In an extract from her posthumous memoir, Virginia Roberts Giuffre remembers the day an ‘apex predator’ recruited her from Mar-a-Lago, aged just 16; how she was trafficked to a succession of wealthy and powerful men – and how everyone knew what was going on

I can still remember walking on to the manicured grounds of Mar-a-Lago for the first time. It was early morning – my dad’s shift began at 7am, and I’d caught a ride to work with him. Already the air was heavy and moist, and the club’s 20 acres of carefully landscaped greens and lawns seemed to shimmer.

My dad was responsible for maintaining the resort’s in-room air-conditioning units, not to mention its five championship tennis courts, so he knew his way around. I remember he gave me a brief tour before presenting me to the hiring manager, who agreed to take me on. That first day, I was given a uniform – a white polo shirt, emblazoned with the Mar-a-Lago crest, and a short white skirt – and a name tag that said JENNA in all capital letters. (Although I was called Virginia, everyone at home called me Jenna.)

Lovable prankster-satirist Oobah Butler takes on hustle culture by trying to get rich quick. His tour of crypto-CEOs exposes the bleakness of their world – but it sure makes for comedy gold

Near the start of this hilarious and ambiently horrifying documentary, presenter Oobah Butler informs the viewer what exactly is riding on the success of his latest stunt. Emerging from a meeting at Channel 4’s headquarters, he floats a contract in front of the camera. In signing this, Butler claims, he is “guaranteeing that I am going to make a million pounds in 90 days”. If he succeeds, he’ll be a rich man. If he fails, “I suppose I won’t be working with Channel 4 again.”

If Butler is yet to make it on to your radar, those stakes may sound negligible – does it really matter whether this man ever makes another TV programme? To that I say: yes, it absolutely does. Over the past decade, Butler has established himself as one of the most enjoyably idiosyncratic prankster-satirists of the modern age. He gained global attention with a 2017 project for Vice magazine, in which he managed to get a completely fictional establishment – “The Shed at Dulwich” – listed as London’s top restaurant on TripAdvisor, questioning the effectiveness of the algorithm (when TripAdvisor became aware that it was a fake, they took it down).

Bird migrations rank as one of nature’s greatest spectacles. Thanks to GPS tracking, scientists are uncovering extraordinary insights into ancient and mysterious journeys – and new threats that are reshaping them.

Bird migrations rank as one of nature’s greatest spectacles. Thanks to GPS tracking, scientists are uncovering extraordinary insights into ancient and mysterious journeys – and new threats that are reshaping them.

As storm-chasing seabirds, Desertas petrels seek out hurricanes that draw deep-sea creatures to the surface. Only about 200 pairs remain, although the population is stable.

The facts had changed so MPs simply amended their conspiracy theories to fit the new evidence

It’s all as clear as mud. If Keir Starmer thought that releasing the three witness statements of the deputy national security adviser (DNSA) Matthew Collins late on Wednesday night was going to make the China spy case row go away, then he was in for a big disappointment.

There was no way MPs were going to let a story like this out of their clutches. This was their moment to take centre stage. When they could bathe in their own importance. When they could believe that they and national security were one and the same thing.

A year in Westminster: John Crace, Marina Hyde and Pippa Crerar. On Tuesday 2 December, join Crace, Hyde and Crerar as they look back with special guests at another extraordinary year, live at the Barbican in London and livestreamed globally. Book tickets here

There are supporters and then there was the Bulgarian Marin Levidzhov, who died this week aged 62

Ask any Manchester United fan of a certain age what 26 May 1999 means to them, and they will tell you the date has marked them for life. It was the night injury-time goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær sealed United’s 2-1 comeback in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich at the Camp Nou. It was also the night the life of one United fan in Bulgaria, who has died this week at the age of 62, changed for ever.

That supporter was born Marin Zdravkov Levidzhov in Svishtov, a town on the Danube with a population of 22,000. Growing up in communist Bulgaria adoring football, he dreamed of changing his name to … Manchester United. To claim the name of a football club from the capitalist west, however, was mission impossible. Had Marin tried to do so before the fall of the regime, he would almost certainly have ended up in jail.

And is it actually possible for your body clock to change? Am I really turning into an early bird or have I just been forced into a child-dictated schedule?

We all know that early birds get the worm. But who wants a worm? Not me. For most of my life I have identified as a night owl, clambering out of bed as late as possible and not so much seizing but reluctantly easing into the day.

US work culture is not really optimal for night owls. Rather, it favours CEOs who get up at 4am and run a marathon while the rest of us hit the snooze button. Still, I always consoled myself with the idea that night owls are actually more intelligent and creative than their early bird counterparts. Franz Kafka and Thomas Wolfe wrote at bedtime; Bob Dylan recorded at night. Even scientific studies indicated it was true.

US president has repeatedly hinted at supplying Kyiv with Tomahawks but some in Moscow say Kremlin sees it as negotiating gambit

Volodymyr Zelenskyy will head to the White House on Friday for a crucial meeting with Donald Trump, hours after the US president said he had agreed to another summit with Vladimir Putin in Budapest after a “very productive” call.

The possible supply of US Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine is expected to top the agenda during the Ukrainian president’s visit. Trump has repeatedly hinted in recent weeks that he may deliver Tomahawks, which would give Kyiv its longest-range weapon yet that would be capable of striking Moscow with accurate, destructive munitions.

Candidates debate Trump, Gaza and New York-specific issues, while John Bolton indicted by federal grand jury

• Former Trump adviser John Bolton indicted on 18 counts

A reminder that my colleagues are covering the latest developments out of the Middle East, as Israel and Hamas continue to carry out various aspects of the US brokered ceasefire deal.

This includes the news today that Israel returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza, bringing the total number handed over to 120, according the Gaza health ministry and Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

Ministers hope scheme for 1.8 million people will show how technology works and ease privacy and security concerns

Former military personnel will be used to test and refine the government’s divisive digital ID scheme from Friday, when ministers make a smartphone-based veteran card available to 1.8 million people.

The proof of service, which in its current physical version gives access to charities, retail discounts and certain public services, will be the first of a series of official credentials the government wants to let people carry in a government app.

Audit finds average childbirth injury case costs more than £11m to settle as watchdog urges stronger safety measures

The NHS’s total liabilities for medical negligence have hit £60bn, driven by a jump in childbirth injury cases that cost more than £11m each on average to settle.

The total sum of money the health service in England may have to pay out to settle lawsuits for mistakes by staff has quadrupled from £14.4bn in 2006-07, amid more claims and rising legal costs.

the bill for negligence is expected to reach £4.1bn in 2029-30

the number of cases settled has more than doubled from 5,625 in 2006-07 to 13,329 in 2024-25

the total number of settlements has fallen in 11 specialties but risen in six others