Former Republican US representative was sentenced in April after admitting to deceiving donors and stealing identities of 11 people

Donald Trump announced on Friday he had commuted the sentence of George Santos, the disgraced former New York representative and serial fabulist who had been sentenced to more than seven years in prison after a short-lived political career marked by outlandish fabrications and fraudulent scheming.

The New York Republican was sentenced in April after pleading guilty last year to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Former prosecutor testified before House committee on hurdles that prosecution of convicted sex offender would have faced

Alexander Acosta, the former US attorney for the southern district of Florida who negotiated a plea deal in 2008 with Jeffrey Epstein, testified before the House oversight committee last month that going to trial would have been a “crapshoot” due to lack of cooperation from victims.

In a transcript of the six-hour interview released on Friday, the former prosecutor, who later served in the first Trump administration, described the evidentiary hurdles Epstein’s federal prosecution would have faced, and why his office turned the case over to Florida state prosecutors that resulted in the disgraced financier pleading guilty to charges of soliciting sex from a minor.

New research examines how traditional artists worked as revitalisation efforts see tā moko – Māori tattooing – become more visible in New Zealand

In New Zealand’s national museum, master Māori tattoo artists painstakingly apply ink to the faces of eight men and women as a large crowd watches on.

Thin lines spiral over the men’s cheeks, dipping towards the jaw and up over the forehead, while lines curl around the women’s chins – each mark telling the story of its wearer’s identity, lineage and experience. Surrounding them are their families, who sing and grip their hands as they lay still under the needle and weight of the sacred – and usually private – ceremony.

Justice department submits emergency filing as Trump pushes to expand use of military in Democratic-led cities

The Trump administration on Friday asked the US supreme court to permit the deployment of national guard troops to Illinois, as the president pushes to expand the domestic use of the military in a growing number of Democratic-led cities.

In an emergency filing, the justice department urged the court to overturn a lower court ruling that halted the deployment of several hundred national guard troops to the Chicago area. The district judge had raised doubts about the administration’s justification for sending troops, questioning its explanation in light of local conditions.

It is not the party’s first foray into the dystopian territory, with Trump having posted AI videos of his own

The National Republican Senatorial Committee crossed into dystopian new territory for political campaigning on Friday after releasing an attack ad that features an artificially generated video of the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer.

The deepfake video, posted on Friday to the Senate Republicans’ social media account, shows an AI-generated Schumer robotically repeating the phrase “every day gets better for us” in reference to the ongoing government shutdown. A small disclaimer tucked in the corner acknowledges its artificial origins.

Mikel Arteta’s side head to Fulham with belief the title can be won after a string of injuries in previous seasons

“It is reassuring to know that if your performances are right, you do not need bad results from somebody else,” Arsène Wenger said after watching Arsenal leapfrog surprise package Leicester to go top of the Premier League a few days after Christmas in 2015. “That is one less stress. Once you are first, you can just focus on your performance.”

Arsenal were quickly installed as hot favourites to win the title for the first time since 2004, but things did not work out that way, the team spending just 26 nights at the summit before being overhauled by Claudio Ranieri’s 5,000-1 miracle workers.

Lawmakers urge president to allow for repair of housing and utilities after Typhoon Halong devastates villages

Mike Dunleavy, the governor of Alaska, has asked Donald Trump to declare a major disaster after a powerful storm devastated villages in the state’s south-west, displacing 1,500 people and prompting large-scale air evacuations.

The state’s senators and congressman urged the president to approve the declaration to allow additional federal resources into the region to repair housing and utilities before winter. The scale of the disaster has surpassed the state’s ability to respond, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and Nick Begich, the Alaska congressman, wrote.

Officers reportedly tackled and dragged several people after authorities told demonstrators to stay in ‘protest zones’

At least 11 people were taken into custody outside the Broadview Ice detention center in the Chicago area after heated confrontations between Illinois state police and protesters on Friday.

Authorities had instructed demonstrators to remain in designated “protest zones”, but tensions escalated when officers moved to clear the roadway.

Rachel Reeves understood to be eyeing cuts to Motability scheme as she tries to plug hole in country’s finances

Rachel Reeves has said she “can’t leave welfare untouched” this parliament, with the Treasury understood to be considering axing up to £1bn in tax breaks for a scheme providing cars for disabled people.

The chancellor set out her thinking on welfare before next month’s budget in an interview, having previously said she would need to make cuts and raise taxes.

If signed into law, the bill proposed by far-right party would follow other European countries in banning face veils

Portugal’s parliament has approved a bill banning face veils worn for “gender or religious” reasons in public, in a move seen as targeting Muslim women who wear face coverings.

The measure was proposed by the far-right Chega party and would prohibit coverings such as burqas (a full-body garment that covers a woman from head to foot) and niqabs (the full-face Islamic veil with space around the eyes) from being worn in most public places. Face veils would still be allowed in airplanes, diplomatic premises and places of worship.

• La Liga players to protest Miami match plan

• Union blasts league’s lack of transparency

• Flick, players decry travel and workload

La Liga players will protest this weekend the league’s decision to hold a regular season game in Miami, the Spanish soccer players’ union said on Friday.

Players plan to pause for 15 seconds after kickoff in games in the ninth round held from Friday through Monday, Spanish media reported.

The idea that barring the Israeli club’s supporters from Villa Park will de-escalate a volatile situation just doesn’t stand up

Well, at least we have Ayoub Khan in the house, Birmingham MP and a voice of tolerance, unity and de-escalation in these difficult times. “Sports entertainment events should be enjoyed by all regardless of their race, ethnicity and background,” Khan wrote on X on Thursday. One hundred per cent this. Heart emoji. Slay, king. This is not just the best part of sport. It’s the only real point.

“Now is the time to ease tensions, set aside political difference and focus on the football,” Khan concluded, scattering flowers of all shades, fluttering his fingers to release a cascade of butterflies, and opening his arms to embrace, personally, brothers and sisters of every caste and clime.

The world’s largest free-to-the-public sculpture exhibition is on again along Sydney’s Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk after surviving a funding shortfall

Arne Slot will hope forward builds on encouraging signs for Egypt when Manchester United visit Liverpool on Sunday

It has been a while, but Mohamed Salah was back playing the starring role last week with two goals in Casablanca that sealed Egypt’s place at the 2026 World Cup. The main man stepping on to centre stage yet again. Liverpool need him to stay there.

There are numerous reasons why inconsistent, unconvincing performances have been the common thread running through Liverpool’s start to their title defence, whether they produced seven straight victories or, before Manchester United’s visit to Anfield on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The upheaval from so many summer changes, Arne Slot’s search for his best XI, Diogo Jota’s death; Salah has felt the effect of them all during his uncharacteristically subdued opening to the campaign.

Actors unclear on rights over their data and what it will be used for, as cast and crew alike fear for future of their roles

• Olivia Williams says actors need ‘nudity rider’-type controls for AI body scans

For performers on TV or movie sets, it is not unusual to receive a request to enter a booth filled with scores of cameras ready to capture their likeness from every possible angle. Yet with the cast and crew of productions already fretting over the coming role of AI in the industry, it is an increasingly troubling undertaking.

“It happens without warning,” says Olivia Williams, who adds she has been scanned more times than she cares to remember during a career that has spanned from The Sixth Sense to Dune: Prophecy.

According to complaint, Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al-Muhtadi participated in attack on Israel, then applied for US visa

The FBI has accused a Louisiana resident of participating in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 – then lying about his past and fraudulently obtaining a visa to live in the US.

According to a recently unsealed FBI criminal complaint, Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al-Muhtadi armed himself and gathered a group to cross from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel during the attack that left nearly 1,200 people dead.

In the six attacks on similar vessels launched by Trump, this is the first where any survivors have been reported

The US has seized survivors of a military strike on a suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, the first since Donald Trump began launching deadly attacks in the region last month, according to officials in Washington.

Trump later confirmed the attack, telling reporters that the targeted vessel was a narco-submarine.

Ukrainian president repeats call for weapons but US president insists they’re ‘not easy for us to give you’ and says ‘Putin wants to end the war’

‘The key to success is in the sky’: the Ukrainian defenders struggling to stem Russia’s air assault

First came the sound of drones. Then a boom that rattled windows. Shortly after that, two columns of black smoke rose over the Shebelinka gas processing plant in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. Towering flames threatened storage tanks.

In statement released by Buckingham Palace, Andrew says he will give up titles and honours

• Virginia Giuffre book extract: ‘Prince Andrew believed having sex with me was his birthright’

• Analysis: Prince Andrew’s fall from grace complete as monarchy cuts him loose

Prince Andrew has agreed to give up his use of the Duke of York title, he said in a statement released through Buckingham Palace.

He will also give up use of his honours as a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) and Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, meaning his only remaining title will be that of prince, which cannot be removed as he was born the son of a queen.

Ex-national security adviser surrendered to authorities and made court appearance as he faces 18-count indictment

• US politics live – latest updates

John Bolton, the former national security adviser to Donald Trump in his first term, pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges relating to diary-like notes he shared that contained top secret information with relatives and stored classified documents at his home.

Bolton did not comment to reporters as he walked into the courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, where he surrendered to authorities and made an initial appearance before US magistrate judge Timothy Sullivan on the 18-count indictment filed against him.

Survey responses cited in $2.7bn defamation lawsuit filed against Fox by voting technology company Smartmatic

Multiple Fox News employees expressed concerns about the network’s editorial standards and the conduct of top hosts in an internal survey conducted in the summer and fall of 2020, with one going as far as to wonder if they had sold their “soul to the devil”, according to legal filings.

The employees’ statements were excerpted in a 771-page filing released last week, made public as part of a defamation lawsuit filed against the network by voting technology company Smartmatic.

More than 2,500 US rallies are planned in all 50 states as protesters call for limits on presidential power

Millions are expected to show out for protests on Saturday at more than 2,500 locations across America, from small towns to large cities, to speak against the Trump administration.

No Kings, the coalition behind a mass demonstration in June, is again calling people to the streets to send the simple message that Donald Trump is not a king, pushing back against what they see as increasing authoritarianism.

• Tim Mayer hits out over rules surrounding election

• Mohammed Ben Sulayem will be the only candidate

The FIA has been accused of presenting an “illusion of democracy” in an uncompromising broadside from the last remaining challenger to Mohammed Ben Sulayem as he formally announced his attempt to succeed the organisation’s incumbent president was over. Tim Mayer, a former FIA senior steward, also condemned Formula One’s governing body for lacking transparency and threatening the sport’s future.

The 59-year-old American, who was sacked from his FIA role last year, had been standing as a candidate against Ben Sulayem but on Friday in Austin acknowledged the incumbent would run unopposed because of the way FIA electoral regulations are composed.

Researchers say decline in phytoplankton suggests weakened planetary capacity to absorb carbon dioxide

The world’s oceans are losing their greenness owing to global heating, according to a study that suggests our planet’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide could be weakening.

The change in the palette of the seas is caused by a decline of phytoplankton, the tiny marine creatures that are responsible for nearly half of the biosphere’s productivity.