Waitrose employee sacked after stopping shoplifter from taking Easter eggs

A Waitrose employee of 17 years has described his devastation after being sacked for stopping a shoplifter who had ransacked a display of Lindt Gold Bunny Easter eggs.Walker Smith, a shop assistant at a branch of Waitrose in Clapham Junction, south London, was going about his normal duties when a customer stopped him. “They told me someone had filled up a Waitrose bag with the eggs,” he said.The 54-year-old said the shoplifter was a repeat offender. After spotting the thief, he “grabbed the bag” from the shoplifter, who snatched it back and, he said, there was a struggle for a few seconds before it snapped

How Trump’s Iran war could make the world more reliant on coal

Not two months in office, as the price of west Texas crude approached $14 a barrel, Jimmy Carter, then president, donned a cardigan to speak candidly about his strategy to face the permanent energy shortage he saw in the nation’s future.His “fireside chat” is mostly remembered for asking Americans to lower the thermostat to 65F(18C) in the daytime and 55F at night, an idea that didn’t go down too well in the bitter winter of 1977.Environmentalists fondly recall his promise to research solar power and other renewable sources of energy. But the most consequential commitment Carter made that night, alluded to in subsequent speeches and furthered in his energy agenda, was to aggressively develop domestic sources of coal, what James Schlesinger, appointed by Carter to be the nation’s first energy secretary, called America’s “black hope”.Donald Trump’s America is in a not-too-dissimilar quagmire

UK’s leading AI research institute told to make ‘significant’ changes

The UK’s leading AI research institute has been told to make “significant” changes by its main source of taxpayer funding.The Guardian revealed last week that the board of the Alan Turing Institute was reminded of its legal duties by the charity watchdog after a whistleblower complaint.The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) body, which awarded the ATI a five-year, £100m funding package in 2024 and is its largest single source of funds, said it had conducted a review of the institute and found it underperforming in terms of strategy and delivering value for money.“The review concluded that overall strategic alignment and value for money are not yet satisfactory,” the UKRI said.Last summer, the government made clear that it expected a strategic overhaul at the nominally independent organisation and indicated the need for management changes, adding that its funding could be reviewed

Google to tap into gas plant for AI datacenter in sharp turn from climate goals

Google’s plan for a partnership with a natural gas power plant that could provide energy for one of its datacenters in Texas was unearthed by new research and confirmed by the company. The move is part of an ongoing about-face for the tech giant, which once pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030 and has long been seen as a pioneer in clean energy.The gas power plant is slated to be built in Armstrong county, a sparsely populated area in the Texas panhandle. According to a report by the research organization Cleanview, the project is being led by Crusoe Energy, which partnered with Google to develop the datacenter campus known as “Goodnight”, named after a nearby town.Crusoe filed for a permit in January to build the 933-megawatt power plant on the site of the Goodnight campus, which showed the facility would operate off the grid and provide energy to at least two buildings on the campus, according to Cleanview

NCAA women’s national championship: South Carolina 51-79 UCLA – as it happened!

The trophyCoach Close gets the wood-ware and holds it up high as even MORE confetti falls! Lauren Betts, who has struggled with depression in her life, is named the most outstanding player of the tournament. She’s emotional as she tells the crowd that she told her mother that she was put on this earth to do more than score points, but to use this platform to help lives. She’s an incredible story.And so are the Bruins, who put on a stunning, complete performance in their victory over South Carolina.From all of us here at The Guardian, thanks for following along with us

County cricket day three: Leicestershire make hash of chase against Sussex, Essex win – as it happened

Storm Dave left its mark on the County Championship in the early hours of Easter Sunday, knocking over the camera gantry and untethering a cover at Chester-le-Street, leaving the pitch unplayable for Durham v Kent. Elsewhere, there were brickbats and chocolate eggs.Leicestershire made a hash of chasing an unlikely 481 against Sussex on a suddenly sun-dappled late afternoon at Grace Road. Rishi Patel was run out going for an optional second run in the second over, sent packing by a steaming direct hit from a crouching Jack Carson on the long-leg boundary. Wickets then tumbled with clockwork regularity, Jake Weatherald flashed at a delivery from Henry Crocombe, who then dismissed Lewis Hill for a pair