It must be tough overseeing Schrödinger’s economy, fixing the foundations while also failing to fix them

It’s this season’s fashion accessory for every politician. Outside election campaigns, press conferences usually signal major set piece events or a national emergency. Now you can’t move for them. Reform have had four inside a week with another one lined up for tomorrow. Even Kemi Badenoch has been at it with a bizarre outdoors show-and-tell last Thursday. Blink and you would have missed it.

Tuesday was Rachel Reeves’s turn. Her Lance Corporal Jones “Don’t Panic! Don’t Panic!” moment. Normally a chancellor takes a vow of silence in the weeks leading up to the budget. Locked away in the Treasury, head down over economic forecasts, anxious to give nothing away.

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Sophie Downey and Emma Sanders to discuss all the reaction to former England goalkeeper Mary Earps’s new book, All In. Plus, the panel discuss the talking points as the WSL returned after the international break

On today’s pod: Mary Earps’s new book hasn’t been short of headlines. From personal admissions of past struggles to her strained relationship with the current England No 1, Hannah Hampton. People in the game have shared their opinions on the content, but Faye, Suzy and the panel look as well at some of the decisions that went into publishing such a tell-all book now.

Elsewhere, the WSL returned from the international break with the top five all winning and a six-goal fun-fest between Aston Villa and Everton.

A company called Strike 3, owner of Vixen and Tushy, has clogged US courts with lawsuits, mostly against porn watchers who feel shamed into settling privately

When 73-year-old Tom Brown*, a retired police officer from Seattle, received a letter from Comcast, he might have mistaken it for a broadband bill. Instead, it was a subpoena. He had been sued in federal court for illegally downloading 80 movies. Some of the titles sounded cryptic – Do Not Worry, We Are Only Friends – or banal, like International Relations Part 2. Others were less subtle: He Loved My Big Ass, He Loved My Big Butt, and My Big Booty Loves Anal.

Brown, who had spent decades investigating sex crimes, claimed he had never watched any of them. His years “dealing with pimping”, he wrote in a court filing, left him “with no interest in pornography”. He had been married for 40 years, he did not need to download Hot Wife, another title in the list. But the subpoena did not seem like something he could laugh off. It said he could face damages of up to $150,000 per movie – as much as $12m for all 80 films. If he did not respond promptly, the letter said, Comcast would identify him to the plaintiff in the case: a company called Strike 3 Holdings.

Sports Interactive; PC (version tested), PS5, Switch, Xbox
After a two-year wait, Football Manager 26 upgrades every aspect of the football sim, but it may take some getting used to

You can imagine what the home fans are singing in the Stadium of Light: “Top of the league, you’re having a laugh!” Your Liverpool team, who until this afternoon were five points clear at the top of the table, trail by two goals in the 82nd minute. You wonder where Mo Salah left his shooting boots, or why Virgil van Dijk seems to have forgotten the whole concept of tackling. But this isn’t on the players, it’s on you – or so you’ll tell the press – as you stare at the tactics screen trying to figure out which of the dozens of potential tweaks will change the tide of this depressing spectacle.

Football Manager was always the data-driven alternative to the visually opulent Fifa series (now EA Sports FC), but the latest instalment starts to bridge the graphical gap. The 3D-rendered match highlights have been given an upgrade via the new Unity engine, and the results are impressive. Premier League derbies, Champions League finals, and even away matches in the north-east have visual gravitas now, even if the replays and so-called important moments often overstay their welcome. There are no Fifa-style authentic chants ringing around the stadia, but the atmosphere is palpable and your imagination fills in the blanks.

From abbreviations to happy poos, gen Z has strong opinions on appropriate texting behaviour. But can anyone keep up with the ever-changing rules?

Name: “LOL”.

Age: The Oxford English Dictionary first included LOL in 1997.

Our reviewer braved Peak District downpours to see which brollies – from budget to mini to windproof – stayed standing

• 10 stylish and practical ways to look good in wet weather

I noticed something while testing umbrellas over pavement and muddy hilltop: people are more likely to smile at you. Or perhaps I was more likely to smile at them, while feeling content and dry-headed under the canopy.

We Britons have loved brollies – previously an aristocratic luxury – since about the turn of the 19th century. Today, they’re a broad tent covering tight budgets and expensive tastes alike. You’ll see them sprout like mushrooms whenever rain hits the high street.

Best umbrella overall:
London Undercover Classic

Best budget umbrella:
Doppler Zero 99

Exclusive: Chancellor hopes to save up to £170 from average bill but industry insiders say move would be ‘disastrous’

• Prospect of breaking 50-year income tax taboo shows scale of Reeves’s challenge

Rachel Reeves is considering slashing funding for more energy efficient homes to pay for a reduction in energy bills, sources have told the Guardian, as the chancellor looks for ways to ease the cost of living in this month’s budget.

Reeves is finalising a multibillion pound energy support package that is likely to cut taxes and green levies from people’s bills as she looks to save as much as £170 from the average bill.

New York mayoral hopeful hits back after US president says any Jewish person voting for him was ‘a stupid person’

• NYC mayor elections: how vote works, when polls close and results as they come in

The former US vice-president, Dick Cheney, has died aged 84, according to a family statement.

“Richard B. Cheney, the 46th Vice President of the United States, died last night, November 3, 2025. He was 84 years old,” Cheney’s family said in a statement quoted by The Hill and other media outlets.

LNER employee Samir Zitouni, who was hospitalised after Saturday’s incident, hailed by police and transport secretary for ‘bravery beyond measure’

A “heroic” member of staff who was seriously injured after the mass stabbing onboard a train in Cambridgeshire on Saturday has been praised for his “incredibly brave” actions to protect passengers.

Samir Zitouni, 48, who has worked for London North Eastern Railway (LNER) for more than 20 years, remains in hospital after the attacks.

António Guterres calls for the violence to end but there appears little appetite for ceasefire proposed by US

The UN secretary general, António Guterres has said the war in Sudan is spiralling out of control as he called for a halt to the fighting and an end to the violence.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which are reportedly backed by the United Arab Emirates, seized El Fasher in Darfur last week after a near 18-month siege. Some of its soldiers have posted videos of civilians being shot, including in the town’s maternity hospital.