• Latest updates from the decisive day of the 153rd Open

• Live official leaderboard | And you can email Scott

Rory McIlroy is out and about, soundtracked by the usual ozone-layer-bothering roars. An iron straight down the middle. An approach straight down the middle and over the flag. He’ll have a 20-foot putt coming back for birdie. Matt Fitzpatrick has some work to do, though, having dispatched his tee shot into the rough down the left, then sent a flyer over the back of the green. Meanwhile Hideki Matsuyama’s eagle putt at 12 shaves the hole, Tyrrell Hatton’s bunkered tee shot at 2 leads to bogey, and here’s how the top of the leaderboard looks right now.

-14: Scheffler
-10: Li
-9: Fitzpatrick
-8: Matsuyama (12), R Hojgaard (3), Hatton (2), English (1), Gotterup (1), McIlroy
-7: DeChambeau (13), Fleetwood (11), Hall (7), MacIntyre (3), Henley (3), Schauffele (2)

Newberry Springs was almost lost to the desert. But as America’s ‘mother road’ turns 100, locals see hope that the boom times could return

The tiny desert cafe, caught in a desolate middle between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, had only been open for five minutes when the first customers of the day ambled in from the already blistering heat.

It was a Friday morning in June, sand swirling outside across the cracked street and towards the Bagdad Cafe’s front door. In the same parking lot, a 1950s-era sign advertised a motel that no longer exists. In the distance, only a few surviving businesses remained: a small community center, a veterans organization and a long-standing roadhouse bar popular with locals. A few miles to the north, an entire neighborhood was abandoned in the 1990s after mounds of blowing sand swallowed it whole; today, only rooftops and chimneys peek out from the towering sand dunes.

Exclusive: Legal actions rise after death or injury of hundreds of babies and women in recent years

The NHS is facing an “absolutely shocking” £27bn bill for maternity failings in England, the Guardian can reveal, after a series of hospital scandals triggered a record level of legal claims.

Hundreds of babies and women have died or suffered life-altering conditions as a result of botched care in NHS trusts across the country in recent years, prompting the government to launch a “rapid” national inquiry.

Pontiff also speaks of anguish over Israeli strike on territory’s only Catholic church, which killed three people

Pope Leo XIV has condemned the “barbarity” of the war in Gaza and the “indiscriminate use of force” as Gaza’s health ministry said at least 73 Palestinians had been killed queueing for food.

The Hamas-run ministry said on Sunday that the victims had been killed in different locations, mostly in northern Gaza.

Paul Biya, 92, has ruled Cameroon since the early 1980s. Unseating him in October’s election will not be easy

Opposite Treasure Hunter, one of four casinos on the same street in Douala, Cameroon’s commercial capital, money changers and motorcycle taxi drivers such as André Ouandji mill around, calling out to potential clients.

Ouandji has worked in the area for three years but has not entered the casinos. He prefers to frequent the sports betting shop in his local neighbourhood of Bonabéri.

Groups say having access to funds cut off raise fears of wider attempt to silence voices speaking out about Gaza

At least two grassroots pro-Palestine organisations in the UK have had their bank accounts frozen, raising fears about a wider attempt to silence voices speaking out about Gaza.

Greater Manchester Friends for Palestine (GMFP) and Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), which both organise peaceful protests and vigils, have had access to their funds cut off indefinitely by Virgin Money and Unit Trust bank respectively. The Guardian understands a local PSC branch in England has also had its bank account frozen but was unable to confirm it directly.

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

Why can’t I put on mascara without opening my mouth? Rita, London

Send new questions to nq@theguardian.com.

A Black man like me is not supposed to love Oklahoma. But in studying my home state’s history of violence, theft and wild ambitions, I learned to reckon with its legacy

In a moment, I will tell you how I learned to love Oklahoma, a state I have had to point out on a map more times than I can count to Americans and foreigners alike. One with 77 crimson red counties and a license plate that once simply read: “OKLAHOMA IS OK.”

But first, it is important to tell you about my first Oklahoma school history lesson – one I learned when I was eight years old, after my parents moved our family cross-country.

Can’t afford goji berries, spirulina or turmeric – or just don’t like the taste? Most kitchens are full of healthy but unglamorous alternatives. Nutrition experts name their favourites

What is a superfood? According to Italian scientists writing in the journal Frontiers in Food Science and Technology in February, the term was coined in the 1960s to describe foods that could fight malnutrition. It wasn’t until the 00s that it was co-opted to sell exotic and expensive ingredients to health-conscious customers. During the pandemic, interest in so-called superfoods increased again, especially those said to “boost immunity” and “protect against pathogens”.

The researchers, Giulia Santunione and Giuseppe Montevecchi, define superfoods as “a marketing term used to describe nutrient-dense foods claimed to have health benefits”. In sales terms, the superfood label has been a huge success. The global superfoods market is projected to rise from an estimated $155.2bn in 2022 to $344.9bn by 2033. The US is the lead grower of kale and blueberries; Peru is the biggest exporter of quinoa and maca root; China is the top producer of goji berries and spirulina; India is a major producer of turmeric; and Japan specialises in matcha tea.

The Glaswegian comic on her close bond with her nana, coming out in a conservative, Catholic society, and how a friend’s choice comment kickstarted her career

Born in Glasgow in 1980, Susie McCabe began her career in standup comedy in the early 2010s, quickly gaining recognition on the Scottish comedy circuit. The 2024 winner of the Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow award, McCabe has supported Kevin Bridges and John Bishop on tour and, along with Frankie Boyle and Christopher Macarthur-Boyd, hosts the podcast Here Comes the Guillotine. Her show, Femme Fatality, is on iPlayer now. She performs her new show Best Behaviour at Edinburgh fringe from 30 July to 24 August.

I’m three years old and in my late nana’s ground-floor tenement Glasgow flat. She would have knitted that tank top, and the toy in my hand was a little monkey that my mum bought me as a present. Apparently I used to be obsessed with putting its feet in its mouth – I’m sure a therapist could have a field day with that.

Everyone changes – even the person you’re hoping to spend the rest of your life with. But some changes are too much to bear

Mercury is in retrograde, if I can believe an unsolicited email trying to sell me psychic services. Maybe that’s why, according to a Dutch gossip account, the Manchester United centre-back Matthijs de Ligt and his wife, the model AnneKee Molenaar, could be splitting up only a year after they got married. I’m being facetious: I don’t believe the position of a distant ball of iron and silicate in relation to other balls of stuff (yes, that’s the scientific term) is influencing anyone’s relationship, or anything else.

Neither, apparently, does De Ligt. According to this rumour, he doesn’t share Molenaar’s interest in all things woo-woo – or “spiriwiri” as they call it in Dutch. There are signs that Molenaar is woo-curious on her Instagram account, which features crystals and a book on tarot; it also suggests she is starting a new-agey-sounding business called “Annie’s Alchemia”, though there is little more than a trademark registration to show for it publicly.

• Rolling updates from 169km ride in south-east France

• Stage-by-stage guide | And you can drop Tom a mail

143km to go. The peloton is about one minute behind Pogacar’s group. A slightly chaotic start to stage 15 which has limited any breakaway threats.

146km to go. The peloton is back together at the front, but there are some gaps further back. UAE Team radio has just been played on the broadcast requesting that Pogacar slow the front of the race as a Vingegaard was caught in the crash incident. It’s not clear whether or not the Dane was involved in the crash itself.

More than 1,000 people estimated to have been killed after clashes between Bedouin and Druze groups

An uneasy calm returned to southern Syria’s Sweida province on Sunday, after fighters withdrew following a week of violence estimated to have killed more than 1,000 people.

Local people told news agencies the area was calm after Syria’s Islamist-led government said Bedouin fighters had left the predominantly Druze city.

US president using ‘invented’ national energy crisis to justify expansion of coal, oil and gas, experts say

Ever since Donald Trump began his second presidency, he has used an “invented” national energy emergency to help justify expanding oil, gas and coal while slashing green energy – despite years of scientific evidence that burning fossil fuels has contributed significantly to climate change, say scholars and watchdogs.

It’s an agenda that in only its first six months, has put back environmental progress by decades, they say.

A deep-fried delight that sings of the seaside – serve up and let everyone dig in. So whose version gets it just right?

Fritto misto (the term for “mixed fry” sounds so much better in Italian, somehow) is, in the words of Katie Caldesi, “an assortment of deep-fried vegetables, fish or meats … all bite-size, intended to be eaten with fingers and a wedge of lemon”. And she should know, because she loves the stuff so much that she served fritto misto at her wedding to chef Giancarlo. It’s pure crisp, relaxed holiday pleasure – a simple crowdpleaser that everyone can dig into together, with, as Caldesi observes, a winning element of surprise: “You don’t know what is hidden beneath the batter until you’ve bitten into it.”

On that note, and because my memories of the dish involve rustling salty piles washed down with well-chilled carafes of vino della casa at seaside restaurants, I always think of the fishy version (properly fritto misto di mare), but I’ve given suggestions below for a vegetable alternative so everyone can enjoy the feast. After all, as the Tuscans say, fritta è buona anche una suola di scarpa (even the sole of a shoe tastes good fried).

• Reports of £69m deal being agreed said to be premature

• Ekitike keen on move to Premier League champions

Liverpool continue to be in negotiations over the signing of Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike. Sources at the Premier League champions say reports in Germany of a deal being agreed for a £69m fee are premature, although it is believed that the France Under-21s forward does favour a move to Anfield.

Ekitike is expected to eventually join Liverpool as they look to overhaul their striking department, a situation further necessitated by the death of Diogo Jota this month.

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

• Ireland lock withdrawn in first Test because of plantar fasciitis

• Owen Farrell likely to start against First Nations & Pasifika XV

The Ireland lock Joe McCarthy is a doubt for the British & Irish Lions’ second Test against the Wallabies on Saturday because of a foot condition. Andy Farrell has called up Scotland’s Gregor Brown to bolster his second-row ranks as a result, taking an already bloated squad to 45 players.

McCarthy was taken off after 43 minutes of the Lions’ 27-19 victory over Australia in Brisbane on Saturday and Farrell confirmed his early withdrawal was enforced. “It’s plantar fasciitis,” said Farrell. “It was niggling away at him there. We got him off. Hopefully we got him off in time.”

The decision to let a small blaze burn – before it suddenly erupted – has drawn scrutiny. Now those who love the remote North Rim are reckoning with the destruction

When lightning struck on 4 July along the remote North Rim of Grand Canyon national park, sparking a small wildfire in a patch of dry forest, few predicted the terror and loss that lay ahead.

Fire managers decided that conditions seemed ideal to let the blaze burn at a low intensity – a practice known as “control and contain” that helps clear out excess fuels and decreases the chance of a more catastrophic wildfire in the future. Rains from previous weeks had left the forest floor moist and weather forecasts indicated the summer monsoon season would arrive soon.

A Tory and a Labour voter struggle to find common ground over woke culture and second-home ownership

Ben, 45, Dorset

Occupation Sustainability lead in the construction industry

Six months into his second term, the president has been disastrous for democracy – but extraordinarily politically adept

In the first six months of his second term as president, Donald Trump has dominated the national political conversation, implemented an aggressive agenda of constitutional reform, scrambled longstanding American alliances, and helped alter US political culture.

Pro-democracy forces have been left with their heads spinning. They (and I) have spent too much time simply denouncing or pathologizing him and far too little time learning from him.

Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, is the author or editor of more than 100 books, including Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America’s Death Penalty

A Salvadorian reporter with an audience of millions, Mario Guevara was arrested while livestreaming a protest against Trump in June – and is still struggling for freedom

Prosecutors dropped the last remaining charges against Atlanta-area journalist Mario Guevara last week after he was arrested while livestreaming a protest in June. But the influential Salvadorian reporter remains penned up in a south Georgia detention center, fending off a deportation case, jail house extortionists and despair, people familiar with his situation told the Guardian.

Donald Trump’s administration has been extreme in unprecedented ways to undocumented immigrants. But Guevara’s treatment is a special case. Shuttled between five jail cells in Georgia since his arrest while covering the “No Kings Day” protests, the 20-plus-years veteran journalist’s sin was to document the undocumented and the way Trump’s agents have been hunting them down.

President’s assault on science –particularly climate science – has led to unprecedented funding cuts and staff layoffs

“Our ability to respond to climate change, the biggest existential threat facing humanity, is totally adrift,” said Sally Johnson, an Earth scientist who has spent the past two decades helping collect, store and distribute data at Nasa (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and Noaa (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).

Donald Trump’s assault on science – but particularly climate science – has led to unprecedented funding cuts and staff layoffs across federally funded agencies and programs, threatening to derail research tackling the most pressing issues facing Americans and humanity more broadly. A generation of scientific talent is also on the brink of being lost, with unprecedented political interference at what were previously evidence-driven agencies jeopardizing the future of US industries and economic growth.

Pop star weds The 1975 drummer, who she has been with for about three years, at Hackney town hall

The pop star Charli xcx and her partner, George Daniel, a drummer in the band The 1975, have married at a ceremony at Hackney town hall in east London.

The smiling couple were pictured and filmed walking down the art deco building’s steps through a blizzard of confetti on Saturday.