Federal Reserve chair says ‘we face a highly uncertain outlook’ as president tells him to cut interest rates

• People in the US: how have your shopping habits changed due to Trump’s tariffs?
• Trump insists he won’t back down from global trade war as markets slump

The Trump administration is taking aim at Brown University with threats to freeze $510m in grants, widening its promise to withhold federal funding from schools it accuses of allowing antisemitism on campus, according to multiple media outlets including Reuters and the New York Times.

University officials said they had not yet been formally notified, but the school was among dozens warned last month that enforcement actions could be coming as the administration seeks to crack down on academic institutions .

Actor and comedian charged with rape, indecent assault, oral rape and two counts of sexual assault, say police

The comedian and actor Russell Brand has been charged with one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape as well as two counts of sexual assault.

Brand will appear in court in London on 2 May, according to the Metropolitan police, which began investigating him in September 2023 after a range of allegations.

FoI release shows further evidence of Lord Evans of Watford’s role in apparent cash-for-access venture

New documents reveal the extent of a Labour peer’s involvement in organising the attendance of a minister at a commercial event in parliament.

Emails show how David Evans contacted officials working closely with Sharon Taylor, a housing minister in the House of Lords, who was to be the keynote speaker at an event on housing that Lord Evans of Watford was hosting in parliament.

Union says the government should intervene directly and force the council to settle the dispute

Trump claims Starmer ‘very happy’ about tariffs

Downing Street has refused to confirm President Trump’s claim that Keir Starmer was “very happy” about the treatment the UK is getting under the new US global tariff regime. (See 9.32am.) Asked about the president’s words at the morning lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson said that the government had already set out its position yesterday and that it was “disappointed” by the US tariff policy.

Livia Tossici-Bolt has been sentenced at Poole magistrates’ court to a conditional discharge for two years for two charges of breaching a “buffer zone” outside an abortion clinic in Bournemouth, PA Media reports. See 11.22am.

Bafta endorsement could have escalated actor’s allegedly abusive behaviour towards women, Kath Viner said

The editor-in-chief of the Guardian, Katharine Viner, has told the high court there was a “very high public interest” in reporting allegations made against Noel Clarke after he received a special Bafta award.

In a witness statement, Viner said she believed it was conceivable that the actor’s endorsement by the British academy film awards could lead to an escalation of his allegedly abusive behaviour towards women.

Livia Tossici-Bolt given conditional discharge and ordered to pay £20,000 costs in case that drew US state department concern

An activist whose case had been cited by the US state department over “freedom of expression” concerns in the UK has been convicted of breaching a buffer zone outside an abortion clinic.

Livia Tossici-Bolt, an anti-abortion campaigner, went on trial at Poole magistrates court last month accused of breaching a public spaces protection order on two days in March 2023 near to a clinic in Bournemouth. On Friday she was found guilty of two charges of breaching the order.

Joanne Sharkey admitted manslaughter after secret birth while she had postnatal depression after first child

A woman who killed her newborn baby 27 years ago while she had severe postnatal depression has been handed a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, as a judge said the case “calls for compassion”.

Joanne Sharkey, 55, admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility over the death of her days-old son, whose body was found wrapped in bin bags in woodland in 1998.

Broadcaster wants to branch out with shows covering crime, history and sport and says he has investors lined up

Piers Morgan is planning to create a YouTube empire covering true crime, history and other genres, claiming to have “significant players” already lining up to invest.

Morgan said he was looking to branch out from his Piers Morgan Uncensored YouTube channel and find a series of “mini-mes” to front other shows under the brand. He said his current show was already turning a profit since he broke away from Rupert Murdoch’s media empire in January.

Plan to add 90 turbines to Rampion will create 4,000 jobs in construction and could power 1m homes

The government has approved plans to build an offshore windfarm capable of powering about 1m British homes before the end of the decade.

The plan to extend the Rampion offshore windfarm by adding 90 turbines off the Sussex coast is expected to add about 1.2 gigawatts of clean power for British households and businesses.

Data suggest viewers seek to ‘travel via their taste bids’ in Monday ritual that has gone viral on social media

Beyond yodelling along to the opening credits or decoding hidden clues about the show’s plot, some fans of the critically acclaimed comedy drama The White Lotus have taken their obsession a step further this season.

Since the drama – this season set in Thailand – premiered on 17 February in the UK, Thai takeaway orders through Just Eat have increased by 11%, as viewers look to “[travel] via their taste buds”.