Sea lion named Confetti was rescued early January and has ‘really great chance’ of being released, marine biologist says
A rescued sea lion is recovering in Los Angeles after a marine care center discovered he had two bullets in his head.
The sea lion, named Confetti, was rescued from Ballona creek, a watershed connected to the Santa Monica bay, on 5 January, the Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles announced on Thursday.
Altered image shows Nekima Levy Armstrong sobbing after arrest during protest outside a Minneapolis church
The White House’s decision to post a doctored photo of a woman arrested in Minneapolis on Thursday will probably be raised in court as her criminal case proceeds, though it is unlikely to derail the case entirely, legal experts said.
The woman in the image, Nekima Levy Armstrong, is one of three people who was arrested on Thursday in connection with a disruptive protest at a church service. About 30 minutes after Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, posted a picture of her arrest, the White House posted a digitally altered photo of Armstrong in which her skin appears to be darkened and with tears running down her face. Noem posted pictures of two other defendants arrested on Thursday in connection with the protest, but only posted an altered image of Armstrong.
Sundance film festival: there’s a dearth of both laughs and scares in this one-joke comedy horror that feels like it would have made for a better short film
Before we get Ayo Edebiri and Daniel Kaluuya’s take on an A24 Barney movie, a project that’s been in some various level of development hell for seven years, here comes Buddy. Like an off-brand ripoff from the 90s (anyone remember Ricky’s Room?), he’s another friendly, furry friend to wide-eyed young children, the main star of a TV show we’re thrown straight into, neatly styled to feel like we’re suddenly transported back to that era (similar to 2024’s far darker and far superior Sundance throwback I Saw the TV Glow).
The formula is familiar – lessons, singing, syllables overpronounced – but there’s something off. The persistence of Buddy, an orange unicorn with undying enthusiasm, is bordering on aggressive as his playful suggestion to dance suddenly devolves into something far more sinister. What if Buddy isn’t really our friend after all?
Buddy is screening at the Sundance film festival and is seeking distribution
Fight with Ricky Turcios canceled from prelim card
Incident reignites debate over UFC weight cutting
UFC bantamweight Cameron Smotherman was taken for medical evaluation after collapsing moments after making weight ahead of Saturday’s UFC 324 card in Las Vegas, prompting the cancellation of his scheduled bout.
Smotherman, 28, appeared visibly unstable as he completed his weigh-in Friday morning at T-Mobile Arena. After stepping on the scale and registering at 135.5lb, the American fighter walked off the platform before losing consciousness and falling forward onto the stage floor.
Talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States have begun in Abu Dhabi, according to the United Arab Emirates’ ministry of foreign affairs.
The UAE is hosting a rare set of trilateral talks, bringing together negotiators from Russia, Ukraine, and the US. The talks have started today, and are scheduled to continue over the next two days.
Sundance film festival: the documentarian’s feature debut, essentially an extended episode of his HBO series, turns an exploration of concrete into a meditation on change
For those in the know, the release of the Sundance film festival lineup last December contained one perfect, tantalizing log line, for a documentary plainly called The History of Concrete: “After attending a workshop on how to write and sell a Hallmark movie, filmmaker John Wilson tries to use the same formula to sell a documentary about concrete.”
Wilson, a film-maker from the Nathan Fielder school of meandering, bone-dry observational comedy, is a master of the modern documentary-essay-memoir, with an uncanny eye for the idiosyncratic, unintentionally hilarious and disturbing vignettes hiding in plain sight. Over three near-perfect seasons, his peerless HBO series How To With John Wilson, executive-produced by Fielder, spun spoofs of practical guides (“How to Cook the Perfect Risotto”) into profound meditations on the loudness, loneliness and ridiculousness of modern urban life, each half-hour episode a magic trick of elaborate, bizarre tangents reined in at the last second. For fans of the show – in my opinion, the single best TV series about New York this decade – Wilson’s feature documentary debut, supposedly about the most iconic element of urban life, was a must-see.
The History of Concrete is screening at the Sundance film festival and is seeking distribution
Display at President’s House site, residence to George Washington, had information on people enslaved by him
Philadelphia is taking legal action against the Trump administration following the National Park Service’s decision to dismantle a long-established slavery-related exhibit at Independence National Historical park, which holds the former residence of George Washington.
The city filed its lawsuit in federal court on Thursday, naming the US Department of Interior and its secretary, Doug Burgum, the National Park Service, and its acting director, Jessica Bowron, as defendants. The lawsuit seeks a court order requiring the exhibits to be restored while the case proceeds.
Mikel Arteta’s side have scored 19 goals from corners this season. Why are their set pieces so effective and can they be stopped?
Set pieces are dominating the Premier League this season, with almost 30% of goals coming from corners, free-kicks, penalties or long throws. The leaders, Arsenal, are kings of the dead ball, scoring 17 of their 40 league goals from set pieces (including penalties). But what makes Mikel Arteta’s side so effective in these areas, and what can opponents do to stop them? The data provides some answers.
Evonne Goolagong Cawley Day is a welcome initiative but meaningful change will only come with a structural approach
The riverside walk to the Australian Open courts is a scenic joy for the sporting pilgrim. Rowing crews train up and down the water, framed by the city’s sun-flecked skyline. The Melbourne Cricket Ground floodlights signal distantly ahead. Beneath the feet of the crowds hurrying to ticket barriers, the concrete path transforms into an artwork: a twisting confluence of eels honouring their Yarra River migration, which once provided abundant food for the Wurundjeri people.
On Wednesday the celebration of country continued inside the precinct. This was Evonne Goolagong Cawley Day, when the tournament celebrates First Nations people and culture. A packed schedule of entertainment included a smoking ceremony on the steps of Margaret Court Arena, a Q&A with Cathy Freeman, and a performance from the Coodjinburra pop star Budjerah. There were taster sessions and weaving workshops, and all the ball kids were from tennis programmes for Indigenous peoples.
In an exclusive interview at his base, athletics’ ‘iron man’ reveals why his career feels like ‘99% losses’ but he plans to retire as the greatest distance runner in history
On a bone-cold new year’s morning, the world’s most compelling athlete is sweating so much that tiny puddles are starting to ooze across his treadmill.
For 40 minutes Jakob Ingebrigtsen makes 6min 40sec mile pace look like a Sunday stroll, breezily chatting away even as the heatbox in his home gym pushes the temperature inside to more than 32.4C (90F). Only when I ask the double Olympic champion what his super-strength is does he pause to take a proper breath. “In Norwegian we have a word for it,” he eventually replies. “Ingen kompromiss. No compromise.”
ICE in Minneapolis, Russian airstrikes in Kyiv, protests in Greenland and the Africa Cup of Nations final in Rabat – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists
Warning: this gallery contains images some readers may find distressing
Much-anticipated trial scheduled in New York over killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson
Luigi Mangione’s federal murder trial in the killing of the United HealthCare CEO Brian Thompson is scheduled to start with jury selection on 8 September, a judge said on Friday, triggering one of the most eagerly anticipated criminal trials in recent US history.
Judge Margaret Garnett announced the trial date to a packed Manhattan federal courtroom shortly before an evidence-related hearing in his case.
Exclusive: Blueprints describe a ‘case study’ community where residents submit biometric data to gain entry
The United Arab Emirates plans to fund “Gaza’s first planned community” on the ruined outskirts of Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city. Palestinian residents there will have access to basic services like education, healthcare and running water, as long as they submit to biometric data collection and security vetting, according to planning documents and people familiar with the latest round of talks at the US-led Civil Military Coordination Center in Israel.
The planned city would mark the UAE’s first investment in a postwar reconstruction project located in the part of Gaza currently held by Israel. The wealthy Gulf state has contributed more than $1.8bn of humanitarian assistance to Gaza since 7 October 2023, according to UAE state media, making it Gaza’s largest humanitarian donor.
PM joins veterans in condemning claim that troops avoided frontlines and suggests US president should apologise
Keir Starmer has issued an unprecedented rebuke to Donald Trump for his “insulting and frankly appalling” remarks about British troops in Afghanistanand suggested he should apologise.
After a week of fractious relations with the White House, Starmer said he was not surprised that relatives of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan were hurt by Trump claiming they avoided the frontline.
Three suspects face attempted murder counts after Steven and Kimberly Meyer were shot at their Lafayette home
Five people have been arrested in connection with the recent shooting of an Indiana state judge as well as his wife at the couple’s home.
In a statement, police said three of the suspects face counts of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the 18 January shooting of Judge Steven Meyer and his wife, Kimberly, in Lafayette, Indiana.
Moscow repeats call for Ukraine to leave Donbas before first trilateral talks since start of invasion in February 2022
Ukraine, Russia and the US have begun three-way talks for the first time since Russia’s full-scale military invasion began in February 2022, but with the Kremlin maintaining its maximalist demands for Ukrainian territory, it is unclear whether Donald Trump will be able to broker a ceasefire even by putting heavy pressure on Kyiv.
The talks in Abu Dhabi on Friday are the highest-level known summit between the three sides since the beginning of the war, and come as Trump’s demands to take over Greenland have strained tensions among Ukraine’s western allies as the country endures a harsh winter with much of its civilian energy infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks.
Court says alleged abuse and trafficking offences occurred outside Spain, leaving it without jurisdiction
Spanish prosecutors have shelved a complaint brought by two women who have accused the singer Julio Iglesias of sexual assault and human trafficking, arguing the country’s courts have no jurisdiction as the alleged offences took place outside Spain.
Two female former employees who worked at Iglesias’s Caribbean mansions 10 days ago accused the veteran entertainer of sexual assault, saying they had been subjected “to inappropriate touching, insults and humiliation … in an atmosphere of control and constant harassment”.
As a lightning government offensive leaves the Kurdish-dominated SDF reeling, the political horizon needs attention as well as security
In little more than a fortnight, a dramatic Syrian government offensive appears to have undone over a decade of Kurdish self-rule in the north-east and extended President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s control. The Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) held around a quarter of the country and many critical resources – but were forced out of much of it within days. Though the SDF has effectively agreed to dissolution in principle, it has not shown it will do so in practice: a worrying sign for a fragile truce. A peaceful resolution is in everyone’s interests. Forcible integration by Damascus would risk breeding insurgency.
The US relied upon the SDF in the battle against Islamic State. But Donald Trump has embraced “attractive, tough” Mr Sharaa – a former jihadist who had a $10m US bounty on his head until late 2024. The US administration became increasingly frustrated at the SDF’s failure to implement last spring’s agreement to integration into the new army, apparently due to internal divisions. Tom Barrack, the US special envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey, wrote this week that the rationale for partnership with the SDF had “largely expired” because Damascus was ready to take over security responsibilities.
New studio album Britpop goes straight to No 1 in opening week, after Williams moved its release date to avoid a chart battle with Taylor Swift
Robbie Williams has scored his 16th UK No 1 album, surpassing a tally set by the Beatles in 2000 to become the all-time chart record holder.
Britpop, Williams’ homage to the lairy and zeitgeist-setting guitar music of the mid-1990s, went straight to No 1 in its first week of release. All but one of his studio albums have now reached the top – except 2009’s Reality Killed the Video Star, kept off the top by boy band JLS – plus three greatest hits compilations and his soundtrack to the biopic Better Man. Not counted in that tally are two other No 1 albums Williams recorded as a member of Take That.
There is a light at the end of the Beckhams’ hebdomadis horribilis: Victoria Beckham has the UK’s highest-selling single of the week with Not Such an Innocent Girl, originally released in 2001.
After her eldest son Brooklyn’s bombshell revelations about the rift with his parents, including his horrified account of his mother dancing “on” him at his wedding to Nicola Peltz in 2022, fans taking mater and pater Beckham’s side in the celeb gossip of the year showed their support by buying MP3s of Beckham’s debut solo single. (Her first effort without the Spice Girls, 2000’s Out of Your Mind, was a collaboration with Dane Bowers of Another Level.)
Dissenting voices were few and far between as the US president brought his smash-and-grab politics to the WEF
“If we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.” The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, was the darling of Davos this week as he rallied resistance to Donald Trump’s smash and grab politics and his voracious appetite for other countries’ wealth and land.
“Call it what it is,” he told delegates. “A system of intensifying great power rivalry, where the most powerful pursue their interests using economic integration as coercion”. He urged “middle powers” to band together or be crushed, and was rewarded with a standing ovation.
President’s assertion that Nato troops were not on the front line in Afghanistan has sparked widespread anger
Keir Starmer’s allies have launched a “Stop Andy Burnham” campaign to prevent the Labour mayor from returning to parliament after the resignation of a Manchester MP triggered a byelection, Pippa Crerar, Jessica Elgot and Josh Halliday report in their overnight story.
In a good analysis, Jess explains why, if Burnham does decide that he wants to return to the Commons as MP for Gorton and Denton in Manchester, he faces a colossal challenge.
US president asks ‘whatever happened to global warming?’ Well, it could be making our winter storms worse
Donald Trump has erroneously cited an enormous winter storm that is set to deliver freezing temperatures and heavy snow to half of the US as supposed proof that the world is not heating up due to the burning of fossil fuels.
Trump, who has repeatedly questioned and mocked established climate science in the past, posted of the storm on Truth Social: “Rarely seen anything like it before. Could the Environmental Insurrectionists please explain – WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING???”
From derailing meetings by telling fictional stories about serial killers to Davos, the president has left people confused and concerned
Donald Trump vowed to “plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars” during his inauguration speech last year, a bold promise that spoke to otherworldly achievements.
But during the first year of his second term, it is on the planet Earth where Trump has sought to plant the US flag. He has deployed troops to US cities, as waves of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents terrorize communities. Trump has ordered the invasion of Venezuela and the capture of its leader, is engaged in ongoing saber-rattling over Greenland, and has threatened historic US allies should they oppose his efforts to seize the autonomous territory of the Danish kingdom. He has amplified online claims that Nato is a bigger threat to the US than historical adversaries China and Russia.
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