Why did Prime Minister Keir Starmer decide to defend himself and the Chancellor over last week's budget? Rightwing activist and regular GB News contributor Lucy White claimed Commons deputy speaker Nusrat Ghani should not be allowed in the house because she was born in Pakistan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked President Isaac Herzog for a pardon in his corruption cases. Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's Whitehall editor, Cat Neilan, senior researcher, Serena Cesareo, and producer Poppy Bullard, as they battle it out to pitch the top stories of the day.  Find the team's Must Reads: The Observer's Global AI Index: https://observer.co.uk/data/global-ai **We want to hear what you think! Email us at: newsmeeting@observer.co.uk  Follow us on Social Media:  @ObserverUK on X  @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok @theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ on bluesky  Host: Giles Whittell Producer: Amalie Sortland Executive Producers: Rebecca Moore & Gary Marshall To find out more about The Observer: Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content Head to our website observer.co.uk  Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Will the shooting of two National Guards in Washington DC change US politics forever? Should the UK roll out screening for prostate cancer? Did Chancellor Rachel Reeves miss an opportunity to gear up the economy for growth?   Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Cat Neilan, Steve Bloomfield and James Tapper, as they battle it out to pitch the top stories of the day.    Find the teams Must Reads: Less WFH, more Lime, slower buses   **We want to hear what you think! Email us at: newsmeeting@observer.co.uk  Follow us on Social Media:  @ObserverUK on X  @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok @theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ on bluesky    Host: Rebecca Moore   Producer: Poppy Bullard   Executive Producer: Matt Russell   To find out more about The Observer:   Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content Head to our website observer.co.uk  Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists  

David Lammy has proposed scrapping jury trials in England and Wales for all but the most serious offences. Paramount Global has obtained exclusive streaming rights to the UEFA Champions League - a move that could redefine how football fans follow the sport in the future. Revelations that MAGA-supporting accounts on X are operated from countries like North Macedonia, Pakistan and Poland raise concerns about foreign-driven influence and its impact on political discourse.   Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's Head of Investigations Alexi Mostrous, sports reporter Jessy Parker Humphreys, and journalist, author, and presenter Jenny Kleeman as they compete to pitch the day's top stories.   While we've wrapped up our live editions of The News Meeting for 2025, keep checking https://observer.co.uk/our-events if you'd like to join us at recordings in 2026.   **We want to hear what you think! Email us at: newsmeeting@observer.co.uk  Follow us on Social Media:  @ObserverUK on X  @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok @theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ on bluesky    Host: Giles Whittell   Producer: Amalie Sortland and Poppy Bullard   Executive Producers: Matt Russell and Rebecca Moore    To find out more about The Observer:   Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content Head to our website observer.co.uk  Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists