Fed governor Lisa Cook is seeking a temporary restraining order against the president’s attempt to fire her

Donald Trump’s battle to exert control over the Federal Reserve faces a key legal test today, with a governor of the central bank seeking a temporary block on his extraordinary attempt to fire her.

Lisa Cook sued the US president on Thursday, with her lawyers describing his attempt to dismiss her as “unprecedented and illegal”, and based on “pretextual” allegations.

Nurturing everything from bacteria and fungi to worms is seen as essential to helping minimise use of chemicals and machinery

Nick Padwick hunches over a microscope, examining a sample of compost he has made on his Norfolk farm. “Look at that bad boy! That’s a bacteria-feeding nematode!” he exclaims. “Stunning fungal hyphae.”

Padwick, the farm manager at Wild Ken Hill since 2018, is part of a growing movement of farmers taking a deep interest in the microscopic life forms that their livelihoods depend upon. Under this approach to regenerative farming, nurturing diverse soil communities – from bacteria and fungi, to microscopic animals and worms – is seen as an essential prerequisite for growing healthy foods with minimal or no use of agrochemicals or soil-damaging machinery.

Use microscopy to identify missing or imbalanced soil organisms.

Create nutrient-rich compost from farm waste, such as straw and wood chips.

Put this compost in mesh bags and steep them in water, like giant tea bags, to make extracts that can reintroduce beneficial microbes to depleted soils.

The new season is just around the corner. Which of the league’s talents will rewrite the record books in the coming months?

The league has a new Legatron. Jacksonville kicker Cam Little has a chance to crush the record for the longest successful field goal. He drilled a 70-yarder against the Falcons during preseason and comfortably clears 72 yards during warmups.

Game, Set, Matchmaker aims to woo a pop-culture audience. But with tennis sidelined in favor of awkward small talk, it risks alienating its core supporters

On the first day of this year’s US Open, Alexandra Eala came back from 5-1 down in the third set to upset Clara Tauson in front of a rapturous crowd, Novak Djokovic rope-a-doped a fresher opponent barely half his age, Rebeka Masarova hit an overhead smash into the only racket-sized area inside the lines that would ensure she lost the point, and Daniil Medvedev all but incited a riot in the stands of Louis Armstrong Stadium while down match point.

Amidst the overstimulating slate of matches, the US Open quietly published the first episode of the dating video series Game, Set, Matchmaker on their official YouTube channel. In it, host Ilana Sedaka, a figure skater and influencer, had a blind date with Ronnie, a lacrosse coach. They exchanged bright smiles and music tastes. They bonded over their love of Drake – what were the odds? Though the date took place on US Open grounds with players practicing in the background, very little of the conversation concerned tennis. It is Ronnie’s first time at the US Open: “This place is insane,” he said. Slap it on a poster.

Our writer trialled the most powerful robot vacuums – some of which even mop your floors – and these are the ones he rates

• The best window vacs for clearing condensation: seven expert picks for streak-free shine

Robot vacuum cleaners take the drudge work out of cleaning your floors and carpets. No more tiresome weekly stints of vacuuming, and no more last-minute panic sessions when you have visitors on the way. Instead, your compact robot chum regularly trundles out from its dock, sucking up dust, hair and debris to leave your floors looking spick and span.

Over the past few years, robot vacuums have become much more affordable, with basic units starting at about £150. They’re also doing more than they used to, mopping areas of hard flooring and charging in sophisticated cleaning stations that empty their dust collectors and clean their mop pads for you.

Best robot vacuum cleaner overall:
Eufy X10 Pro Omni

• Former world No 3 beaten by Daniel Altmaier at US Open

• German deployed underarm serve in fourth set

A frustrated Stefanos Tsitsipas took exception to his opponent’s tactics after blowing a match point and exiting the US Open in the second round courtesy of a five-set loss to Daniel Altmaier on Thursday.

The 7-6 (5), 1-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 defeat means the former world No 3 Tsitsipas will end the season without playing in the third round of a grand slam for the first time since 2017.