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Ira ‘Ike’ Schab, one of last remaining Pearl Harbor survivors, dies aged 105

Schab was a 21-year-old navy musician aboard USS Dobbin when Japan carried out surprise attack in 1941

A second world war veteran who was among the last survivors of the 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor died on Saturday.

Ira “Ike” Schab, who served in the US navy at the time of the bombing, was 105, according to a statement from the USS Arizona Memorial, which pays tribute to military members who were killed at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

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© Photograph: Mengshin Lin/AP

© Photograph: Mengshin Lin/AP

© Photograph: Mengshin Lin/AP

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Élysée Palace staff member accused of stealing tableware worth up to €40,000

Silver steward is one of three people arrested in connection with alleged theft from presidential residence

A silver steward employed at the Élysée Palace in Paris has been arrested for stealing silverware and porcelain, amid a wave of thefts from high-profile French institutions.

Investigators arrested the man and two alleged accomplices last week. They are accused of taking the objects from the official Paris residence of the French president and trying to sell them on online auction websites such as Vinted.

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© Photograph: Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images

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The kindness of strangers: a boy picked up my spilled shopping when I was too pregnant to reach the ground

I’d turned around for a second but that was all it took for my trolley to start rolling away. Before I could react, it tipped over

I was heavily pregnant with twins and doing the weekly grocery shop for our already-large family. Doing much of anything when you’re that big isn’t fun, especially as I was battling issues including constant, intermittent contractions. Bending over to load groceries into the boot was sure to set the contractions off, so I was already dreading getting everything into the car.

I wheeled my shopping trolley out to the car park, then got my keys out to open the car and put my handbag on the passenger seat. I’d turned around for a second but that was all it took for my trolley to start rolling away. Before I could react, it had shot away from me and tipped over, spilling its contents across the ground.

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© Illustration: Victoria Hart/Guardian Design

© Illustration: Victoria Hart/Guardian Design

© Illustration: Victoria Hart/Guardian Design

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Readers reply: what is – or was – the best-ever internet meme?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

The dramatic chipmunk, distracted boyfriend, the raccoon with the candy floss or “success kid”, what is – or was – the absolute top, world-beating, best-ever internet meme? Antony Scacchi, Los Angeles, US

Send new questions to nq@theguardian.com. The next new question and replies to this week’s question will appear on Sunday 4 January.

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© Photograph: AntonioGuillem/Getty Images/iStockphoto

© Photograph: AntonioGuillem/Getty Images/iStockphoto

© Photograph: AntonioGuillem/Getty Images/iStockphoto

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The Trump administration is trying to legislate trans people out of existence | Judith Levine

Robert F Kennedy Jr is pushing a plan to block medical treatments, the latest move against bodily autonomy

On Thursday, when Robert F Kennedy Jr announced an effort to block medical treatments for transgender youth, he used the term “sex-rejecting procedures” in place of “gender-affirming care”.

And where transgender advocates and healthcare providers view puberty blockers, hormones and (in rare cases) surgical interventions as suicide prevention measures, the health secretary claimed that these “procedures” will do the opposite: “rob children of their futures.”

Judith Levine is a Brooklyn-based journalist, essayist and author of five books. Her Substack is Today in Fascism

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© Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/AP

© Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/AP

© Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/AP

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Joe Wicks looks back: ‘When I look at that picture, I think about the care and love a kid needs’

The health and fitness coach on his difficult childhood, why he’s never been single – and doing his first YouTube workout with a broken hand

Born in Epsom in 1985, Joe Wicks is a health and fitness coach and author. He studied sports science at St Mary’s University and started posting recipes and workouts on social media in 2014, while working as a personal trainer. His Lean in 15 videos went viral, leading to a bestselling publishing career. During the pandemic, Wicks hosted daily livestreamed PE lessons, raised more than £1m for charity and earned an MBE. His 13th book, Protein In 15, is out now.

I was always covered in food as a kid – a real messy eater. This was probably readymade spaghetti from a tin. Our family didn’t have the greatest diet – we were on benefits, a lot of our money went on Dad’s heroin addiction, and Mum was young and didn’t know much about nutrition.

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© Photograph: Courtesy of Joe Wicks

© Photograph: Courtesy of Joe Wicks

© Photograph: Courtesy of Joe Wicks

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Trump does presidency via Truth Social – what are Americans missing out on?

Since just 3% of Americans use platform Trump owns, public may be unaware of his mental state and performance

When Donald Trump has something to say, he takes to Truth Social.

Trump has used the platform to announce policies on everything from the economy to travel bans, making declarations that are key for Americans seeking information about his government.

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© Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

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Thanks to Donald Trump, 2025 was a good year … for white-collar criminals

Why would the Trump administration choose to set aside consequences from criminals whose actions threaten the stability of the broader American economy?

When Islamic State needed to move and disguise its money, it turned, US prosecutors said in 2023, to the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange: Binance. So too did al-Qaida, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas, which used the platform to help bankroll its operations in the years leading up to the 7 October attack in Israel. Binance was not accused of directly financing these groups, but prosecutors found that it knowingly allowed its exchange to function as a conduit – enabling extremist organisations to shift funds, evade scrutiny and frustrate investigations.

At the centre of it all was Binance’s founder and chief executive, Changpeng Zhao. By 2024, the self-styled “king” of crypto had fallen from grace, pleading guilty to money laundering charges and entering prison, while Binance agreed to pay a record $4.3bn penalty for its role in facilitating terrorist financing. The case was hailed as a rare victory for regulators willing to take on the industry’s biggest players – and for victims of the violence linked to those financial flows. Among them were the families of US citizens killed on 7 October, who are now suing Binance in a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of “pitching itself to terrorist organisations”.

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© Illustration: Igor Bastidas/The Guardian

© Illustration: Igor Bastidas/The Guardian

© Illustration: Igor Bastidas/The Guardian

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Do prawns feel pain? Why scientists are urging a rethink of Australia’s favoured festive food

Studies show crustaceans can learn, remember, solve problems and form relationships

Crustaceans are a festive season staple for many families, particularly in Australia where an estimated 18.5m kilograms of prawns and more than 150,000 lobsters are eaten over Christmas and New Year.

Globally, trillions are caught and consumed each year. Australia is a major producer, with prawn, lobster and crab industries valued at more than $1bn.

Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter

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© Photograph: Steven Markham/AAP

© Photograph: Steven Markham/AAP

© Photograph: Steven Markham/AAP

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Sea change: the drive to restore millions of oysters on the Norfolk coast

The first ever mass deployment of mother reef bricks aims to rebuild habitats – and could reshape the North Sea

Allie Wharf’s career unfolded amid conflict. As a senior foreign producer for Newsnight, she reported on Iraq and Afghanistan. Just two years ago, she was filming mass graves in Ukraine.

But burnt out by wars, and after a detour farming ducks in Tanzania, Wharf has now settled on the quiet north Norfolk coast. Here, alongside her life and business partner, Willie Athill, she has embarked on a different kind of mission: the creation of Europe’s largest natural oyster reef.

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© Photograph: Purina oyster heaven

© Photograph: Purina oyster heaven

© Photograph: Purina oyster heaven

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Extremists are using AI voice cloning to supercharge propaganda. Experts say it’s helping them grow

Researchers warn generative tools are helping militant groups from neo-Nazis to the Islamic State spread ideology

While the artificial intelligence boom is upending sections of the music industry, voice generating bots are also becoming a boon to another unlikely corner of the internet: extremist movements that are using them to recreate the voices and speeches of major figures in their milieu, and experts say it is helping them grow.

“The adoption of AI-enabled translation by terrorists and extremists marks a significant evolution in digital propaganda strategies,” said Lucas Webber, a senior threat intelligence analyst at Tech Against Terrorism and a research fellow at the Soufan Center. Webber specializes in monitoring the online tools of terrorist groups and extremists around the world.

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© Illustration: Guardian Design

© Illustration: Guardian Design

© Illustration: Guardian Design

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