Appointment of experienced troubleshooter follows internal disquiet over delay in replacing Deborah TurnessThe BBC has brought in one of its most trusted troubleshooters to oversee BBC News, as it battles concerns about a crisis in trust in mainstream television news coverage.Rachel Jupp will start her new job almost immediately, after internal frustrations over the time it has taken to replace Deborah Turness, who resigned last year following the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/nov/09/tim-davie-expected-to-resign-bbc-director-general">fallout from claims of BBC bias</a>. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/oct/05/rachel-jupp-appointed-director-bbc-news">Continue reading...</a>

Appointment of experienced troubleshooter follows internal disquiet over delay in replacing Deborah Turness

Former Panorama editor Rachel Jupp appointed as head of BBC News

Decision by Paramount Skydance executive David Ellison was relief to employees who feared overhaul – and possibility of Bari Weiss taking overMark Thompson, who since 2023 has served as chair and chief executive of CNN after a storied career in British and American media, will retain his role even after Paramount Skydance takes control of the company, he announced in a memo to network staffers on Monday morning.While Thompson wrote that the “specifics of how CNN will plug into and operate in the new company have yet to be finalized”, he offered some pledges about his role at the combined company, which will be led by David Ellison, the Paramount Skydance chief executive, after the company merges with CNN parent company Warner Bros Discovery. The deal is expected to formally close on Tuesday. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/oct/05/mark-thompson-cnn-chief-paramount-sale">Continue reading...</a>

Decision by Paramount Skydance executive David Ellison was relief to employees who feared overhaul – and possibility of Bari Weiss taking over

Mark Thompson will remain chief executive at CNN after Paramount sale

Youngest press secretary in White House history left earlier this year after the birth of her second childKaroline Leavitt, who stepped down as White House press secretary in August, is joining her former boss’s favorite network, Fox News, as an on-air contributor, the channel announced on Monday.Considering that two of her predecessors from Donald Trump’s first administration, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Kayleigh McEnany, had also joined Fox after leaving office, Leavitt was seen as a logical fit for Fox, on which she will begin providing commentary on 1 November. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/05/karoline-leavitt-joins-fox-news">Continue reading...</a>

Youngest press secretary in White House history left earlier this year after the birth of her second child

Trump’s former press secretary Karoline Leavitt to join Fox News

Alejandro G Iñárritu’s critically panned satire took just $20m globally in its opening weekend, against a reported $150m production budget and $100m marketing spendDigger has flopped in its opening weekend with a $20m global box office, handing Tom Cruise one of the worst debuts of his career and serving as a bitter final note for Warner Bros as a standalone studio.Alejandro G Iñárritu’s critically panned satire grossed a paltry $8m at the North American box office. Cruise is typically a big draw overseas, but international sales – $12m from 74 markets – were also weak. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/oct/05/digger-may-lose-150m-after-tom-cruise-film-bombs-at-the-box-office">Continue reading...</a>

Alejandro G Iñárritu’s critically panned satire took just $20m globally in its opening weekend, against a reported $150m production budget and $100m mark...

Digger may lose $150m after Tom Cruise film bombs at the box office

Crime writer whose bestselling novels set on the Isle of Lewis garnered literary awards around the worldPeter May, who has died aged 74, was a crime writer who moved into bestseller territory with a trilogy of novels set on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.The first of those books, The Blackhouse, established the character of Fin Macleod, a Lewis-born detective living in Edinburgh who returns to the island to investigate a murder – in the process opening up dark memories of why he had been glad to leave. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/oct/05/peter-may-obituary">Continue reading...</a>

Crime writer whose bestselling novels set on the Isle of Lewis garnered literary awards around the world

Peter May obituary

‘When I couldn’t do the spitting scene, Sean took me aside and said: “Ron, if you don’t actually spit in my face, we’ll be here all day.” So I let one fly – and kept having to redo it’I read an article about a curious book that had great reviews in Italy, a murder mystery about monks in the middle ages fighting for the fictional missing part of Aristotle’s Poetics. I said: “This is for me.” Since childhood, I had been fascinated with medieval and religious architecture, and Aristotle’s Poetics is my favourite literary work. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/oct/05/sean-connery-ron-perlman-the-name-of-the-rose">Continue reading...</a>

‘When I couldn’t do the spitting scene, Sean took me aside and said: “Ron, if you don’t actually spit in my face, we’ll be here all day.” So I let one fl...

‘I spat in Sean Connery’s face 16 times’: Ron Perlman on making The Name of the Rose

Calls for release of six Matsadaash staff after one is charged, while whereabouts of other five remain unknownAn Egyptian journalist has been charged with joining a terrorist group, days after an entire newsroom was detained in what rights groups have said is a crackdown on press freedoms.Last week, authorities arrested six journalists from the independent fact-checking and investigative platform Matsadaash – literally meaning “don’t believe” – accusing them in a statement of being unlicensed and publishing false news on behalf of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/04/egyptian-journalist-faces-terrorism-charges-entire-newsroom-detained-matsadaash-press-freedom">Continue reading...</a>

Calls for release of six Matsadaash staff after one is charged, while whereabouts of other five remain unknown

Egyptian journalist faces terrorism charges after entire newsroom detained

Network at receiving end of White House press ban recently chose red state to host fan event as part of broader outreachIn 2024, Donald Trump and JD Vance carried Tarrant county, Texas, by 42,125 votes. So why, on the afternoon of 26 September, was the arena at the University of Texas-Arlington filled with nearly 5,000 super fans cheering for liberal media darlings Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell like they were rock stars?After two years of hosting the network’s annual fan event in dark blue New York City, MS Now (formerly MSNBC) got wind that something was happening in Texas. The state, which hasn’t elected a Democrat to the US Senate in 37 years, might do so next month, when 37-year-old James Talarico, Texas state representative, goes up against the Republican nominee, Ken Paxton, a well-known but controversial figure who ousted incumbent John Cornyn in the party’s primary with Donald Trump’s backing. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/oct/04/ms-now-fan-event-texas">Continue reading...</a>

Network at receiving end of White House press ban recently chose red state to host fan event as part of broader outreach

MS Now connects ‘blue dots’ at Texas fan event: ‘I always feel hope when I watch them’

In an extract from his new memoir, the screenwriter bids farewell to the show he helped save – and rails against the constant online leaks that made it so hard to write • ‘One person turned up at my house’: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/oct/03/russell-t-davies-interview-doctor-who-fierce-fandom-love-grief">read an interview</a> with Russell T DaviesBillie Piper surprised all of us. We&nbsp;knew Ncuti Gatwa was leaving, so I’d written the&nbsp;climax in which the Doctor, having saved the life of a baby in The Church on Ruby Road, Ncuti’s first episode, now departs by saving the life of a baby because the universe is at stake. But we had to make these final episodes not knowing whether the Disney deal would be renewed. That was nothing to do with us at [independent production company] Bad Wolf; it was down to conversations with Disney and the BBC. So&nbsp;we had no idea what was going on. Deep down I&nbsp;thought it wouldn’t. You could tell what I was thinking, because I was already creating new work: Tip Toe for Channel 4, and also setting up the dance version of It’s a Sin with Rambert. In fact, in some ways it would have been a nightmare for me if that third series had come along, but I would have managed it.As the third series was in flux, the finale was intended to climax with an open-ended regeneration. So we shot that with Ncuti: he smiled and said his last line, and the screen melted into a golden glow … Except when we edited that together, it looked like the death of the show. We said, “Think of children watching that. It’s like a death. We&nbsp;can’t do that to them.” <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/oct/03/russell-t-davies-memoir-the-queerest-of-folk-extract">Continue reading...</a>

In an extract from his new memoir, the screenwriter bids farewell to the show he helped save – and rails against the constant online leaks that made it s...

‘Goodbye Whoniverse. God, that was fun!’: Russell T Davies on writing the end of Doctor Who

Alejandro G Iñárritu’s film may be about to become one of the biggest bombs Hollywood has ever seen – but it is destined to be re-evaluated with time<ul><li>This article contains spoilers for Digger</li></ul>I feel for film critics, I really do. Tom Cruise’s latest film Digger put them in an impossible position: you can’t really talk about it without spoiling what makes it, in my eyes, a masterpiece. Or completely terrible – as many, many critics have argued over the last week, without being fully free to say why.That is not their fault: media screenings around the world opened with a plea from Warner Bros to not spoil the film’s central reveal. This seems like it may have been a misstep, because curiosity and Cruise alone were clearly not enough to get bums on seats. Digger is <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/oct/05/digger-may-lose-150m-after-tom-cruise-film-bombs-at-the-box-office">now projected to lose around $150m</a>, after taking a paltry $20m globally in its opening weekend. Warner Bros is trying to make the best of a bad situation, first crowing about the stinker reviews – “insufferable” and “smug” have been repeated a lot – then pivoting to a new sell: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/tom-cruise-digger-critics-box-office-1236721806/">the Yanks don’t get it, so it must be good</a>. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/oct/05/digger-tom-cruise-movie-box-office-critics-reviews-misunderstood-masterpiece">Continue reading...</a>

Alejandro G Iñárritu’s film may be about to become one of the biggest bombs Hollywood has ever seen – but it is destined to be re-evaluated with time

Tom Cruise’s Digger has flopped spectacularly – but I think it is a misunderstood masterpiece

This gag-packed adaptation of Eric Morecambe’s children’s books – by the writing team behind Alan Partridge – is full of stunning comic talent. Bill Bailey, Ross Noble, Tom Davies, Sian Clifford and Asim Chaudhry are all brilliantOh my goodness; how long has it been since we all had a lovely teatime treat? Too long, that’s how long! But now joy is at hand, courtesy of Neil and Rob Gibbons (the pair behind the most recent incarnations of Alan Partridge) and The Reluctant Vampire. It is their adaptation of Eric Morecambe’s 1982 children’s book of the same name and its 1983 sequel, The Vampire’s Revenge. They have kept the books’ warmth and daftness and added their own talents to the six-part series for youngsters. There are jokes for parents in there too, but the brothers have wisely kept the exquisite cruelty with which they craft Alan’s misadventures safely stowed away.Here is the tale of an undead royal-ish family (temporarily usurped a few generations back when the paterfamilias choked on a scab), living a traditional vampiric life in their traditionally gothic castle. There is proud patriarch Victor (Tom Davis), who revels in the hunting and draining of the humans he despises (“I see,” he says, looking round the overdecorated bedroom of his latest about-to-be-victim, “you have a keen eye for tat”). He is married to Valeeta (Sian Clifford) – they share a hot-to-trot vibe with Gomez and Morticia of The Addams Family films – and they have two children. Vernon (an absolutely wonderful turn from Gabriel Nagy in his first major screen role) is a chip off the old block, loving the vampire life and able to identify blood vintages with a single sip (“Poor circulation … lavender … the neck of a Flemish merchant?”). <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/oct/04/the-reluctant-vampire-review-lenny-rush-comedy-bbc">Continue reading...</a>

This gag-packed adaptation of Eric Morecambe’s children’s books – by the writing team behind Alan Partridge – is full of stunning comic talent. Bill Bail...

The Reluctant Vampire review – Lenny Rush’s absolute joy of a comedy is perfectly cast

In this week’s newsletter: As The Celebrity Traitors returns, Winkleman once again proves herself the show’s secret weapon​, becoming heir to a distinctly British TV tradition• <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/global/2022/sep/20/sign-up-for-the-guide-newsletter-our-free-pop-culture-email">Don’t get The Guide delivered to your inbox? Sign up here</a>The Celebrity Traitors has returned and, as ever, its pleasures are manifold: the coming together of very different types of famous people (what other show gives you the chance to see mathematician Hannah Fry chatting with Jerry Hall); the now obligatory series-upending first-episode twist; Richard E Grant careering around trying to break the game; Ross Kemp, eyes wide with terror, convinced that anyone who touches him, talks to him or blows on him is his killer.There’s so much to enjoy in fact, that you almost overlook the heavy-fringed host at the show’s centre. By this point Claudia Winkleman feels undeniably core to the series, in both its Celebrity and civilian guises – as much a part of the furniture as that mustard armchair where faithfuls learn that they have been murdered. So much so, in fact, that it feels jarring – just plain wrong – when you watch one of the international variants of the Traitors and see someone else attempting to play the part of the pantomimish master or mistress of ceremonies; Alan Cumming, Siobhan McSweeney, or any of the other non-Claudias. They all make a decent fist of it, but none of them manage it quite like her. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/oct/02/how-claudia-winkleman-became-tvs-perfect-bad-gameshow-host">Continue reading...</a>

In this week’s newsletter: As The Celebrity Traitors returns, Winkleman once again proves herself the show’s secret weapon​, becoming heir to a distinctl...

The Guide #263: How Claudia Winkleman ​became TV’s ​perfect ‘bad’ gameshow host

From Oprah Winfrey to Dua Lipa, there is no shortage of celebrity literary champions. But the former US leader is in a class of his ownAt the Labour party conference <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/andy-burnham-favourite-books-poetry-prime-minister-bm6x6r77f">Andy Burnham revealed that Hamlet</a>, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Tony Harrison’s poem V are his favourite works of literature. The UK’s first prime minister with an English literature degree was not the only political figure sharing his book choices last week. Barack Obama, the US’s most literary president since Abraham Lincoln, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.audible.com/about/newsroom/president-barack-obama-to-host-a-great-book-on-audible">launched a new podcast</a> in which he discusses six books that shaped him with writer friends.First up was the actor – and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/oct/18/uncommon-type-some-stories-tom-hanks-review">recently turned short story writer</a> – Tom Hanks on Marilynne Robinson’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/may/11/guardian-bookclub-gilead-marilynne-robinson">Gilead</a>, a meditation on faith, fatherhood and forgiveness in the form of a letter written by a 76-year-old pastor to his son. It was an unabashedly highbrow start. With the exception of John le Carré’s cold war classic Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Mr Obama’s selections are American: Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses, James Baldwin’s essays The Fire Next Time and Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men. Questions of democracy, race, power and violence are all here.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/tone/letters"> letters</a> section, please <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="mailto:guardian.letters@theguardian.com?body=Please%20include%20your%20name,%20full%20postal%20address%20and%20phone%20number%20with%20your%20letter%20below.%20Letters%20are%20usually%20published%20with%20the%20author%27s%20name%20and%20city/town/village.%20The%20rest%20of%20the%20information%20is%20for%20verification%20only%20and%20to%20contact%20you%20where%20necessary.">click here</a>. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/02/the-guardian-view-on-barack-obamas-new-podcast-all-the-presidents-books">Continue reading...</a>

From Oprah Winfrey to Dua Lipa, there is no shortage of celebrity literary champions. But the former US leader is in a class of his own

The Guardian view on Barack Obama’s new podcast: all the president’s books | Editorial

End of News Feed

OpenAI will watermark ChatGPT and Codex text in the EU to comply with the AI Act. Editing can make the invisible marks harder to detect, it says.

OpenAI will start watermarking ChatGPT’s text in the EU

Just a couple of months after its last big raise, the AI chip startup is already being plied with investment offers at double or more its current value, sources tell TechCrunch.

Just a couple of months after its last big raise, the AI chip startup is already being plied with investment offers at double or more its current value, ...

Etched fields funding offers at $40B+ valuation, sources say

Days after Vinod Khosla called Factory a struggling also-ran, Menlo has shown up with a check and a glowing blog post.

After Factory’s public spat with Khosla, Menlo proudly invests

Reflection is aiming Beam and future models at enterprises and sovereign nations. The pitch is to build “AI factories,” a product that would let institutions build their own customized, local AI system by training Reflection’s AI models on their own proprietary data.

Reflection is aiming Beam and future models at enterprises and sovereign nations. The pitch is to build “AI factories,” a product that would let institut...

Reflection debuts Beam, an open-weight AI model to rival Chinese models at lower compute cost

Instinct is launching group chats that let friends use its AI agent together for tasks like planning trips, organizing carpools, and coordinating events. The company says personal accounts remain separate, with permission required before personal agents share information or take action.

Instinct is launching group chats that let friends use its AI agent together for tasks like planning trips, organizing carpools, and coordinating events....

Instinct brings its AI agent to group chats, even for friends without an account

TikTok describes its new Shopping Assistant as a conversational AI agent designed to help users discover and purchase products.

TikTok rolls out an AI shopping assistant and one-click checkout

Ghost's first product is Core, a personal computer designed specifically for AI agents that can take actions on a person's behalf. 

At 19, founder raises $11M for Ghost, maker of a $3,499 computer for personal AI

Founded by two sisters, Hot Girl Hotline uses AI to give young women personalized dating and relationship advice, with an emphasis on safety and avoiding emotional dependency.

Founded by two sisters, Hot Girl Hotline uses AI to give young women personalized dating and relationship advice, with an emphasis on safety and avoiding...

Hot Girl Hotline is like ‘Dear Abby’ for the AI era

TechCrunch attended Pear’s latest  demo day and discovered which startups generated the most buzz, from spatial models to chips for local AI.

5 startups that caught VCs’ attention at the latest PearX demo day

HackerRank’s AI interviewer has already conducted more than 500,000 interviews, with Snowflake, Snorkel, and Capgemini among its early testers.

HackerRank’s AI interviewer offers a glimpse into what job interviews could become

The new ads will begin to appear later this month in the U.S. only for now, and will feature products and services from an initial test group of advertisers. 

The new ads will begin to appear later this month in the U.S. only for now, and will feature products and services from an initial test group of advertis...

OpenAI launches visual ads that appear alongside image generation results

Lola Vision Systems is one of the Startup Battlefield 200 companies battling it out at TechCrunch Disrupt, taking place October 13-15 in San Francisco. 

Lola Vision Systems is trying to make it easier to run AI models on chips

Learn how founders are choosing between building on open or closed AI at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Register now to save up to $100 and get a second pass at 50% off.

Learn how founders are choosing between building on open or closed AI at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Register now to save up to $100 and get a second pass a...

Open or closed AI? How founders are choosing what to build on at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

The Danish government said the breach of names, addresses, and state-issued ID numbers affects 8 million people, including people living abroad and the deceased.

The Danish government said the breach of names, addresses, and state-issued ID numbers affects 8 million people, including people living abroad and the d...

Hackers steal 8 million citizens’ records from Danish government database

Independent researchers discovered an agent swarm that seems to be running on Tencent's infrastructure and targeting Alibaba's map service, Amap.

Researchers are tracking a Chinese AI ‘agent fleet’

Meet the final five Startup Battlefield judges who'll decide who wins the pitch competition at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Get your pass now to save up to $100, and get a second at 50% off.

Meet the final five Startup Battlefield judges who'll decide who wins the pitch competition at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Get your pass now to save up to $...

Meet the Startup Battlefield 200 judges who’ll decide the winner at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

The full TechCrunch Disrupt Stage lineup revealed, featuring Max Hodak, Mark Wahlberg, Benchmark partners, and more. Register now to save up to $100 on your pass and get a second at 50% off.

The full TechCrunch Disrupt Stage lineup revealed, featuring Max Hodak, Mark Wahlberg, Benchmark partners, and more. Register now to save up to $100 on y...

The final Disrupt Stage lineup: Three days of conversations you won’t hear anywhere outside of TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

Safeworld is building digital humans to make sure robots don't hurt the real ones. 

Can Safeworld convince people that GenAI robots won’t hurt them?

AI slop seems to be overwhelming bug bounty programs.

Google froze its open source bug bounty program due to a ‘significant rise’ in AI submissions

On Equity, we discussed the Trump administration's attempts to rebrand AI.

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