Pentagon asks for $54bn in pivot towards AI-powered war

Most-banned book was Sold, a 2006 novel by Patricia McCormick about sex trafficking in IndiaSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe American Library Association (ALA) has reported a record high in the number of books banned in US libraries.In 2025, 5,668 books were banned – representing 66% of the total number challenged – with an additional 920 censored through access restriction, such as relocation on the library shelves. Continue reading...

Smoke drifts into Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, as air quality declines and 50 homes destroyedSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxWildfires burning across the south-eastern US intensified on Wednesday across parts of south-east Georgia, where 50 homes were destroyed, and across north-east Florida, forcing evacuations and school closures in some communities.The Georgia forestry commission issued its first mandatory burn ban in the state’s history, effective across 91 counties in the lower half of the state, due to worsening drought conditions and rising wildfire activity. Continue reading...

The drug industry’s self-regulatory body criticised Theramex for ‘alarming’ compliance issuesOne of the biggest producers of hormone replacement therapy has been censured by regulators for “systemic failures” that put patient safety in jeopardy.Theramex, the UK producer of HRT drugs Evorel and Intrarosa was found to have breached fundamental compliance standards including not updating crucial prescribing information – in some cases for several years – and not making it clear that a drug must not be used during pregnancy. Continue reading...

Democrats within reach of House majority after voters rebel against Republican gerrymanderingSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxMonths into his second term, Donald Trump wagered that he could beat the historic trend of the party in power losing seats in midterm elections if Republican-led states redrew congressional maps to sweep Democrats out of office.The gamble is looking to be a bust, or at best a draw, for the president, after Democrats fought back with their own redistricting efforts, the latest of which came to fruition in Virginia on Tuesday, when voters approved a plan that could remove all but one of the five Republicans in its current House of Representatives delegation. Continue reading...

Health secretary says ‘I had nothing to do with the measles outbreak’ and claims to support measles and MMR vaccinesHealth secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr faced intense questioning from several US senators on Wednesday during a hearing largely focused on how the administration has responded to the measles outbreak and the spread of vaccine misinformation.In his opening remarks to the Senate finance committee, the senator Ron Wyden criticized Kennedy’s messaging on vaccines, saying: “When it comes to vaccines, Robert Kennedy has used this once-in-a-lifetime platform to make parents doubt themselves and doubt their doctors,” before adding: “The secretary has ducked, bobbed and weaved without taking the responsibility of saying what needs to be said: vaccines save lives in America.” Continue reading...

Scott, who represented Atlanta suburbs since 2003, had qualified to run for a 12th term before his deathDavid Scott, a Georgia congressman and moderate Democrat representing Atlanta’s southern suburbs since 2003, has died at the age of 80.Scott’s health has been an open question for several years. He was ranking member of the House agriculture committee, and was the first Black chairman of that committee when Democrats controlled the house. Continue reading...

Federal Communications Commission will look into the TV ratings system and whether shows with transgender or non-binary characters demand a warning for parentsThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is launching a new inquiry into the TV ratings system, including whether content related to gender identity is not adequately flagged for parents, in the latest warning shot to broadcasters from the agency headed by the Trump loyalist Brendan Carr.The new proceeding, announced on Wednesday, asks for public comment on the transparency of the TV Oversight Management Board, which oversees the rating system and guidelines. That system was developed after Congress passed a law in 1996, leading to the creation of numerous ratings such as TV-Y, for programs deemed appropriate for all children, and TV-MA, for mature audiences. Continue reading...

The case is part of a messy legal dispute about a section of the Line 5 energy pipeline beneath a Great Lakes channelThe supreme court on Wednesday sided with Michigan in ruling that the state’s lawsuit seeking to shut down a section of an ageing pipeline beneath a Great Lakes channel will stay in state court.Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for a unanimous court that the Enbridge energy company waited too long to try to move the case to federal court. Continue reading...

Standoff between Iran and US continues as both impose blockades of critical shipping waterway Iranian forces have seized two ships in the strait of Hormuz, as the US and Iran doubled down on imposing separate blockades of the critical shipping waterway that have choked global energy markets.The standoff over the narrow waterway – through which about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed through during peacetime – raised doubts about whether stalled peace negotiations would resume. Continue reading...

Police catch woman, 28, climbing colossal 16th-century statue of Neptune to touch its genitals as a dareA tourist has been charged after allegedly climbing a colossal marble statue in Florence to touch its genitals for a pre-wedding prank.Experts said the woman caused thousands of euros of damage to the Neptune fountain in Piazza della Signoria. Continue reading...

Rising costs have continued to plague the company, now facing soaring fuel costs due to the war with IranSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe White House is finalizing a financing package to help ailing US budget carrier Spirit Airlines, which could receive as much as $500m in loans as rising costs continue to plague the company.News of the potential deal comes as Spirit and others struggle with soaring fuel costs due to the war with Iran. Continue reading...