Author: Olivia Carter

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.For Elon Musk, tech’s great showman, this weekend’s long-awaited launch of a Tesla robotaxi service will be notably short of razzle-dazzle.The autonomous ride-hailing service is scheduled to hit the roads in Austin, Texas, with only about 10 cars. And far from the broadly capable self-driving vehicles that Musk has long promised, the taxis will be geo-fenced to avoid the city’s most challenging intersections and come with backup teleoperators poised to intervene if problems occur.At more than $1tn, Tesla’s stock market value leans…

Here’s How Plastic Bag Bans Are WorkingData from beach cleanups show that banning or taxing single-use plastic bags makes a difference in ecosystemsBy Meghan Bartels edited by Allison Parshall For one in three U.S. residents, single-use plastic bags are no longer a cheap and easy ubiquity—and beaches, riverbanks and lakeshores are benefitting.That’s according to research published on June 19 in Science. Researchers analyzed data from thousands of shoreline cleanups across the U.S. and found that areas that implemented policies that banned single-use plastic bags or charged a fee for them had a reduced proportion of these items in their beach…

There are certain museums around the world that go beyond their role of housing artefacts and somehow seem to act as portals to the past. The Frick Collection in New York and Marcel Proust’s cork-lined bedroom at the Musée Carnavalet in Paris both hum with a timeless energy that transcends the exhibits on display. The Little Museum of Dublin is also such a space.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.Within seconds of ascending the stairs of this beautiful four-storey Georgian townhouse at 15 St Stephen’s Green, a different…

Just under three months from the start of the 2025 college football season, several Power Four contenders have added key pieces through the transfer portal in hopes of upgrading their rosters. While many of the big-name signings have drawn plenty of attention coming out of spring camp, not every impactful addition is a household name, yet. Some of the most valuable pickups are lesser-known players identified by sharp personnel staffs and developed by coaches expecting them to contribute immediately this fall. None of the players listed below crack 247Sports’ top 25 transfer rankings — and most fall well outside the…

The proceeds from the David Lynch Collection auction could buy quite a few cherry pies: Julien’s auction Wednesday with Turner Classic Movies raised $4.25 million total for the iconic filmmaker’s estate. Nearly 450 items were included in the auction, including pieces from the “Twin Peaks” TV show and films like “Mulholland Drive,” “Eraserhead” and “Dune.” Lynch’s director’s chair, which made a stop at Variety’s office Monday on its way to the action, fetched $91,000. The live auction attracted hundreds of collectors and fans online and at the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel. “Julien’s and TCM were privileged to represent this landmark…

It was in the Beersheba, about a thousand kilometers and 2,500 years from Babylon, that Benjamin Netanyahu suggested on Thursday that the time had come for the Jews to repay their ancient debt to Cyrus the Great and bring liberation to Iran.The Israeli prime minister had just made a tour of Beersheba’s Soroka hospital which a few hours earlier had sustained a direct hit from an Iranian ballistic missile on one of its buildings. It was for that reason the scene of an escape which was already being dubbed miraculous by Israel’s leaders.The hospital’s director had only just ordered the…

Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka has agreed to a long-term contract extension that makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the NBA, sources told ESPN on Thursday.The deal is believed to be worth eight figures annually, sources said.Udoka’s extension comes after he guided Houston to its first top-two seed in the West in seven years. In Udoka’s second season, the team went 52-30 and made its first playoff appearance since 2019-20, getting knocked out in the first round by the Golden State Warriors in seven games.Rockets ownership, Tilman and Patrick Fertitta, and general manager Rafael Stone hired Udoka in…

Honorable MentionEvery OLED we’ve tested is a great TV, and older models are often on sale so they’re well worth considering before you hit the buy button. Here’s where we list favorites not on our top list.Sony A95L: Sony’s 2023 flagship A95L isn’t as bright as the latest crop of top-tier OLEDs, but it’s still a dazzler with fantastic colors, excellent contrast, and thrilling picture processing that’s nearly as eye-popping as the latest Bravia 8 II. The best part is you can often get this TV on sale for well below its replacement, making it a great choice for those…

The trend forecasters are predicting a prep revival. The all-American look, born of mid-century country clubs and popularized by 1980s movies, seems to be in the air again. A 17-year-old I know sets out each weekend to shop for vintage polo shirts, and Luca Guadagnino is filming a new version of the Bret Easton Ellis novel, American Psycho. That about synthesizes it.If prep does make a comeback on the runways in the coming weeks, it wouldn’t surprise Thom Browne. “I’m always in that world because I love the timelessness of it and the ease,” he says. “I like the idea…

The men provided financial assistance to al-Shabab fighters who attacked the DusitD2 complex in Nairobi, killing 21 people.A Kenyan court has sentenced two men to 30 years in prison for aiding al-Shabab fighters who were behind a deadly attack in Nairobi that left 21 people dead in 2019. On Thursday, Judge Diana Kavedza Mochache ruled that Hussein Mohammed Abdile and Mohamed Abdi Ali played a critical role by helping two of the attackers escape from a refugee camp using fake identity cards. The pair also provided financial assistance to the group. “Without financiers, facilitators and sympathisers, terrorists cannot actualise their…