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Elsewhere in the top flight, the results are in. Arsenal held on to beat Brighton 2-1 in a nervy match at the Emirates, Brentford thrashed Bournemouth 4-1, Burnley and Everton played out a messy 0-0 draw, Liverpool edged Wolves 2-1 and Fulham won 1-0 at West Ham. Liverpool’s victory means Chelsea start this match in fifth, three points behind Arne Slot’s side, while Villa remain third, four points behind second-place City.

Looking for some pre-match reading? Here’s our report from the early Premier League kick-off, with Manchester City winning 2-1 at Nottingham Forest, plus a bit of Scottish Premiership and Africa Cup of Nations action.

Trump is using the presidency as a branding opportunity. He’s slapping his name on as many buildings, monuments and government projects as he can

In 2011, Donald Trump published a book with the self-help guru Robert Kiyosaki titled Midas Touch. It’s a typical self-empowerment manual in which the pair expound on the secrets of entrepreneurial success while drawing on their personal experiences. At one point, they write, “Building a brand may be more important than building a business.”

That was certainly Trump’s approach to business: he was the New York real estate tycoon who turned his fame into a brand that symbolized luxury and savvy strategy – even if his companies had filed for bankruptcy six times. Trump spent decades trying to use his name to turn a profit: he owned an airline and a university, and slapped his moniker on vodka, steaks, neckties, board games and even bottled water. Leveraging the fame he gained from the Apprentice TV show, he expanded to licensing Trump-branded global real estate projects built by other developers. In many of these ventures, Trump collected licensing fees, rather than investing his own money, ensuring that he profited even if the businesses collapsed.

Rightwing parties want to follow in US’s footsteps of minimal government intervention, but at what cost?

Next month, Donald Trump will welcome a poverty-stricken family to peruse his plans for a $300m glitzy state ballroom in the White House. The event will be staged as part of National Poverty in America Awareness Month, the time every year when charities document the number of US residents surviving on low incomes.

Of course, the president will do no such thing, preferring to summon the press to watch him rub shoulders with the billionaire class as he did at last month’s black tie dinner for the Saudi ruler and his entourage.

Deputy defence minister says new air defence systems will be completed in 24 months

Poland plans to complete a new set of anti-drone fortifications along its eastern borders within two years, a top defence official has said, after a massive incursion of unmanned Russian aerial combat vehicles into Polish airspace earlier this year.

“We expect to have the first capabilities of the system in roughly six months, perhaps even sooner. And the full system will take 24 months to complete,” the deputy defence minister, Cezary Tomczyk, told the Guardian in an interview in Warsaw.

Nearly 15,000 flights were canceled or delayed as both states declared weather emergencies after snowstorm

A mix of snow and ice bore down on the US north-east early on Saturday, disrupting post-holiday weekend airline traffic and prompting officials in New York and New Jersey to issue weather emergency declarations even as the storm ebbed by mid-morning.

More than 14,400 domestic US flights on Saturday were canceled or delayed as of mid-morning, with the majority in the New York area, including at John F Kennedy international airport, LaGuardia airport and Newark Liberty international airport, according to the tracking site FlightAware.

• ‘Monster’ dominates Picasso to defend undisputed title

• Unanimous decision in Riyadh keeps Inoue unbeaten

• Nakatani victory fuels chatter of Tokyo super-fight

Naoya Inoue moved a step closer to the biggest bout in Japanese boxing history after outclassing Alan Picasso by unanimous decision in Riyadh on Saturday, retaining his undisputed super-bantamweight titles and clearing the runway for a long-anticipated showdown with countryman Junto Nakatani.

Inoue, widely regarded as one of the finest pound-for-pound fighters in the world alongside Oleksandr Usyk and the recently retired Terence Crawford, was in control from the opening bell at the Mohammed Abdo Arena, neutralizing the previously unbeaten Mexican challenger with precision, speed and sustained pressure over 12 rounds. The judges scored the contest 120-108, 119-109 and 117-111 in favor of the 32-year-old champion.

• Yohan Roche scores only goal in first half

• Botswana are out after second group loss

Yohan Roche scored a deflected winner as Benin claimed a first-ever victory at the Africa Cup of Nations finals with a 1-0 Group D success against Botswana in Rabat. Benin move to three points from their opening two games, level in the table with Senegal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), who were meeting in their second pool fixture in Tangier later on Saturday.

Benin took the lead in the 28th minute when Roche played a one-two in the box with his captain, Steve Mounie, and his shot from 10 yards took a wicked deflection off a defender and into the net.

This story will be updated

Judging by the way Gianluigi Donnarumma and his teammates celebrated Rayan Cherki’s sweet late winner at Nottingham Forest, this was a significant victory for Manchester City. Donnarumma hurtled 40 yards towards the away technical area where Pep Guardiola was mobbed by his coaching staff, including Pep Lijnders and the set-piece coach James French, the architect behind Phil Foden’s corner that led to the goal that extended their winning run to eight matches. Then for a moment of calm, Cherki mimicked Erling Haaland’s meditation pose on the City Ground turf.

It is now six wins in a row in the Premier League, the kind of ominous run they had not stitched together since winning their final nine matches of 2023-24. Everyone knows how that finished, City pipping Arsenal to the title by two points. This was anything but a straightforward victory, the City centre-backs Rúben Dias and Josko Gvardiol unusually ruffled by the Forest striker Igor Jesus; Dias was fortunate to finish an entertaining match with only a caution and Gvardiol got off the hook altogether.

Sean Dyche, the Forest manager, was adamant Morgan Gibbs-White was impeded in the buildup to Cherki’s winner, a first-time strike that whistled through the legs of the Forest captain and low into the corner of past John Victor. Gibbs-White went to ground under pressure from Nico O’Reilly before an unmarked Gvardiol cushioned the ball into the path of Cherki who, just inside Forest’s 18-yard box, struck to maintain his sparkling form. Dyche felt the officials should have intervened: “It was such an easy game to referee, in my opinion, such an easy decision for VAR.”

Drummer Chuck Redd decided to cancel his yearly Jazz Jam after Donald Trump added his name to the venue

The president of the Kennedy Center has demanded $1m in damages and fiercely criticized a musician’s sudden decision to cancel a Christmas Eve performance at the venue days after the White House announced that Donald Trump’s name would be added to the facility.

“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment – explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure – is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution,” the venue’s president, Richard Grenell, wrote in a letter to musician Chuck Redd that was shared with the Associated Press.

A properly prepped, balanced and weaponised team finally had the chops to expose Australia’s weaknesses

Na-na na-na na-na na na na, Duckett’s on the piss. On the piss. Duckett’s on the piss.

Don’t take me home, please don’t take me home. And while we’re here, stand up, stand up, please do stand up if you love a two-day Test on a pitch as green and ridged as an under-ripe roasting potato. For an hour in mid-afternoon on day two at the MCG England’s top order finally did the thing. The clocks stopped. Dogs miaowed. Birds flew backwards across the sky. And Test cricket turned into darts.

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In Scotland, Hearts are making a go of things in the derby at Easter Road. Lawrence Shankland pulled one back on 75 minutes. That seemed no more than a consolation, but Cammy Devlin has made it 3-2 on 89 minutes, and there will be six additional minutes. Is an absurd comeback on?

Senegal: Edouard Mendy, Diatta, Koulibaly, Niakhate, Jakobs, Idrissa Gueye, Pape Gueye, Ismaila Sarr, Iliman Ndiaye, Mane, Jackson.
Subs: Diaw, Lamine Camara, Ciss, Dia, Diallo, Diarra, El Hadji Diouf, Yehvann Diouf, Mbaye, Antoine Mendy, Cherif Ndiaye, Sabaly, Pape Sarr, Mamadou Sarr, Seck.

Suze Lopez found out she was pregnant only days before giving birth, due to fetus hiding behind 22lb ovarian cyst

A California family is celebrating their first holiday following the delivery of their latest child, a baby that had been growing outside of the mother’s womb.

Suze Lopez, a 41-year-old emergency room nurse in Bakersfield, California, delivered baby Ryu via surgery in August, so the newborn is celebrating his first Christmas. He had been an ectopic pregnancy – when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the uterus – and was hidden behind a large ovarian cyst.

Long-winded legal wrangling and recalcitrant Catholic church leadership thwarted hopes for timely settlement

An image of his great-grandmother stayed with James Adams for years and strengthened his faith: she was withered, nearly blind, touching his cheeks when they sat together, as if the feel of his face gave her sight. A working woman whose husband, a police officer, killed himself, she raised four children; her faith was a rock against life’s travails. She died at 98, when Adams was 28, about to marry.

Many years later, in 2020, Adams, a New Orleans banker, was president of the Catholic Community Foundation, the archdiocese’s fundraising arm, when Archbishop Gregory Aymond ousted him – as he’s recounted from a witness stand in court and in multiple media interviews. Overnight, Adams became a church enemy because of what a priest did to him as a boy. His story mirrors the legal saga that has tarnished Aymond’s career.

Historically, when organizers have used tactical innovation, movement activity has peaked

Federal agents in military fatigues carrying assault rifles in major cities. Huge cuts to healthcare, science and the US’s largest anti-hunger program. Immigrants dragged from cars and courthouse hallways. Rising authoritarianism, corruption and anti-democratic behavior. These are just some of the reasons pushback against the Trump administration is growing with each passing day.

While traditional marches such as the massive No Kings protests are a critical part of any resistance movement, sociologist Doug McAdam has shown how tactical innovation – the introduction of creative or novel protest methods – was a key part of the success of the civil rights movement in the US. Historically, when organizers established new tactics, movement activity peaked.

Iain Peters waited more than 50 years before going to the police but hopes he can be a beacon for other survivors

A man who was sexually assaulted by a children’s television presenter has spoken of how climbing and mountaineering saved his life and “sanity” during the 50 years in which he kept the abuse secret.

Iain Peters, 77, who has waived his right to anonymity, was between nine and 13 years old when he was abused weekly by John Earle, when he was a geography teacher and deputy head at a now-closed boarding school in Okehampton, Devon.

By puncturing Oklahoma City’s aura of inevitability, Victor Wembanyama and co have restored suspense, drama and joy to a season that was in danger of becoming dull

I’ve seen enough: Give the San Antonio Spurs the keys to Santa Claus’ workshop. Put Stephon Castle in charge of toy assembly. Let De’Aaron Fox toss presents into chimneys, from whatever range he’d like. Devin Vassell can customize the Christmas cookies. Harrison Barnes has the army of elves covered. And, of course, Santa Claus’s sleigh must immediately be resized for a taller, thinner pilot so that the towering Victor Wembanyama can drive it comfortably. The sensational Spurs have felled the Oklahoma City Thunder three times in two weeks, and in doing so revitalized this NBA season. I now have more faith in the Spurs’ ability to grant joy to the masses than any holiday legends of old.

It looked dire for a while there. The Thunder might have won the Larry O’Brien trophy in June, but began this season in even more ominous form. They reeled off 24 wins in their first 25 games (the lone loss was a fluky 20-point comeback). In most of them, Jalen Williams, their second-best player, was on the sidelines recovering from wrist surgery. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, their best, seldom had to play in fourth quarters. The Thunder beat the Sacramento Kings by 31. The Los Angeles Lakers, who some expected to be a plausible rival, lost by 29; their basketball savant Luka Doncic looked like he was playing against ten men. The Phoenix Suns’ valiant first earned them a close loss, by just four points. When they met again 12 days later, the Thunder won by 49. This game knocked all the remaining leaves off the trees and started winter 10 days ahead of schedule. Oklahoma City looked capable of shredding anything in its path, even the 2016 Golden State Warriors’ legendary regular season record of 73-9.

• England captain and Joe Root revel in rarest of victories

• ‘Narrative that we haven’t won goes back to zero now’

Ben Stokes shared a hug with Joe Root and spoke of an “awesome feeling” after watching his England side claw back some respectability on this failed Ashes tour with a rollercoaster two-day victory on Saturday.

Of the England squad, none had felt the pain of an 18-match winless streak more than the captain and his predecessor. Stokes had played in 13 Tests here without tasting a victory, while for Root the number was 17. With both men aged 34, this tour may well have been their last chance.

⚽ Premier League updates from 12.30pm GMT kick-off
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Manchester City: Although nothing has officially been agree between the two clubs, Manchester City are in pole position to sign Antoine Semenyo in January after Chelsea cooled their interest in the Bournemouth winger. Jacob Steinberg reports …

Referee: Rob Jones

Assistants: Neil Davies and Nick Greenhalgh

Fourth official: Gavin Ward

VAR: Andy Madley

Assistant VAR: Dan Robathan

Merlin has been trained to identify the songs of more than 1,300 bird species around the world

When Natasha Walter first became curious about the birds around her, she recorded their songs on her phone and arduously tried to match each song with online recordings. After a friend recommended Merlin Bird ID, a free app, she tried it in her London garden and was delighted to discover the birds she assumed were female blackbirds – “this is how bad a birder I was” – were actually song thrushes and mistle thrushes.

“I’m obsessed with Merlin – it’s wonderful and it’s been a joy to me,” says Walter, a writer and human rights activist. “This is what AI and machine-learning have been invented for. It’s the one good thing!”

Stockton’s JobsPlus is a pilot scheme with caseworkers who connect individual people with potential jobs, providing direct financial help where necessary

“We’ve had quite a few people on the estate get jobs,” says Bryan Stokell, who found work as a full-time security guard thanks to Stockton-on-Tees’s JobsPlus project. The 47-year-old father has since become a “community champion”, encouraging his neighbours to enrol.

“It got to the point where even my little boy was coming home and saying, ‘my friend’s mam and dad are looking for work’,” he grins. “They [the project] have a lot of contacts, they can open doors into places.”

Despite funding cuts and shuttered venues, homegrown music, TV, film and, yes, memes have dominated the global zeitgeist over the past 12 years. Now this culture must be future-proofed from the forces of globalisation

On the face of it, British culture looks doomed. Our music industry is now borderline untenable, with grassroots venues shuttering at speed (125 in 2023 alone) and artists unable to afford to play the few that are left; touring has become a loss leader that even established acts must subsidise with other work. Meanwhile, streaming has gutted the value of recorded music, leading to industry contraction at the highest level: earlier this year the UK divisions of Warners and Atlantic – two of our biggest record labels – were effectively subsumed into the US business.

In comedy, the Edinburgh fringe – the crucible of modern British standup, sketch and sitcom – is in existential crisis thanks to a dearth of sponsorship and prohibitively high costs for performers. Our film industry is at this point almost totally reliant on (dwindling) US funds; while Britain remains a popular filming destination due to tax breaks and appealing locations, the vast majority of the productions made here ultimately generate American profits.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde apologises after error meant one family had no remains at a funeral

An investigation has been launched by a Glasgow hospital after an error led to the wrong body being cremated.

The mistaken release of the body by the hospital to the undertakers was only discovered after the funeral service and the cremation had taken place.

From a folk murder ballad to an impassioned call for peace, Guardian writers pick their favourite lesser-heard tracks of the year

• The pick of 2025’s film, music, art, TV, stage and games, chosen by Guardian critics and writers

There is a sense of deep knowing and calm to Not Offended, the lone song released this year by the Danish-Montenegrin musician (also an earlier graduate of the Copenhagen music school currently producing every interesting alternative pop star). To warmly droning organ that hangs like the last streak of sunlight above a darkening horizon, Milovic assures someone that they haven’t offended her – but her steady Teutonic tenderness, reminiscent of Molly Nilsson or Sophia Kennedy, suggests that their actions weren’t provocative so much as evasive. Strings flutter tentatively as she addresses this person who can’t look life in the eye right now. “I see you clearly,” Milovic sings, as the drums kick in and the strings become full-blooded: a reminder of the ease that letting go can offer. Laura Snapes