Andy Burnham gave his first Labour Party conference speech as leader, one full of pledges and private pain, and it seems like he landed every single punch.

The actor, comedian and writer on idolising Victoria Wood, being fuelled by rage and injustice after a sexual assault, and the life-changing impact of Goodness Gracious Me

The PM would become the first national leader since Labour’s James Callaghan in the 1970s to not co-operate with the paper

The TV presenter and author on the evolutionary biologists who inspired her, the genius of George Eliot – and fun with Frog and Toad

Erik Slavin says he was dismissed for insubordination after objecting to potential censorship in wake of furor sparked by reported conditions on USS Abraham Lincoln * Pentagon reportedly fires publisher and editor of Stars & Stripes * Backlash as navy carrier set to honor Black war hero could be named after Trump * Sign up for the US Breaking News email US Senator Tim Sheehy, a Montana Republican and a cattle rancher, has come out against a plan announced Friday by Donald Trump to allow for an increase in imported ground beef. ”I’ve advised President Trump against this course of action for a year because American ranchers have been struggling against the packer monopoly for decades, and this will further harm them - most of whom are MAGA Republicans,” Sheehy wrote on X. “The President’s heart is in the right place on wanting lower prices for the American people, and beef prices have been impacted by the Mexican screwworm. But the reality is this action will make it more difficult for American ranchers to rebuild our herd and bring prices down for the American people. And most importantly, this will harm our ranching families who feed the nation.” Trump announced a plan on Truth Social to allow 300,000 metric tonnes of beef to be imported without tariffs over the next 90 days, to be sold for hamburger at a 25 percent discount to current prices. Trump offered this agreement with an unnamed source as measure to lower prices while “as we work to rebuild this herd and help our ranchers.” The US beef cattle herd is near historic lows, and beef prices have skyrocketed over the last year. The average price of ground beef in American cities is around $7.12 a pound, an increase of 9.4 percent year-over-year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a slap in the face to every war hero and every service member who has worn the uniform. It’s beyond comprehension for a president to want his own name on a Navy ship while our armed forces are living in deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. For generations, millions of Black women and men have proudly served in the United States military, defending freedoms that too often were not even afforded to them, their families, or their communities. Donald Trump is making a mockery of that legacy by treating military service as another opportunity for personal branding. Our brave service members signed up to defend the nation, not the fragile ego of one man. America deserves better than this. Continue reading...

As lenders’ profits soar, calls grow for a levy to help new PM ease cost of living pressures on households