headlines
Sunday
3
January
2016
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Militia threatens showdown with US agents at wildlife refugeLocal ranchers and other armed men occupy Malheur wildlife refuge in dispute over jail term for two men convicted of arson
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'Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama created Isis'Republican uses a rally in Biloxi to accuse his rival of allowing the terror group to prosper, but fails to mention his appearance in a militant recruitment video -
Massacre a harrowing tale of racism and the road toward reparationsOn New Year’s Day 1923 a white woman was beaten and residents of Sumner, Florida, claimed her assailant was black – which sparked race riots where the casualties were mostly black and hate wiped out a prosperous town -
highlights
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‘Nothing is lacking in my life. I don’t sit on bar stools, pining’From The X-Files to The Fall, Streetcar and War and Peace, the actor is busy. She tells Rachel Cooke why being a single mother of three suits her fine
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The inmate who interpreted a writer's workRick Cluchey, who died on Monday, saw the essence of prison life in Waiting for Godot. The experience provided him with a new calling, inspiring a career in the theatre as he forged strong bonds with the playwright himself
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'The Revenant will make you say wow'The Mexican director tells of the gruelling shoot of his ‘man against nature’ epic, and why he never had time to enjoy last year’s Oscar triumph
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Even in expensive cities, the sharing economy may just have its limitsIn the age of WeWork and micro-apartments, are we heading toward a 21st-century version of a workhouse where employers can call on us night and day?
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Former players call for medical marijuana to be taken off banned listFootball players take an alarming array of pain medication to get back on the field but some believe medical cannabis is a safer and more effective alternative
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Rex Ryan and the Bills out to stop the Jets' playoff bidThe Jets have to win in Buffalo to make it to the postseason, and they have the tools to win; plus, choose the Saints, Lions, Vikings and Giants to finish on a high note
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Crystal Palace v Chelsea – live!Minute-by-minute report: Can Crystal Palace stretch their unbeaten Premier League run to six matches against Chelsea? Join Jacob Steinberg now
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Laurent Koscielny tap-in gives Arsenal win against Newcastle UnitedLaurent Koscielny gave Arsenal a two-point lead at the top of the Premier League with the only goal of the game against Newcastle United
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Why a simple spreadsheet spread like wildfireVisiCalc was a ‘killer app’ years ahead of its time, and still says much about the way we understand computers
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The scurrilous lies written about Charlie HebdoA year after the Charlie Hebdo killings, francophone writer Robert McLiam Wilson deplores the reports in English by the ignorant for the ignorant
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Two New Jersey newspapers denounce governor's 'abysmal' performanceAsbury Park Press and Courier News deride governor’s claims of successes in office, pointing to reader survey labelling Republican candidate a failure
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Mystery absence of humpback whales has experts scratching headsThe giant whales, who usually spend the period from November through May in the area, are a well-known part of winter but have been slow to return
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Deporting 'affluenza teen' to US would violate his rights, lawyer saysUS authorities say Ethan Couch and his mother entered Mexico illegally but it could take up to 90 days for an immigration judge to make ruling
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Two-year-old is Europe's first migrant casualty of 2016A drowned two-year-old boy became the first known migrant casualty of the year after the crowded dinghy he was travelling in hit rocks off a Greek island
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The Counted
in brief
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'It's about damn time' US discussed its racist pastDirector compares Confederate flag to Nazi swastika as new film, The Hateful Eight, highlights racial tensions after civil war
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The year of dating selectivelyDating apps to which you have to apply to join promise to end time-wasting mismatches
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10 of the best … that you'll actually useNo one needs a smartphone full of gimmicky apps. We’ve rounded up a selection of the best tools to help the digital-savvy traveller
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James persisted: ‘I can’t shake the feeling that we’d have great sex’Stella Grey is pestered by a man who is too interested in her underwear
in depth
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How President Paul Kagame crushed a free pressIn Bad News: Last Journalists in a Dictatorship, Anjan Sundaram recalls teaching journalists under a repressive regime
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Cars, virtual reality and a lot of hypeThe vast Consumer Electronics Show traditionally predicts the hit technologies of the year to come - but is a sales event really the best predictor of consumer demand?
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The hot, dangerous work behind the lustre of the world's best pearlsThe pearl industry in Broome, Western Australia, is built on a dubious colonial record, nine-metre tides, skilled divers – and backpackers
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Fear for some but 'everybody else is packing'The Lone Star State is now the most populous to allow visible carrying of handguns in most public places
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Young black men killed by US police at highest rate in year of 1,134 deathsFinal total of people killed by US police officers in 2015 shows rate of death for young black men was five times higher than white men of the same age
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The rise of disabled bodybuildingMark Smith is a former soldier who lost his leg in training. Now he’s won the right to compete in the national bodybuilding championships. Can he take the title?
video & pictures
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New York City's Coney Island Polar Bear PlungeAn estimated 2,000 people leapt into the ocean off Brooklyn, New York on Friday – many racing in bikinis and speedos toward seawater only about 40F
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The 20 photographs of the weekFloods in the UK, New Year’s Eve celebrations and fanatical darts fans – the best photography in news, culture and sport from around the world this week
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December 2015Will Ferrell, Alicia Vikander, Nicola Walker, Nigella Lawson, Marlon James and Kim Wilde. All these and more feature in this month’s showcase of the best commissioned photography in the Observer
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Readers' photos on the theme of bigFor last week’s photography assignment in the Observer New Review we asked you to share your photos on the theme of big via GuardianWitness. Here’s a selection of our favourites
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Ghosts in the cameraFlorida-based artist Angela Deane decided to start painting ghosts over photographs of strangers; she now has more than 600
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people
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Backers relish his abrasive reputation: 'It makes me like him more'Republican candidate highlights image as difficult ideologue as he leads race in Iowa, with supporters seeing the Texas senator as a party ‘renegade’
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Comic actor moves to Netflix with The Ridiculous 6His films may tank at the box office on a regular basis but Adam Sandler is the king of home entertainment
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‘Money doesn’t kill people, but it changes the fabric of daily life’The books interview: The cultural historian on 19th-century New York lowlife, jazz age Paris and how cities are tamed by capitalism
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Five best momentsWith a sparky new role in David O Russell’s Miracle Mop biopic Joy, here is a look back at the Oscar winner’s finest performances
the big picture
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West Africa's most famous music festivalThousands of fans from west Africa flock to the annual Blues du Fleuve festival in Podor
Saudi executions Ayatollah vows 'divine vengeance' over cleric's death
US State Department warns execution risks inflaming tensions
Analysis Executions put ball of regional tension in Iran's court
Video Ayatollah says Shia cleric's execution will be avenged