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• Health savings account companies, benefiting from Trump's tax bill, formed the Great American Health Alliance (GAHA) dark money group to push for further HSA expansions. • The lobbying effort aims to broaden tax advantages amid growing industry influence in policy debates. • Critics highlight potential risks of prioritizing industry gains over consumer protections in health financing.

Louis Mosley says government should resist calls to trigger break clause in £330m deal with US analytics companyUK politics live – latest updatesPalantir’s UK boss has urged the government not to give in to “ideologically motivated campaigners” as government ministers explore a way out of a £330m NHS contract with the tech company.Ministers have sought advice on triggering a break clause in Palantir’s deal to deliver the Federated Data Platform (FDP), amid questions over the company’s presence in the public sector. Continue reading...

New York-based Gao Zhen was detained in 2024 during a family visit to China and then tried for ‘defaming national heroes’ The Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen, known for making satirical sculptures of China’s former leader Mao Zedong, has been tried over accusations of “defaming national heroes and martyrs”, his wife and a rights group have said.Gao, 69, who was detained in 2024 during a visit to China from the US, faces a maximum three-year prison sentence, his wife, Zhao Yaliang, and Shane Yi, a researcher at the Chinese human rights defenders group, said. Continue reading...

• Innovation Council Action, a new pro-AI political organization championed by tech investor and White House AI advisor David Sacks, plans to spend over $100 million in the 2026 midterms to shape U.S. tech policy. • The group is closely aligned with President Donald Trump's agenda and will support candidates favoring deregulation while opposing those pushing for stricter AI rules. • The organization has developed a scorecard ranking lawmakers based on their alignment with Trump's AI agenda, which will guide political spending decisions in the coming months.

Company reported loss of £125m after cyber-security attack hit sales and claims of ‘toxic’ culture Business live – latest updatesThe Co-op Group has announced that its boss will step down this weekend after a difficult year that included a cyber-attack and recent claims of a “toxic” culture at the business.Shirine Khoury-Haq will step down as chief executive on 29 March, with Kate Allum, a board member and former boss of dairy group First Milk, stepping in as interim boss while a permanent replacement is found. Continue reading...

Advocates say Lee Zeldin’s EPA has rolled back protections and cut staff and funding, putting health at riskSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxMore than 160 environmental and public health organizations on Tuesday called for Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, to resign or be fired.“No [EPA] administrator in history – Democratic or Republican – has so brazenly betrayed the agency’s core mission,” the groups wrote in an open letter. “EPA’s foremost purpose is to protect human health and the environment. With Administrator Lee Zeldin at the helm, EPA has abandoned its mission, creating damage that will take decades to address.” Continue reading...

Chris Parry referred to members of neighbourhood watch group as ‘cosplayers’ after ambulance arson attackReform UK has suspended one of its key mayoral candidates after he described members of a Jewish neighbourhood watch group as “cosplayers” and likened them to “Islamists on horseback”.Chris Parry, who had remained the mayoral candidate for Hampshire despite a previous controversy in which he said David Lammy should “go home” to the Caribbean, made the latest comments on Monday about Shomrim, a volunteer group that safeguards communities including Orthodox Jewish families. Continue reading...