US News, Summarized

• SpaceX's Starlink division announced commercial availability of direct-to-cell satellite service to US carriers including T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T beginning May 1, 2026, expanding beyond its existing emergency SOS functionality. • The service enables SMS and data connectivity in rural and remote areas where terrestrial networks are unavailable, with initial pricing set at $5 per month for basic coverage and $15 monthly for premium data tiers. • Industry observers note this development challenges traditional carrier infrastructure investments and could accelerate satellite communications adoption, though regulatory approval from the FCC is still pending final confirmation.

• Microsoft announced the acquisition of Cerberus AI, a Boston-based cybersecurity startup, for $2.1 billion on April 19 to enhance real-time threat detection across Azure cloud infrastructure. • Cerberus AI's proprietary machine learning platform identified over 50,000 zero-day vulnerabilities in the past year and will integrate with Microsoft Defender to provide unified threat management across enterprise environments. • The acquisition marks Microsoft's continued investment in AI-driven security as cloud-based attacks have increased 35% year-over-year, according to recent industry reports.

• Databricks announced a Series H funding round of $10 billion at a $43 billion valuation on April 18, led by existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, to accelerate development of its AI and data platform. • The funding will support expansion of Databricks' lakehouse architecture, which integrates data warehousing and data lakes, and fund aggressive hiring in engineering and sales across North America. • The round positions Databricks as one of the fastest-growing enterprise software companies and signals strong investor confidence in the competitive data infrastructure market dominated by Snowflake and others.

Boy, 17, and man, 19, detained as Met says it is investigating claims a series of antisemitic attacks are linked to IranTwo teenagers have been arrested over an arson attack at a synagogue in north-west London over the weekend, the Met police have said.Matt Jukes, the deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, said a 17-year-old boy and 19-year-old man had been detained, as he confirmed officers were investigating claims a series of antisemitic attacks in the UK were linked to Iranian-backed proxies. Continue reading...

Downing Street takes unusual step of releasing document ahead of PM’s Commons showdown over Mandelson scandalJudgment day for PM over Mandelson scandalGood morning. There are occasions when a prime minister wakes up knowing that how they perform in the Commons that day will decide whether or not they keep their job – but they are very, very rare. The best example in modern times is Margaret Thatcher on the day of the Westland debate, when she told staff she would still be in post that evening. Boris Johnson had multiple tricky encounters with MPs, but the most difficult – and the most important for his reputation- was the one before the privileges committee about claims that he lied about Partygate, and that came after he had resigned as PM. For James Callaghan, the confidence debate in 1979 was a terminal moment for his premiership, but that vote was not decided by what he said.There seems to be little chance that Keir Starmer may be finished off by what happens in the Commons today. Since the revelations in the Guardian last week about Peter Mandelson in effect failing security vetting for his appointment as ambassador to the US, despite Starmer repeatedly everyone that he was cleared, Labour MPs have not been calling his resignation. It seems unlikely that by 6pm tonight that will have changed. But many or most of them were already of the view that he is not the right person to lead them into the next general election, and the events of the past few days have firmed up that view.The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (CRAG) does not prevent civil servants from informing ministers of UK Security Vetting recommendations. What CRAG says is that civil servants make decisions on vetting and clearance. But no law stops civil servants sensibly flagging UK security vetting recommendations, while rightly protecting detailed sensitive vetting information, to allow ministers to make judgments on appointments or on explaining matters to parliament. Continue reading...

Wilson denies allegations made by Charlotte MacInnes, who she claims told her about uncomfortable situation with producerFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastRebel Wilson has been accused in court of hiring a private investigator and having false information published online in order to paint another actor as a “money grabbing opportunist” who withdrew a sexual harassment allegation for financial gain.But lawyers for Wilson insist that the harassment complaint was only withdrawn when Charlotte MacInnes – the star of her film, The Deb – decided to support the woman who had allegedly harassed her. Continue reading...

Reviews website features pages praising unlicensed sites’ supposed qualities as if they were legitimate businessesTrustpilot, the reviews website that offers to “find a company you can trust”, is hosting ratings of illegal casinos, raising concerns in Westminster about the potential risks posed to consumers.Unlicensed casino operators linked to financial harm, addiction and even suicide have flooded the UK market in recent years, often targeting people who are trying to limit their gambling by “self-excluding” from licensed operators. Continue reading...

Douglas Alexander says lessons need to be learned but he expects Keir Starmer will continue as PMIt was a mistake to announce Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the US before he was security vetted for the role, one of Keir Starmer’s senior ministers has said before the prime minister’s statement to MPs about the scandal.With Starmer aiming to explain to the Commons on Monday afternoon why he did not know the Foreign Office had overruled a decision to refuse Mandelson vetting, some senior government figures believe the coming week could decide whether or not he remains in No 10. Continue reading...