denounces Trump’s ‘propaganda machine’ and issues ‘warning order’ to prepare state’s national guard; US president blames victim in lengthy social media post

• Woman fatally shot by ICE agent during raid, video shows

Miranda Bryant, the Guardian’s Nordic correspondent, also has written this handy explainer on why Donald Trump is renewing calls for a takeover of Greenland:

People face teargas, pellet guns and violence as protests continue and opposition parties call for general strike

Demonstrations over economic conditions broke out in Kurdish regions of Iran on Wednesday despite authorities using violence to try to disperse protests before an announced general strike, according to witnesses and rights groups.

Protesters took to the streets across Kurdish cities in western Iran, with shopkeepers shutting down stores and demonstrators chanting against government corruption. People said they were met with force as authorities fired teargas, pellet guns and what demonstrators said were live bullets at crowds.

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel peace prize winner will lay out vision for the country in book publishing in US

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado will publish a book in the US that lays out her vision for Venezuela’s political reconstruction as the country faces significant upheaval.

The 120-page work titled The Freedom Manifesto is being released by Regnery Publishing, a conservative book publisher acquired by Skyhorse Publishing in 2023.

Median sale price was at $410,800 last year, according to the Census Bureau, even as Trump campaigned on affordability

Donald Trump said his administration was moving to ban large institutional investors from buying single-family homes in a bid to reduce home prices.

In a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, the US president said he will be asking Congress to codify the measure and will be discussing additional housing and affordability proposals in a speech at the Davos World Economic Forum.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic thriller and Apple’s comedy series lead nominations for the renamed Sag awards with an impressive showing for Sinners and Adolescence

One Battle After Another and The Studio lead the nominations for this year’s Actor awards.

The Actor awards were previously known as the Screen Actors Guild (Sag) awards but were renamed last year. The name change was to provide “clearer recognition in terms of what the show is about”, according to those involved.

Sarat Sampada founders Harjeet Singh and Jyoti Aswati say allegations are ‘baseless, biased and misleading’

Police have raided the home of one of India’s leading environmental activists over claims his campaigning for a treaty to cut the use of fossil fuels was undermining the national interest.

Investigators from India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) claim Harjeet Singh and his wife, Jyoti Awasthi, co-founders of Satat Sampada (Nature Forever), were paid almost £500,000 to advocate for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty (FFNPT).

⚽ Premier League updates with games from 7.30pm GMT
⚽ Burnley v Manchester United – follow it live
⚽ Live scores | Table | Follow us on Bluesky | Email Niall

Everton (4-2-3-1): Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Garner, Iroegbunam; McNeil, Armstrong, Grealish; Barry.
Subs: Travers, King, Patterson, Beto, Dibling, Rohl, Aznou, Welch, Campbell.

Wolverhampton Wanderers (3-5-2): Jose Sá, Mosquera, Santiago Bueno, Krejci; Tchatchoua, Arias, Joáo Gomes, Mané, Hugo Bueno; Arokodare, Hwang.
Subs: Johnstone, Doherty, Wolfe, Andre Trindade, Larsen, Pedro Lima, Chirewa, Lopez, Ojinnaka.

As we age, we naturally lose mobility. But there are some steps we can take to keep these joints healthy for longer

• Read more summer essentials

You’re clinging to the overhead strap on a packed bus during rush hour when the driver suddenly slams on the brakes. As the crowd surges, your arm jerks back and your shoulder takes the full force of the momentum. It’s times like these one is grateful for a strong and healthy shoulder.

“If you’ve got a strong and mobile shoulder, you have the control to reduce the risk of anything [bad] happening,” says Dr Josh Zadro, a physiotherapist and senior research fellow at the University of Sydney.

Arm circles: Large, controlled circles in front of your body.

The wall slide: Face a wall and slide your hands up as high as possible.

The overhead reach: Stretch your arms to the ceiling to counteract the forward hunch of computer work.

⚽ Premier League updates from the 8.15pm GMT kick-off
⚽ Fulham v Chelsea, Bournemouth v Spurs, and more – live
⚽ Live scores | Table | Follow us on Bluesky | Email Daniel

They’re about to discuss Mainoo on Sky, so here’s my take. He’s got incredible ability in tight spaces, but needs to get better and finding the ball – too much of too many games passed him by – stronger, faster, and better at passing it forward. That said, United’s dreadfulness made his continuing omission completely unjustifiable, and I’m sure he’ll now get a chance in the three-man midfield he needs to thrive. If, in a year, he’s got a young, physical six behind him, the best creator in world football ahead of him, and he’s still not making it happen, we can wonder if, perhaps, he’s not quite good enough, despite his strengths. But not until then.

There are plenty of other matches tonight, just underway. Niall McVeigh has you covered.

Representative Ilhan Omar says victim was ‘a legal observer’, who was reportedly shot in the face multiple times

Federal agents shot and killed a woman during a large scale immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

Ilhan Omar, the Democratic Minnesota congresswoman, said the victim was “a legal observer” of action by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which had sent a surge of agents into the city in recent days tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents.

• He was admitted to hospital with abdominal symptoms

• Keegan, 74, ‘grateful for intervention and ongoing care’

The former England manager Kevin Keegan has been diagnosed with cancer.

Keegan, who also played for England, Scunthorpe, Liverpool, Hamburg, Southampton and Newcastle before later managing Newcastle (twice) as well as Fulham, Manchester City and the national side was recently admitted to hospital for evaluation of ongoing abdominal symptoms.

The chaos that Donald Trump is causing in the world makes the case for continental solidarity and explicit repudiation of Brexit divisions

Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for 2026 was to talk more about the domestic issues that concern British voters. Donald Trump knocked that plan off course. US intervention in Venezuela inevitably demanded the prime minister’s attention, as did this week’s summit of Ukraine’s allies, the “coalition of the willing”, in Paris. Progress towards agreeing security guarantees for Kyiv in the event of a peace deal with Russia was overshadowed by Mr Trump restating his ambition to wrest control of Greenland from Denmark. The dust had not settled when American special forces boarded a Russian-flagged oil tanker in European waters, ostensibly to enforce a blockade against Venezuela.

Prime ministers have to multitask, but under these circumstances it is understandable if Sir Keir’s mind has been filled with foreign affairs. He should be used to this by now. Mr Trump’s return to the White House guaranteed that an already uncertain international climate would become increasingly volatile. Any hope that the incoming president’s rhetoric contained more bluster than intent was dashed when he announced his “liberation day” tariffs. He sees no value in America’s historic alliances. He despises institutions of multilateral governance. His actions may not be wholly predictable, but it is safe to assume he means what he says. He wants Greenland for America. Denmark and its Nato partners have to take the ambition seriously.

Anthropomorphising tech helps Silicon Valley shares to soar, but our empathy should be directed to worthier causes

Most readers of Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel Klara and the Sun will have been moved by the portrait of its eponymous AI narrator. As a solar-powered “artificial friend”, bought as a companion and potential substitute for a sick teenage girl, Klara fulfils her duties with a loving loyalty that makes it impossible to think of her as a mere piece of tech.

Brilliant, thought-provoking fiction. But back in the real world, anthropomorphising AI may not be such a clever idea. During the summer, Anthropic, a leading tech company, announced that in the interests of chatbot welfare, it was allowing its Claude Opus 4 model to avoid supposedly “distressing” conversations with users. More broadly, amid explosive growth in AI capacities, there is emerging speculation over whether future Klaras may even deserve to be accorded legal rights like human beings.

New guidance presented by Robert F Kennedy Jr prioritizes protein, healthy fats and ‘declares war on added sugar’

The Trump administration has released updated dietary guidelines for Americans on Wednesday that emphasize eating whole and minimally processed foods, scaling back refined carbohydrates, and “declaring war” on added sugars.

The recommendations encourage “prioritizing high-quality protein, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables and whole grains” while steering clear of highly processed foods. Robert F Kennedy Jr, the health and human services (HHS) secretary, and Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, are presenting the new guidance at a White House briefing.

Actor who played the venal Maryland state governor Clay Davis in the US crime drama The Wire

Many fictional characters are known by their catchphrases. Few are identifiable by a single exclamation alone. Among the exceptions are Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest (“A handbag?”) and the venal Maryland state senator Clay Davis, who appeared in all five series of the acclaimed US crime drama The Wire between 2002 and 2008.

Senator Davis, played by Isiah Whitlock Jr, who has died aged 71, was notable for his unique pronunciation of a monosyllabic expletive. On his lips, its central vowel was bent out of shape and stretched as thin as pizza dough: “Sheee-it”.

A campaign group of health professionals is urging parents to stop surveilling their children. I couldn’t agree more

News just in: the sky is blue, water is wet, and tracking our kids’ every move with phones or AirTags is causing a “deeply concerning” increase in anxiety among young people, according to more than 70 psychologists, doctors, nurses and health professionals who have come together to urge parents to “reconsider whether the surveillance childhood we are sleepwalking into is really benefiting our children”. They add: “We are implicitly telling them that the world is unsafe,” and warn that constant monitoring prevents kids learning the skills and developing the autonomy necessary to navigate real life.

“It’s so normal to want to keep our children safe,” says Clare Fernyhough, co-founder of campaign group Generation Focus. “But there is no evidence that tracking makes them any safer.”

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Sarat Sampada founders Harjeet Singh and Jyoti Aswati say allegations are ‘baseless, biased and misleading’

Police have raided the home of one of India’s leading environmental activists over claims his campaigning for a treaty to cut the use of fossil fuels was undermining the national interest.

Investigators from India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) claim Harjeet Singh and his wife, Jyoti Awasthi, co-founders of Satat Sampada (Nature Forever), were paid almost £500,000 to advocate for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty (FFNPT).

US European Command says it boarded the Marinera over alleged sanctions violations, a move that risks confrontation with Moscow

• Europe live – latest updates

The US has seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean in a high-stakes operation that could risk confrontation with the Kremlin after Moscow reportedly dispatched a submarine to safeguard the vessel.

US European Command said on Wednesday that it had boarded the Marinera over alleged sanctions violations, bringing to an end a dramatic two-week pursuit that began in the Caribbean and concluded in the Atlantic.

• Real attendance closer to 34,000 than 62,429 announced

• Marketing push fails to attract fans to watch ailing club

West Ham’s official attendance of 62,429 for their 2-1 defeat by Nottingham Forest was almost twice as high as the number of fans who went through the turnstiles at the London Stadium on Tuesday night.

The club have an increasingly apathetic fanbase and were unable to convince a big crowd to turn out for a crucial clash in the battle against relegation from the Premier League. It is understood the real attendance was closer to 34,000 than the figure given by West Ham on their website.

• Chivers also had long spell with Southampton

• He scored 13 times in 24 games for England

The former Tottenham, Southampton and England striker Martin Chivers has died at the age of 80. Chivers, a League Cup and Uefa Cup winner with Spurs, won 24 caps from 1971 to 1973, scoring 13 goals.

“It is with immense sadness that we announce the passing of our legendary former striker Martin Chivers,” Spurs said. “We extend our deepest sympathies to Martin’s family, friends and former teammates at this incredibly sad time. Our players will wear black armbands during this evening’s fixture against AFC Bournemouth. Rest in peace, Martin. One of the all-time greats.”

Reading for pleasure rates are shockingly low in young people. So we should all get behind a new drive to turn them into avid readers. Why not start with books about art?

A girl on the cusp of adolescence gazes down at a book. Her left hand rests against her flushed pink cheeks, while her right clutches the pages, ready to turn to find out what happens next. She has porcelain-like skin and golden hair seemingly full of air, executed in textures that contrast with the scratchy, loose marks that make up her shirt and the book’s pages. When I look at this drawing, I am struck by how the artist, the American-born impressionist Mary Cassatt, has perfectly captured the all-consuming sensation of being submerged in a book – the feeling that the whole world is dissolving around you. For a moment, only that story matters.

Cassatt, who worked in Paris for most of her adult life when women were finally beginning to be accepted as artists (and deserving of state-funded art education), was hailed for her intimate portrayals of women and children. They are glimpses into their minds, their private worlds, yet they also emphasise intellect and ambition. Young Girl Reading is one such example. I often wonder if she is reading something like Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, published nearly three decades before, which tells the story of the four March sisters, who are figuring out their journey to womanhood themselves.

Stonewall’s corporate funding halves against backdrop of US attacks on DEI and freezing of aid for LGBTQ+ causes

LGBTQ+ charities in the UK are operating in a newly “hostile environment”, experts have warned, as the ripple effect of Donald Trump’s attacks on equalities programmes sharpens financial pressures.

The concerns come as yearly accounts submitted by Stonewall, the UK’s biggest LGBTQ+ charity, revealed corporate donations had more than halved in the last financial year, falling from £348,636 in 2024 to £143,149 in 2025.

Responding to new reporting finding only nine of the directors behind 2025’s 100 top-grossing US films were women, Hamnet film-maker questions industry’s capacity for inclusivity

Chloé Zhao, the Oscar-winning director of Nomadland, has said that the US film industry is not set up to foster gender diversity.

Speaking at a Women in Motion talk at the Palm Springs film festival on Monday, Zhao was asked for her response to a recent study that found just nine of the 111 directors behind last year’s 100 top grossing films in the US were women.

After their lives were upended last year, they’re finally regaining their footing – but memories of the fires still haunt them

Few among the nearly 10 million people who live in Los Angeles county were left untouched by last year’s disastrous firestorm. Driven by strong winds through parched vegetation, multiple fires exploded in quick succession last January, and devoured roughly 16,000 structures on all sides of LA.

Thirty-one lives were lost and thousands more were for ever changed. For many, a new chapter of the disaster began to unfold when the flames were extinguished, while the slow road to recovery started to take shape in the year that followed.