• CMS announced the Accelerating State Pediatric Innovation Readiness and Effectiveness Model (ASPIRE), a 10-year voluntary program for up to five states.
• ASPIRE targets Medicaid and CHIP enrollees up to age 21 with complex medical and behavioral needs through early identification, care coordination, and quality accountability.
• A Notice of Funding Opportunity will be released later this year to solicit state participation.
• Moody's AI-based recession probability model has surged to 49%, just below the 50% threshold that historically signals economic recession within a year, amid mounting economic concerns.
• The US labor market delivered a major disappointment with March data showing a loss of 92,000 jobs, far below expectations, while GDP growth projections have been revised downward from 1.4% to as low as 0.7%.
• Recession forecasts from major institutions have escalated: Goldman Sachs raised odds to 30%, EY-Parthenon estimates risk at around 40%, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warned rising oil prices could trigger global recession.
Sara Ziff, founder of Model Alliance, said business leaders need to be hauled before House oversight committeeA top modeling industry activist has called for business leaders to be hauled before lawmakers in Washington to investigate what role modeling agencies may have played in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking scandal.Sara Ziff is founder of the Model Alliance, a non-profit advocacy group calling for fair treatment, labor rights and safe working conditions for fashion industry workers. Continue reading...
Former talent agency boss had closer relationship with sex offender than thought, and supported him after 2009 arrestA female executive at the top of the modelling industry had a close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and introduced him to women on the agency’s books, a Guardian investigation has found.Until last November, Faith Kates ran Next Management modelling and talent agency, which has represented the likes of Alexa Chung, Milla Jovovich and Billie Eilish, a position she held for decades as the founder of the business. She stepped down quietly just weeks before the first major Epstein files were released, saying she intended to focus on charity work.18 July 2009 10.18amI am and will always be your friend...Unconditionally...will always be there for you.5 September 2009 7.47pmThinking of you a lot and hoping you are finally enjoying some please [sic] and quiet..know you are always in my thoughts and prayers. You are a good friend my dear friend..5 September 2009 7.54pmthanks,, lets get back to work. Continue reading...
• DOE's SLAC National Accelerator Lab and collaborators created a generative AI model that rebuilds molecular structures from fragmentation patterns during explosions.
• The breakthrough enhances analysis of molecular dynamics using accelerator data, advancing chemistry and materials science research.
• Published within the last 8 hours, it promises novel insights into molecular behaviors under extreme conditions.
• Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute developed TLPath, a new computational tool that infers telomere length—repeating DNA sections at chromosome ends that shorten with age—by detecting structural changes in cells captured in routine biopsy images.
• The model successfully predicted telomere length more accurately than using patient age alone and could identify telomere length differences between individuals of the same chronological age, potentially transforming large-scale aging research.
• Published in Cell Reports Methods, the findings enable researchers to measure an important aging metric quickly and cheaply without costly traditional tests, opening new opportunities to study telomere biology and human aging.
Wall Street closed lower on Friday with all three major indexes ending the week in the red, while the Russell 2000 hit its lowest level of the year, despite strong corporate earnings and solid guidance reportedly supporting broader market trends. Meta Platforms shares fell nearly 4% following a report that the social media giant has postponed the release of its AI model Avocado to at least May, signaling potential delays in the company's AI product roadmap. Ulta Beauty shares slumped more than 14% as rising costs deepened margin concerns, with the company's new CEO flagging potential global cost impacts. The mixed market performance reflects investor uncertainty about technology sector growth prospects amid ongoing economic and competitive pressures.
Meta delayed rollout of its new AI model code-named Avocado after internal tests showed it lagging competitors in reasoning, coding, and writing, reported on March 13, 2026. The New York Times detailed the model's underperformance against benchmarks. This setback comes amid intense AI competition and highlights challenges in model development. Meta must refine the model to catch up in the race for advanced capabilities.
Meta delayed its new AI model, code-named Avocado, after internal tests showed it lagging competitors in reasoning, coding, and writing, reported on March 13, 2026. The setback impacts Meta's AI ambitions amid intense industry competition. Engineers are iterating to close performance gaps before public release. This highlights challenges in achieving frontier AI capabilities quickly.
Meta delayed the rollout of its Avocado AI model after internal tests revealed it underperformed competitors in reasoning, coding, and writing, reported on March 13, 2026. The New York Times cited concerns over the model's benchmarks against rivals. This setback impacts Meta's AI ambitions amid intensifying competition. Analysts expect revisions before any public release.
