The satirical website’s parent company will have to pay $81,000 a month to the misinformation platform<ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/feb/17/sign-up-for-the-breaking-news-us-email-to-get-newsletter-alerts-direct-to-your-inbox?utm_medium=ACQUISITIONS_STANDFIRST&amp;utm_campaign=BN22326&amp;utm_content=signup&amp;utm_term=standfirst&amp;utm_source=GUARDIAN_WEB">Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox</a></li></ul>Satirical website the Onion plans to turn rightwing commentator Alex Jones’s misinformation site Infowars into a parody of itself under a leasing agreement provisionally approved by a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/texas">Texas</a> court.Under a proposed deal with court administrators, Infowars would be leased by Global Tetrahedron, a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/chicago">Chicago</a>-based company that owns the Onion, for $81,000 a month for six months, with an option to renew for another six months. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/20/the-onion-alex-jones-infowars">Continue reading...</a>

The satirical website’s parent company will have to pay $81,000 a month to the misinformation platform

The Onion plans to lease Alex Jones’s Infowars after judge blocks purchase

Magazine has stood behind the story, which was written by veteran national security reporter Sarah FitzpatrickKash Patel has followed through on a threat to sue the Atlantic and the author of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/">a story the magazine published</a> that included allegations of “excessive drinking” as well as “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences” while in charge of the FBI.The <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/fbi">FBI</a> director filed a defamation lawsuit in US district court for the District of Columbia that seeks $250m in damages. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/20/kash-patel-lawsuit-the-atlantic">Continue reading...</a>

Magazine has stood behind the story, which was written by veteran national security reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick

Kash Patel sues the Atlantic over article alleging excessive drinking

Exclusive: Publication broke embargo on confidential briefing note about the royal couple’s movements five days before they arrived in Melbourne for their Australia visitThe Daily Mail’s “aggressive” approach to reporting on Prince Harry and Meghan’s Australian visit has “irreparably damaged” the Sussexes’ ability to brief press ahead of trips, Guardian Australia has been told.The Daily Mail’s Australian website <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/commentisfree/2026/apr/17/prince-harry-meghan-sussex-leaked-australia-itinerary-tabloids-ntwnfb">broke an embargo</a> by publishing details of the royal couple’s movements five days before they landed in Melbourne, despite that information being strictly non-publishable until they arrived. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/apr/20/prince-harry-meghan-australia-visit-daily-mail-reporting-embargo-damaged-press-briefings">Continue reading...</a>

Exclusive: Publication broke embargo on confidential briefing note about the royal couple’s movements five days before they arrived in Melbourne for thei...

Daily Mail’s ‘aggressive’ reporting on Prince Harry and Meghan ‘irreparably damaged’ press briefings

Billionaire owner elects not to attend voluntary interview as part of investigation by French cybercrime unitElon Musk did not appear on Monday for a voluntary interview with lawyers in Paris, who had summoned the American tech billionaire over an investigation into his social media platform X and AI chatbot Grok.The prosecutors told AFP that they had “taken note of the absence of the first people summoned”, without mentioning Musk’s name. The billionaire called the French authorities involved “retards” weeks earlier in a French-language post on X. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/20/french-prosecutors-summon-elon-musk-over-alleged-child-abuse-images-on-x">Continue reading...</a>

Billionaire owner elects not to attend voluntary interview as part of investigation by French cybercrime unit

Elon Musk snubs Paris legal summons over alleged child abuse images on X

Police seek warrant for Bang Si-Hyuk over allegations he illegally gained millions in investor fraud schemeSouth Korean police are seeking to arrest Bang Si-Hyuk, the chair of the agency behind the K-pop band BTS, as they expand an investigation into allegations that he illegally gained more than $100m (£74m) in an investor fraud scheme.The Seoul metropolitan police agency confirmed it had asked prosecutors to request a court warrant for the arrest of Bang, the founder and chair of HYBE. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/21/south-korea-music-executive-bang-si-hyuk-k-pop-bts-police">Continue reading...</a>

Police seek warrant for Bang Si-Hyuk over allegations he illegally gained millions in investor fraud scheme

Music executive behind K-pop group BTS faces arrest in South Korea

Morris pursued dual passions of zoology and surrealist art, presenting TV documentaries and hosting exhibitionsThe zoologist Desmond Morris, perhaps best known for his book The Naked Ape and his work on the ITV programme Zoo Time, has died aged 98.Morris’s son Jason paid tribute to him after his death on Sunday, praising his many professional achievements as well as his role as a father and grandfather. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-zoologist-dies">Continue reading...</a>

Morris pursued dual passions of zoology and surrealist art, presenting TV documentaries and hosting exhibitions

Zoologist, author and presenter Desmond Morris dies aged 98

Deputy leader’s image on X was almost certainly generated or altered using AI, according to Peryton Intelligence<ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2026/apr/20/five-signs-richard-tice-picture-ai-manipulated">Do the sausage fingers point to sleight of hand?</a></li></ul>In a picture of a blue-skied day in Birmingham, a diverse group of Reform supporters gathered with placards and cheesy grins to knock on doors for their party. Richard Tice, the party’s deputy leader, posted the picture as evidence of the activists’ commitment through thick and thin.“That is what resilience looks like,” he wrote. “This is what belief looks like.” <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/20/reform-richard-tice-picture-ai-manipulation">Continue reading...</a>

Deputy leader’s image on X was almost certainly generated or altered using AI, according to Peryton Intelligence

Reform’s Richard Tice posts picture with telltale signs of AI manipulation, say experts

The director liked to create tension on-set to draw out stronger performances. But have stories about his psychological tricks been inflated in the retelling?In 1978, shortly after publishing The Art of Alfred Hitchcock, biographer Donald Spoto met the director one last time. At one point, Hitchcock appeared to fall asleep mid-conversation, signalling the end of his involvement with the author. On another occasion, Spoto recalled being bitten by Hitchcock’s West Highland terrier, Sarah, leaving a bruise on his hand. When Hitchcock admonished the dog, Spoto noted it was the first time in four years the director had addressed him by name.These accounts have surfaced in an unearthed transcript of a previously forgotten interview between Spoto and the actor Tippi Hedren in 1980, six months after Hitchcock’s death. But they also suggest something else: an uneasy relationship from the outset, shaped by misreading, distrust and a degree of personal grievance. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/apr/20/alfred-hitchcock-the-birds-tippi-hedren-tension-performances">Continue reading...</a>

The director liked to create tension on-set to draw out stronger performances. But have stories about his psychological tricks been inflated in the retel...

Handcuffs, dog bites and avian warfare: how personal grudges sullied Alfred Hitchcock’s reputation

Staff at outlets critical of Tehran have faced chilling intimidation and violence, amid calls for greater protection and supportIranian journalists working in London say they fear for their lives after a recent spate of threats and physical attacks, which they blame on a Tehran regime intent on silencing Persian-language news media such as BBC Persian and Iran International.On Wednesday, the London offices of Iran International, a news channel that opposes the regime in Tehran, were the target of an <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/16/counter-terror-police-investigate-arson-attacks-on-iranian-and-jewish-targets?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other">attempted arson attack</a>, with an “ignited container” thrown into the car park of a neighbouring building, according to the Metropolitan police. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/apr/19/arson-attacks-iranian-regime-targets-uk-journalists">Continue reading...</a>

Staff at outlets critical of Tehran have faced chilling intimidation and violence, amid calls for greater protection and support

Stabbings, kidnap threats and arson attacks: how the Iranian regime targets UK journalists

It’s got amazing names attached, from Christopher Eccleston to Siobhan Finneran – but the new Netflix drama starts off workmanlike then goes downhill. Why would these stars ever sign up?Unchosen is set in the world of a Christian splinter sect. Everyone lives simply in grace and harmony, following Christ’s teaching of peace and love for all humankind, with men and women sharing equally in domestic and other labour. They exist as shining lights for what is possible when you set aside the patriarchal nonsense and other accretions that gather around religions. Every episode is a delight and nothing much happens because everyone is living such a good and godly life.I jest! Unchosen is not here to break new ground. It is here to deliver by-numbers drama that has inexplicably attracted the talented likes of Siobhan Finneran and Christopher Eccleston to its cast and you should proceed with your expectations lowered. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/apr/21/unchosen-netflix-review-asa-butterfield-christopher-eccleston">Continue reading...</a>

It’s got amazing names attached, from Christopher Eccleston to Siobhan Finneran – but the new Netflix drama starts off workmanlike then goes downhill. Wh...

Unchosen review – Asa Butterfield’s creepy cult show is a total waste of all this talent

Amol Rajan was harsh, Miriam Margolyes was thoroughly charming – and the teens watching will have been screaming at the screen. Last year’s Christ’s College captain lets rip on this year’s tense set-toA new chapter in the history of Anglo-Scottish rivalry has been written with the broadcast of this year’s University Challenge final. After 36 episodes featuring 28 institutions, only Edinburgh and Manchester were left standing (giving the northernmost average location of any final pair since Bamber Gascoigne hosted the show in the 1980s!). Given their equal average score across their previous matches, the final was set to be a tense and thrilling affair.It began cagily, as both teams waited until Amol Rajan had read the entirety of the first question before guessing, incorrectly, the dedicatee of Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman (in fact it was the French diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord). That dead question was a rare exception, though. Rajan had barely begun the next starter – on the largest time zone difference in a single land border – before Manchester captain Kai Madgwick buzzed in with the correct answer (China and Afghanistan). Edinburgh responded immediately; Rayhana Amjad named Indian theoretical physicist SN Bose as the author of a 1924 paper on light quanta, while the ever-dapper Johnny Richards identified a donkey as the animal star of 2022 film EO. An entertaining picture round – on flags criticised by the Good Flag, Bad Flag guide – yielded a starter but no bonuses for the Mancunians, who trailed by 30 points to 45. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/apr/20/university-challenge-final-reviewed-by-last-years-winner">Continue reading...</a>

Amol Rajan was harsh, Miriam Margolyes was thoroughly charming – and the teens watching will have been screaming at the screen. Last year’s Christ’s Coll...

‘Full of agonising near-misses’ – the University Challenge final, reviewed by last year’s winner

The networking platform – social media’s answer to boomer grandparents – is rapidly becoming an AI slop dystopia. Which made it the perfect place for my Nvidia-inspired fairytaleWhen electronic musician Grimes – AKA Claire Boucher – took to X last year to claim she was “only gonna be releasing music on LinkedIn from now on”, it seemed like yet another provocation from an often eccentric artist. But the ex-partner of Elon Musk may have followed through on her promise. Last month, a profile purporting to be the 38-year-old appeared on the world’s least gratifying social networking platform. Its only post so far promotes an appearance at Nvidia’s GPU Technology Conference – Nvidia being the most valuable company in the world and the engine behind just about all AI applications.Pivoting to LinkedIn might seem a depressing thing for an artist to resort to: a bit like moving in with your boomer grandparents. And it is. I should know because, in one of the more counterintuitive brags I’ve made in my two-decade career as an artist, I did it first. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/apr/20/grimes-linkedin-ai-nvidia">Continue reading...</a>

The networking platform – social media’s answer to boomer grandparents – is rapidly becoming an AI slop dystopia. Which made it the perfect place for my ...

Grimes joining LinkedIn is artwashing at its most brazen. I should know – I released my new film on there

Long-running 80s sketch The Worm That Turned imagined a dystopian world run by women, inspired by the election of Margaret Thatcher. It has not aged well – yet it bears similarities to a brand-new movieAt the end of last week, a trailer dropped for a new Netflix movie entitled Ladies First. Starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike, the film is billed as a “playful satire” about a man who bumps his head and discovers that women have taken over the world.And what a nightmare it is. There is a female pope. King’s Cross is now called Queen’s Cross. Baron Cohen discovers, to his horror, that he now owns a cat. Judging by the trailer he spends most of the movie getting waxed, wearing impractical underwear and being leered at by female cab drivers. At one point, after Baron Cohen starts a sentence with “If the board had any balls,” Pike speed-shouts: “The delicate sacks that dangle from your body, with the slightest tap sends you weeping to the ground?” by way of reply. If they gave out Oscars for doing your best with unscannable dialogue, she would be a shoo-in. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/apr/20/sacha-baron-cohen-rosamund-pike-gender-swap-comedy-two-ronnies-the-worm-that-turned-ladies-first">Continue reading...</a>

Long-running 80s sketch The Worm That Turned imagined a dystopian world run by women, inspired by the election of Margaret Thatcher. It has not aged well...

Is Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike’s new gender swap comedy inspired by The Two Ronnies?

End of News Feed

Starting on September 1, Ternus will lead one of the world's most valuable companies, but if you're not a dedicated Apple enthusiast, you've probably never heard of this man, who has largely remained out of the spotlight until now.

Starting on September 1, Ternus will lead one of the world's most valuable companies, but if you're not a dedicated Apple enthusiast, you've probably nev...

Who is John Ternus, the incoming Apple CEO?

Amazon has made another circular AI deal: It's investing another $5 billion in Anthropic. Anthropic has agreed to spend $100 billion on AWS in return.

Anthropic takes $5B from Amazon and pledges $100B in cloud spending in return

Google is rolling out Gemini in Chrome in Australia, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam. The company is rolling this feature out to both desktop and iOS in all of these countries except Japan.

Google is rolling out Gemini in Chrome in Australia, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam. The company is rolling this ...

Google rolls out Gemini in Chrome in 7 new countries

The transition has been expected for some time and ends one of the longer and more impactful runs a CEO has had at any company. Cook had inherited a company that many industry watchers and enthusiasts struggled to separate from its famed founder. What he leaves behind is a $4 trillion business with annual revenue that has more than quadrupled on his watch.

The transition has been expected for some time and ends one of the longer and more impactful runs a CEO has had at any company. Cook had inherited a comp...

Tim Cook stepping down as Apple CEO, John Ternus taking over

You can use the new tools to remove blemishes, refine skin texture, brighten eyes, or whiten teeth in photos.

Google Photos adds new touch-up tools for ‘quick’ fixes

This sentence construction ("It's not just this — it's that") has become so common in AI-generated writing that it's no longer just a clue that a piece of writing may be synthetic — it's almost a guarantee.

This sentence construction ("It's not just this — it's that") has become so common in AI-generated writing that it's no longer just a clue that a piece o...

It’s not just one thing — it’s another thing

The hack against Kelp DAO is the largest crypto heist of the year so far.

North Korean hackers blamed for $290M crypto theft

The DDoS attack against Mastodon's flagship server comes less than a week after Bluesky was targeted with junk web traffic.

Mastodon says its flagship server was hit by a DDoS attack

The New Glenn rocket will have to stay grounded while the company investigates what caused the apparent failure of its upper stage.

FAA orders investigation into Blue Origin’s New Glenn mishap

NSA is said to be using Anthropic's restricted Mythos AI model.

NSA spies are reportedly using Anthropic’s Mythos, despite Pentagon feud

WhatsApp is testing a subscription after Meta debuted a similar subscription for Instagram earlier this year.

WhatsApp is testing a premium subscription, but it is mainly cosmetic

The startup, co-founded by former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, has faced headwinds with its AI campus in Texas. 

CEO and CFO suddenly depart AI nuclear power upstart Fermi

Deezer says consumption of AI-generated music on the platform is still very low, between 1% and 3% of the total streams, and 85% of these streams are detected as fraudulent and are demonetized.

Deezer says consumption of AI-generated music on the platform is still very low, between 1% and 3% of the total streams, and 85% of these streams are det...

Deezer says 44% of songs uploaded to its platform daily are AI-generated

Vercel blamed its breach on an earlier hack at Context AI, which allowed hackers to hijack a Vercel employee's account to steal customer data.

App host Vercel says it was hacked and customer data stolen

The tornado hit a newer part of the factory, primarily used for R2 logistics such as deliveries of parts. Rivian has paused operations in the building and expects to start back up sometime this week.

The tornado hit a newer part of the factory, primarily used for R2 logistics such as deliveries of parts. Rivian has paused operations in the building an...

Rivian’s factory hit by tornado ahead of R2 launch

On the latest episode of Equity, we discuss OpenAI's latest acquisitions and whether they address "two big existential problems" for the company.

OpenAI’s existential questions

A lot of AI startups exist partly because the foundation models haven't expanded into their category yet. As many jokingly acknowledge, that won't last forever. 

A lot of AI startups exist partly because the foundation models haven't expanded into their category yet. As many jokingly acknowledge, that won't last f...

The 12-month window

The first major failure of Blue Origin's new heavy-launch system could create delays to its ambition to help NASA and the Trump administration return to the moon.

The first major failure of Blue Origin's new heavy-launch system could create delays to its ambition to help NASA and the Trump administration return to ...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn put a customer satellite in the wrong orbit during its third launch

The winning time is a massive improvement over last year’s race, when the fastest robot finished in two hours and 40 minutes.

Robots beat human records at Beijing half-marathon

Palantir's ideological bent has come under more scrutiny as it's worked with ICE and positioned itself as a defender of "the West."

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