Letters to US agency raise concerns over tech firms’ plans to use reflective satellites and expand numbers in low Earth orbitProposals to deploy reflective mirrors and up to 1m more satellites in low Earth orbit could have far-reaching consequences for human health and ecosystems, leading sleep and circadian rhythm researchers have said.Presidents of four international scientific societies representing about 2,500 researchers from more than 30 countries are among those who have raised concerns in letters to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Continue reading...
NASUWT says full entitlement should be increased from four weeks to 26 and paternity pay also improvedFull maternity pay for teachers across the UK should be increased to 26 weeks to help stem the exodus of women in their 30s from classrooms, a union leader has said.Matt Wrack, general secretary of the NASUWT teachers’ union, said it was a “national scandal” that so many teachers who quit said inadequate maternity support was one of the reasons. Continue reading...
• Luna Systems, founded at Dublin City University in 2020, has raised €1.5 million to develop AI-powered Advanced Rider Assistance Systems (ARAS) for cycling and motorcycles.
• The company's 2026 product launches include a dual AI camera system for e-bike and motorcycle manufacturers featuring collision warning, blindspot detection, and headway monitoring with smartphone integration.
• The funding accelerates Luna Systems' transition to a full system provider, inspired by automotive ADAS technology adapted for two-wheeled transportation where fatality rates remain elevated.
Distressed riders who were stranded for hours say Apollo Go customer service agents offered ‘useless platitudes’A “system malfunction” has caused several self-driving robotaxis to stall in the middle of the road in China, police have confirmed, after distressed riders were stranded for hours.Local authorities in the central Chinese city of Wuhan said they began receiving calls “one after another” on Tuesday night from riders reporting that autonomous vehicles operated by the Chinese internet company Baidu had frozen. Continue reading...
• Boeing announced a $18 billion multiyear contract award from the U.S. Department of Defense for development and production of advanced air-to-air missile systems, representing one of the largest defense contracts awarded in the past year.
• The program spans eight years and includes approximately 2,000 advanced missiles, supporting air superiority initiatives for the U.S. Air Force and allied nations.
• The contract award marks a significant boost to Boeing's defense and space segment, which has faced revenue headwinds from commercial aircraft production challenges, and provides revenue visibility through 2034.
• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced expectations of at least $1 trillion in demand for its Blackwell and Rubin AI systems through 2027, doubling from $500 billion projected through 2026.
• This projection signals over 100% annual sales growth for Nvidia amid booming data center demand.
• The forecast underscores AI's role in driving U.S. tech sector expansion and GDP growth, with analysts citing non-inflationary productivity gains.
• Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals and Connecticut Science Center announced an Innovation Lab on March 26, 2026, to boost STEM education for students and families statewide.
• Ribbon-cutting set for March 27, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. ET during STEM Career Showcase for over 500 middle and high school students.
• Keynote by Connecticut Chief Workforce Officer Kelli-Marie Vallieres, Ph.D., with remarks from Carine Boustany, Ph.D., Boehringer's SVP of US research.
• The Military Health System's March 26, 2026 update covers research submissions and awards for the Department of War’s primary scientific gathering during March 23-27.
• Features teamwork and tools for field medic training, plus new research on preventing dangerous diseases in U.S. Army and Navy contexts.
• Army Reserve 'Connect to Protect' initiative emphasizes health protections amid weekly military medical news.
Banks, governments and tech providers urged to upgrade security because current systems will soon be obsolete Banks, governments and technology providers need to be prepared for quantum computer hackers capable of breaking most existing encryption systems by 2029, Google has warned.The tech company said in a blogpost that quantum computers would pose a “significant threat to current cryptographic standards” before the end of the decade and urged other companies to follow its lead. Continue reading...
• An NIH-funded mouse study shows chronic colitis induces long-lasting epigenetic changes in gut stem cells, boosting AP-1 transcription factor activity and tumor growth potential.
• Researchers analyzed over 52,000 cells, finding damage memories persist more than 100 days after inflammation ends, heritable across new cells.
• The findings from Broad Institute scientists explain how sustained inflammation elevates colorectal cancer risk through dynamic epigenome alterations.
• General Services Administration proposed changes to the federal grant system on March 24, 2026, potentially affecting funding distribution.
• Updates could impact afterschool, summer, and educational programs reliant on grants.
• Public comments accepted through March 30, 2026, shaping 2026 policy landscape.
• Anduril demonstrated its AI-powered Lattice OS at the Hill and Valley Forum on March 24, 2026, for asset tracking and kill chain analysis.
• The system supports autonomous defense in multi-domain environments, aiding U.S. military re-industrialization.
• Used in drones and submarines, it addresses AI sorting challenges in high-stakes operations.
In today’s newsletter: Off Duty revisits the conviction of Alexander Villa, raising troubling questions about how it was builtGood morning. On the evening of 29 December 2011, Clifton Lewis – an off-duty Chicago police officer working as a security guard at a minimart on the city’s west side – was shot dead during a robbery. The killing prompted a huge manhunt and an intensive investigation by the Chicago police department. Years later, prosecutors said they had their man, and in 2019 Alexander Villa was convicted of Lewis’s murder and sentenced to life in prison.But the case against Lewis has long been contested – and as the Guardian’s new investigative podcast series, Off Duty, explores, there are troubling questions about how that conviction was secured, from confessions that were later recanted to evidence that appears shaky or missing. And it revolves around a justice system that, once it settled on a suspect, seemed unwilling to reconsider.Iran | The global energy crisis caused by the war in Iran is equivalent to the combined force of the twin oil shocks of the 1970s and the fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the head of the International Energy Agency has warned.UK news | Four ambulances belonging to the Jewish community ambulance service have been set on fire in Golders Green, with police saying they were treating the incident as an “antisemitic hate crime”.Technology | Palantir is to be granted access to a trove of highly sensitive UK financial regulation data, in a deal that has prompted fresh concerns about the US AI company’s deepening reach into the British state, the Guardian can reveal.UK news | An undercover police officer has admitted he was exposed as an infiltrator by his own blunder, which has been described by activists as worthy of Inspector Clouseau, the spycops public inquiry has heard.Business | Several porridge products in the UK have been recalled over a possible mice contamination at their manufacturing site. Continue reading...
• Scientists from Oregon State University and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research have identified 16 'tipping elements' across Earth's systems, including the Greenland Ice Sheet, Amazon rainforest, and Atlantic Ocean's overturning current, that could trigger a 'hothouse Earth trajectory' if pushed past critical temperature thresholds.
• Atmospheric CO2 has reached 422.5 parts per million, about 50% higher than pre-industrial levels, with researchers warning that triggering one tipping element could push others closer to their own thresholds in a cascading effect.
• The study, published in One Earth, distinguishes between a 'hothouse trajectory'—a direction of travel that could theoretically be interrupted—and a 'hothouse state,' where the planet would be locked into extreme, sustained heat and seas many meters higher.
• The US Department of Defense designated Palantir's Maven Smart System as a core program for operations planning, per a March 9, 2026 memorandum by Deputy Secretary Steven Feinberg.
• The status ensures stable long-term funding and permanent AI integration across all US armed forces branches.
• Maven has supported thousands of strikes in the Middle East, including Iran, in recent weeks.
Weakening system expected to bring severe weather across parts of NT already saturated from recent rains and flooding. Follow live updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWelcome to another Sunday Guardian live blog.We’ll continue to bring you the latest on Tropical Cyclone Narelle, which crossed the Northern Territory coast early this morning as a severe category three system, and will continue moving west bringing rain and dangerous storm surges across the Top End.Within this severe weather warning zone, we will see 24-hour rainfall totals of between 180 to 230 millimetres and some isolated locations could see more than 300mm, particularly to the north of Katherine, and this could produce dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding. Continue reading...
Families, advocates and lawmakers say poor care, opaque investigations and bureaucracy leave deaths unexplainedSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe circumstances of many of the record number of deaths in US immigration custody under the second Trump administration have left loved ones often searching in vain for answers amid a lack of transparency over key investigations.Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reports mandated by Congress, autopsy reports and 911 calls collected by the Guardian raise questions about the quality of medical care, allegedly inadequate or haphazard responses to emergencies, and contraction of diseases and infections inside detention facilities that in some cases contributed to detainee deaths. Continue reading...
• Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg declared Palantir's Maven Smart System an official program of record in a March 9 letter, locking in long-term use of Palantir's weapons-targeting technology across the U.S. military.
• Feinberg stated embedding Maven would provide warfighters "with the latest tools necessary to detect, deter, and dominate our adversaries in all domains," with implementation expected by the close of fiscal year 2026 in September.
• Maven is a command-and-control software platform that analyzes battlefield data and identifies targets; it is already the primary AI operating system for U.S. military operations.
Gwyn Samuels, who committed crimes as James Bubb, befriended both victims online befriended both victims onlineA Metropolitan police officer who raped a girl and a woman after “systematically” grooming them both online has been jailed for 24 years.James Bubb, who now identifies as a woman named Gwyn Samuels, first sexually assaulted the girl when she was just 12 years old after befriending her online in 2018, the trial at Aylesbury crown court was told last year. Continue reading...
• Hughes Network Systems won a US Air Force Research Laboratory contract under the RAPID program to develop hybrid satellite networks blending military, allied, and commercial systems.
• The project explores software-defined networking, AI, and machine learning for resilient communications in contested environments, routing data across space and terrestrial links.
• Aimed at improving military connectivity for command centers and tactical forces, it supports broader DoD efforts like Enterprise SATCOM for flexible bandwidth management.
Exclusive: eSafety commission pointed to Musk’s promise that ‘removing child exploitation is priority #1’ in letter obtained by Guardian Australia The Australian online safety regulator warned Elon Musk’s X amid the Grok sexualised image generation scandal that it found child abuse material was “particularly systemic” on X and more accessible than “any other mainstream service”, correspondence obtained by Guardian Australia reveals.The eSafety commissioner wrote to X in January after its chatbot Grok was used to generate sexualised images of women and children online, in what the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, described as “abhorrent”. Continue reading...
• A powerful winter storm is impacting the Midwest, causing significant travel disruptions for millions of Americans as the system is forecast to move eastward.
• The severe weather creates additional operational challenges across transportation networks already strained by various crises and conflicts affecting global commerce.
• Forecasters warn of continued travel trouble as the storm progresses across the country over the coming days.
• An immigrant child died in ICE custody in Dallas, marking at least the 12th death in immigration detention since the beginning of 2026, raising renewed scrutiny of detention conditions and medical care protocols.
• The death underscores ongoing concerns about oversight and accountability within the immigration enforcement system during a period of intensified deportation enforcement.
Despite Trump’s claims, California city has found success in lowering deadly violence, thanks to pioneering efforts to steer people down a different pathIn the summer of 2025, as Donald Trump rolled out his plan to deploy the national guard to Washington DC and Chicago, he suggested other American cities were overrun with violence and could soon see federal troops: Memphis, Los Angeles, New York.Oakland, the president argued, was beyond saving. “And then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland. They’re so far gone. We don’t even talk about that any more,” Trump said. Continue reading...
• Advanced Machine Intelligence raised over $1 billion in a major funding round on March 16, 2026, targeting AI systems specialized in reasoning, planning, and world models.
• Investors are shifting capital toward alternative AI architectures beyond traditional large language models, prioritizing deep tech with strategic advantages.
• This deal highlights the growing emphasis on startups with access to computational power and proprietary data in the US venture market.
Comfort Systems USA shares posted a 15% weekly gain ending March 13, 2026, forming an outside week upside reversal amid market weakness. The industrial firm's performance stands out as major indexes like the S&P 500 fell 0.6% and Nasdaq dropped 0.9% on Friday due to oil-driven volatility. This breakout signals potential in construction and HVAC sectors despite broader economic caution. Investors eye continued strength if support levels hold into next week.
Comfort Systems USA stock gained 15% for the week ending March 13, 2026, forming an outside week upside reversal pattern that caught investor attention amid market turbulence. The HVAC services provider demonstrated resilience with solid performance, positioning it as a potential leader in industrial stocks. This breakout underscores strength in infrastructure-related sectors as broader indexes like the S&P 500 approached their 200-day lines. Upcoming catalysts could include contract wins tied to US construction spending data.
Comfort Systems USA shares jumped 15% for the week ending March 13, 2026, forming an outside week upside reversal pattern after strong Friday gains. The company reported adjusted diluted earnings per share and revenue figures that beat expectations, driving the rally despite broader market weakness. This performance underscores resilience in construction and HVAC sectors amid economic slowdown concerns. Investors anticipate sustained growth if infrastructure spending continues.
Samsung announced at CES 2026 a vision to unify artificial intelligence across its entire device ecosystem, committing to integrate AI into new mobile devices, 4K and higher-resolution televisions, and home appliance lineups globally. The company positioned these intelligent devices as AI companions designed to understand user context and routines, functioning beyond traditional 'smart' gadgets to anticipate user needs and quietly enable personalized experiences. Samsung's latest televisions now feature Vision AI that analyzes content, user preferences, and viewing environments in real-time to automatically optimize picture and sound without manual adjustments, while home appliances transition from tools to true AI companions that master automated routines and reduce mental load of household chores. The company is launching a new Galaxy S Series this month as part of what it calls a 'new era of intelligence' intended to be both powerful and effortless for consumers.
Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center has dramatically improved staff retention by reducing nursing turnover from 46% to approximately 4% through enhanced recruitment and community engagement strategies, as reported by CEO Rodney Reider on March 14, 2026. The health system hired 93 new providers and 40 additional nurses while adding nearly 160 beds to expand capacity and reduce emergency department wait times to 11–14 minutes on average. These infrastructure investments include new anesthesia machines, advanced imaging technology, and newly opened Cancer and Cardiovascular Centers, addressing critical workforce challenges that intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic when many nurses pursued travel opportunities. The improvements demonstrate how hospitals can retain staff by reinforcing community connections and workplace belonging beyond physical facilities.
