My dad has given my brother 80% of his business and I feel horribly dismissed

You’re reluctant to discuss this with your parents – but doing so might help you shake off the feeling of injustice

I am struggling with the different way my parents have treated me and my brother. My dad started a business when I was five. Now it’s worth several million. My brother was invited by my dad to go into the business when he left university. I was not. By then, the business was well established and my dad stayed on as CEO. My dad gave my brother 80% of it. He will now sell the business and realise millions, meaning he can retire early.

My dad helped me with university fees and house purchases. He’s told me I will inherit the house and whatever money is left when my parents pass away, which is likely to be in about 20 years. I doubt there will be anything left.

Published: December 14, 2025, 6:00 am

TalkTalk keeps cutting off my elderly parents’ phone

The service was cut off and then there were threats of losing the number of 60 years

My 84-year-old parents, who have significant disabilities, had their TalkTalk landline cut off without notice in August.

We eventually had to sign a new contract to get the service restored and were assured that they would keep their phone number of 60 years.

Published: December 15, 2025, 7:00 am

UK Treasury drawing up new rules to police cryptocurrency markets

Rachel Reeves wants to protect consumers by bringing digital money and assets into the ‘regulatory perimeter’

Cryptocurrencies will be regulated in a similar way to other financial products under legislation coming into force in 2027.

The Treasury is drawing up rules that will require crypto companies to meet a set of standards overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Published: December 15, 2025, 12:01 am

Conservatives would end 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars

Party would also abolish zero-emission vehicle mandate, cutting legal requirement on carmakers to sell EVs

The Conservatives have announced proposals to end the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars and cut the legal requirement on car manufacturers to sell electric vehicles.

A Conservative government would abolish the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, ending the legal requirement for manufacturers to sell a fixed rising percentage of zero-emission vehicles each year – 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans by 2030, increasing to 100% by 2035. It would also completely end the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars.

Published: December 14, 2025, 10:00 pm

Experts urge caution as Trump’s big bill incentivizes AI in healthcare

Analysts say benefits could be felt in under-resourced rural hospitals but warn against AI as a cost-cutting measure

For states to receive certain funding stipulated in the Trump administration’s “big, beautiful” bill, they must meet three of 10 criteria – including integrating more artificial intelligence (AI) technology in healthcare settings – which experts say could have major benefits and liabilities for under-resourced hospitals, depending on how it’s implemented.

The Rural Health Transformation Fund is a carveout that will provide $50bn over a period of five years to states who meet certain application criteria, including “consumer-facing, technology-driven solutions for the prevention and management of chronic diseases,” and “providing training and technical assistance for the development and adoption of technology-enabled solutions that improve care delivery in rural hospitals, including remote monitoring, robotics, artificial intelligence, and other advanced technologies”.

Published: December 14, 2025, 12:00 pm

The best cordless leaf blowers in the US to cut down time without bothering neighbors

Battery-powered leaf blowers from Ryobi, Ego and Stihl quickly clean up leaves with no gas, no smell, and dramatically less noise

• In the UK? The best leaf blowers: 10 favourites to speed up raking – plus smart ways to reuse your fallen leaves

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Electric leaf blowers are on track to soon outsell their obnoxious gas counterparts, and for good reason. They’re easier to start, require almost no maintenance, and many run quietly enough for early-morning yard sessions without bothering the neighbors.

Cordless models offer the ultimate freedom to roam untethered, but they come with tradeoffs in power, weight, runtime and of course cost. To find the model that balanced these best, I tested seven models across the price spectrum on dry leaves, damp leaves, pine needles, and general yard debris. Throughout testing, I paid close attention to control, comfort and how long each battery maintained usable power.

Published: December 14, 2025, 6:15 pm

What is – or was – the best-ever internet meme?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

The dramatic chipmunk, distracted boyfriend, the raccoon with the candy floss or “success kid”, what is – or was – the absolute top, world-beating, best-ever internet meme? Antony Scacchi, Los Angeles, US

Post your answers (and new questions) below or send them to nq@theguardian.com. A selection will be published next Sunday.

Published: December 14, 2025, 2:00 pm

Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen: after some misfires we finally have the first good Bluey video game

The new Bluey game is the first made in Australia, the first to involve creator Joe Brumm and the first to respect the kids playing it

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Bluey embodies the talent, heart and character of Australia’s creative industries. But unfortunately, until now, the beloved franchise’s video games had a track record spottier than her friend Chloe the dalmatian.

Some parents treated Budge Studios’ 2023 mobile game Bluey: Let’s Play! with caution, with its $9.99 monthly subscription and persistent adverts for Budge’s other licensed games. Later that same year, Artax Games’ Bluey: The Videogame was widely criticised on release for its barely two-hour run time, technical problems and $60 price tag. In his review, Australian game critic Luke Plunkett called it “a slapdash cash grab that does the bare minimum”.

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Published: December 14, 2025, 2:00 pm

Little Foot hominin fossil may be new species of human ancestor

Australian researchers think the skeleton found in South Africa is not the same species as two found in the same South Africa cave system

Little Foot, one of the world’s most complete hominin fossils, may be a new species of human ancestor, according to research that raises questions about our evolutionary past.

Publicly unveiled in 2017, Little Foot is the most complete Australopithecus skeleton ever found. The foot bones that lend the fossil its name were first discovered in South Africa 1994, leading to a painstaking excavation over 20 years in the Sterkfontein cave system.

Published: December 14, 2025, 2:00 pm

Starwatch: shortest day in reach as astronomical winter begins

Winter solstice marks moment when Earth’s north pole is tilted as far away from the sun as possible

Astronomical winter begins this week for the northern hemisphere, with the winter solstice taking place on 21 December. This is the shortest day of the year, and therefore the longest night. It has been greeted with many cultural celebrations through the ages. Ancient Rome’s Saturnalia, for example, involved a week of feasting and gift-giving in which the masters served their slaves.

The winter solstice marks the moment when Earth’s north pole is tilted as far away from the sun as possible. This means that the sun appears at its most southerly position in the sky, and rises only to its lowest noon altitude, as seen from the northern hemisphere.

Published: December 15, 2025, 6:00 am