More than 1,400 people have been arrested as police dismantle campus encampments a but are the tactics used too brutal?

More than 1,400 people have been arrested across the US during a week of intense police crackdowns on a sprawling campus movement of pro-Palestine student demonstrations.

As Joe Biden defended studentsa free speech rights but warned them that adissent must never lead to disordera, colleges across the country brought law enforcement to campus to arrest dozens or even hundreds of protesters and clear away their encampments.

Flood watch in effect through Sunday with evacuations in some areas as more rain forecast for already soaked region

The Houston area was under threat of worsening flood conditions on Saturday, a day after heavy storms slammed the region a and authorities warned those in low-lying areas to evacuate ahead of an expected acatastrophica surge of water the likes of which havenat been seen since Hurricane Harvey.

A flood watch remained in effect through Sunday afternoon as forecasters predicted additional rainfall on Saturday night, bringing another 1-3in (2.5-7.6cm) of water to the soaked region and the likelihood of major flooding.

Egyptian and US mediators report signs of compromise, but many analysts remain pessimistic

• Middle East crisis a live updates

Hopes of a ceasefire in Gaza rose on Saturday as a Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo to continue indirect talks, with what is believed to be a response to a new proposal, reportedly agreed by Israel, to halt fighting for an initial 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

Egyptian and US mediators have reported signs of compromise in recent days and Egyptian state news channel Al-Qahera said on Saturday that a consensus had been reached in the indirect talks over many of the disputed points but gave no further details.

As she tries to limit the fallout from her dog- and goat-killing anecdotes, factual inaccuracies in her book are coming to light

As she entered a second consecutive weekend trying to manage fallout from revelations in her upcoming memoir that she shot her dog to death, South Dakotaas governor, Kristi Noem, had conceded that she would need to correct multiple factual inaccuracies in other parts of the book.

Meanwhile, a Republican fundraiser which Noem was supposed to headline had to be canceled after threats against the event staff, hotel venue and governor, according to organizers.

Berkshire Hathaway CEO stressed relationship at annual meeting attracting Apple CEO Tim Cook, Bill Gates and Bill Murray

The billionaire investment tycoon Warren Buffett has stressed his empire will remain a key investor in Apple after it sold billions of dollarsa worth of shares in the iPhone maker.

Thousands of shareholders in Berkshire Hathaway, Buffettas sprawling conglomerate, have flocked to Omaha, Nebraska, for the firmas annual meeting a dubbed Woodstock for Capitalists a this weekend.

Hundreds of cities across Rio Grande so Sul hit by floods with 32,000 people displaced and infrastructure destroyed

The death toll from rains in Brazilas southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul has risen to 57, local authorities said on Saturday afternoon, while dozens still have not been accounted for.

The stateas civil defence authority said 67 people were still missing and more than 32,000 had been displaced as storms affected nearly two-thirds of the 497 cities in the state.

Shug the pinstriped pony, who hoofed it as her trailer stopped on a highway, was eventually found horsing around

A zebra that escaped from her owner in Washington state and went on the run for nearly six days has finally been rescued.

In a statement released on Friday, the regional animal services of King county (Raskc) announced that the zebra a whose name is Shug a was captured near North Bend after roaming in the foothills of the Cascades for the better part of a week.

Kyiv says Moscow forces have gained afootholda in area north of Donetsk city after pounding depleted defenders

• Putin on our doorstep: Ukrainians watch as the frontline edges closer

The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by the Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

Russian troops have been advancing in the area, pounding Kyivas depleted, ammunition-deprived forces with artillery, drones and bombs. Ukraineas military has acknowledged that Russia has gained a afootholda in Ocheretyne, which had a population of about 3,000 before the war, but says the fighting there is continuing.

Last yearas deadly Maui wildfire revealed the extent of short-term rentals and their contribution to the stateas housing shortage

Hawaii lawmakers have voted to put limits on short-term rentals such as Airbnbs. On Friday, the governor, Josh Green, signed a bill that would give counties the power to regulate short-term rentals and even phase them out to become long-term housing for local residents.

The move on short-term rentals was one of several legislative decisions to come out of Fridayas meeting of the state legislature. It also appropriated $1b to go toward the ongoing recovery from the Lahaina fire on 8 August, including more than $120m in rental assistance for people who are ineligible for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) and $500m for emergency housing for residents who remain displaced, according to ABC News.

Jerry and Rita Alter, now deceased, are suspected of having stolen artworks in the 80s, including Willem de Kooningas Woman-Ochre

The mystery of a nondescript, middle-aged couple who hung a stolen $150m Willem de Kooning painting behind a bedroom door in their Cliff, New Mexico, home may be closer to being resolved after the FBI agreed to assist in tracking down two other paintings that had been in the coupleas possession.

A new twist to the story of Jerry and Rita Alter, a pair of New Mexico teachers who somehow funded a life of travel and adventure to the point that they are suspected international art thieves, emerged recently when the USas top federal law enforcement agency confirmed it was getting involved in the case.

Court hears effects of 2021 leak, in which thousand of gallons of fuel seeped into drinking water supply from US navy storage tank

Military and civilian families told a federal judge this week they continue to be sickened, more than two years after a US navy underground fuel storage facility leaked thousands of gallons of jet fuel into Pearl Harboras main drinking water and caused a water crisis in the Pacific.

United States district court judge Leslie Kobayashi heard testimony from nearly a dozen impacted families suing the US government over the leak from the second world war era storage tanks that has resulted in vomiting, diarrhea, rashes and other ailments. Plaintiffs said the illnesses are connected to the tainted water serving the nearly 93,000 residents in and around Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

Effects of heat are expected to worsen after bill prohibiting municipalities from enacting shade and water protection is passed

For Javier Torres and other workers whose jobs are conducted outdoors in south Florida, the heat is unavoidable. A new law recently signed by Ron DeSantis, Floridaas Republican governor, that prohibits any municipalities in the state from passing heat protections for workers ensures that it is likely to stay that way.

Torres has seen a co-worker die from heatstroke and another rushed to the emergency room in his years of working in construction in south Florida. He has also fallen and injured himself due to heat exhaustion.

With the ex-president punished for violating a gag order, the third week of the hush-money trial resembled his fraud case

It was deja vu for Donald Trump at his Manhattan criminal trial this week in more ways than one.

Six months ago a New York judge threatened to throw a former US president in prison for violating a gag order. Remarkably, in a courthouse up the street just six months later, Trump was again threatened with jail time.

The seaside tourist community, like the southern state as a whole, has seen huge demographic change since 2020

The area around Wilmington, North Carolina, was once rock-ribbed Republican red. No longer. Itas contested territory in what may be the most contested state in the country this year.

Donald Trump had planned a rally in Wilmington earlier this month but was rained out at the last moment. Trump promised to return with a bigger and better rally later. Joe Biden visited Wilmington on Thursday, after a detour to Charlotte to meet with the families of four law enforcement officers killed on Monday while serving an arrest warrant. It was his second visit to North Carolina this year and is unlikely to be his last.

Many say the bill would help survivors be heard, broadening the range of people able to petition to see their sentence reviewed

In 1995, on the day before Kelly Savage-Rodriguez planned to flee her abusive husband, she ran some final errands while her children, ages three and one, napped. She hoped to take them on the early morning Amtrak from Porterville, California, to Los Angeles and stay with her brother, but when she returned, she said, she found that her husband had beaten and killed her three-year-old son, Justin. She called 911. The police arrested her along with her husband.

Savage-Rodriguez was jailed as she awaited trial, and said her lawyer did not have training in advocating for clients who suffered domestic violence. The judge used her history of abuse against her, she said, and said she was equally at fault for her sonas death under Californiaas afailure to protecta charges that can criminalize the non-abusive parent in a domestic violence case because she had not fled. She was later convicted and sentenced to life without parole, same as her abuser.

The troubled child actor turned chatshow host faces flak for her toe-curling interview with Kamala Harris. But oversharing is all part of her shtick

An office-style desk was once the key prop on a television chatshow a a standard piece of kit beloved of Johnny Carson and David Letterman, not to mention Britainas Jonathan Ross. Then the comfy sofa took over and guests began to scooch along, making room for each other. Now, though, under the auspices of Drew Barrymore, host of a daytime show on CBS, itas the lowly rug that is taking centre stage.

Barrymore, who is still best known internationally for her childhood role as the little girl in ET, likes to interact with her guests on a fluffy rug in the middle of her set in New Yorkas Broadcast Center. She has prostrated herself upon it more than once in front of her studio audience and prefers it to the showas pink satin armchairs.

The emergence of trillions of cicadas is under way in parts of the US a what should you do when theyare around, and what on earth are azombiea cicadas?

The cicadas are arriving. The periodic emergence of trillions of cicadas, on a scale not seen in several hundred years, is under way in parts of the US, with several states reporting the orange-eyed insects are bursting from their underground dormancy.

Cicadas have started arriving earlier than expected in Illinois, a cicada hotspot this year, while there are reports of swarms emerging in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee, along with some other states.

For two years, a viral joke mocking the singeras dancing threatened to overshadow her record-breaking success a but the laser-focused star had the last laugh. And now she has her sights set on building a media empire

The London hotel room is huge, with a grand piano in one corner. In the middle is a stash of crisps, nuts and drinks, laid out as if we were in a high-end store. And on a sofa I can just about make out Dua Lipa, lost in the vastness. She could be a top footballer a red hair tied back, fresh-faced, wearing black tracksuit bottoms and a striped top. Iam trying to think what club it is. Barcelona?

She laughs. aNo, I designed it. Itas merch.a I look closely. On the front, it says Training Season a the title of the second single from her forthcoming album, Radical Optimism. Ah, that makes sense; she is playing for FC Dua Lipa. Over the next hour, Lipa makes it clear that sheas a devoted fan of FC Dua Lipa, gives her all to it, and can only see it growing exponentially. Something I wouldnat dare to disagree with.

Russian forces are advancing in the countryas eastern regions, but the recent arrival of US arms could help turn the tide

It was a perfect May evening. Daria Karpinska and her friends sat in the corner of a five-a-side pitch and played cards. Nearby was their school. Swifts had returned to their village of Hrodivka and screeched in a sunny blue sky.

Suddenly, a loud whoosh-whoosh noise interrupted the teenagersa game of afoola: the sound of a Grad missile. Seconds later came the boom of artillery. aItas louder today than yesterday,a said 14-year-old Karpinska matter-of-factly.

The US academic on why the Mr Burns caricature of rich people is wrong, the double-edged sword of godlike technologies, and why young people shouldnat follow their passion

Scott Galloway is an American professor of marketing at New York University Stern school of Business. He has founded and sold several tech firms, and served on the board of directors of companies such as the New York Times and Urban Outfitters. With tech journalist Kara Swisher he co-hosts the hugely popular tech and business podcast Pivot. He is a fierce critic of tech companies and their business models and he has written five books, the latest of which is The Algebra of Wealth: A Simple Formula for Economic Security.

You spend a lot of time with wealthy and successful people. Do they have any common habits?
Well, the most common attribute Iave registered is they were born at the right place at the right time. What Iave found is that the majority of peopleas success is not their fault. And I think something that plagues people, especially tech bros, is they conflate luck with talent. But across those who excel, the thing I have found is that if you want to be successful, you need to collect allies along the way. Thereas this cartoon of Monty Burns in The Simpsons, the guy who owns the power plant, who has no friends, who lights cigars with a hundred dollar bill. But what I have found is that really wealthy people are constantly put in rooms of opportunities, because from a young age theyave acquired allies.

Beset by hurricanes and rising insurance prices, the city saw people leaving in droves a but a program is encouraging jazz artists to move to the amost exciting musical city in the worlda

Hammered by hurricanes, rutted streets and rising insurance rates, the metro New Orleans area saw 45,000 people leave between 2020 and 2023 a a 4.3% outmigration worse than any other US urban area.

Those departures seemed a surreal idea as vast crowds streamed into the annual two-week Jazz and Heritage festival sponsored by Shell, set to conclude Sunday. Thursday marked the main event at the sprawling array of stages and food booths at the Fair Grounds race track a the Rolling Stones concert, sold out at $225 a ticket.

Covid vaccines, chemtrails, the Great Reset a| Why do people invent false conspiracies when there are so many real ones to worry about? Thereas only one way to find out: ask a believer

I am a conspiracy theorist. I believe that groups of people conspire secretly against our interests to line their pockets, cover their backs or achieve political goals. By this definition I suspect you are, too. We see evidence of these conspiracies every day. We see them in the Horizon scandal, in which the Post Office kept prosecuting innocent operators. We see them in the governmentas use of a aVIPa lane for procuring PPE from friends and donors at extortionate prices. We see them in the Windrush scandal, in which people were denied their legal rights and unlawfully deported by the UK government. In the Cambridge Analytica scandal: a secretive micro-targeting campaign likely to have influenced the Brexit vote. In the Panama Papers and the Pandora Papers, showing how the ultra-rich hide their money from taxes and legal scrutiny.

All these are conspiracies in the true sense: hidden machinations that advance particular interests while causing harm to others. A theory is a rational explanation, subject to disproof. If you accept these scandals are the result of hidden machinations, which they evidently are, you are a conspiracy theorist.

Protests are part of nationwide movement pushing universities to divest from businesses that support the war in Gaza

As the sun rose on a campus littered with wreckage, pro-Palestine protesters at the University of California, Los Angeles, were still facing off with lines of riot cops and chanting aWeare not leaving!a

Police had cleared UCLAas student encampment in a late-night operation, and arrested at least 200 pro-Palestine demonstrators early on Thursday morning . The schoolas student newspaper said ahundredsa had been arrested, including students and faculty.

Tourists delighted as pinnipeds congregate at cityas Pier 39, apparently attracted by feast of anchovies

More than 1,000 sea lions have gathered at San Franciscoas Pier 39 this spring, the largest herd in at least 15 years.

Mounds of floppy, delightfully ungraceful marine mammals have plopped themselves on to rafts along the cityas pier, displaying themselves to the thousands of tourists who pass by the area each day.

Researchers visited the Chicago Cafe to find out if itas really 121 years old a and entered a chop suey parlor filled with memories

On a warm morning in March, a group of researchers entered an unassuming chop suey parlor in the Sacramento suburbs for a rare field trip.

The six history enthusiasts affiliated with the University of California, Davis, had gathered at the Chicago Cafe in Woodland, California, with one goal in mind: to determine the exact age of what may be the oldest Chinese restaurant in the country.

Workers removed remnants of the Gaza encampment while pieces of plywood painted with aWe love you Gazaa lay about

At the University of California in Los Angeles on Thursday morning, staff were picking up the pieces after two nights of violence that shocked the urban campus.

A loader heaved the remnants of the Gaza protest encampment that law enforcement had forcefully cleared early in the morning into a large grey dumpster. Pieces of plywood spray-painted with aWe love you Gazaa and aACABa (aall cops are bastardsa) still lay about.

Please, listen to us a not political figures, radical fringes and misguided media

On Tuesday night, we watched in horror as hundreds of riot police flooded our beloved campus and brutalized our classmates. The next day, students awoke with swollen faces, bruised wrists, and lacerations a all results of inhumane police treatment. The past two weeks have been tumultuous, marked with mass arrests of student demonstrators, an encampment on our lawns, national media attention, and vile acts of hatred. Countless have spoken on our behalf. But by speaking over us, media outlets and politicians have created a distorted narrative a one which unfairly characterizes our community.

Now, it is time to elevate student perspectives, the ausa, rather than the athema. The traumatic environment and militarization of our campus are not the sole product of ill-intended protestors or reckless non-affiliates as claimed by administrative emails; rather, they are the fault of the senior administration themselves. For months, this crisis has brewed as administrators neglected student and faculty voices. We must be clear: the administration has put our studentsa safety at risk and has failed to ensure a conducive learning environment. As student leaders, it is time for our voice to be heard.

Reticence over the seizure of Russian state assets in Europe betrays a fatal underestimation of the threat Moscow poses

Europe has plotted an elegant decline that suits the needs of its ageing population, and the Ukraine war cannot be allowed to interfere with that plan.

That is how it seems when EU countries consider circumventing the financial rulebook to offer Ukraine what it needs to overcome waves of drones and break the deadlock on its eastern front.