Following David Peckeras testimony, Rhona Graff was called to the witness stand, to comment on Trump and the adult film actor

• Trump on Trial: What we learned from David Peckeras testimony

The former tabloid publisher David Peckeras testimony in Donald Trumpas criminal trial on Friday presented a granular look into a hush-money scheme which prosecutors allege was meant to sway the 2016 election in the real estate mogulas favor.

But when Trumpas longtime assistant, Rhona Graff, was called to the witness stand, her testimony humanized the trial, reminding the courtroom that at its core, these proceedings center on an adult film actor named Stormy Daniels a as well as a man who is either flawed or fraudulent.

Minneapolis city council approves payment to Donald Williams, who tried to intervene to stop police killing in 2020

The Minneapolis city council approved a $150,000 settlement to an eyewitness who tried to intervene to prevent George Floydas murder by police in the city almost four years ago and alleges he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result.

Donald Williams, 35, a mixed martial arts fighter who testified against Derek Chauvin in the former police officeras 2021 murder trial, sued the city last spring, alleging he was assaulted by police while trying to prevent Floydas death on 25 May 2020.

Professors at Emory University arrested as campuses follow Columbiaas lead in demanding ceasefire and divestment

• Four students on why theyare protesting against war in Gaza: aInjustice should not be accepteda

At least 40 pro-Palestine protest camps have arisen across US campuses following Columbia Universityas example earlier this month.

While many remain provocative though peaceful, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment by their institutions from companies with ties to Israel, hundreds of students and outside protesters have been arrested, and there have been some fierce clashes with police.

Two-year-old calf one step closer to reuniting with family group after tragic accident that left her stranded in remote lagoon

An orca calf, trapped for weeks in a remote lagoon in western Canada, has freed herself and is travelling towards open waters, hailed as aincredible newsa by a growing body of human supporters.

The move puts her one step closer to reuniting with her family one month after a tragic accident left her stranded.

South Dakota governor includes bloody tale in campaign volume a and admits aa better politician a| wouldnat tell the story herea

• Who will be Trumpas VP? A shortlist

In 1952, as a Republican candidate for vice-president, Richard Nixon stirred criticism by admitting receiving a dog, Checkers, as a political gift.

In 2012, as the Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney was pilloried for tying a dog, Seamus, to the roof of the family car for a cross-country trip.

Federal transportation agency finds Teslaas claims about feature donat match their findings and opens second investigation

US auto-safety regulators said on Friday that their investigation into Teslaas Autopilot had identified at least 13 fatal crashes in which the feature had been involved. The investigation also found the electric carmakeras claims did not match up with reality.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) disclosed on Friday that during its three-year Autopilot safety investigation, which it launched in August 2021, it identified at least 13 Tesla crashes involving one or more death, and many more involving serious injuries, in which aforeseeable driver misuse of the system played an apparent rolea.

Singer had appealed 2022 conviction by a Chicago jury stating Illinoisas shorter statute of limitations applied to his case

The singer R Kelly was correctly sentenced to 20 years in prison on child sexual abuse convictions in Chicago, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday.

Jurors in 2022 convicted the Grammy award-winning R&B singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, on three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex.

Investigators say man concealed iPhone to record bathroom video of 14-year-old girl, who used her phone to document evidence

An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted on Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September. Authorities also alleged that Estes Carter Thompson III had four separate videos which showed girls using lavatories on an aircraft where he worked.

The 36-year-old Thompson of Charlotte, North Carolina, was indicted on one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of images of child sexual abuse depicting a prepubescent minor.

In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International

US activist, 69, speaks to NBC amid growing effort to prevent I Am Ruby Bridges and other works being available to school students

Increasingly, the US civil rights icon Ruby Bridges a the first Black child to integrate a school in Louisiana a has seen some adults seek to prevent grade-school students from accessing the books and films that chronicle her story, saying the tale makes white children feel bad about themselves.

But that justification is aridiculousa because amy biggest fans are kids all around the worlda, Bridges told NBCas Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker in an interview airing on Sunday morningas episode of the show.

President drops by Sirius XM studios to speak with the shock jock as Donald Trump sat in a courtroom downtown

Joe Biden sprang a surprise on the Washington press corps on Friday when he gave an interview to the radio host and shock jock Howard Stern.

The president also made news. Asked if he would debate Donald Trump before the election in November, Biden said: aI am, somewhere, I donat know when, but I am happy to debate him.a

Former talkshow host discussed her controversial exit from daytime TV after reports of a toxic workplace in new standup set

Ellen DeGeneres has addressed the controversial end of her eponymous daytime talkshow after allegations that it was a toxic workplace.

While performing the opening night of her new Ellenas Last Stand a| Up Tour at the Largo in Los Angeles on Thursday evening, the former daytime host joked about getting akicked out of show businessa for being ameana.

Luzerne county, in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, has faced high-profile mistakes like discarded ballots, and turnover. Did it pass its primary season test?

• Overworked, underpaid, under attack: on the frontlines in a US election office

Everyone seemed determined not to jinx it.

Jim Rose, the director of administrative services in Luzerne county in north-eastern Pennsylvania, had been listening to the radio all morning and had not heard aa single peepa about problems at the polls during Pennsylvaniaas primary on Tuesday. When he ran into Emily Cook, the countyas acting director of elections, she wasnat ready to celebrate. It was, after all, only mid-afternoon, and the polls would be open until 8pm.

People in city bordering Gaza say Israel will never be safe while Hamas exists a but worry it cannot achieve its objective

The two men, faces blurred and voices disguised, are screened by a dense scrub of fig and trailing vine and thorns in northern Gaza as they film themselves loading a rocket launcher.

It is daylight and the fighters, wearing civilian clothes, work quickly and calmly, the sound of fighting audible around them as they prepare the weapon in less than a minute. Metal scrapes on metal as four missiles are slotted into tubes and wires connected to a red timer for launch against the nearby Israeli border city of Sderot and neighbouring communities.

Students demonstrating and hunger-striking face arrests and hospitalization a but they think they can make a difference

• Student protesters are demanding universities divest from Israel. What does that mean?

The arrests of more than a hundred Columbia University students, who were protesting against Israelas actions in Gaza, shed more light on arguably the most energetic pro-Palestinian movement in the US: the one taking places on college campuses around the country.

Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October, in response to terrorist attacks by Hamas, students have launched protests, sit-ins and, most recently, encampments, in a wave they hope will encourage universities to divest from companies which have ties to Israelas military.

The sexual wanderings of a partner donat always spell the end. Readers share their experiences of how their relationship came out the other side

• Get Guardian Australiaas weekend culture and lifestyle email

What counts as infidelity varies from couple to couple and how they choose to handle it is also unique. A drunken kiss on the dancefloor might be innocuous to some; for others, a relationship-ending catastrophe.

How readers chose to approach their straying partners varied dramatically depending on the length and nature of their relationship and what shape the outside encounter took. If families and mutual assets were involved a and other relationship factors were stable a readers tended to double down on commitments, opting to frame such transgressions as an opportunity for growth and refreshment. And the further down the road couples had travelled together, the more likely they would stay together post-infidelity.

The professor on his famous 13 akeysa to the White House, a method for predicting election results thatas been right nine times out of 10

• Sign up for The Stakes: a free newsletter on the 2024 US presidential election

He has been called the Nostradamus of US presidential elections. Allan Lichtman has correctly predicted the result of nine of the past 10 (and even the one that got away, in 2000, he insists was stolen from Al Gore). But now he is gearing up for perhaps his greatest challenge: Joe Biden v Donald Trump II.

Lichtman is a man of parts. The history professor has been teaching at American University in Washington for half a century. He is a former North American 3,000m steeplechase champion and, at 77 a the same age as Trump a aiming to compete in the next Senior Olympics. In 1981 he appeared on the TV quizshow Tic-Tac-Dough and won $110,000 in cash and prizes.

The 27-year-old American actor has gone from the Disney channel to new classy arthouse threesome drama Challengers, via a massive blockbuster and a hot-button TV series. So can she convince as an Oscar contender?

Actor-model-producer Zendaya Coleman a universally known mononymously, without her last name a has never been short of attention, but it feels as if the 27-year-old has arrived at a breakthrough moment. With the tennis romance Challengers arriving in cinemas, in which she is the central focus, the sci-fi blockbuster Dune: Part Two still reeling in audiences, and acting as the simultaneous cover star of two separate editions of Vogue magazine a the British and the American a Zendaya appears to have achieved a new level.

Her career has so far specialised in an impressively high number of attention-grabbing moments, including appearing in a spectacularly bizarre metallic silver arobot suita at the premiere of Dune: Part Two earlier this year, and the Challengers trailer release in June 2023, with its sexually suggestive premise of a threeway love affair.

The Unexpected, the latest book by the economics professor, examines the uncomfortable and embarrassing parts of pregnancy that no one talks about

Emily Oster really hopes you donat need to buy her new book. The 44-year-old tenured Brown University economics professor and firebrand has published a handful of bestselling titles, all focused on childbearing and child-rearing. aI always say Iam not going to write another book after I write a book because it feels like so much work,a she said. aThe first three books really track my own journey, from pregnancy to raising little kids to having older kids.a

But the fourth installment in her aParentDataa a also the name of her blog, podcast and newsletter a quartet, The Unexpected, swerves into thornier territory than its predecessors: pregnancies with complications, and the risks inherent in any subsequent pregnancies. For the first time, she is not writing about her own experiences. aI was inspired by the questions that I got from other people rather than the questions that I had myself,a she said.

Tom, whose experience echoes that portrayed in Baby Reindeer, talks about the impact on him and the police response

Not long after he embarked on an on/off dalliance with a former colleague, Tom began feeling uneasy about her behaviour. He ended things a but that only made matters worse.

Lies and gaslighting turned into his ex turning up randomly at places where he hung out and aappearing seemingly everywhere I wenta, he said. aThat was incredibly hard to deal with. I felt hounded, and I had no idea what to do.a

In the UK, the National Stalking Helpline can be reached on 0808 802 0300.

Egg cartons are labeled with all sorts of descriptors in the US, making grocery shopping a confusing experience. Experts tell us what these labels mean and how to shop

Shopping for eggs at the grocery store can be a confusing experience. Cartons are labeled with all kinds of descriptors a natural, organic, cage-free, free-range a and some cost more at checkout. But what do they actually mean, and for ethically minded consumers, are they actually worth the money?

Protein-packed eggs are linked to relatively low carbon emissions compared with other land-based animal protein sources, but not all eggs are created equal when it comes to the environment, health or animal welfare, experts say.

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The duoas first LP in four years finds them refining and updating their late-80s heyday sound, with a new producer in tow

Cultural gravity makes certain events inevitable, such as Sean Lennon and James McCartney writing songs together. Or Britainas most successful pop duo returning to refine and update the sound of their late-80s imperial era. Nonetheless is Pet Shop Boysas first album since 2020as Hotspot, which concluded their Stuart Price-produced trilogy. New producer James Ford takes 1986 debut Pleaseas simplicity and the lush orchestration of 1990as Behaviour and applies both to this fan-pleasing collection.

For those who wish the pairas albums came with a reading list concealed inside a clutch of club flyers, thereas Dancing Star, a lovely three-minute biopic of Rudolf Nureyev a the Russian joining the vast dinner party of historical figures, including Casanova, Debussy, Hitler and the Queen, featured elsewhere in Neil Tennantas lyrics.

Late-night hosts discuss the crackdown on, and Republican criticism of, college campus protests against Israelas war in Gaza

With other late-night hosts on vacation, The Daily Show guest hosts Jordan Klepper and Ronny Chieng dug into the disproportionate force used on college campus protests against Israelas disproportionate force in Gaza.

The US president continues to support Israel in its onslaught on Gaza. Morehouse Collegeas most famous alumnus was anti-war

Morehouse College is a special place. The only all-male historically Black college in the world, it has alumni ranging from Dr Martin Luther King Jr, the most celebrated anti-war civil rights leader in history, to Theodore aTeda Colbert III, the CEO of Boeingas defense, space and security division, a key player in supplying the weapons technologies for Israelas months-long campaign of military vengeance on Palestinians.

While there is much diversity among the ranks of this brotherhood, Morehouse a also my alma mater a places a primacy on moral leadership and service, and Dr King has been a critical avatar in these efforts. There is a prominent statue of him on campus, his likeness is depicted as a silhouette on official college brochures, the chapel on campus is named in his honor. His papers are held nearby at the Robert W Woodruff Library. Considering Kingas anti-militarism, and the collegeas embrace of him as a beacon on campus, the decision to invite Joe Biden to give Morehouseas commencement speech to this yearas graduating class is a moral disaster.

The US presidentas staunch support of Israel in the face of its unrelenting assault on Palestinians in the Israel-Gaza war has sparked sustained protests throughout the country, most recently on multiple college campuses. And though some have tried to take Kingas defense of Israelas right to exist as evidence that he would affirm without qualification Israelas present military campaign, his broader anti-militarism cannot be conveniently pushed aside, nor can his stated desire for a peaceful resolution in the region.

The California university cancelled Asna Tabassumas speech because of asecurity concernsa. The real reason is cowardice

When Asna Tabassum, a hijab-wearing Muslim, was announced as the valedictorian for the University of Southern California class of 2024, my initial reaction was the thought of my south Asian mother saying, aWhat are you doing? Why arenat you valedictorian?a But what followed was pride.

Then the university announced last week that it would no longer allow Tabassum to speak at commencement. After pro-Israel groups mischaracterized Tabassumas pro-Palestinian views as aantisemitica, the USC administration claimed that security concerns made her speech untenable.

aI am not surprised by those who attempt to propagate hatred,a Tabassum, a friend of mine, wrote in a statement. aI am surprised that my own university a my home for four years a has abandoned me.a

Both were pilloried, but that was then. Today, one has beaten a rape conviction, the other may return as president

According to his representatives, former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein is still digesting the overturning of his rape conviction by a New York court, but they did come out to say he was acautiously exciteda. Cautiously excited? Iam not sure these are the words Iad alight on to paint a word-picture of a rapist. You might as well say atentatively arouseda. Then again, as weare about to discuss, quite a lot of guys donat particularly have to worry about what they say or do, or how they say or do it. Itas only natural that Harvey should very much want to be one of them again.

Speaking of word-pictures, though, howas this for a vignette of our times? When they heard the news that Weinsteinas conviction had been overturned on Thursday, a whole host of reporters happened to be looking at the exact spot in the exact New York courtroom that head sat in when that original judgment had been handed down. This was because they were waiting for Donald Trump to sit in it for Thursdayas proceedings in his hush money trial. Mr Trump, you might recall, is in such a lot of trouble that he is the presumptive Republican nominee and current bookiesa favourite to win the US presidency again, though admittedly he lags behind Weinstein on the sexual assault and misconduct front, given that only 26 women have accused him of it. Ultimately, though, I guess the question is: if #MeToo awent too fara, what would agoing just far enougha have looked like?

This is not a repeat of the Covid pandemic. Yet global governments should follow the US and prepare a response

Avian flu, or H5N1, is making headlines in the United States. The past few years have seen concerning signs of it spreading across the world a whether in chickens in Britain, sea lions in Peru, or Caspian seals in Russia. This time, it is has been confirmed in American cows, and the World Health Organization has warned that the risk of it spreading to humans is of aenormous concerna.

While it is early days, the hypothesis is that in late 2023, a single cow was infected by coming into contact with infected birdsa faeces, or having infected dead birds in its feed. This began cow-to-cow transmission, and potentially even cow-to-bird transmission. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also confirmed one human case of H5N1 in a farm worker, which could either represent cow-to-human (not seen before) or bird-to-human transmission.

Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

Both sides are beset by those who think their words and deeds bring peace closer. Instead they instil fear and make a better future harder to attain

Beware the friend who is only trying to help. Not, perhaps, as a rule for life but certainly when it comes to the Israel-Palestine conflict and the clashes that battle provokes around the world. So often those who think theyare doing their bit serve only to make an already impossible situation even worse.

The week began with an instructive example, when Gideon Falter, head of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, released a video clip of himself being steered away from one of Londonas weekly Gaza demonstrations by a police officer on the grounds that: aYou are quite openly Jewish, this is a pro-Palestinian march.a Falter argued that he had flushed out proof that the Metropolitan police regard the marches as an unsafe environment for visibly Jewish people, even though the Met allows them to go ahead week after week.

His viral TikToks of his generic 9-5 life in a Texas suburb have become a Rorschach test of sorts

Connor Hubbard might be the most boring man on the internet. The 29-year-old dresses like a generic white guy, lives in a nice but unremarkable house in the Dallas, Texas, suburbs and works a 9-5 in insurance. He alives fora his morning coffee and loves going to the gym after work and watching TV in the evening. He is perfectly happy with his mundane existence a which includes a wife, a dog and a baby on the way a and does not aspire to anything more. The internet is obsessed with him.

Every few months one of Hubbardas slice-of-an-ordinary-life videos goes viral eliciting extreme reactions. A Rorschach test of sorts, half of the viewers seem to think his world is morbidly depressing (awhat is the point of even living?a one person asked), while the other half thinks it is hugely aspirational. Under the comment section of the latest video to go viral, people are having heated debates about whether the man is a role model or a cautionary tale.

Germanyas complicity with Turkeyas repressive regime worries me more than its dAPner diplomacy

aNazis eat dAPner kebabs in secret,a must be one of the dumbest slogans I have seen at German protests against the far right. Yes, the popularity of the kebab in Germany has become something of a symbol of labour migration from Turkey after the second world war. And yes, Nazis get hungry, too. So what? If the consumption of ethnic-minority food was really an obstacle to the ideology of white supremacy, Germans would either be starved out by now or they wouldnat vote for Alternative fA1/4r Deutschland (AfD). Neither of these is the case: the kebab is the second most popular fast food among Germans, and according to polls, the AfD their second most popular political party.

Still, for the German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, it seems to be a sign of cosmopolitanism to promote kebab eating, so his team thought it a good idea to send him to Turkey with a whole skewer full of meat as part of an official visit this week, the first by a German president in 10 years.

Victims and their families are at their witsa end. We owe it to them to throw everything at this national crisis

Itas happening again.

Another run of alleged domestic violence homicides has horrified the nation, and the media is again searching for answers.