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• The Republican-led Senate narrowly confirmed Todd Blanche as Attorney General in a 50-49 overnight vote. • Blanche secured the position after winning over GOP holdouts by pledging to eliminate the "anti-weaponization fund." • The appointment is significant as President Trump has openly expressed a desire to utilize the Department of Justice to investigate his political opponents.

• State legislature elections are frequently among the most tightly contested races in the U.S., with some outcomes decided by a single vote. • These local contests hold significant national importance because state lawmakers are responsible for drawing congressional maps and establishing election rules. • Key policy areas influenced by these officials include the implementation of voter ID requirements and regulations regarding ballot harvesting.

• Chinese President Xi Jinping called for global cooperation and a "people-centered" approach to AI to prevent historical injustices in technology access. • To support developing nations, China has offered 5,000 AI training slots for participants from Africa, Latin America, Asia, and BRICS countries. • Twenty-nine nations, including Russia, Brazil, and Indonesia, signed an agreement in Shanghai to establish the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO).

• An FDA advisory panel narrowly voted to recommend allowing compounding pharmacies to produce BPC-157 and KPV, two popular but unproven peptides. • The decision follows advocacy from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who pushed for increased access to these substances despite their lack of formal FDA approval. • This move is significant as it challenges standard regulatory hurdles for unapproved drugs, potentially expanding patient access to experimental treatments.

Three GOP senators joined Democrats as dispute over proposed payouts exposed party divisionsUS politics live – latest updatesSenate Republicans on Thursday narrowly scuttled an attempt by Democrats to stop Donald Trump from creating a $1.8bn fund to pay his allies, even as signs emerged that dissent over the proposal was spreading inside the US president’s own party.Democratic Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, had proposed inserting language barring the payouts into Republican-backed legislation to fund Trump’s mass deportation campaign through the duration of his term. Continue reading...

FAA investigating after plane carrying 162 passengers forced to change course to prevent collisionA United flight came within a few hundred feet of a US military helicopter near John Wayne airport in southern California, triggering an alarm directing the airline pilots to change course.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Friday that it is investigating the incident that happened at about 8.40pm Tuesday when a military Black Hawk helicopter returning from a training mission crossed into the plane’s path. The pilots of the passenger plane carrying 162 passengers and six crew members stopped their descent and leveled off to avoid a collision. Continue reading...