US news
Why more US women are moving abroad: ‘It’s because of Trump, right? Yes and no’
Ashifa Kassam
Tue 19 May 2026 12.00 CESTLast modified on Tue 19 May 2026 12.22 CEST
News
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/19/us-women-migrating-europe-politics

It was in 2022, when Americans were reeling from the news that the supreme court had overturned Roe v Wade , that Jen Barnett got a firsthand glimpse of just how viable her new business could be.

Days before the court ruling, she had launched a website aimed at Americans looking to move abroad. As confusion and consternation set in over what the ruling meant for US women, Barnett watched traffic to her website steadily tick upward. “We had this huge spike.”

It was all she needed to co-found her company, Expatsi, which has since helped thousands of Americans looking to move abroad. Women remain a key part of her demographic, making up around two-thirds of her clients. “If it weren’t for young women, this business wouldn’t exist,” she said.

Her experience offers a hint of what appears to be a growing gender gap among Americans: last year a Gallup poll found that 40% of American women aged 15 to 44 said they would move abroad permanently if they had the chance.

While the sample size was just 1,000 people, Gallup noted that the findings were a striking contrast to previous iterations of the same poll; from 2014 onwards, the number of women in the US who said they wanted to leave had soared fourfold. When it came to young men, however, the numbers had held steady at around 19%, giving rise to what Gallup described as the widest recorded gender divide of any country polled.

The findings come as Americans appear to be leaving the country in record numbers. From London to Lisbon, relocation firms have reported a surge in inquiries from Americans, while the first two months of last year saw US applications for Irish passports climb to their highest level in a decade. France last year reported a rise in the number of long-stay visa requests from Americans, while in March, the number of Americans who had solicited British citizenship in the 12 months before surged to its highest since record-keeping began in 2004.

The Guardian spoke to five US women who in recent years had uprooted their lives to move to Latin America and Europe , as well as one who was planning to move imminently. While all of them had long dreamed of a life abroad, they cited anxieties over gun violence, the quest for a better work-life balance and the turbulence of US politics as the tipping points.

Few were surprised to hear that as many as 40% of American women were dreaming of doing the same. “It has become harder and harder and more dangerous to even exist as a woman in the US,” said Emily Burt, 32, who moved to Ecuador with her husband and two young children earlier this year. “I think our generation, and even some gen Z women, we’ve just become disillusioned with the story that was sold of American exceptionalism and best country in the world.”

While some women continue to make strides in the US, Burt said it felt like things had moved backward overall. “The way women are spoken about, not by everyone and everywhere of course, but some of the loudest voices of influence – without naming names – are very disrespectful,” said Burt. “And that trickles down to how regular people that you interact with think that they can speak about, and speak to and treat women.”

All of this was playing out against the backdrop of social media, where women were getting an unprecedented view of what life could be like in other countries. “Why wouldn’t they dream big and want to go places where they can feel respected and safe and the opportunities are open and endless?” Burt asked.

She and her husband decided to move after her oldest child started kindergarten in Texas. Suddenly the exhaustion of balancing life and work was compounded by the stress of active shooter drills. “It was fairly often that we were getting threats, but then they were unfounded. But it doesn’t even matter if they were real or not,” she said. “That anxiety is still there.”

Others said the tumultuous politics of the US had played a role. “The politics were just like fuel for the fire,” said Jenelle Jones, who last year left Tennessee in search of walkable cities, accessible public transport and abundant community spaces across the Atlantic.

“Everybody’s like, ‘It’s because of Trump, right?’ It’s yes and no, though it just kind of confirmed my decision,” said Jones, 39, who was renting an apartment near Tirana, Albania, after a year of travelling through Europe in a camper van. “The US has always had inherent racism and classism, propaganda – all this stuff that’s built into it. But it’s never been so in-your-face before.”

The result was the kinds of tensions that had convinced Courtney Schuyler, 43, and her wife that the time had come for a move, rather than waiting until retirement as they had initially planned. “Walking around the United States when you know you might not be as protected or you might be judged a little bit more harshly or openly than years before – there’s always a level of stress on your shoulders when you’re part of a marginalised community,” said Schuyler.

Their three dogs in tow, they traded their lives in the Tampa Bay area for Madrid last year. “It’s almost like being able to take a deep breath again. So that feels good, but it is so sad because there are a lot of people we still love and care about in the United States, and those we can emphathise with.”

All of the women were swift to point out that their new lives came with a different set of challenges, from language barriers to being far from their family and loved ones. “Being American abroad, it’s an endless cycle of trying to find ways to get a visa,” said Alexandra Blydenburgh, 27, who left the US more than four years ago and had moved between various countries in Europe.

“On social media, lots of people are like, ‘Everyone move abroad; it’s perfect.’ But I think it’s not necessarily for everyone. It is difficult,” she said, citing the often-lower salaries in Europe as one example.

For her, however, these were trade-offs she was prepared to make. “A lot of people say, ‘Why move abroad? Why not try to work on or solve the issues you have in your home country?’ But in the US, I really feel like we’re in a place politically where that’s not really possible – in my lifetime I don’t see that the US could ever become a country where there’s free healthcare and this emphasis on work-life balance and six weeks of paid vacation.”

It’s the kind of shift Barnett had watched play out among those looking to go abroad. Before 2024, most of her clients had pointed to adventure and personal growth as their reason for wanting to leave. Others said they were interested in lowering their cost of living.

But since Donald Trump was re-elected in November 2024, “the number one reason is politics,” she said. “That November 6th was the biggest day we’ve ever had on our side. It was the craziest. Our lives just changed dramatically overnight.”

Her company has since become part of a blossoming industry, from She Hit Refresh, an online community for women over the age of 30 who are looking to move abroad to Blaxit Global, which caters to Black Americans, and GTFO tours, which tends to draw critics of Trump and his administration.

Barnett saw little indication that the trend would reverse, particularly as the political climate in the US remained fraught. “Listen, we would rather have democracy than the business,” said Barnett. “But we are going to seize the moment and make sure we can help as many Americans as we can.”

Jeffrey Epstein
Why data sleuths are archiving the Jeffrey Epstein files: ‘We want to provide some clarity’

Tue 19 May 2026 14.00 CESTLast modified on Tue 19 May 2026 17.53 CEST
News
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/19/jeffrey-epstein-files-data-sleuths-archives

B efore the US Department of Justice (DoJ) missed a legally mandated, December 2025 deadline to release unclassified files related to the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein , the Denmark-based data scientist and bioinformatician Tommy Carstensen was not especially concerned with the case of the accused sex trafficker.

“I hadn’t even watched the Netflix documentary,” he said.

“It did not interest me because I thought he was ‘just’ another monetarily wealthy pedophile,” he added, noting the only Epstein associates he was aware of were Ghislaine Maxwell and Britain’s then Prince Andrew .

Now Carstensen oversees one of the internet’s most sophisticated archives of material on Epstein, who officials say died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial. He has published interactive graphics of the financier’s properties and financial transactions, an analysis of more than 1m documents released by the DoJ that groups them into subject areas, court records, transcripts of audio and video files from the releases and a facial recognition tool that lets anyone upload an image of a face to see if it appears in any images in the files.

He spends as much as 50 hours per week maintaining the archive, on top of a full-time job, he said. Journalists and researchers have praised his efforts.

Carstensen was motivated to build the archive after lawmakers accused the justice department in December of failing to comply with a law that mandated the declassification and release of files related to Epstein to the maximum extent possible by 19 December 2025.

Volunteer sleuths like Carstensen, who also joined online efforts to identify participants in the January 6 insurrection earlier this decade, are not alone.

An increasing number of journalists, researchers and activists have applied technical analyses to the Epstein files that draw out information not readily available in the DoJ’s raw dumps of material.

The latest is a searchable database of faces of individuals who appear in original images in the Epstein files, published earlier this month by the non-profit Decoherence Media .

The founder, Tristan Lee, said the new database, which also includes a visualization that shows people who appear in the Epstein files, reveals images of more than 100 individuals who are not mentioned in Epstein’s email files and nearly 200 who have not been reported on, among them a Hollywood agent and the head of a large fitness chain.

Appearing in the Epstein records does not indicate any wrongdoing.

Faces in the database were identified in part using facial recognition technology, notably with Amazon web services’ Rekognition. Lee said he adhered to Rekognition’s recommended 99% similarity threshold for law enforcement matters, essentially ruling out all but exact matches in order to screen out false positives. Rekognition also had useful features, including the ability to recognize public figures and detect nudity.

Considerations about the technology’s known shortcomings were also weighed.

“Facial recognition models are notoriously less reliable for non-white faces, so there were multiple cases where we discarded a match because we weren’t confident in it,” he said. IDs have also been double checked with multiple recognition models and manually.

While the technology has drawn criticism and concern for its potential use in surveillance, Lee said “Epstein’s network [is] particularly well-suited for using facial recognition.”

“Many of the people in Epstein’s network are notable in some way, prominent enough to have news articles written about them or be featured on company websites,” he noted, alluding to the vast amount of material that can be used to identify individuals in these cases. “The second factor is that Epstein’s network contains multiple well-defined social circles. The third is that we have nearly 20 years of Epstein’s emails and communications, so matches can be cross-checked.”

For example, one previously identified person that the new database of faces uncovered additional material on is Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Three undated photographs in Epstein’s files that Decoherence identified show Brin, who remains a board member at Google parent Alphabet, at a resort on Guana Island.

On Thursday, 28 December 2006, Epstein’s associate Maxwell emailed him stating that Brin would be on Guana. Epstein inquired as to the timing of his visit, saying he would be there on “Saturday.”

Brin, who court documents suggest used Epstein for tax advice, did not reply to a request for comment made through Google.

Lee was motivated to build the database, he said, because “there’s still so much confusion about who Jeffrey Epstein was, who was in his network, and what his crimes were. I’ve seen viral TikTok videos about how Epstein was actually a cannibal, or elaborate conspiracy theories linking unrelated people to him. We wanted to provide some clarity, to help regular people, as well as journalists and policymakers, better understand who is actually part of Epstein’s social circle, and how these elite networks of power and influence actually operate.”

In the course of documenting those networks, researchers have also had to contend with the DoJ previously removing or retroactively redacting documents, in some cases because they had erroneously failed to redact identifying information on victims.

Carstensen wrote a code to monitor the DoJ website for changes, and maintains a list of victim names and names of victims’ family members who are automatically redacted from his archive. Images of known survivor’s faces, as well as minors, are also redacted, and he has been responsive to takedown requests from survivors.

“The DoJ did a disgraceful job with redactions,” said Lee. “The worst example I saw was that they released nearly 100 naked photos of one outspoken victim.” While the DoJ conceded it made some errors during the release of the files, officials maintain they have ultimately complied with Epstein Files Transparency Act. A departmental watchdog is investigating the issue.

Emma Best, a co-founder of Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoS), which publishes leaked and hacked datasets, has been particularly careful in their approach to an archive of more than 20,000 unredacted emails from Epstein’s Yahoo account that the group obtained.

DDoS has only made the complete archive available to vetted researchers and journalists, which has resulted in a wide range of reports on and revelations about Epstein’s personal and business dealings.

“We’ve kept the standard to access the Epstein emails higher than usual for many other datasets because it’s especially sensitive and salacious,” Best said, noting that those who are cleared to access the files are “only to republish emails which are relevant to their reporting, and that unless it can be determined otherwise the assumption should be that people in the emails are potential victims.”

The Yahoo emails, with redactions to protect victims and minors in accordance with DDoS’s wishes, are being released by Jmail , a browser-based archive of Epstein’s emails and other files from the DoJ and other sources developed by a group of volunteer tech workers and engineers.

Best added: “We’ve been fortunate that most journalists understand the duty we have to Epstein’s survivors.”

Money
Tell us: how are you adjusting your household finances as the Iran war pushes up costs?
Guardian community team
Tue 28 Apr 2026 16.12 CESTLast modified on Wed 29 Apr 2026 11.12 CEST
News
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/apr/28/tell-us-how-household-finances-costs-iran-war

Rising prices and economic uncertainty linked to the conflict in the Middle East are putting pressure on household budgets across the world.

The International Monetary Fund has warned the conflict is pushing up the cost of energy and food , increasing borrowing costs and weighing on economic growth. Surveys suggest millions of households are already making changes to cope – cutting back, dipping into savings or taking on debt.

We would like to hear how you are adjusting your finances in response.

Have you changed your spending habits? Are you using savings more often, borrowing money or putting off big purchases? Are you making different choices when shopping? You might also have taken practical steps such as switching energy providers, cancelling subscriptions or working extra hours. We’d like to hear about it.

If you’re having trouble using the form click here . Read terms of service here and privacy policy here .

Sally Rooney
Sally Rooney to publish Hebrew translation of novel with BDS-compliant publisher
Alice Speri
Tue 19 May 2026 16.00 CESTLast modified on Tue 19 May 2026 18.34 CEST
News
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/may/19/sally-rooney-intermezzo-hebrew-tranlsation

The Irish novelist Sally Rooney is releasing a Hebrew translation of her latest novel more than four years after she turned down a translation of an earlier novel, citing her support for the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

Rooney is publishing her bestselling 2024 novel, Intermezzo , through November Books, an independent Israeli publisher that supports Palestinian rights, with +972 Magazine and Local Call, two independent media outlets in Israel and Palestine.

The 35-year-old has published four wildly popular novels that have been translated into dozens of languages. The first two – Conversations with Friends and Normal People – were translated into Hebrew by the Israeli publisher Modan. But in 2021, Rooney turned down a translation offer from the publisher for her third novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You , citing her desire to support the BDS movement, a Palestinian-led, global campaign that seeks to “end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law”.

In a conversation with Irish Palestinian artist and activist Samir Eskanda published on Tuesday, Rooney spoke about her regret at having once worked with a publisher she later realized had ties to the Israeli military.

“How could my actions be so inconsistent with my beliefs?” she said. By the time her third book was published, she added, “I had also become something of a public figure, and I felt a greater sense of responsibility in making decisions around my work.”

Modan did not respond to a request for comment.

November Books is the only Israeli publisher that meets conditions the BDS movement has set for exemption from the boycott. It does not operate in illegal Israeli settlements, receives no Israeli state funding and explicitly recognises the legal rights of Palestinians, including the right of return for Palestinian refugees, Rooney said. It has also published translations of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Naomi Klein’s books, along with a novel by Irish writer Colum McCann, which other Israeli publishers reportedly refused to translate .

Ishai Menuchin, November Books’s director, said in a statement that “publishing books by authors associated with the boycott movement demonstrates to Israeli readers that opposition to occupation, apartheid and genocide is what lies at the heart of the boycott – a clearly legitimate form of political protest”.

Rooney faced significant backlash when she announced her position – with some, including a senior Israeli official, calling it “the cultural boycott of Israel antisemitism in a new guise”. Others criticized her for refusing a Hebrew translation while allowing her novels to be translated in other countries with a record of human rights abuses.

But Rooney said she was boycotting the Israeli cultural sector’s “complicity” in the country’s apartheid system – not the Hebrew language or Israeli readers themselves.

“For me, the act of translation is in itself a beautiful ideal,” Rooney said. “Though my refusal to work with complicit Israeli publishing houses made the contractual side of things more complex, I was, of course, never boycotting the Hebrew language or any language.” Eskanda also noted in the conversation with Rooney that the boycott targets “institutions rather than individuals, and complicity, not identity”.

“Our task as a movement is to channel anger at Israel’s genocide in Gaza into the most meaningful initiatives,” he added.

Inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, the boycott movement has grown exponentially over the last two decades. Since Israel’s war on Gaza in 2023, thousands of artists, musicians and film workers have expressed their refusal, on ethical grounds, to work with Israeli cultural institutions deemed complicit in the violation of Palestinian rights. At least 2,000 arts organisations, including major film festivals, theatres and museums, have signed on. The boycott of Israeli publishers has received the support of more than 7,000 authors and advocacy groups.

Rooney has also expressed support for the group Palestine Action, which has been banned in the UK under the Terrorism Act, drawing widespread criticism for conflating protest with terrorism. Rooney has said that it was “almost certain” she would no longer be able to publish new work in the UK while the ban on Palestine Action remained in effect. The UK high court recently ruled that the ban was unlawful in a decision that is under appeal .

Rooney said that when she first spoke out about Palestinian rights and in favor of the BDS movement, she was warned she had “effectively ended” her career. But while she acknowledged facing some backlash, she cautioned against self-censorship and fear.

“When I do feel that I’m right, I’m not much bothered by criticism,” she added. “Who has ever stood up against injustice without being criticised? If that’s all I have to endure, then it’s very little.”

Arsenal
Arsenal crowned Premier League champions after Manchester City draw
Ed Aarons
Tue 19 May 2026 22.24 CESTLast modified on Tue 19 May 2026 22.51 CEST
News
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/may/19/arsenal-premier-league-champions-manchester-city-bournemouth

Arsenal are Premier League champions for the first time since Arsène Wenger’s Invincibles in 2004 after Manchester City drew 1-1 at Bournemouth .

It caps a remarkable achievement for Mikel Arteta in his first job in management, the Spaniard having transformed Arsenal into contenders since taking over from Unai Emery in December 2019. His team finished as runners-up in the past three campaigns and led the way for most of this season before City whittled down Arsenal’s nine-point lead after beating them at the Etihad in April.

Despite carrying the scars of previous years, Arteta’s side emerged strongest from what in effect became a five-game playoff between the two contenders. City blinked first when they drew against Everton , with Arsenal recording four successive wins without conceding a goal – culminating in Monday’s 1-0 victory over Burnley .

Arteta said he expected to find it hard to watch City’s game against Bournemouth given its significance but Arsenal fans had gathered in the pubs near the Emirates in anticipation of Andoni Iraola’s side securing a positive result and celebrated wildly on the final whistle, spilling on the street. Within 10 minutes of the title being confirmed thousands were marching towards the Emirates.

Arsenal will receive the Premier League trophy at Selhurst Park on Sunday after they face Crystal Palace in their final game. Arteta will become the longest-serving manager in England’s top four divisions when Guardiola’s departure from City after 10 years is confirmed and has the chance to emulate his mentor by winning the Champions League when Arsenal face Paris Saint-Germain on 30 May. Only on five occasions have an English team won the top division and the European Cup in the same season, with City the last to accomplish that feat in 2023.

More details soon …

Well actually
‘People should aim to get a variety’: the pros and cons of popular protein sources
Sarah Sloat
Tue 19 May 2026 18.00 CESTLast modified on Tue 19 May 2026 18.17 CEST
News
https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2026/may/19/pros-cons-popular-protein-sources

D o you think you’re not getting enough protein? Debbie Fetter, an associate professor in nutrition at the University of California, Davis, likes to ask her students this same question. In a lecture hall of more than 500 people, “almost every hand shoots up”, she says.

Protein is top of mind for consumers. A 2024 survey of 3,000 Americans suggests most are trying to eat more of it, and research shows that foods labeled “more protein” are especially appealing to consumers.

And as consumers become more aware of their intake, they may wonder whether some sources are better than others.

“People should aim to get a variety of protein sources in their diet,” says Andrea Glenn, an assistant professor of nutrition at New York University. Here’s how to navigate individual needs and preferences, while getting the nutrients needed for good health.

What is protein and why is it important?

Protein is essential for building and repairing tissues, and for making enzymes, hormones and disease-fighting antibodies. It is made up of smaller units called amino acids. The human body uses 20 amino acids to function; it can make 11, and the other nine must be obtained from food.

New US dietary guidelines recommend that adults consume 1.2-1.6g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, up from the previous recommendation of 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day – though some experts say the change is unnecessary and could lead to less balanced diets.

Trying to consume as much protein as possible doesn’t automatically result in more muscle or lean body mass, says Fetter.

Insufficient protein can cause muscle mass loss, anemia and slower metabolism. Overconsumption can put strain on the kidneys, says Nicole Stob, an assistant teaching professor of integrative physiology at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Why is it important to think about protein sources?

“There’s a time and place for all proteins,” says Fetter. What’s best depends on the individual and their dietary needs and preferences.

One argument for eating a variety of proteins centers on nutrition. “Protein is important, but it’s not the only thing that’s important for health,” says Glenn.

Protein sources can provide essential nutrients like fiber, vitamins and minerals. Glenn emphasizes that it’s best to get protein from whole foods rather than ultra-processed foods.

The other argument is environmental. Plant proteins have a lower carbon footprint than animal proteins – particularly beef. A 2024 study found that eating red meat twice a week, compared with four times a week, can shrink your carbon footprint and increase longevity.

Beef

Protein content: Different cuts of beef can vary in protein content. For example, USDA data shows that 3oz of ground beef contains about 22.2g of protein, whereas 3oz of beef shank cross-cuts have about 28.6g.

Other nutritional benefits: Beef is a nutrient-dense , complete protein. A complete protein is one that supplies all of the amino acids the human body can’t make on its own. Meats and tofu are all complete proteins.

Some research suggests that eating moderate portions of lean beef as part of a healthy diet may not increase heart disease risk, while still providing protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, niacin, zinc and iron.

Cons: One of the primary concerns with beef is the potential high cholesterol and saturated fat content. The Cleveland Clinic notes that while there’s no official recommendation on how much red meat is fine to eat, sticking with smaller portions is probabaly best.

The American Heart Association encourages consumers to select beef products labeled “lean” or “extra lean”, which have lower fat, saturated fat and cholesterol content. By contrast, “prime” cuts contain more fat.

Pork

Protein content: One ounce of beef, chicken or pork contains about 7g of protein . The protein content of pork depends on how it is prepared. According to the USDA, ham contains 19g of protein per 100 grams, while pork chops contain 26.6g of protein per 100 grams.

Other nutritional benefits: Nutritionists describe fresh pork as a high-quality, low-cost protein. It’s also rich in B-complex vitamins and essential minerals like zinc and iron.

A 2025 study on intense exercise found that eating lean pork protein after training, compared with plant protein, can help with muscle soreness and inflammation, probably because pork contains more creatine and amino acids.

Cons: Some of the most popular pork varieties are processed meats like bacon and ham. Processed meats are linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes. The World Health Organization describes processed meat as “probably carcinogenic to humans”.

Chicken

Protein content: Depending on the cut, cooked chicken can generally contain 23-31g of protein per 100g (3.5oz).

The protein amounts of chicken and other animal meats are comparable. For example, 100g of cooked sockeye salmon contains 26.5g of protein, while 100g of skinless, boneless chicken breast contains 29.5g of protein, and 100g of tenderloin steak contains 21g of protein.

Other nutritional benefits: A 2023 Purdue University study suggests that lean, unprocessed chicken is a healthy protein source, providing essential nutrients like potassium, iron and B-group vitamins.

Cons: The nutritional value of chicken can depend on how it’s prepared. While lean, unprocessed chicken is healthy, processed chicken may be high in sodium. Chicken skin can also be a source of saturated fat .

Fish

Protein content: Johns Hopkins Medicine data suggests 1oz of fish contains about 7g of protein. However, there are small differences among species. According to USDA data , one fillet of raw tilapia contains about 23.3g of protein, while one fillet of raw cod contains 17.7g.

Other nutritional benefits: Fish is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, B12, iodine, selenium, potassium and lean protein. Compared with other animal meats, fish also tends to have less saturated fat . Adults should eat about two to three servings of fish per week because of all of the associated nutrients, according to the FDA and the American Heart Association .

Cons: “Fish is a good, reliable protein source,” says Stob. “The drawback with fish is the expense.” Canned fish can be cheaper than fresh.

Eggs

Protein content: One large, whole egg contains approximately 6.2g of protein, according to USDA data . Eggs contain about the same amount of protein whether or not they are cooked.

The egg yolk within a large egg contains about 2.7g of protein. The egg white of a large egg has about 3.6g of protein. Egg protein supports skeletal muscle health and can also decrease appetite.

Other nutritional benefits: Eggs are a nutrient-dense source of energy from protein, fat and several B vitamins. Eggs also contain vitamin E, iron, zinc and magnesium.

Egg whites are considered a “high-quality” protein because of their digestibility, protein content, and because they are low in fat, cholesterol and calories, Fetter says.

Cons: A large egg yolk can have about 186mg of cholesterol, which is why some experts recommend moderate to low egg consumption. But more recent research indicates that egg cholesterol levels don’t raise the risk of heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular diseases. According to the Mayo Clinic , most people can eat up to seven eggs a week without affecting their heart health.

Beans

Protein content: Beans come in many varieties, and their protein amounts vary slightly, says Glenn. A half cup of kidney beans, for example, contains about 8g of protein ; the same amount of refried beans contains 6g.

Unlike animal protein, beans are incomplete proteins because they lack or are low in the amino acids people must get from food. However, combining them with grains creates a complete protein, says Stob.

Other nutritional benefits: Pulses (edible seeds from a legume plant, such as beans, lentils and peas) are healthy foods that can reduce the risk of conditions like heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.

Beans are more than just a source of protein. Garbanzo beans, for example, are a great source of minerals, B vitamins, carbohydrates and fiber. Beans’ high fiber content is particularly helpful: fiber is linked to lowering cholesterol and blood sugar, preventing constipation and managing weight.

“Compared to some animal sources, beans may contain a little bit less protein,” says Glenn. “But at the same time, you’re also getting fiber, which most Americans are not getting enough of.”

Glenn’s research suggests that substituting red and processed meat with plant proteins can yield cardiovascular benefits. A different 2021 study found that a plant-centered, high-quality diet starting in young adulthood is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease by middle age.

“What we see from the evidence is that people who opt to make most of their protein sources come from plants have improved health outcomes and body composition,” says Fetter.

Cons: For people unused to fiber-rich foods , beans may cause gastrointestinal symptoms like bloating and gas. Add fiber to your diet gradually to help your body adjust.

Lentils

Protein content: A half cup of lentils contains about 9g of protein.

Other nutritional benefits: Lentils are a source of manganese, potassium, iron, fiber and folate.

Like beans , lentils contain plant chemicals called polyphenols that have antioxidant benefits and are linked to reduced blood pressure. They are also lower in calories than animal proteins and don’t contain saturated fat.

Scientists have found a link between eating lentils and a reduced incidence of diabetes, obesity, certain tumors and cardiovascular diseases. Some research suggests eating lentils can increase fullness and support weight management .

Glenn recommends using lentils in dishes like meatloaf and spaghetti bolognese. Cooking methods can alter some nutrient content – boiling, for example, can cause vitamin loss – but proteins typically stay intact regardless of how you prepare your meal, she says.

Because lentils are also incomplete proteins, Stob recommends alternating them with other protein sources, such as tofu.

Other advantages include affordability and a long shelf life.

Cons: As with other fiber-rich options, eating lentils can lead to digestive issues like gas and bloating.

Tofu

Protein content: The protein content of tofu varies by firmness and brand; for instance, some “super firm” varieties list higher protein counts than softer varieties. On average, a half cup of firm tofu contains roughly 21.8g of protein . Soy protein is a complete protein.

Generally, tofu has more protein per calorie and slightly more protein per serving than most cooked beans. For example, one cup of boiled black beans contains about 15.2g of protein.

Other nutritional benefits: Soy-based foods, including tofu, are rich in B vitamins, fiber, potassium, magnesium and protein.

When calcium sulfate is used as a coagulant in tofu, it becomes a good source of calcium. Tofu also contains natural plant compounds, including isoflavones , which are structurally similar to estrogen. A 2020 study found that higher intake of isoflavones and tofu was associated with a moderately lower risk of coronary heart disease. Other research suggests tofu consumption is associated with a lower risk of osteoporosis and breast cancer .

Tofu is higher in fat than other plant proteins like lentils or beans, but it contains heart-healthy polyunsaturated fat. Softer tofu has less fat than firmer varieties.

Cons: Soybeans are the main component of tofu. People who are allergic to soy should not eat tofu.

Protein powders

Protein content: Protein powders are made from different sources of protein, including whey, egg and pea. A serving of protein powder contains about 20-25g of protein , according to the Mayo Clinic.

The FDA does not regulate dietary supplements, including protein powders. It’s possible that the ingredients listed on the label are not in the product. Fetter recommends choosing products that have been through third-party testing .

Protein powders are primarily designed to supplement a diet, rather than replace foods. “I encourage people to get some whole food sources in there, and not just rely on protein powders or shakes for their protein sources,” says Glenn.

Protein powders are an effective source of protein, but if you opt for plant-based powders, seek varieties that combine multiple sources to ensure you get all the essential amino acids, Stob says.

Other nutritional benefits: Vitamins and minerals, such as potassium and calcium, may be included in protein powders, but researchers caution that there may be differences between what a label suggests and what the product actually provides.

Cons: Excess protein does not automatically translate into more muscle and can lead to excess calories . Some protein powders may be high in sugar and calories due to additives such as flavors and fillers. Glenn recommends avoiding protein powders with high levels of these additives; they are low-cost ingredients added to improve texture, but they dilute the protein content.

There’s a risk of lead exposure with some protein powders . However, there is probably no immediate harm associated with these levels of exposure.

Classical music
Feldman and Beckett: Words and Music review – hypnotic absurdism at Sheffield Chamber Music festival
Clive Paget
Tue 19 May 2026 17.54 CESTLast modified on Tue 19 May 2026 19.55 CEST
News
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/may/19/feldman-and-beckett-words-and-music-review-sheffield-chamber-music-festival-siobhan-mcsweeney

A few months before he died, Morton Feldman told a radio interviewer that he considered Samuel Beckett to be “a word man, a fantastic word man” and that he, Feldman, always thought of himself as a note man. The two worked together twice, first on an opera and then, in 1987, on Words and Music, an absurdist radio play that Beckett repurposed with Feldman’s music. Their mutual sympathy was apparent in Sheffield Chamber Music festival’s affectionate staging of the latter, which occupied this concert’s second half.

Before that, however, the juxtaposition of a minimalist Beckett monologue with one of Feldman’s classic uncoordinated scores laid bare their deep artistic synergy. Rockaby, a desolate exploration of ageing and isolation, was the opener. Directed in the round by Vicky Featherstone, the rigid protagonist – a magnetic Siobhán McSweeney – revolved in her rocking chair, listening and occasionally responding to her own recorded voice. It was hard not to sense the heavy hand of dementia behind the singsong fragments and the fading woman’s desperate final quest for human connection.

Where Beckett’s speech rhythms were tightly bound to the metronomic rocking of McSweeney’s chair, in Feldman’s Why Patterns?, flautist Clare Jefferis, Tim Horton on piano and Lewis Lee on glockenspiel crafted independent patterns in ever-changing time signatures. Roaming independently, their response to each other’s rhythmic permutations was both timbral and durational. While Jefferis stirred the acoustic pot by switching to mellow alto or sonorous bass flute, Lee conjured iridescent variations through the simultaneous use of up to four sticks. The result was hypnotic, and pure Feldman.

Ultimately, though, the play was the thing. McSweeney was Joe, a words man, in a love-hate relationship with Bob, embodied by conductor George Morton and seven musicians in T-shirts emblazoned with the word “music”. Their tyrannical master Croak appeared, a shuffling Jonjo O’Neill in fur-lined mantle and PJs, demanding they explore chosen themes such as love and age to anarchically comedic effect. Alas, rekindled memories of past sexual encounters proved too much for him and he departed, leaving Joe speechless and the musicians free to break out into unexpected harmony, or at least a Feldman-esque approximation of such.

New York
When I look at what Zohran Mamdani is doing as mayor, I’m jealous of New Yorkers
Arwa Mahdawi
Tue 19 May 2026 15.46 CESTLast modified on Tue 19 May 2026 22.23 CEST
News
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/19/when-i-look-zohran-mamdani-jealous-of-new-yorkers

S ome people buy a motorbike when they have a midlife crisis. Others take up a hobby like pottery. I, meanwhile, have channelled all my perimenopausal rage and existential angst into regularly calling government officials in Philadelphia and complaining about the city’s trash problem . Sometimes I also offer helpful suggestions as to how they can improve things, but these never seem well received. However, the last time I called the mayor’s office the woman who picked up did say: “You’ve called here before, haven’t you?” Which led me to believe that 1) not many people with English accents are calling the Philadelphia mayor’s office to offer unsolicited advice on urban sanitation; and 2) I should probably seek help with my trash obsession.

Since I seem to be airing all my unresolved psychological issues, I should probably add that I have recently diagnosed myself with a condition called Mamdani Mayoral Envy (MME). Depending on your location, you may suffer from it too. Symptoms include reading about New York and wondering why your city can’t be led by someone who actually seems to give a damn the way Zohran Mamdani does.

I don’t want to put mayor Mamdani on a pedestal. He’s obviously not perfect, but you’ve got to admit he provides a glimmer of hope among all the gloom. He didn’t water down his morals to get elected, speaking openly about Israel’s genocide in Gaza . He didn’t try to find some focus-group-approved centrist ground to campaign from, but stood for an ambitious affordability platform.

And instead of abandoning all his promises the moment he got into power (hello, Keir Starmer!), Mamdani genuinely appears to be trying to deliver on them. For the past four-and-a-half months, he has been busy. He has balanced the budget without cutting public services. He’s protected library funding in a way no other mayor has. He’s working with the New York governor to expand free childcare . And he said on Monday that he will be delivering on his campaign pledge to open city-owned grocery stores, with the first location scheduled for next year in the Bronx.

One of the smartest things Mamdani has done is to find quick and practical ways to improve quality of life. In his first 10 days , he fixed a notorious bump at the bottom of the cycling lane on Williamsburg bridge that had caused many a cyclist (myself included) to yelp in alarm. It was scheduled to be fixed, eventually, as part of a larger plan , but Mamdani said it didn’t have to wait. And, boom, life was made tangibly better for the over 8,000 cyclists using that bridge every day.

Mamdani has also filled over 100,000 potholes. I’m no expert, but the data suggests that is a remarkable rate of hole-filling.

The New York Post doesn’t seem impressed, quoting a Republican saying Mamdani is just doing his job: “Taking credit for filling potholes is like taking credit for changing a lightbulb. It’s what you’re supposed to do,” scoffed councilman Frank Morano in the Post. Sure, but the problem is that lots of politicians are not doing what they’re supposed to be doing.

From a personal point of view, I was impressed to see Mamdani become the first New York mayor to publicly mark Nakba Day. In a social media post on Friday, he explained that it commemorates , “the expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians between 1947 and 1949 during the creation of the State of Israel”. My grandparents had to flee Haifa in 1948; like many Palestinians, they kept their key with them, hoping one day to return. They never could. My father, who left the West Bank in 1967, has no right to live where he was born – his former home may soon turn into a settlement . It meant a lot to see a US politician acknowledge Palestinian pain. Particularly when Mamdani knew he would face backlash for it – which he did .

But again: I don’t want to gush. Mamdani is not perfect. His timing, for example, is terrible. Couldn’t he have become mayor a bit earlier? After more than a decade in New York, I left for the cheaper climes of Philadelphia in 2022. I missed out on Mamdani but I did get to watch Philadelphia’s mayor have a viral moment supporting the city’s football team, the Eagles, with a chant that went: “E-L-G-S-E-S!” Philly is great, but its leadership really is for the birds.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

On Monday 8 June, join Mehdi Hasan and Arwa Mahdawi to discuss the current seismic changes in geopolitics, the alarming rise of populism and nationalism, and its global implications. Live in London and livestreamed worldwide. Book tickets here or at guardian.live

US-Israel war on Iran
Trump threatens ‘a big hit’ if Tehran does not make deal soon
Jason Burke
Tue 19 May 2026 20.23 CESTLast modified on Tue 19 May 2026 22.23 CEST
News
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/19/trump-threatens-a-big-hit-if-tehran-does-not-make-deal-soon

Donald Trump has again threatened Iran, saying the US may launch new attacks if Tehran continues to refuse the significant concessions he wants before a deal can be struck to end the Middle East war.

The US president said he had called off a fresh wave of strikes , which would have broken the ceasefire in place since early last month. “I was an hour away from making the decision to go today,” Trump said on Tuesday.

The decision apparently followed a further peace proposal submitted by Tehran via Pakistan , which has mediated, and may have been motivated by the reluctance of allies, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, to see hostilities resume.

Trump said Iran’s leaders were “begging” to make a deal, but a new US attack would deliver “a big hit” in the coming days if one was not reached.

“Well, I mean, I’m saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week, a limited period of time, because we can’t let them have a new nuclear weapon,” he said.

Trump has made repeated threats in recent weeks but the continuing failure to follow through has increased the sense that the conflict is deadlocked.

Analysts say both sides want to avoid a new round of hostilities but neither are willing to pay the political price of the concessions necessary to secure a peace agreement.

“Trumps’ threats have lost all credibility … Both sides are too far apart in terms of what they are willing to accept or work on but neither side want to go back to war. So they are just stuck … and neither side really knows how to get out of this,” said Neil Quilliam of London’s Chatham House .

Iran continues to block most shipping in the strait of Hormuz, which carried about a fifth of the world’s supply of oil and liquid gas before the conflict, while the US has imposed its own naval blockade on Iranian ports.

Iranian officials have remained defiant in the face of Trump’s new threats, describing US demands as “excessive”.

Since the ceasefire began on 8 April, Tehran and Washington have held only a single round of talks: an unsuccessful 21-hour session in Islamabad. Pakistani mediators have sought to bridge the big gaps between the two sides, passing successive proposals from one to the other, but have complained that both are “changing their goalposts”.

According to Iran’s ISNA news agency, Mohammed Akraminia, a military spokesperson, reiterated on Tuesday that Tehran would continue to manage the strait, adding that the US needed to “respect the Iranian nation and observe the legitimate rights of the Islamic republic”.

On Monday, Iran announced the formation of the Persian Gulf Strait Authority to manage traffic through the waterway, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to impose permits on the internet fibre optic cables passing through the strait .

Akraminia said on Tuesday that in the event of new attacks Iran would “open new fronts” against the US – which has gathered a vast array of military firepower in the region – and said Tehran had used the ceasefire “to strengthen its combat capabilities”.

Experts say it is likely that Iran would also redouble efforts to retaliate against Israel and nearby Gulf states, probably targeting vulnerable oil and other civilian infrastructure.

Iranian state media said Tehran’s latest peace proposal involved ending hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, the withdrawal of US forces from areas close to Iran, and reparations for destruction caused by US-Israeli attacks.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, said Tehran also wanted sanctions lifted, frozen funds released, and an end to the US marine blockade, according to IRNA, the state news agency.

The terms as described in the Iranian reports appeared little changed from its previous offer, which Trump rejected last week as “garbage”.

The closure of the strait of Hormuz and the threat of further conflict in the region has sent oil prices soaring, increasing inflation worldwide and threatening a global recession. A new round of fighting could send prices even higher and stock markets tumbling.

White House officials are concerned that the conflict, which has little support among US voters, may derail Republican chances of keeping control of Congress at a time when worries about the cost of living are acute.

Iran faces a deepening economic crisis and potential damage to its oil infrastructure. Inflation is soaring and some officials fear an increase in popular discontent with the regime.

Quilliam said: “On Iran, there is no real data so it’s very hard to guesstimate, but we know that the regime is intact and probably more hardline than it has ever been … So no matter the pain they are suffering they are not suddenly going to say” ‘OK, we have to get to the negotiating table.’”

Rights groups have said that since the start of the war, Iran has executed 26 men seen as political prisoners – 14 charged over January protests, one over 2022 demonstrations, and 11 accused of links to banned opposition groups.

The Human Rights Activists news agency (Hrana), a US- and Netherlands-based monitoring group , has documented at least 4,023 arrests in Iran between 28 February, when the war started, and 9 May. Hrana has also documented at least 3,636 war fatalities, including 1,701 civilians, from US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

On Tuesday, a top commander of US forces in the Middle East avoided taking responsibility for an attack on a school in Minab, southern Iran, on the first day of the war, 28 February, that killed 155 people, saying a “complex” investigation continued.

Adm Brad Cooper, the commander of US Central Command, told a congressional oversight panel that “the school itself is located on an active IRGC cruise missile base”, making the investigation “more complex than the average strike”.

According to Iranian state media, the attack killed 73 boys, 47 girls, 26 teachers, seven parents, a school bus driver, and another adult.

Games
Star Fox 64, a game I loved in my childhood, is returning – but I have mixed feelings
Keza MacDonald
Wed 13 May 2026 16.00 CESTLast modified on Wed 13 May 2026 16.01 CEST
News
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/may/13/a-game-i-loved-in-my-childhood-is-returning-but-i-have-mixed-feelings

T he Nintendo 64 was not my first video game console, but it was my formative one. Getting to grips with 3D movement in Super Mario 64 with that weird three-pronged controller is one of my most visceral childhood memories; the long, long wait for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was the background noise to a huge chunk of my youth. But back in the 1990s (in the UK at least), it felt as if nobody had an N64. When everybody had a PlayStation instead, I felt I was the only kid in my whole city who cared more about Banjo-Kazooie than Crash Bandicoot.

If even Zelda seemed comparatively niche in Europe in the 90s, Lylat Wars (known elsewhere as Star Fox 64) was a real deep cut. It’s a 1997 space-flight shooter starring Fox McCloud and his squad of animal pilots laser-blasting across different planets in nimble crafts called Arwings. I played this game to absolute death in 1998, when I got it for my birthday alongside the fabled Rumble Pak, which made your controller vibrate and shudder whenever something cool was happening on screen (fun fact: Lylat Wars was the first console game to feature controller rumble). But I really hadn’t thought about it much since. Then, last week, Nintendo announced a Switch 2 remake.

The Star Fox series has been dormant for a good decade, but there have been rumours a new game was in the works for a while now. The moment Fox McCloud appeared for an otherwise inexplicable cameo in the newly released Mario Galaxy movie, I knew that Nintendo must be planning to announce something. I did not for one second expect that game to be a straight-up rework of Lylat Wars, though.

It’s a strange choice.

The Star Fox series has an interesting history. The first game began as a technological experiment to see if it was possible to generate polygonal 3D graphics on a Snes – Nintendo flew a group of young British coders to Japan to help develop it (in itself a fascinating story that’s well worth reading). For that reason, it’s an on-rails shooter: you fly along a set path, moving the craft around the screen, rather than being in full control of where you’re going. Lylat Wars had the same limitations – all its levels are on rails, apart from a few small arenas where you have full freedom of movement. It was designed to show off the then-new Rumble Pak technology as well as the Nintendo 64’s 3D chops; the whole thing is just over an hour long (though there are several different routes through the game, taking you through variably hostile and challenging planets). It is very much a product of technical limitation.

Why not, then, make a new Star Fox game free of such limitation? Why remake a game that is so obviously an artefact of the late 90s? A more free-form and ambitious Star Fox game would be worth getting excited about – space dogfighting games are in much shorter supply now than they were in the 90s.

Obviously, not everything is the same. Beyond the level layouts, which are identical, the new game’s visuals and character designs are totally different – sparking some spirited debate on exactly how players want an anthropomorphic toad to look in 2026. It’s a strange feeling, watching a fly-though of stages I remember in detail. On the opening planet, Corneria, there are strange stone towers jutting up from water that you skate just above, the Arwings’s wingtips throwing up spray. I remember the cheesy dialogue word for word, but in place of the N64’s fuzzy squad-mate mugshots and muffled sound samples are uncannily realistic-looking animal faces and newly-voiced lines. Everything about the game looks better now than it ever did, even in my imagination, 30-ish years ago, and I know I will enjoy revisiting it.

Still, I would have preferred to see an entirely new game. There is a slightly troubling retreat to nostalgia across the gaming world: Sega is prepping new entries in long-abandoned series like Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio, and remaking/rereleasing Resident Evil and Final Fantasy games from the 90s has proved very fruitful for Capcom and Square Enix in recent years. As Konami is doing with its remake of the classic Silent Hill 2 and new takes on the series from Scottish developer SCREEN BURN Interactive (formerly NoCode) and Japanese author Ryukishi07, it would be good to see these nostalgia trips complemented by new takes on bankable franchises – perhaps from new developers.

What to play

Nostalgia isn’t just the purview of remakes, as Mixtape amply proves. An intentionally tropey interactive coming-of-age movie about three teens on their last night of high school in the mid-90s, it has encouraged a lot of discussion about commercialised longing for the past. The game is constructed around a licensed soundtrack that is, admittedly, a little much – even for the most insufferable American teenager of the time – featuring Portishead, Siouxsie and The Banshees and Silverchair among other sometimes anachronistic alternative rock. I have read more interesting criticism on this game than any other this year. Some have found Mixtape to be a weirdly ill-fitting take on the 1990s, with the feel of second or even third-hand nostalgia; the fact that it is a small-town teen drama made by Australians about a city in the US Pacific Northwest might contribute to that. Others have absolutely loved it, related to it strongly, and showered it in 10/10s. I’m landing somewhere in the middle – I rolled my eyes often at the story, but loved the inventive way that it plays with adolescent experiences like a first kiss and a trip to the video store. However you feel about it, this is a game that’s worth having a take on.

Available on: Xbox, Switch 2, PS5, PC Estimated playtime: 3-4 hours

What to read

The Nintendo Switch 2 will increase in price soon due to global RAM and component shortages. (Sony also recently raised the price on the PlayStation 5 for the same reasons.)

I felt all warm inside reading this paean to the video game pub from Jank, a new(ish) PC games website from some of the greatest people to ever cover the scene.

The video game industry unionisation push continues: Microsoft-owned Double Fine (Psychonauts, Keeper) is the latest US studio to unionise.

At Eurogamer, Dom Peppiatt writes about how they have learned to do cryptic crosswords with the help of Pokémon .

What to click

Streaming platform Twitch lets users enter viral ‘mogging’ beauty contests

‘We’re remixing her library for a new medium’: the video games capturing the happy-sad spirit of Tove Jansson’s Moomins

‘Nurse, the joypad!’: the eight greatest medical video games

From Smashing Pumpkins to Ferris Bueller: new Australian indie video game Mixtape is a blast of nostalgia

Mortal Kombat II – junky game-to-movie sequel offers more of the same | ★★☆☆☆

Question Block

Reader Chris asks:

“I am a member of a book club and we recently played through Crow Country . I thought that the length was about the same as a book, and the various themes (don’t want to spoil) would make for an interesting discussion. Do you think a game club would work? If so, what games would you recommend (ideally these would be multiplatform)?”

We had a similar question a year ago, Chris, and it got both me and Pushing Buttons readers thinking about what to call a video game book club and which games would be most suited to such an endeavour. So I’m taking this opportunity to resurface those recommendations and add some fresh ones. (If you’ve got 2-4 straight hours, you could even play most of these in a single evening with your fellow book-clubbers, or you could just all play them individually.)

Mixtape , mentioned earlier, would be a great shout, as there’s loads to talk about. To a T was hilarious, and short, and interesting. Thank Goodness You’re Here would also be a great comedic selection. You could do the multi-Bafta-winning Dispatch chapter by chapter. The Exit 8 has just been adapted into a film. I know we never shut up about Despelote in this newsletter, but it is also short and dense with meaning. Many Nights a Whisper is a one-night game that’s been on my list for ages. I reckon there’s a suitable short game for every theme you could possibly come up with. Have fun!

If you’ve got a question for Question Block – or anything else to say about the newsletter – hit reply or email us on pushingbuttons@theguardian.com .