‘Big business’: little-known court system in Louisiana churns out thousands of evictions – and millions in fees for judges

By: Oliver Laughland and Will Craft with photography by Annie Flanagan

20 October 2026 at 07:00

Guardian investigation: Louisiana’s justice of the peace court system may violate tenants’ constitutional rights as eviction fees boost judges’ incomes

Are you a first-time buyer in England? Would the government’s Your First Home scheme help you?

The Guardian

By: Guardian community team

20 October 2026 at 05:42

We would like to speak to people in England who are planning to buy a new-build flat or house as their first home

Last month, the government announced plans for Your First Home (YFH), a scheme which aims to give a helping hand to first-time buyers who do not have the luxury of being able to call on the “bank of mum and dad”.

YFH applies to England only and is just for prospective first-time buyers looking to buy a new-build flat or house.

Homes with striking interiors for sale in England – in pictures

The Guardian

By: Anna White

16 October 2026 at 02:00

From a brick stable block renovated into an eco home to a Georgian townhouse painted in atmospheric shades of grey

OpenAI accuses employee who left for Apple of leaking plans for unreleased device

The Guardian

By: Reuters

14 October 2026 at 16:31

Hours before Apple and the ChatGPT maker were due to face off in court, a new allegation delayed the showdown

An ⁠OpenAI employee who left the ChatGPT maker for Apple sent more than 100 files about an unreleased product to a personal ⁠account and later ⁠made a presentation about the unreleased product to senior Apple leadership, a new filing in the lawsuit between OpenAI and Apple alleges.

In the filing ⁠in US federal court in San Jose, California, OpenAI alleged that the presentation happened months ago and that Apple is now making ⁠AI products of its own, citing the release of Apple’s HomeView product this week.

Burnham’s Your First Home scheme ‘could boost Bellway’s house output by 10%’

The Guardian

By: Julia Kollewe

13 October 2026 at 07:59

Help-to-buy initiative for England could slow market while first-time buyers wait for launch, builder admits

The new Your First Home programme for first-time buyers could increase the number of houses British builder Bellway produces each year by 10%, its boss has said.

Faced with a chronic shortage of homes, the government has made housing one of its top priorities and Andy Burnham’s surprise announcement of the YFH scheme a fortnight ago sent housebuilders’ shares soaring by more than 10%.

How to storm-proof your home, from roof tiles to garden fences

The Guardian

By: Zoe Wood

10 October 2026 at 02:00

With an extremely wet and windy winter forecast, take steps to keep you and your home safe and dry

With the Met Office warning that this year’s supersized El Niño could mean a wet and stormy winter lies ahead, it’s never been more important to maintain your home.

Payouts for storm damage to UK homes surged 32% to £244m in 2025 amid the destruction caused by the heavy rain and strong winds that accompanied the likes of Storm Éowyn and Storm Floris.

New-build homes for first-time buyers in England – in pictures

The Guardian

By: Anna White

9 October 2026 at 02:00

From a flat in a new urban village in London to a family-sized home in a rural village in Norfolk

An AI boom is sending San Francisco rents through the roof: ‘nowhere left for people to go’

The Guardian

By: Robin Buller in San Francisco

8 October 2026 at 10:00

According to city’s rent board, eviction notices are up 44% and tenants are on edge over landlords swooping in over their homes

To say that Maria Zamudio and her team have been busy lately would be a gross understatement.

Every Monday at 9am, the phone lines at the downtown clinic of San Francisco’s Housing Rights Committee start ringing, and they keep ringing until closing at 5 pm. In-person counseling appointments for renters facing eviction or landlord misconduct fill days in advance. After every weekend, the staff of seven sits in their office and sifts through more than 150 voicemails. The rental assistance hotline averages 200 calls a week.

UK house prices flatline as rising mortgage costs weigh on market

The Guardian

By: Joanna Partridge

7 October 2026 at 03:56

Average cost of home in September was £298,441, says Lloyds – about the same as year earlier and in August

Business live – latest updates

UK house prices flatlined in September, according to a leading index, as rising mortgage costs started to weigh on the market.

The average cost of a home was £298,441, roughly the same as it was a year earlier and in the previous month, according to the tracker from Lloyds previously known as the Halifax HPI.

Homes for sale in landmark towers in England and Scotland – in pictures

The Guardian

By: Anna White

2 October 2026 at 02:00

From a neo-baronial country house with turrets in acres of grounds in Scotland to a modernist tower block in a bustling part of London

Is China Really Stealing A.I. From American Companies?

NYT: Technology

By: Cade Metz

25 September 2026 at 11:02

As Xi Jinping visits President Trump in Washington, the leaders are expected to discuss claims that China is surreptitiously copying American A.I. technologies, a process known as distillation.

The Chinese companies Z.ai and Moonshot are not far behind Anthropic and OpenAI.

Is China Really Stealing A.I. From American Companies?

NYT: Science

By: Cade Metz

25 September 2026 at 11:02

As Xi Jinping visits President Trump in Washington, the leaders are expected to discuss claims that China is surreptitiously copying American A.I. technologies, a process known as distillation.

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