Man arrested over alleged plot to attack Texas state capitol

• Jewish settlers are seizing and destroying Palestinian property in an escalating campaign of violence across the West Bank. • The Israeli authorities are actively supporting these efforts to dispossess Palestinians of their land.

• King Felipe VI described the migration crisis in Ceuta as unacceptable two months after the events occurred. • The situation was contained without escalating into an open diplomatic confrontation between Spain and Morocco.

• UN teams are working to protect families in Gaza from the upcoming rainy season as of Wednesday. • UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric reported that restricted land access and shortages of critical supplies are hindering these protection efforts.

• The United Nations concluded its 81st General Assembly amid rising geopolitical tensions that threaten global cooperation and the pursuit of peace. • The organization is currently facing a rupture of multilateralism, which is the practice of multiple countries working together to solve shared problems.

Democratic governor sharply critical of Donald Trump for not passing comprehensive federal AI regulationsGovernor Gavin Newsom signed laws Wednesday aimed at protecting California workers from the threats of artificial intelligence , including potential job losses and workplace surveillance.The laws ban employers from using the technology to predict a worker’s emotional state by using their biometric data, require employers to send written notices to workers if AI is responsible for mass layoffs and ban employers from relying on AI to decide to fire someone. Continue reading...

Community-funded archaeological excavations of ‘really important’ sixth-century monastery also rewrite story of LismoreTo the residents of the Scottish island of Lismore, population 190, history is never very far away. The tiny island near Oban in Argyll has no row of shops or even a pub – if islanders want to meet for a coffee, the only place to do so is in the lively Gaelic heritage centre that records the many centuries of community life on the island.This quiet place, documentary evidence records, was home to a monastic settlement in the sixth century AD, when missionaries from Ireland were first moving into northern Britain to spread Christianity. But apart from a few fragments of an early carved cross, there was almost nothing to see from this period of history. Continue reading...

Simple deterrents can slash the number of razorbills and guillemots being trapped underwater, two-year study showsBird-shaped kites and a floating scarecrow are being tested to try to stop endangered seabirds drowning in fishing nets.Every year an estimated 95,000 diving birds, including razorbills and guillemots, are accidentally caught in nets off European coasts. Continue reading...

A year after his explosive tenure at Doge, the SpaceX CEO is back in the Trump administration’s good gracesPete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that Elon Musk will co-lead a government project to study the future of warfare, marking the SpaceX CEO’s first return to government since he ran the chaotic, so -called “department of government efficiency”, or Doge. Musk will be joined by Palmer Luckey, CEO of the defense tech company Anduril, and Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker of the House.A defense department press release on the effort, called Project Meridian, described its goal as “identifying the capabilities required to achieve absolute technological dominance on the next-generation battlefield”. The project will run for 120 days and culminate in an unclassified public report of its recommendations. Continue reading...

Defense secretary ranted against diversity claiming ‘no fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals’ in troopsSend us your questions about how the Iran war will affect US voters in the midtermsUS defense secretary Pete Hegseth has confirmed plans to cut 20% of generals and admirals and declared “no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps” would be tolerated inside the country’s military.Delivering his latest extraordinary attack on diversity, and dismissing reports of low morale within the US armed forces as “false claims”, Hegseth also suggested they were retaining service personnel at “record” rates. Continue reading...

Follow the day’s news live.Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFrom today, children under nine years old with mild developmental delays and autism can access early intervention services through a program called Thriving Kids, which is administered by state and territory governments. The change was announced by the Albanese government in February and will slowly move children off the National Disability Insurance Scheme. It will fully replace the NDIS for these children by 2028. Unlike the NDIS, participation in Thriving Kids won’t require a formal diagnosis, potentially speeding up services and saving families money. The health minister, Mark Butler, recently told parents there would be no gap in government support for their children. Queensland is the sole Australian state refusing to sign on to the Thriving Kids program, leaving families in limbo as the first phase of the NDIS replacement scheme launches. You can read more details about the change here:More than one-quarter of big companies operating in Australia paid no income tax in 2024-25, according to the Australian Taxation Office’s latest corporate transparency report.We look very closely if there’s no tax being paid in significant industries, including things like data centres, to make sure that the level of tax being paid reflects the economic activity that’s happening in Australia. Continue reading...

No one was injured at Children’s World Early Learning Center and parents will appear in court, police saidThe parents of a Detroit-area toddler who pulled a loaded pistol out of his backpack at a daycare will face charges in the case, police said Wednesday.In a statement, police in Canton Township said the parents would make an initial court appearance Thursday. The Wayne county prosecutor’s office declined to offer details or additional comment, saying it would wait until a judge signs off on the charges. Continue reading...