Alarm

Woman’s body found in Iwate prefecture last week, soon after a police officer was injured in bear attack nearbyRested but famished bears emerging from hibernation in Japan are already coming into contact with humans, with the pace of sightings outstripping that seen in 2025, a record year for bear attacks.According to media reports, the animals have been spotted with surprising frequency in urban areas in the country’s north-east, with authorities urging caution among people planning to spend the coming Golden Week public holidays in the countryside. Continue reading...

Climate experts and advocates warn House and Senate bills will protect polluters at the cost of the climate Republican lawmakers are attempting to shield big oil from having to pay for its contributions to the climate crisis, alarming environmental advocates.New House and Senate bills, led by Harriet Hageman, a Wyoming representative, and Ted Cruz, a Texas senator, respectively, would give oil and gas companies broad legal immunity from policies and lawsuits aimed at holding the industry accountable for damages caused by its emissions. Continue reading...

Researchers find increase in whale deaths in the Bay, largely because of collisions with vessels on busy shipping routeGray whales have historically been a rare sight in the San Francisco Bay. They trek from the warm lagoons of Mexico’s Baja California over 10,000 miles north to the Arctic region to feast on shrimp-like animals during the summers, seldom stopping in the busy shipping corridor for prolonged periods.But in recent years, that story has changed in a dire way. A new study, published this week in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, has found that gray whales in the Bay have been dying at alarming rates, largely due to collisions with vessels. Continue reading...

LA28 set aside tickets for LA and Oklahoma City residents, but some say they faced exorbitant prices and high feesSince tickets for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles went on sale for local residents on 2 April, excitement for the Games has given way to sticker shock among some Angelenos over what they describe as exorbitant prices and an unexpected service fee.LA28 had made a wave of slots in the presale ticket lottery available for residents throughout southern California, where the majority of contests will take place, and in Oklahoma City, which will host the canoe slalom and softball events. Tickets ranged in price from $28 into the thousands. Continue reading...

Study that reportedly found reduction in ER visits and hospitalizations being reviewed by Jay BhattacharyaA Trump administration appointee has delayed publication of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that shows benefits related to the Covid vaccine, leading to concerns that the administration is engaging in behind-the-scenes tactics to undermine vaccines.Research by CDC scientists found that the Covid vaccine cut the likelihood of emergency room visits and hospitalizations for healthy adults last winter by about half, according to reporting from the Washington Post. The acting CDC director, Jay Bhattacharya, reportedly delayed the report’s publication due to concerns surrounding the research’s methodology. Continue reading...

Von der Leyen urged to take action about alleged disinformation and intimidation on behalf of Orbán’s partyThe European Commission is being urged to investigate whether Hungary’s elections are being undermined by Russian manipulation, intimidation of journalists and voter coercion by the ruling party.Three days before decisive parliamentary elections that threaten the 16-year grip on power of the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, a group of MEPs wrote to the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and the commissioner responsible for the rule of law, Michael McGrath, calling for action. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Sources believe AI tech company’s engineers have been granted access to directory of up to 1.5m staff UK politics live – latest updatesHealth service staff have expressed alarm that engineers working for controversial tech company Palantir have been given NHS email accounts.Employees using NHS.net email accounts have access to a directory with the contact details of up 1.5 million staff. Sources believe Palantir staff were granted the same access. Continue reading...

Chad Bianco of Riverside county obtained warrants to seize ballots cast for state’s successful redistricting referendumSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA California sheriff’s decision to seize about 650,000 ballots based on specious allegations of fraud has raised considerable alarm bells that similar efforts to undermine confidence in the electoral system could materialize this fall.The episode underscores how sheriffs and other officials can transform shoddy claims about voter fraud into law enforcement actions. Executing a warrant to seize ballots disrupts the chain of custody that is critical to maintaining ballot integrity, and also plants the idea in the public’s mind that a crime has occurred. Continue reading...

New legislation comes amid push from big oil, as critics warn polluters’ profits prioritized over Americans’ healthUtah has made it nearly impossible for residents to hold fossil fuel companies legally accountable for climate damages in a move one advocacy group described as putting “profits for the biggest polluters over communities”, with other states expected to follow suit.The new state legislation comes as part of a push from big oil and its political allies – including groups tied to rightwing impresario Leonard Leo – for legal immunity in red statehouses and Congress, with a goal of winning state and federal legal immunity similar to the liability waiver granted to the firearms industry in 2005. Continue reading...

Strain found in 29 states and Puerto Rico carries spike mutations, but no data shows increased severitySign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxBA.3.2, an Omicron variant of Covid-19 with dozens of new spike mutations, has been detected in 29 US states and Puerto Rico, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but experts say there is not yet evidence it is more severe than other recent variants.“The right response to BA.3.2 is serious attention, not alarm,” says Dr Jake Scott, a Stanford professor and infectious disease expert who authored a systematic review of Covid vaccines for the New England Journal of Medicine. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Ryan Bridge is co-founder of Raise the Colours, which has been criticised for anti-immigrant rhetoricThe leader of a flag campaign group has been arrested on suspicion of causing religiously and racially aggravated harassment.Ryan Bridge is the co-founder of Raise the Colours, which has put up hundreds of union and Saint George flags across England and attracted criticism for spreading anti-immigrant rhetoric. He was arrested on Tuesday and released on police bail the following day. Continue reading...

East Kent hospitals NHS trust says it could have acted sooner to notify UKHSA after first reported case East Kent hospitals NHS trust missed an earlier opportunity to alert the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) of the meningitis outbreak in Kent, it has been reported.According to the BBC, the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother hospital in Margate first reported a case to the UKHSA on the afternoon of Friday 13 March. Continue reading...

Nasa reports show repeated warnings of close calls before crash that killed two pilots and injured 41 othersSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxPilot safety concerns about New York’s LaGuardia airport were filed to aviation officials months before Sunday’s collision between an airplane and a firetruck left two pilots dead and 41 other people hospitalized.According to the aviation safety reporting system administered by the US space agency Nasa, a pilot using the airport in the summer wrote, “Please do something,” after air traffic controllers failed to provide appropriate guidance about multiple nearby aircraft. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Testing in Bentham, home to UK’s highest recorded Pfas levels, finds one in four have blood levels in greatest risk categoryAlarming levels of toxic forever chemicals have been found in the blood of people living in a town previously revealed to be contaminated with the UK’s highest recorded level of Pfas.Pfas, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and commonly known as forever chemicals because of their persistence in the environment, have been linked to a wide range of serious illnesses, including some cancers. They are used in a variety of consumer products but one of their most prolific uses is in firefighting foam. Continue reading...

A University of Pennsylvania Annenberg survey reveals only 11% of Americans would follow CDC over American Academy of Pediatrics on vaccine recommendations, signaling severe public health alarm fatigue. RFK Jr.'s leadership gutted the childhood immunization schedule from 17 to 11 vaccines, terminated $500 million in mRNA research contracts, and oversaw 2,200 measles cases with three deaths in 2025, risking loss of elimination status achieved in 2000. CDC trust plummeted from 75% to 60% in one year due to political leadership, though two-thirds still trust career scientists. Protocols are shifting as 77% prefer AAP guidance on vaccinations.