High hopes for Optimus robot help company beat forecasts despite yearly revenue decline and flailing car business
In the clearest sign yet that Tesla is pivoting away from its electric car business, CEO Elon Musk announced on Wednesday’s investor call that the company would discontinue production of its Model X SUV and Model S full-size sedan.
“It’s time to basically bring the Model S and X programs to an end,” Musk said. “We expect to wind down S and X production next quarter.”
Anatoliy Trubin scores dramatic goal against Real Madrid
Barça and Sporting in last 16, Bodø/Glimt make playoffs
Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored a 98th-minute header as Benfica defeated Real Madrid 4-2 to secure a Champions League knockout place on Wednesday and deny their opponents an automatic spot in the last 16.
Benfica were heading out despite leading 3-2 with seconds of stoppage time remaining before Trubin met a free-kick to score the goal they needed to get into the playoff round on goal difference.
PM is first UK leader to visit China in eight years and hopes to strengthen bond with superpower amid uncertainty over US alliance
Keir Starmer will meet the Chinese president Xi Jinping on Thursday for historic talks he hopes will deepen economic ties at a time when some inside government fear the US is no longer a reliable partner.
The prime minister – the first UK leader to visit China in eight years – will hold a 40-minute meeting with Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing before a number of cultural and business receptions.
A Chinese team will visit Australia to help search for a man who allegedly randomly attacked a baby with hot coffee before fleeing the country.
China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, announced on Wednesday that investigators will travel to Queensland to work with police to investigate the 33-year-old accused attacker.
The onus was on Chelsea to silence the jibes about their lack of experience. Behind to a goal from Rasmus Højlund at half-time, they were facing the inconvenience of a two-legged playoff to reach the last 16 of the Champions League. Another lead had been thrown away and the momentum was with Napoli after they cancelled out a penalty from Enzo Fernández at a bouncing Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Yet the night ended with a humiliating early exit for Napoli and another failure for Antonio Conte in Europe. The former Chelsea manager watched in despair as Cole Palmer came on to undo his depleted side with a devastating cameo. Palmer set up João Pedro for two outstanding goals as Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea finished in the top eight thanks to their first away win at this level in over three years.
Liverpool are having to stomach “a very bad cocktail” of cheap goals against and wasted chances in the Premier League, according to Arne Slot. To extend the mixologist’s analogy, his team are enjoying life with a few margaritas in the Champions League.
Slot’s team cruised into the last 16 for the second successive season with a demolition of Qarabag at Anfield. Mohamed Salah was among the goalscorers for the first time since accusing Liverpool of throwing him under the bus in December, while Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wirtz, the influential Hugo Ekitiké and Federico Chiesa were also on the scoresheet.
On a chilly, fun, boisterous night in Paris, with the Champions League mega-table scrolling away in the background, Newcastle produced a fine performance at the home of the European champions that left both teams outside the automatic qualification slots, but Newcastle much the happier of the two.
A 1-1 draw means Eddie Howe’s team finished 12th overall. They will now enter the knockout phase in the last two weeks of February, as had always seemed likely, to face either Qarabag or Monaco. More surprisingly, Paris Saint-Germain will join them there after some late score-ticker malarkey nudged them out of the top eight.
Company reports second-quarter revenues of $81.27bn but posts slowing growth in key cloud computing business
Investor interest in Microsoft’s shares may have weakened in recent months, but the company posted strong financial results on Wednesday that yet again demonstrated that the AI boom is roaring on.
Microsoft reported earnings for the second quarter of fiscal year that are likely to keep the party going for Wall Street, despite slowing growth in its key cloud computing business.
Action comes amid federal agencies’ campaign in the city, prompting an official complaint to US embassy in Quito
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent attempted to enter Ecuador’s consulate in Minneapolis, but was turned back by an employee, prompting an official complaint to the US embassy in Quito, the country’s foreign ministry said.
The Tuesday incident came as ICE and other federal agencies continue their aggressive campaign of arresting people in Minnesota’s largest city suspected of being in the United States illegally, despite outrage over the deaths of two US citizens in the operation dubbed “Metro Surge”.
Arsenal 6-0 AS Far (Blackstenius 8, Maanum 12, Caldentey 21pen, Smith 41, Russo 66 76)
Arsenal play Corinthians of Brazil in Sunday’s final
A businesslike performance against AS Far earned Arsenal a place in Sunday’s final of the inaugural Fifa Women’s Champions Cup against Corinthians.
Four goals in the first half – from Stina Blackstenius, Frida Maanum, Mariona Caldentey and Olivia Smith – allowed Renée Slegers to rotate players and rest some legs and the substitute Alessia Russo added two after the break to complete the rout.
Liam Rosenior spoke to TNT ahead of kick-off: ““It’s been a positive start. Firstly the players and their engagement and attitude and willingness to learn, I think they have enjoyed it as well. Tonight is another big test for us and if we manage to come through it , it gives us a great chance of being in the top eight.”
“They are very good on transition. They are very organised in their press. From what I’ve seen they will press us really, really high, whether that is from a 3-4-3 or a 5-4-1. They have outstanding players. They build well from the back. It is going to be a difficult game and we are prepared for it.”
Fed voted to pause cuts to interest rate, which currently sits between 3.5% and 3.75%, after slashing it three times in fall
The US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged after its first rate-setting meeting of the year on Wednesday, resisting enormous pressure from the White House to lower rates.
A majority of members in the Fed’s federal open market committee (FOMC) voted to pause interest rate cuts after slashing rates three times in the fall. Rates currently sit at a range of 3.5% to 3.75%.
Suit filed by Amplify Legal says laws violate constitutional right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
As Emily Waldorf languished in an Arkansas hospital, she felt like “a ticking time bomb”. It was 2024, and the physical therapist was in the midst of miscarrying a much-wanted pregnancy. But because her fetus still had a heartbeat, hospital officials said Arkansas’s near-total abortion ban blocked them from taking steps to induce labor and end her pregnancy.
Instead, Waldorf had to wait and hope that she didn’t develop a deadly infection.
Local officials confirmed to media that ICE is expected to deploy for the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations team has long worked the Super Bowl and other major sporting events, largely focused on preventing human trafficking and stopping the sale of counterfeit goods, but immigration operations would be unusual.
Ali Akbar, 73, honoured by Emmanuel Macron with National Order of Merit for dedication he pours into work
For more than five decades he’s pounded the pavements of Paris, becoming part of the city’s cultural fabric as he strikes up conversations, greets longtime friends and offers parodies of daily news headlines.
On Wednesday, the efforts of the man believed to be France’s last newspaper hawker were recognised, as Ali Akbar, a 73-year-old originally from Pakistan, received one of France’s most prestigious honours.
The two agents who fatally shot a man in Minneapolis over the weekend have been on administrative leave since Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday, as Donald Trump tried to quell the backlash even while immigration raids in the city continued.
The move, which the DHS emphasized is standard protocol when agents are involved in fatal shootings, comes as the president suggested he would “de-escalate” his immigration enforcement crackdown in the state, but without offering details or whether tactics would change.
There are places on this Earth that still belong to themselves, places where very few people have stood. And some of those places are holy.
It was the summer of 2018 when we packed my old Hilux and a Troopie and set off from Lajamanu to Mina Mina. It had been Aunty Agnes’s idea. Although she’d painted this place for decades, she’d never set foot on Mina Mina, on her grandfather’s Country, in the jaws of Lake Mackay, Northern Great Sandy Desert.
Antiheroine, a new film about the musician’s tumultuous life and career, premiered at the festival with some frank admissions but the star not present
A new documentary about the gen X icon and “queen of grunge” Courtney Love caused a stir at the Sundance film festival – without the legendary Hole frontwoman in attendance.
The musician and actor, now 61, was supposed to attend the premiere of Antiheroine, a new retrospective documentary by Edward Lovelace and James Hall that traces her storied life and career, but did not make it for undisclosed reasons. “We’re really gutted that Courtney couldn’t make it tonight to celebrate this moment with us all,” said Lovelace in his introduction for the film’s premiere in Park City, Utah, calling Love “so unfiltered, so truthful”.
The prime minister cannot wish away the contradictions between upholding democratic values and pursuing commercial interests with Beijing
It has been clear for many years that China’s status as a second global superpower poses challenges to the world’s democracies. Donald Trump’s marauding behaviour as president of the first-placed superpower makes those challenges more acute. In the past, the UK’s relationship with Beijing has been anchored, and sometimes dictated, by the alliance with Washington. Mr Trump’s contempt for former allies, expressed as sabotage of Nato and a scattergun imposition of tariffs, scrambles the old strategic calculus.
This is an ominous backdrop for Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to Beijing. The prime minister is trying to perform a difficult balancing act, looking for commercial opportunity in a growing powerhouse while protecting national security from an authoritarian behemoth.
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Keir Starmer has landed in China to meet Xi Jinping, in the first trip to the country by a British prime minister in eight years. But Starmer is facing myriad issues, including pressure to try to secure the release of Jimmy Lai, the jailed former media tycoon and one of Hong Kong’s most significant pro-democracy voices, as well as raising other human rights concerns.
On top of that he has the difficult task of trying to boost trade with China without triggering the fury of Donald Trump.
Nosheen Iqbal speaks to the Guardian’s political editor, Pippa Crerar, who joins from Beijing.
The Cleveland Browns are naming Todd Monken as their head coach, according to multiple reports.
Monken had been Baltimore’s offensive coordinator for the past three seasons, and his appointment comes after several high-profile candidates rejected the Browns. He has also interviewed for Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator opening and was tied to the New York Giants offensive coordinator spot after John Harbaugh was named coach.
Sundance film festival: Jay Duplass recruits David Duchovny, Hope Davis and Kaitlyn Dever for a patchy, poignant tale
If anyone can speak to the “end of an era” nostalgia coursing through the legacy-minded 2026 Sundance film festival, its final edition in Park City and its first without founder Robert Redford, it would be Jay Duplass. The film-maker first attended the indie festival along with his brother, Mark, in 2003, with a self-proclaimed “$3 film”, then went on to premiere three projects – The Puffy Chair, Baghead and Cyrus – that epitomized the much-debated, very indie mumblecore movement of yore. For the Duplass brothers, the festival was, as it has been for many a small-budget artist trying to break out, the difference between a career and another $3 film. Without Sundance, he recently joked: “I’d probably be a psychologist right now.”
Psychologist sympathies peek through See You When I See You, Duplass’s feature film return to the festival after 16 years largely focused on acting and directing episodic television, notably for Togetherness, Search Party and the criminally underseen Somebody, Somewhere. An earnest adaptation of comedian Adam Cayton-Holland’s memoir, Tragedy Plus Time, the 102-minute film is both a straightforward tribute to psychotherapy and a tightrope walk of tone, attempting to balance profound grief with breezy comedy for a family reeling from a shocking loss.
See You When I See You is screening at the Sundance film festival and is seeking distribution
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