It took 40 years to turn Gorgona into a biodiversity haven and model marine protected area. Now a new coastguard station has sparked fears of militarisation and ecological ruin

For more than 15 years, Luis Fernando Sánchez Caicedo had dedicated himself to human rights in Colombia, supporting young people and advocacting for Afro-descendant and campesino – small farmer – communities in the Pacific region. A prominent local leader and adviser to the area’s administration in Nariño, he was also a longtime collaborator with the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz), working to promote dialogue in a country torn apart by decades of war.

That all ended in September when the boat carrying him and the mayor of Mosquera, Karen Lizeth Pineda, was fired on, reportedly by the Colombian navy. Sánchez was killed and the mayor’s bodyguard was seriously injured in the attack.

A year-long investigation reveals how mothers lost children after being radicalised by uplifting podcast tales of births without midwives or doctors

As Esau Lopez was asphyxiated for the first 17 minutes of his life on Earth, the atmosphere in the room remained serene, even ecstatic. Acoustic music crooned from a speaker in a modest two-bedroom apartment in a suburb of Pennsylvania. “You are a queen,” murmured one of three friends in the room.

Only Esau’s mother, Gabrielle Lopez, felt something was wrong. She was pushing hard, but her son would not be born. “Can you help [him] out?” she asked, as Esau crowned. “Baby is coming,” the friend replied. Four minutes later, Lopez asked again, “Can you grab [him]?” Another friend murmured, “Baby is safe.” Six minutes passed. Again, Lopez asked, “Can you grab [him]?”

No fists, no fire – the president and the mayor-elect met in Washington, and things went bewilderingly, bizarrely well

The armies of lefty America and of Maga were assembled ready to watch their champions do battle. After all, Donald Trump had called Zohran Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and “total nut job.” The incoming democratic socialist New York mayor in turn had called the Republican US president a “despot” and “fascist”.

But anyone expecting to see fists fly and shirts torn in the Oval Office was in for a disappointment. Trump, 79, and 34-year-old Mamdani actually got on rather well. In fact beautifully, bewilderingly, bizarrely well. Instead of Batman v Superman, this was Toy Story besties Woody and Buzz Lightyear.

Anti-AI and pro-beauty, Leo XIV has proved an unlikely custodian of culture – and a patron of meaningful work in a world of algorithmic slop

So, who figured that Pope Leo XIV would end up being kind of cool? Not me. Although as a lapsed Catholic I had little stake in the conclave race, I felt that there was something unglamorous, dare I say godless, about a first-ever supreme pontiff born in the US, let alone one hailing from Chicago, the same city as Hugh Hefner, Hillary Clinton and Kanye West. There were greater apprehensions beyond taste, too. Would this finally be the ordination of the reinvigorated Maga movement after the death of the compassionate Pope Francis? When Leo appeared on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica wearing the traditional red mozzetta cape eschewed by his predecessor, it was too easy to jump to conclusions.

By the grace of God, the red mozzetta was a red herring. Very quickly, American conservatives went into meltdown over the pope’s patent anti-Maga leanings and his empathy for migrants and marginalised groups – “anti-Trump, anti-Maga, pro-open borders and a total Marxist,” fumed far-right activist Laura Loomer. That alone has been a relief. But perhaps even more significantly, Leo has demonstrated the benefits an American bishop of Rome can have for the rest of us, Christian, Catholic or otherwise: that is through his exemplary cultural leadership, and close engagement with the arts.

Jason Okundaye is an assistant newsletter editor and writer at the Guardian. He edits The Long Wave newsletter and is the author of Revolutionary Acts: Love & Brotherhood in Black Gay Britain

The president hosted the mayor-elect at the White House – and seemed enamoured of his fellow New Yorker

The highly anticipated Oval Office meeting between Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani – the mayor-elect of New York City, the US president’s beloved home town – was hardly the combustible tête-à-tête many had predicted. For the moment at least, the two New Yorkers appeared friendly, smiling and cautiously optimistic about the work they might accomplish together.

Neither revived their hot campaign trail rhetoric, in which they cast each other as diametrically opposed political adversaries. Trump had labeled Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and urged voters to back his opponent, the former New York governor Andrew Cuomo. In turn, Mamdani had assailed Trump as a “despot” and pledged to be the president’s “worst nightmare”. Here are five things that stood out from their surprising display of political bonhomie.

Washington state resident’s backyard flock of domestic poultry had been exposed to wild birds, health officials said

A person in the US is believed to be the first human to die from a rare strain of bird flu, but state health officials said on Friday the risk to the public is low.

The person in Washington state, an older adult with underlying health conditions, was being treated for a bird flu strain called H5N5 after becoming seemingly the first known human infected by the strain, according to a statement from the Washington State Department of Health.

This article was amended on 22 November 2025 after the AP corrected its copy to remove a reference to the person’s gender, which has not been released by health officials

Decision by Georgia Republican and leading Maga figure to give up House seat comes after dramatic break with Trump, lately over the Epstein files bill

• Reaction: Trump calls resignation ‘great news for the country’

• From staunch Trump ally to ‘traitor’: key takeaways of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s career

Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Friday evening she will be resigning from office effective 5 January 2026, in the wake of souring relations with President Donald Trump, mostly recently over a vote to force the release of files related to the late Jeffrey Epstein.

In a four-page statement, the Georgia congresswoman said the legislative branch had been “sidelined” and accused Republican leaders of refusing to advance conservative priorities such as border security or “America First” policies.

In a signed statement, 28 victims say they are bracing for blame for their abuse and threats of harm

A group of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse have warned they have received death threats and are worried about an escalation as they wait for the release of the files related to the late paedophile financier.

In a statement titled “What we’re bracing for”, the women said they had received threats of harm and asked police to investigate and protect them.

Hannah Shirley, born in November 1973, was celebrated with Hungry Hungry Hippos-themed party

The San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center is feeling festive, and it has nothing to do with Thanksgiving, but instead a birthday celebration for a hippo that turns 52.

Hannah Shirley, the world’s oldest known living pygmy hippopotamus, turned 52 years old on Thursday, and celebrated with a Hungry Hungry Hippos–themed party. Hannah was surrounded by guests as she played with different-colored balls and presents.

President called behavior of Mark Kelly, whose wife Gabby Giffords survived assassination bid, ‘punishable by death’

Senator Mark Kelly – whose wife, Gabrielle Giffords, narrowly survived an attempted assassination while she was in Congress in 2011 – says he is worried about “increased threats” to his family’s safety after Donald Trump accused him and other Democratic lawmakers of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH”.

“This kind of language is dangerous, and it’s wrong,” Kelly said on Friday on MS NOW’s Morning Joe, with political violence one of the top topics in the US’s public discourse. He continued: “I’m not going to get into my specific security arrangements, but it would be irresponsible for me not to consider that [Trump’s] words result in increased threats to myself, even to my staff, to my family.

Justice department challenges policy allowing in-state tuition for undocumented students at public universities

The justice department sued California on Thursday for allowing undocumented college students to pay in-state tuition for public universities, alleging the policy harms US citizens.

The lawsuit, filed in the US district court for the eastern district of California, marks the third time this week that the Trump administration has sued California. In addition to challenging the state’s in-state tuition policy, the lawsuit argues that California unlawfully extends eligibility for scholarships and subsidized loans to undocumented students.

US health secretary said he told agency to update website to claim the fact vaccines do not cause autism is not evidence based

Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, said in an interview with the New York Times that he personally instructed the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to change its longstanding position that vaccines do not cause autism.

Countering decades of science showing vaccines to be safe, the US public health agency’s website was changed to say: “The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.”

The 52-episode Christian podcast was announced with a number of actors involved yet many claim they had no idea about it

The Fox News announcement of a new podcast series on Jesus Christ has turned into a bizarre holiday tale in Hollywood, as several actors attached to massive, 52-episode project claim their recordings date back 15 years and are being released without their prior knowledge.

The new audiobook titled The Life of Jesus Christ Podcast, announced on Wednesday as part of a splashy rollout for the network’s new Christian vertical called Fox Faith, purports to guide listeners “through the life, teachings, and miracles of Jesus Christ”, with each episode introduced by Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt.

As most government business halted during the shutdown, immigration agents continued their raids

US immigration officials arrested, detained and deported tens of thousands of people in operations nationwide during the federal government shutdown, new data reveals.

The arrests have led to a marked increase in the number of people held in immigration jails, with more than 65,000 currently detained nationwide – the highest number of people in immigration detention ever.

Officials say the move is ‘long overdue’ and meant to close decades of safety gaps in vehicle crash testing

The transportation department has unveiled a first crash test dummy in the US modeled specifically on female anatomy, a move officials say is meant to close decades of safety gaps in vehicle testing.

Sean Duffy, the US transportation secretary, unveiled the THOR-05F, an advanced female design for a crash-test dummy with upgraded technical specifications. According to the transportation department, the dummy will be incorporated into federal vehicle crash testing once a final rule is published.

Motorist told dispatcher ‘you may not believe me’ and said windshield was shattered while driving on North Carolina highway

A motorist in western North Carolina escaped injury when the carcass of a cat crashed into the passenger side of her front windshield along a highway near the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

In a call to 911, the unidentified driver on US Route 74 in Swain county, near Bryson City, told a dispatcher that a bald eagle dropped the cat. Bryson City is about 65 miles south-west of Asheville.

Greene announced her departure in a video and statement posted on X, denouncing Republican party establishment

• Marjorie Taylor Greene to resign from office effective January 2026

Robert Garcia, the ranking member on the House oversight committee, has sent a letter to the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, urging the justice department to release the complete trove of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, despite the newly launched investigation into several Democrats’ ties to the late sex offender.

“There is already a concern President Trump will attempt, on dubious legal grounds, to exploit a provision which allows DoJ to withhold information relevant to ongoing investigations,” Garcia wrote.