Patterson has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder relating to a lunch she served at her Leongatha home in 2023. Follow live updates

• Who are Erin Patterson and the other key figures in Australia’s mushroom murders trial?

Erin Patterson’s lawyer Colin Mandy cross-examining Kylie Ashton

Mandy asks about the previous evidence from medical witnesses that Erin was present at the hospital for five minutes before she discharged herself.

I said these could be symptoms of illness and we needed to do further investigation to ensure she was safe.

NYPD officers entered campus’s main library building in riot gear after activists occupied area in hours-long standoff

The New York police department on Wednesday arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian activists who occupied part of the main library building on Columbia University’s campus on Wednesday evening, ending an hours-long standoff nearly a year after student anti-war protest swept the Ivy League school.

Claire Shipman, the university’s acting president, said in a statement that she requested officers with the NYPD to help clear the building, after protesters had refused to leave despite being warned that a failure to comply would result in disciplinary action and possibly arrest for trespassing. A spokesperson for the NYPD said officers arrested “multiple individuals” who refused to disperse.

New emblems approved by city councils in defiance of bans on ‘unofficial flags’ on government property

Earlier this year, Utah and Idaho’s Republican-controlled legislatures passed bans on flying the rainbow pride flags and other “unofficial flags” on government property.

Leaders in both states’ capital cities, Salt Lake City and Boise, recently devised an inventive workaround – changing their official flags.

President taps wellness influencer after withdrawing initial pick, former Fox News contributor Janette Nesheiwat

Donald Trump has tapped Dr Casey Means, a wellness influencer with close ties to Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, as nominee for surgeon general after withdrawing his initial pick for the influential health post.

The US president said in a social media post on Wednesday that Means has “impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials” – referring to the “make America healthy again” slogan – and that she will work to eradicate chronic disease and improve the health and wellbeing of Americans.

New York Times reports Elon Musk’s Doge agency has created spreadsheet of federal grants earmarked for cuts

The Trump administration is reportedly eyeing dozens of grants across the National Park Service for termination, according to reporting from the New York Times, one of several moves destabilizing the US’s investment in public lands.

According to the newspaper, staff members at Elon Musk’s unofficial “department of government efficiency” have created a spreadsheet of federal grants earmarked for cuts, with total funding cuts amounting to some $26m.

Security minister says US delegation wanted classification for PCC and Comando Vermelho to aid immigration policy

The Brazilian government has rejected a request by the US state department to designate two major criminal gangs as terrorist organizations, according to Mario Sarrubo, Brazil’s national secretary of public security.

Sarrubo said the request was made on Tuesday during a meeting between US and Brazilian officials in Brasília.

Columbia Spectator reports protesters who staged library ‘emergency rally’ blocked from leaving by campus security officers unless they show ID

• Columbia University calls in police to clear pro-Palestinian protesters

Britain is in “active discussions” with US officials over the extraordinary 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the US proposed by Donald Trump, as it tries to protect one of its biggest creative industries.

“We are already in active discussions with the top of the US administration on this subject. We are working hard to establish what might be proposed, if anything, and to make sure our world-beating creative industries are protected,” creative industries minister Chris Bryant told parliament.

Officials say the likelihood Lily and Jack Sullivan are still alive after disappearing in Nova Scotia on 2 May is ‘very low’

Nearly a week after two young children went missing in rural Nova Scotia, Canadian police say they are beginning to scale back search efforts given the “low” odds the children are still alive – and that they are not ruling out the possibility of foul play.

Since Friday, more than 160 searchers with drones and canine units have scoured the thickly forested region of Pictou county in search of Lily Sullivan, six, and Jack Sullivan, four.

It was a night when Arsenal gave everything, battling until the last, even when it looked over. Nobody should fault the spirit of Mikel Arteta’s players. They emerged with honour. But it was a night when they simply could not bend this showpiece occasion to the force of their energy and will.

When it really was over, this raucous venue pounded to a delirious beat. Paris Saint-Germain are going to their second Champions League final, deserved winners across the two legs. They will fancy their chances of a first title when they face Inter Milan in Munich.

• British player holds on for 7-5, 6-7 (1), 6-3 win
• Lucky loser Cameron Norrie into second round

At the end of a turbulent night in Rome, where another momentum shift was always around the corner, Emma Raducanu held off a spirited teenage opponent and quelled her own nerves to reach the second round of the Italian Open with a gritty 7-5, 6-7 (1), 6-3 win over Australia’s Maya Joint.

The victory marks Raducanu’s first win in Rome in just her second appearance at the event. In 2022, she was forced to retire in the first round against Bianca Andreescu. She will next face a familiar opponent in Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 21st seed, who she has already battled twice this year, winning once, in Australia.

Oscar-winning actor gives first interview to Variety since working with Trump on plan to shake up Hollywood

Jon Voight, the actor who inspired Donald Trump’s surprise statement about placing a 100% tariff on foreign-made films, has given his first interview on the supposed plan to “give people back their dignity and their jobs”.

“Something has to be done, and it’s way past time,” the 86-year-old actor told Variety while he was, according to the magazine, “driving through what sounded like a car wash”.

Trump says ‘it’s possible that’s right’ about the vice-president’s remarks amid frustrations with Russia

JD Vance has said that Russia is asking for “too much” in its negotiations with Ukraine in the latest sign of growing frustration from Washington with ceasefire talks to end the war between the two countries.

Speaking at a security conference of senior military and diplomatic leaders in Washington, the US vice-president said that the White House is focused on getting the two sides to hold direct talks and is ready to walk away if certain benchmarks are not reached.

Shehbaz Sharif addresses nation as tensions escalate after 31 people killed and 57 injured in Indian air force attack

• Pakistan authorises ‘corresponding’ retaliation after deadly India missile strikes
• Analysis – India and Pakistan can ill-afford war, but who will talk them down?

US president Donald Trump has said he wants India and Pakistan to “stop now” and that “if I can do anything to help, I will.”

“It’s so terrible,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday. He said:

My position is I get along with both. I know both very well, and I want to see them work it out. I want to see them stop, and hopefully they can stop now.

What happens next is we are prepared for an all-out war. There is absolutely no doubt, because India is increasing the intensity, the stakes of this conflict. So… we can’t be caught with our guards down.

Men, who have been convicted of federal charges, found not guilty in death of Black man, 29, after he fled traffic stop

Three former Memphis officers were acquitted on Wednesday of state charges, including second-degree murder, in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols after he ran away from a traffic stop in 2023.

A jury took about eight and a half hours over two days to find Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith not guilty on all charges after a nine-day trial in state court in Memphis. After the jury’s verdict was read, the defendants hugged their lawyers as relatives of the former officers cried. One relative yelled: “Thank you, Jesus!”

• Itoje to be first English Lions captain in 24 years
• 40-strong squad to be announced at O2 on Thursday

Maro Itoje will be named captain of the British & Irish Lions squad to tour Australia on Thursday, the Guardian understands. Itoje is set to become the first Englishman to lead the Lions in 24 years when he is unveiled as part of Andy Farrell’s squad announcement at a live event at the O2.

Itoje, also the England captain, became overwhelming favourite for the role when it emerged Caelan Doris had suffered a shoulder injury last weekend that required surgery. The Ireland captain is now a doubt for the tour, clearing the way for Itoje to be selected as captain and lead what is understood to be a 40-strong squad.

Exposure to small particulate matter from fires contributes to thousands of annual deaths in US, according to study

Wildfires driven by the climate crisis contribute to as many as thousands of annual deaths and billions of dollars in economic costs from wildfire smoke in the United States, according to a new study.

The paper, published on Friday in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment, found that from 2006 to 2020, the climate crisis contributed to about 15,000 deaths from exposure to small particulate matter from wildfires and cost about $160bn. The annual range of deaths was 130 to 5,100, the study showed, with the highest in states such as Oregon and California.

Cardinals begin locked-in selection process amid throng of pilgrims and peaceful protest for women’s rights in church

• Explainer: how does the conclave work?

Plumes of black smoke have emerged from the chimney on top of the Sistine Chapel, signalling that the 133 cardinals sealed off inside have failed to elect a new pope on the first day of conclave.

After the formal procession to the Sistine Chapel and each of the cardinals swearing the oath to secrecy, the first voting round only got under way at about 5.45pm local time. Then all eyes were on the famous chimney, which was diligently guarded by a seagull for some of the time the cardinals were voting.

Eight US senators ask Shari Redstone not to settle to end president’s ‘bogus’ $20bn lawsuit over 2024 Harris interview

The senator Bernie Sanders and his Democratic colleagues are urging Paramount Global not to settle Donald Trump’s $20bn lawsuit against 60 Minutes, saying such a decision would “capitulate to this dangerous move to authoritarianism”.

In a letter co-signed by eight senators, Sanders urged controlling shareholder Shari Redstone and Paramount Global’s board to reconsider settling with Trump for as much as $75m to end his lawsuit against CBS News over its editing of last year’s 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.

Senior negotiators hope to get agreement with US signed ahead of UK-EU summit on 19 May

A team of senior British trade negotiators has landed in Washington as talks over a deal between the two countries gather pace.

Officials from the business and trade department are in the US for much of this week, attempting to get an agreement signed before the planned UK-EU summit on 19 May.

Tottenham are without key players for the Europa League semi-final second leg against opponents who have belief

European football has provided Tottenham with a sanctuary during this most confusing of seasons. Their Premier League campaign has been a disaster but they have turned into a different team against continental opposition. They have veered away from the wilder excesses of Angeball during their run to the Europa League semi-finals – their quarter-final win over Eintracht Frankfurt was achieved with a crafty, gritty performance in the second leg – and silverware will be within reach for the first time since 2008 if they can hold their nerve at the Aspmyra Stadium.

Freeze in the Arctic Circle, though, and the ice that Ange Postecoglou has been skating on since January will finally crack. This is the moment to move away from the modern Tottenham’s history to sort of dare, not quite do and fall short when the pressure rises. Postecoglou has railed against the club’s reputation as loveable losers but defeat against Bodø/Glimt could see him out of a job by Friday morning. He must ensure his players are equipped for the unorthodox test posed by Kjetil Knutsen’s team. Injuries have been the theme of Spurs’ season but they have to overcome the blow of two more befalling their two most in-form midfielders, Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison, just when they were needed most.

Central bank says ‘uncertainty has increased’ as it opts to maintain benchmark interest rate for third time in a row

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates on hold and called out growing dangers in the US economy amid Donald Trump’s erratic rollout of an aggressive trade strategy.

Jerome Powell, the US central bank’s chair, cautioned that the president’s tariffs were likely to raise prices, weaken growth and increase unemployment if maintained.

Both sides believe they are treading carefully, but without intercession the military clash following the murder of Hindu tourists in Kashmir could escalate

The familiarity of military confrontation between India and Pakistan is no cause for reassurance: this is the worst violence in years. Though neither wants full-blown conflict, the dispute over Kashmir has produced three wars and multiple crises over eight decades. When two nuclear-armed neighbours clash, we should worry.

One reason is that errors and misjudgments are always possible. Following its overnight strikes on Pakistan, which it accuses of involvement in the massacre of Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last month, India said that it hit only terrorist infrastructure and that its actions were “not escalatory”. This is not a judgment that can be made unilaterally. Pakistan said India was “igniting an inferno” and that its military is authorised to take corresponding actions.

Study also found 54% of adult Americans said the relationship between police and Black people was about the same since George Floyd’s death

This 25 May marks the fifth anniversary of the police killing of George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis, Minnesota, whose murder sparked international protests against police brutality and racism.

A new study by the Pew Institute examines the beliefs of American adults regarding race and racial issues five years after Floyd’s death.

It is shocking that while illnesses specific to men are studied, those affecting women are ignored

Six years after Caroline Criado Perez’s bestselling book Invisible Women drew a mass readership’s attention to the long history of sexist bias in medical research, it is shocking that women and their illnesses are still underrepresented in clinical trials. Analysis by the Guardian of data gathered for a new study showed that from 2019 to 2023, 282 trials involving only male subjects were submitted for regulatory approval in the UK – compared with 169 focused on women.

Health inequality is a complex and multifaceted problem. There are massive socioeconomic differences in life expectancy and infant mortality, as well as race inequalities – for example, in maternity and mental illnesses. These and other disparities, along with those relating to disability, can also be mapped geographically.

• Guard picked up injury during Game 1 victory
• 37-year-old will miss at least three games of series

The Golden State Warriors are planning to play without Stephen Curry for at least the next three games of their playoff series against Minnesota, after an MRI exam on Wednesday confirmed the guard has a strained hamstring.

The Warriors said the 37-year-old will be sidelined at least a week after he picked up the injury during Tuesday night’s Game 1 victory over the Timberwolves. When he left the court, he had 13 points in 13 minutes to help Golden State build a comfortable lead and take home-court advantage away from the Timberwolves.

Awkward teenager strikes deal with stripper played by SNL’s Chloe Fineman in moderately entertaining throwback

In Summer of 69, a comedy that premiered at SXSW in March, poor Bryan Adams doesn’t even get a mention. Rather than coasting on the nostalgia summoned by his 1985 hit, the title is instead a reference to the top-and-tail sex position (Adams has claimed, much to the annoyance of his co-writer, that the song was also referring to the same thing).

It’s the unusual focus of awkward teen gamer Abby (relative newcomer Sam Morelos) who has a long-running obsession with her classmate Max (Disney star Matt Cornett). The best she’s been able to manage throughout their time at school is small talk, but when he breaks up with his longtime girlfriend, she sees an opportunity. Through the grapevine she hears that Max is a fan of the 69 position and Abby, whose experience of kissing has been limited to the back of her hand, seeks assistance. It arrives in the form of Santa Monica (Saturday Night Live’s go-to impressionist Chloe Fineman), a stripper she enlists via the promise of a $20,000 payment. It’s the amount Santa Monica needs to save the strip club after unpaid taxes piled up and if she can come through with it, she’ll become the new owner.

Collins has broken with Trump in the past, but so far has been unwilling to use the full power of her committee

Under normal circumstances, Senator Susan Collins would now be one of the most powerful figures in official Washington.

In January, the Maine Republican became the chair of the Senate appropriations committee, long considered one of the most consequential panels in the upper chamber. Nicknamed the “college of cardinals” for its outsized power over federal spending, it can approve funds for favored programs and slash it for others while blocking attempts by the White House to get in the way. One former chair of the committee used his power to get more than 30 federal projects named for himself in his home state. On its website, the committee boldly asserts its power, quoting from the constitution that “No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of Appropriations made by law.”

• Champions League news, 8pm BST kick-off (first leg: 1-0)
• Nicky Bandini on Inter | And read today’s Football Daily

A relaxed Mikel Arteta talks to TNT Sports

It’s our biggest night for a long time. But this isn’t where we want to be – we want to make the final. We are very close. We learned a few things from the first game, about the level of the two teams and the small margins. We have a big conviction that we’re gonna do it tonight.

This is where this club deserves to be. We still have so much to do – so much to win, so much consistency to show – but hopefully we are on the right trajectory.

Fears raised of escalating conflict after Pakistan accused India of ‘igniting an inferno’ in Kashmir and Punjab

• Kashmir crisis live – latest updates

Pakistan has warned that it will “avenge” the death of 31 people killed in overnight missile attacks by the Indian air force, raising fears of an escalating conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries.

In a late night address to the nation late on Wednesday, Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said: “We make this pledge, that we will avenge each drop of the blood of these martyrs.”

Former chancellor also said the ‘old two-party system’ could be coming to an end

Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said the Conservatives cannot rule out becoming extinct because of a “massive earthquake” in politics that is seeing the fracturing of the old two-party system.

Senior Conservatives are increasingly alarmed about polls that show support for the party plummeting, while Reform UK is soaring.

What’s new in AI – from effects on job market to Meta’s new app and ChatGPT changes – and a look at Musk’s first term

Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, and this week in tech news: Trump’s tariffs hit tech companies that move physical goods more than their digital-only counterparts. Two stories about AI’s effect on the labor market paint a murky picture. Meta released a standalone AI app, a product it claims already has a billion users through enforced omnipresence. OpenAI dialed back an obsequious version of ChatGPT. And we look back at Elon Musk’s first term.

Ryan Coogler’s smash hit horror focuses on the opening of a juke joint, a one-time mainstay in Black southern culture

In Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, the Smokestack twins – a gangster pair played by Michael B Jordan – return to their Mississippi Delta home town to open a juke joint and make a fast buck, only to wind up hunkered inside when danger literally comes knocking. But the juke joint is more than a safe space from vampires; for Black people during segregation, it was an escape from the horrors of the so-called “separate-but-equal” US economy. “The juke joint represents, as the film suggests, this multifaceted connection to the foundation of Black experience,” says William Ferris, a University of North Carolina history professor who has made documenting blues music and southern culture his life’s work. “It’s a safe haven from racial violence.”

During the late 19th and early 20th century the juke joint was a southern social institution, the place to drink and unwind over live music. The vast majority of them were owned and operated by Black people. In fact the word juke (also spelled jook) is said to derive from Gullah, a creole language that has been spoken by Black people on the south-eastern coast for generations; it means to dance, act disorderly or engage in rowdy behavior – fun that juke joints were known for.

First stage of initiative will introduce ‘keystone’ species to beaver enclosures in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire

Elk could return to the UK after 3,000 years under plans by the Wildlife Trusts to reintroduce the “keystone” species into Britain’s landscapes.

The Derbyshire Wildlife Trust wants to introduce elk into two existing beaver enclosures in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, with the hope of demonstrating that the large semiaquatic deer should be released to roam free in the wild.

• Decision comes after three poor red-ball series
• First of five Tests start in June at Headingley

Rohit Sharma has retired from Test cricket, his announcement coming hours after reports emerged that he was to lose India’s red-ball captaincy. The 38-year-old, who quit T20 international cricket after leading India to victory at last year’s World Cup, will continue to represent his country in one-day internationals.

“Hello everyone, I would just like to share that I am retiring from Test cricket,” Sharma posted on Instagram. “It’s been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites. Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the ODI format.”

Groceries, fitness classes and therapy all go under the wide umbrella of health expenses – and it all costs money

What does it take to be well? The answer varies from person to person. For some, it may require prescription medication and yoga classes; for others, it could be a vegetarian diet and regular doctor visits. One thing is certain: it costs money.

Americans spend more than $6,000 (£4,500) per person a year on wellness, according to the Global Wellness Institute. This makes the US “the largest wellness economy by far”. In the UK, per capita average wellness spending is $3,342 (£2,505).

$280 for employer-sponsored healthcare

$80 on psychotherapy

$10 on a prescription medication

$360 on personal training

$20 on my gym membership (discounted with the personal training), and $45 on a protein-powder subscription

I’m also part of a run club and rec sports league, which have an upfront cost for multiple months, but combined are about $75 per month. It’s funny, I don’t consider myself very athletic, but it sure doesn’t look that way from my spending.

$35 on a prescription skincare subscription for a two-month supply (but I’m planning to cancel)

$15 average on moisturizer/cleanser that will last multiple months

£500 for groceries

£400 for a ready-meal delivery subscription

£40 for protein shakes

Chewy’s owner was detained and a bulk amount of methamphetamine was discovered in vehicle, officials say

Police in Ohio were surprised to discover a pet raccoon called Chewy with a meth pipe in its mouth during a traffic stop in the town of Springfield.

In a statement, Springfield Township police department said that one of its officers, Austin Branham, made the stop after spotting a vehicle whose owner had an active warrant and a suspended driver’s license.

Complaints of people who were infected, and their relatives, include criticisms that scheme is slow, flawed and complex

People infected as a result of the contaminated blood scandal, and their relatives, say they have been “re-traumatised” by delays to – and flaws in – the compensation scheme.

At a special hearing of the infected blood inquiry, which published its final report in May last year, victims and campaigners lined up to castigate the government’s handling of compensation.

Cheryl Tweedy, who has son with late One Direction star, appointed administrator of fortune along with lawyer

The late One Direction star Liam Payne has left behind a £24.3m fortune after dying without a will.

Cheryl Tweedy, his former partner and mother of his son, Bear, is legally responsible for Payne’s money, property and possessions after being named an administrator for his estate.

Defeat in the first round of a confirmation vote was humiliating. It could be the lesson Merz needed to change his leadership style

There goes the cliche about German politics being stable but dull. Germany finally has a new leader, but only after a day of drama, suspense and historic twists. The conservative Friedrich Merz failed to secure a majority confirming him as chancellor in the first round of voting in the Bundestag. In eight decades of postwar Germany, this has never happened before.

When Merz’s cabinet was finally sworn in later on Tuesday afternoon, after a successful second round, both parties in the governing coalition – the conservative CDU/CSU and the Social Democrats (SPD) – were eager to play down the failure as a mere hiccup. But the high drama indicates a new degree of fragmentation and instability in the German party system. It is certain to affect the way this new administration will govern.

Jörg Lau is an international correspondent for the German weekly Die Zeit

Chris Pelkey was killed in a road rage shooting in Chandler, Arizona, in 2021. Three-and-a-half years later, Pelkey appeared in an Arizona court to address his killer. Sort of. 'To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me, it is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances,' says a video recording of Pelkey. 'In another life, we probably could have been friends.' Pelkey continues: 'I believe in forgiveness, and a God who forgives. I always have, and I still do.' Pelkey was 37 years old, devoutly religious and an army combat veteran. Horcasitas shot Pelkey at a red light in 2021 after Pelkey exited his vehicle and walked back towards Horcasitas’s car. Pelkey’s appearance from beyond the grave was made possible by artificial intelligence in what could be the first use of AI to deliver a victim impact statement.

• AI of dead Arizona road rage victim addresses killer in court