Ten years ago, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback refused to stand for the national anthem. He was accused of disrespecting the flag, the game, and America. In a rare interview, he talks about inspiring a global gesture of civil rights

Colin Kaepernick still gets up at 4.30am every morning to train. “Strength training, speed training, position training – still do all of the same type of workouts I did while I was playing,” he says cheerily. “And then go about the rest of my day.” It is almost 10 years since Kaepernick last played a game of top-flight football. His career was abruptly and cruelly cut short just as it was peaking, after the National Football League (NFL) effectively closed ranks and shut him out for being too political. Now, at 38 years old, he is well aware that his chances of a return are dwindling by the day, but he remains as game-ready as ever. “I stay relentless at it,” he continues in his easy drawl. “I look at it from the perspective of, ‘What are the things that I can control?’ And what I know I can control is being prepared for when opportunity knocks, and to also continue knocking, on my end, looking for ways and opportunities … just staying resilient and focused and disciplined – that is what’s gotten me to this point in my life.”

Kaepernick’s story is defined by the events of late 2016, when he repeatedly refused to stand for the pre-game national anthem – resulting in a chorus of booing on the pitch, insults and outrage off it, and exclusion from the sport he still loves. He was one of the biggest names in the game at the time; quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, a national celebrity, sponsored by major brands, and looking back, his actions fed into so much that has happened since: the rise of Donald Trump, the Black Lives Matter protests and a global reckoning with racism, then the backlash against what is now being called “Woke 1.0”, and the resurgence of a white nationalism that the US complacently assumed was in the past.

With fares high and passenger numbers low, plans for a third runway could bring the train’s future into question

If Heathrow finally builds its third runway, Londoners can expect hundreds more planes flying overhead each day. But greater congestion on the ground will be a problem too. Under Heathrow’s £33bn expansion plan, 100,000-200,000 more passengers would eventually be travelling to or from the airport each day.

The most eye-catching problem has been moving part of the UK’s busiest motorway, the M25, to make space for a new 2.2-mile (3.5km) runway. A thornier one may be getting motorists out of their cars, and finding more sustainable ways for the extra passengers – and thousands of staff – to travel to and from Heathrow.

From a cosy Cornish inn with open fires to a boutique hotel in Northumberland, these new and revamped boltholes tick all the right boxes

Trump tries to dominate at the UN as his approval ratings plummet and even some Republicans stray from the script

Donald Trump stood before the United Nations on Tuesday and threatened to “annihilate” Iran. Yet even as the most powerful man on the planet flexed his military muscles, he was powerless to keep the gravitational pull of domestic politics at bay.

Heading into the UN building in New York, the US president was questioned by Kaitlan Collins, an anchor at CNN, which he had banned from the White House before a judge ruled against him. “I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me,” the 80-year-old snapped. “You should not be here covering me.”

Her Troubles-set debut became a hit TV series starring Gillian Anderson. Now the novelist has returned to her teen years for a follow-up. She talks about her journey from chef to author, and how her cancer diagnosis inspired her to write

Louise Kennedy’s life has hardly wanted for dramatic events, but the recent past has been spectacularly busy, even by her standards. You wouldn’t know it to look at her, as we chat in the sitting room of the house in Sligo that she shares with her husband, son and daughter, but this is the home that she once thought would be repossessed. The couple bought it “for stupid money” in 2007, when they also opened a restaurant, initially so successful that the only way seemed to be up. The following year, financial mayhem descended on Ireland, their customers ebbed away, and the Celtic Tiger years morphed into a country racked with job losses, bankruptcies, apparently endless debt. “I didn’t think I’d ever be able to keep the house,” she says, glancing around an elegant room dotted with beautiful objects and plants, but nonetheless relaxed and comfortable. “I’d say we only got out of negative equity about a month ago. There are probably arguments for moving now, but I’m so proud that we managed to hold on to it, I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be carried out of here in a box.”

Kennedy had been a chef for 30 years, working all over the place from Dublin to London and, for two years, Beirut, before ending up in Sligo, on Ireland’s west coast, not far from the border with her native Northern Ireland. Crucially, she had never given a thought to writing, not since a teacher had admired a poem she wrote when she was seven. Now, she is about to publish her second novel, Stations, which follows a collection of short stories, The End of the World Is a Cul-de-Sac, and her debut, Trespasses, which was shortlisted for the 2023 Women’s prize for fiction and won other prizes in Ireland and the UK in 2022 and 2023. Last year, Trespasses gained further acclaim when it was adapted for Channel 4 in a production starring Gillian Anderson as the mother of Cushla, the young Catholic teacher who falls in love with Michael, an older, married Protestant lawyer, in 1970s Belfast.

When her parents waved her off to study in England they hoped it would be a fresh start the 16-year-old needed after struggling with her mental health in Hong Kong. Instead, 10 months later, she was dead. What went so wrong?

As a young teen, one of Luna Wong’s favourite things to do was to walk to a bridge near her home in Hong Kong and sit there for a while, listening to the traffic and the water below, looking out at the lights and the activity of the city. She had a particular way of observing the world, which she expressed through photography. Her pictures were mostly landscapes, ordinary corners of Hong Kong, but she could spot an image nobody else would have seen in the same place. She was an inquisitive kid who enjoyed making people laugh, and was deeply interested in the world around her. Then in 2019, when she was 13, political unrest in Hong Kong, swiftly followed by Covid lockdowns, shrank that world to the size of her bedroom. For a prolonged period, Luna barely left her family’s flat. School became a screen; friends were only accessible virtually. She stopped sleeping properly, started having panic attacks, and was diagnosed with depression and anxiety.

When the world opened up after Covid, Luna was too changed to step easily back into it. She was often so anxious she couldn’t attend school, and fell seriously behind. Her psychiatrist prescribed antidepressants, anti-anxiety medication and sleeping pills. Later, ADHD medication and an anti-psychotic drug were added to the mix. This heavy combination of prescription drugs left her lethargic in the day – though still often awake at night – and caused weight gain, which distressed her. But Luna retained her curious streak. Keen to understand her own issues better, she read about psychology, ordering textbooks to teach herself about the human mind. When her friends had problems, she offered advice, and dreamed of becoming a psychologist. But it was hard to see how this would be possible as she struggled to attend school.

Exclusive: UK prime minister says delivering fiscal stability would be ‘crucial’ to be able to fix bigger problems

Andy Burnham has said he can deliver on his promise of radical change for the country despite severe economic headwinds, telling the Guardian: “There’s always things you can do; it’s just whether you’re prepared to do them.”

The prime minister acknowledged public finances were “challenging” ahead of next month’s budget but said delivering fiscal stability would be “crucial”, because only then would the government be able to focus on fixing bigger problems.

US president is said to expect renewed strikes after midterms

US president Donald Trump has said he has rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the strait of Hormuz within a week and resume nuclear talks in return for the lifting of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.

“They made a proposal but I reject it,” he told reporters at the White House.

Alexander Millington-Cotes is concerned for welfare of the 82-year-old, who hasn’t been seen in public for two years

The stepson of Sir Ranulph Fiennes has launched a crowdfunder to pay for “specialist legal advice” in an attempt to locate the explorer, who hasn’t been seen in public for more than two years.

Alexander Millington-Cotes, 31, has set a target of £55,000 for the fundraiser, to enable him to instruct lawyers to “locate and safeguard” Fiennes.

• ‘We have faced challenges together before and have prevailed’

• Maresca quotes Socrates on social media – ‘I know nothing’

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the Manchester City chair, has spoken for the first time since the club was found guilty on virtually all counts of breaching Premier League financial rules. He said “nothing has changed” and “our confidence and intent in proving the club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began”.

News broke on Friday that City had been found guilty on all but one of the 115 charges laid by the Premier League in February 2023, charges the club have always strenuously denied.