Panel declines to grant parole to Menendez, convicted over parents’ deaths, while brother Lyle faces hearing on Friday

The California board of parole hearings denied the release of Erik Menendez, on Thursday who has spent nearly 30 years in prison since he was convicted with his brother in the shooting deaths of their parents.

Erik and Lyle Menendez were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison for fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. They were 18 and 21 at the time. While defense attorneys argued the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.

Soldiers who had returned from Russia were honoured with a concert and relatives of troops killed in action were among those to attend a banquet

Kim Jong-un has hailed North Korean troops fighting alongside Russia in the war in Ukraine as “heroes”, at a ceremony to honour soldiers who recently returned from the conflict, state media said on Friday.

The North Korean leader said in a speech this week that his troops had displayed “fighting spirit of the heroes” during their operation to retake Russia’s Kursk region from Ukrainian forces – which had established a foothold there last year – the state news agency KCNA said.

Thaksin Shinawatra is accused of lese-majesty in 2015 interview, while his daughter Paetongtarn will hear next week if she will be removed as prime minster

A criminal court in Thailand will decide on Friday whether former leader Thaksin Shinawatra violated the country’s strict lese-majesty law, the first of three court cases that could decide the fate of one of the country’s most powerful families.

Thaksin is accused of insulting the monarchy during an interview with South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo in 2015.

It’s worth asking not just how to seize the day but why exactly we’re not, advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith writes

• Read more Leading questions

I long to carpe diem! I have a busy life, a loving partner and good friends but, despite looking forward to holidays or events, when I am in them I feel unable to relax and enjoy.

I constantly think about work or my daughter or my elderly mum or, most dully, my pension. I know people notice. And it’s not just an obvious checking of my phone, I feel it’s a vacantness behind the eyes. How can I be more present?

Central Coast Council says residents should not touch the balls and avoid beaches where they wash ashore

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Debris balls have again washed up along the New South Wales coast as officials warn residents not to touch the mysterious spherical globules and to avoid beaches where they appear.

Central Coast Council said on Thursday the debris balls – which are grey-coloured and about 10mm to 40mm in size – had been found on beaches including at The Entrance, the Grant McBride baths, Blue Bay, Toowoon Bay, North Shelly, Shelly and Blue Lagoon.

Trump administration’s move includes people already admitted to the US, with vetting also to occur on social media – key US politics stories from 21 August 2025

The Trump administration is reviewing the records of more than 55 million US visa holders for potential revocation or deportable violations of immigration rules, in a significant expansion of Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The state department said that all of the foreigners who now hold valid US visas are subject to “continuous vetting” for any indication that they could be ineligible for the document, including those already admitted into the country. Should such evidence come to light, the visa would be revoked and, if the visa holder were in the United States, they would be subject to deportation.

Spurs must forget Eze humiliation, Isak will be all the talk on Tyneside and Everton begin a new era at Hill Dickinson

Enzo Maresca’s request for Chelsea to replace the injured Levi Colwill with a new centre-back remains unanswered. The club’s position is straightforward: there are no suitable defenders on the market and, in any case, it is up to Maresca to find internal solutions. The Italian can call upon Josh Acheampong, who performed well against Crystal Palace on the opening weekend. The 19-year-old started with Colwill’s long-term absence complicated by Tosin Adarabioyo’s minor injury. Adarabioyo may return for Friday night at West Ham but there is a case to give Acheampong another chance next to Trevoh Chalobah. Acheampong, who counts Manchester City as one of his many suitors, stood up to Jean-Phillipe Mateta in the goalless draw with Palace. It is worth having another look at whether he can cope as the central centre-back when Chelsea morph into a back three in possession. Replacing Colwill’s line-breaking passes will not be easy but Maresca has options. Jacob Steinberg

West Ham v Chelsea, Friday 8pm (all times BST)

Manchester City v Tottenham, Saturday 12.30pm

Brentford v Aston Villa, Saturday 3pm

Burnley v Sunderland, Saturday 3pm

Bournemouth v Wolves, Saturday 3pm

• Northern Irishman five off lead after opening 66

• Scheffler hits 63, Fleetwood and MacIntyre 64

More Rory McIlroy drama in ­Georgia. Events at the final hole of the ­opening round of the Tour Championship barely compared with what played out at Augusta National in April but these were still moments of ­McIlroy box office. No wonder he stood ­laughing with arm aloft.

McIlroy found himself in a ­greenside bunker in two at the par-five 18th. He caught his attempt from the sand trap far too cleanly, the ball ­flying over the flag and rebounding from a grandstand. The bounce was favourable; McIlroy had 17ft left for a birdie. The putt found the bottom of the cup, much to the amusement of McIlroy and his playing partner ­Scottie ­Scheffler. McIlroy’s 66 at East Lake leaves him five shy of the first-round lead after Russell Henley’s stunning 61.

The 26-year-old rapper and singer was seen walking down the street in his underwear Thursday morning in LA

Lil Nas X has been arrested and briefly hospitalized after an altercation with police in the early hours of Thursday morning, according to authorities in Los Angeles.

Officers found the 26-year-old rapper and singer walking on the normally busy Ventura Boulevard in the Studio City neighborhood shortly before 6am, according to a police spokesperson, Charles Miller.

• MLS side’s trade of Djordje Mihailovic shocked fans

• Club opens ‘new chapter’ with Paxten Aaronson purchase

The Colorado Rapids are celebrating the arrival of their new star player by allowing fans to discard memorabilia of their old one.

The MLS team announced on Thursday that it has acquired Eintracht Frankfurt attacking midfielder Paxten Aaronson in a club-record deal involving a reported $7m transfer fee. The purchase fills an obvious need for the Rapids, as the club’s previous starting No 10, Djordje Mihailović, was traded to Toronto FC for $8m after expressing to the club that he wanted to leave not even two full seasons after joining.

• Crystal Palace 1-0 Fredrikstad

• Palace begin life without Eze with win over Norwegians

It might not be the Europa League. But even the absence of Eberechi Eze as he closes in on his £67.5m move to Arsenal could not spoil Crystal Palace’s first taste of European football as they sealed a victory in the first leg of their Conference League playoff.

After a summer of uncertainty over which competition they would play in, the last thing that Oliver Glasner would have wanted was to receive a call from Eze on the morning of the game informing the Palace manager that he was not feeling well enough to play. Yet having struggled to break down well-drilled Norwegian side Fredrikstad in the first half in the absence of their talismanic England forward, Jean-Philippe Mateta’s goal calmed Palace’s nerves, even if they could not find a second that could have proved crucial as Palace attempt to secure their place in the group stages of Uefa’s third-tier competition. Glasner, who led Eintracht Frankfurt to victory in the Europa League in 2022, will know that this tie is far from over given that they must play the second leg next week on an artificial surface. Nothing is ever certain when it comes to Palace.

• Police: victim found with multiple stab wounds

• Quenton Brown, 57, booked on attempted murder

• Celtics decline to comment on father’s arrest

The father of Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown is facing an attempted murder charge in Las Vegas after police say he stabbed another man during a parking lot confrontation.

According to authorities, officers were called to the 1500 block of South Buffalo Drive at 5.42pm Tuesday, where they found a man suffering from multiple stab wounds. The victim was taken to a local hospital and remained in critical condition.

South Lake Tahoe resident was probably bitten by infected flea while camping in the area, local health authorities say

A resident of South Lake Tahoe in California has tested positive for the plague, local authorities announced this week.

A statement released on Tuesday by health officials in El Dorado county said they were notified of the situation by the California department of public health (CDPH). The statement said the individual is now recovering at home and is under the care of a medical professional.

Move comes after state refused to remove gender identity, trans and nonbinary references from sex-ed curriculum

The Trump administration has terminated a grant that provided millions of dollars for a California sex education program after the state refused to remove all references to gender identity, transgender people and nonbinary people from its curriculum.

Advocates fear more states could lose more money in a burgeoning war between the Trump administration and supporters of comprehensive sex ed.

Netflix star and model husband Jake Bongiovi, 21 and 23, say they are ‘beyond excited’ to become parents

The Stranger Things actor Millie Bobby Brown and her husband, Jake Bongiovi, have announced they have become parents after adopting a “sweet baby girl”.

Brown, 21, and Bongiovi, 23, said in a statement on social media that they were “beyond excited” to enter the next chapter of their lives.

Despite working on the transfer all summer Tottenham felt their north London rivals were always waiting to pounce for the Crystal Palace man

It was towards the end of June when it became clear that Tottenham were considering a move for Eberechi Eze, one to install him as the centrepiece of their new project under Thomas Frank. Or, at least, when it became public knowledge. And it was the prompt for two things to happen.

Firstly, it would be reported a few days later that Arsenal were also on the case. The club’s new sporting director, Andrea Berta, had put the feelers out for the Crystal Palace forward. Call it a declaration of interest, albeit Berta was having a lot of conversations about a lot of potential targets at the time. His idea was to have plenty of options on the boil before deciding which to prioritise.

Teams once had to sell raffle tickets and vodka to fund their campaigns, now women are front and centre of the sport’s global development strategy

The first Women’s Rugby World Cup ran on grit, goodwill, vodka and raffle tickets. Back in 1991, the men who were in charge of the sport did not just refuse to sanction the new women’s competition, they made legal threats against the four organisers, who had to design their own team and tournament logos to avoid a copyright lawsuit.

The women approached more than 600 businesses for support, but could not persuade one to sign on so the 12 teams had to cover the cost of their own transport, food and accommodation. The Russian team did it by trading the booze they had brought over with them.

At least six publications have taken down articles under the name Margaux Blanchard that were AI-generated

Multiple news organisations have taken down articles written by an alleged freelance journalist that now appear to have been generated by AI.

On Thursday, Press Gazette reported that at least six publications, including Wired and Business Insider, have removed articles from their websites in recent months after it was discovered that the stories – written under the name of Margaux Blanchard – were AI-generated.

• 32-year-old charged after incident at Liberty game

• Objects thrown at a number of games this summer

A man has been arrested for throwing a sex toy during an WNBA game in New York, police said Thursday.

It is the latest development in a string of disturbances where similar toys were tossed at WNBA games across the country, resulting in at least three arrests.

Charles Burgess, 32, from Dayton, Ohio, was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly throwing an object at the Dallas Wings v New York Liberty game on 5 August, New York police said. The object hit a 12-year-old girl, and Burgess was charged with two counts of assault. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Burgess had an attorney.

The 51-year-old, who left the successful heavy metal group earlier this year, died in a collision in Atlanta

Brent Hinds, the former lead guitarist of the acclaimed heavy metal group Mastodon, was killed in Atlanta overnight.

Police said Hinds, 51, died late on Wednesday after his Harley-Davidson collided with a BMW SUV whose driver did not yield while making a turn. The crash occurred at about 11.35pm.

• Men’s champion Sinner opens against No 87 Vit Kopriva

• Women’s title holder Sabalenka draws Rebeka Masarova

Emma Raducanu has avoided the top seeds in the first two rounds of the US Open but still faces a challenging path as she tries to convert her recent positive form into a first match win in New York since her shock triumph here four years ago.

Britain’s Raducanu, who is unseeded, will open her tournament against a qualifier. However, she could face the in-form 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova, a recent semi-finalist at the Cincinnati Open, in round two. A potential third-round opponent is a resurgent Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion and another semi-finalist in Cincinnati last week.

Researchers ‘shocked’ to discover some species settling down for sleep 50 minutes later than rural counterparts

Urban birds stay up significantly later than their rural counterparts, according to research that highlights the impact of light pollution on wildlife.

The study, based on recordings submitted by bird enthusiasts to a popular species identification and mapping website, showed that light pollution caused birds to sing for an average of 50 minutes longer each day, with some species waking up an hour earlier and settling down for the evening an hour later.

Margaret Qualley is a horny private eye in an easy-going noir that might not amount to much but provides diversion on the way

Margaret Qualley’s Chandler-esque private eye Honey O’Donahue is actually not that good at her job. That’s one of the many running jokes in Ethan Coen’s comic sun-blasted noirish caper Honey Don’t!, in which the titular gumshoe even tries to talk a potential client (Billy Eichner, a hoot) out of hiring her. Having Honey expose his cheating partner would just be wasting his money, she insists. Turns out, she’s right.

It’s not that Honey is incapable. She’s got all the right instincts, and can typically sniff out the scoundrels in her midst. Her brow almost always stays furrowed, especially when she’s in a room with men, as if she’s got a resting interrogator face. But she’s rarely committed to the assignment, or just too easily distracted by curious subplots and hot lesbians to get the job done.