• The Minnesota Vikings are expected to exercise the fifth-year option on wide receiver Jordan Addison's rookie contract, according to sources, keeping the playmaker under team control.
• Addison has demonstrated solid on-field production for the Vikings, though he has faced three legal incidents including two traffic violations and a dismissed trespassing charge in Florida.
• The decision comes after the Vikings lost wide receiver Jalen Nailor in free agency, making Addison's retention strategically important for the team's receiving corps.
Simon Roberts says Easter shop will be unaffected by Middle East conflict, but industry warns prices may rise this yearShoppers will not see food prices rise until at least the summer and Easter will be unaffected by conflict in the Middle East, the boss of Sainsbury’s has said, despite fears of an inflation spike.Simon Roberts said it was “too early” to say whether and when food price inflation related to higher commodity costs would hit supermarket shelves and that the UK’s second-largest supermarket had long-term agreements with suppliers to help protect shoppers. Continue reading...
• A Quinnipiac poll of 1,397 US adults conducted in mid-March reveals that a majority of Americans believe AI will harm them, with concerns intensifying as tech companies invest heavily in AI infrastructure.
• Seventy percent of Americans think AI advancements will reduce job opportunities—14% more than last year—while only 7% believe AI will increase jobs; nearly two-thirds worry AI will worsen education.
• A slight majority of Americans oppose military use of AI to select targets, with only 36% supporting the practice, reflecting growing unease about autonomous weapons systems.
‘There is no doubt that the cells and tissues of the oral cavity, the mouth and the lungs are altered by inhalation from e-cigarettes,’ academic saysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastVaping is likely to cause lung and oral cancer, researchers have found, as they urged regulators to act now rather than wait decades for a definitive level of risk.Cancer researchers led by UNSW in Sydney analysed reviews of evidence from animal studies, human case reports and laboratory research published between 2017 and 2025, in one of the most detailed assessments to date of whether nicotine e-cigarettes could cause cancer. Continue reading...
Mikhail Khodorkovsky says Russian security services may seek to create a ‘sense of vulnerability’ in BritainVladimir Putin is likely to stage another Salisbury-style attack on UK soil unless the government adopts more aggressive tactics against the Kremlin, the exiled Russian billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky has said.The former oil tycoon has emerged as a leading figure in Russian diaspora opposition circles and claims to be well-informed about current thinking and developments among Moscow’s elite. Continue reading...
Secretary of state Marco Rubio repeats administration’s belief that US can achieve its aims without a ground warAmid tentative White House efforts at diplomacy to end the war in Iran, US troops have also been arriving in the region to deliver what Donald Trump has hoped could be a knockout blow if he can’t negotiate a ceasefire with Tehran.Thousands of US marines aboard navy amphibious ships from the 31st and 11th expeditionary units have been deployed to the Middle East from Asia. Another 2,000-odd paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne are also being sent to the theatre – they are tasked with deploying worldwide within 18 hours of notification and execute parachute assaults, including against a “defended airfield” to prepare for further ground operations. Continue reading...
Writer looked to topics such as computer engineering and life in a nursing home to produce richly researched booksTracy Kidder, an award-winning narrative nonfiction writer who turned everything from computer engineering to life in a nursing home into unexpected bestsellers, has died. He was 80.Kidder’s longtime publisher Random House confirmed his death in a statement on Wednesday: “Tracy’s gifts for storytelling and tireless reporting are an enduring reflection of the empathy, integrity, and endless curiosity he brought to everything he did.” Continue reading...
Diplomats say US president’s latest claimed plan probably based on now outdated framework put forward in May 2025Middle East crisis – live updatesThe 15-point framework plan for peace with Iran that Donald Trump has said is being discussed is based on a proposal put forward by his negotiating team during nuclear talks almost a year ago, diplomats with knowledge of the talks believe.That original 15-point plan was the basis for negotiations in late May 2025, shortly before the talks collapsed due to Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear programme. Continue reading...
In today’s newsletter: Our diplomatic editor on how global instability feeds into conflict in so many parts of the world, and whether the threshold for a major global war has been metGood morning. The world is at war. From the trenches of eastern Ukraine to the missile-streaked skies of the Gulf, a growing proportion of humanity is living under the horror of conflict. For some observers, there are gnawing fears that the worst is yet to come. The apparent collapse of the rules-based international order, the irrelevance of institutions designed to uphold it, and the interconnectedness of the fighting have sparked warnings that we could be at the beginning of a third world war. Indeed, half of Britons polled in a recent YouGov survey thought world war three was likely in the next five to 10 years.On Monday, Donald Trump stepped back from deepening the US and Israel’s war with Iran, announcing that he would postpone military strikes on Iranian power plants for a five-day period after “very good and productive conversations” about the end to the fighting. Iran denied this version of events, claiming Trump had been scared off by their threats of attacks on water infrastructure in the Gulf. But, despite calmer stock markets and a sharp drop in the oil price, there is little sign that the fighting is near an end.Middle East | The Israeli military said it had launched a new wave of strikes on Tehran, after Donald Trump signalled a pause in US attacks against energy infrastructure after what he said were productive talks with Iran.UK Politics | Ministers are looking at providing support for household bills next winter, Keir Starmer said, as he suggested the energy price shock unleashed by the Iran conflict could continue for months to come.London | Security agencies are investigating whether a group linked to Iran is behind an arson attack on four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity in north London.Climate crisis | More countries will face critical food insecurity if world heats up by 2C, analysis shows.New York | The pilot and co-pilot of an Air Canada Express regional jet have been killed after it collided with a fire truck while landing at New York’s LaGuardia airport. Continue reading...
Former BBC presenter says production company Wonderhood did not check facts with him firstHuw Edwards has criticised Channel 5 for failing to “check with me the truth” before running a drama depicting his downfall.The former BBC presenter was suspended from his role as a leading news anchor in 2023 after a report in the Sun that he had allegedly paid a teenager £35,000 for intimate images and conversations. Continue reading...
While Labour braces for a rout that could see off Starmer, a rising drive to keep out Farage is complicating expectationsLocal elections are often regarded as a referendum on the sitting government, with many previous administrations taking a bloody nose from the electorate but successfully fighting back by the next general election.Senior Labour figures have taken to reeling off a list of midterm results – 1999, 2003, 2012 – to prove that point. “As we get closer to the general election, it will be less about people’s view of the parties generally and more about the actual choice in front of them,” one said. Continue reading...
Regulators narrow securities definitions – a shift that could benefit Trump family’s crypto projectsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxOn Tuesday, major US financial regulators published rules for the cryptocurrency industry that may reduce regulatory requirements and that insiders believe will benefit the Trump family’s ventures.The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued new guidelines for the cryptocurrency industry to answer the longstanding question of what does or does not qualify as a security, a classification that entails strict oversight. SEC chair, Paul Atkins, has dubbed the framework a “token taxonomy” for the sector. Published jointly with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the guidelines classify most of crypto-based assets as commodities, collectibles, payment tokens or “digital tools”, exempting them from the SEC’s more stringent oversight and disclosure requirements. Only blockchain-based representations of existing securities, such as stocks and bonds, remain classified as securities under this new framework. Continue reading...
PM said to be wary of opening up new divisions among Labour MPs by giving bill time in next session of parliamentSenior ministers believe Keir Starmer will not intervene to give the assisted dying bill further time in the next session of parliament as he is wary of opening up new divisions among Labour MPs.The bill, which was passed by the Commons, is now certain to be blocked in the House of Lords without ever reaching a vote because of the large number of amendments its opponents have tabled and debated. Continue reading...
Finding suggests as many as 155,000 deaths, likely occurring outside of hospitals, not recognized at Covid relatedThe Covid-19 pandemic’s early death toll was much higher than the official US count, according to a new study that spotlights dramatic disparities in the uncounted deaths.About 840,000 Covid-19 deaths were reported on death certificates in 2020 and 2021. But a group of researchers – using a form of artificial intelligence – estimate that as many as 155,000 unrecognized additional deaths likely occurred in that time outside of hospitals. That would mean about 16% of Covid-19 deaths went uncounted in those years. Continue reading...
Advocates say 24/7 coverage of US attacks will not last for ever – and spotlight will return to Epstein and his crimesAs the US woke to news that Donald Trump had bombed Iran, domestic discord was fast simmering.There was unrelenting outrage over ICE raids. There was frustration with the rising cost of living. There was fear over rocketing healthcare prices, mounting household debt, not to mention many Americans’ nagging sense of desperation in a country, some warned, where democracy itself was under threat. Continue reading...
David Pocock’s comments come as new photos show scale of damage and government official says its ‘quite possible’ bodies disturbedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe bodies of Australian soldiers buried in Gaza have “very likely” been disturbed, the independent senator David Pocock says, as new photos tendered to parliament show widespread damage of graves by Israeli bulldozers.About 146 of the 263 graves of Australian soldiers buried in Gaza have been damaged, Senate estimates heard last week. Continue reading...
US test of 120 umbilical blood cord samples identified 42 Pfas compounds, which do not naturally break downSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxNew peer-reviewed research shows fetuses likely have much higher levels of Pfas “forever chemicals” in their blood than previously thought.Testing of umbilical cord blood typically looks for a small number of common Pfas compounds, like Pfoa and Pfos. However, thousands of Pfas exist, and a new Mount Sinai study tested 120 umbilical blood cord samples that were previously found to contain up to four compounds. Continue reading...
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