Including

• Anthropic unveiled 10 new AI agents designed for banks and insurers to automate tasks like building pitchbooks, auditing statements, and drafting credit memos. • Major global firms such as Goldman Sachs, Citi, Visa, and AIG have adopted Anthropic's Claude AI, with banks using the Claude Mythos model for cybersecurity enhancements. • The agents integrate directly with Claude Code and Cowork products, allowing customization to firm-specific policies and styles, accelerating finance sector AI adoption.

New immigration enforcement package could fund security of $400m ‘East Wing modernization project’Senate Republicans have released a new immigration enforcement funding package that includes a proposed $1bn that could go to security measures related to the $400m ballroom that is part of Donald Trump’s “East Wing modernization project”.Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican who chairs the Senate judiciary committee, released the funding plan on Monday, as part of a wider bill the Republican party plans to pass along party lines to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies involved in the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts. Continue reading...

• Netflix kicks off the week on May 4 with Lord of the Flies, followed by Priyanka Chopra's Citadel Season 2 on Prime Video starting May 6, and more on JioHotstar by May 9. • The slate features sequels like Citadel Season 2 with Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, alongside new pilots and drama series across Netflix, Prime Video, and JioHotstar. • Highlights include Worst Ex and Thank You Next Season 3, offering action, drama, and high-stakes spy thrillers for global audiences.

• Backers introduced over three dozen bills in statehouses to expand raw milk access, despite public health warnings and at least five outbreaks in the past year. • Current E. coli outbreak linked to raw milk cheddar cheese from California-based Raw Farm has sickened nine people, half children under 5, with one developing lifelong kidney complications. • Public health officials warn unpasteurized milk harbors risky germs, alarming experts as more states legalize sales.

• SRI International contributed to four of the top 15 greatest US breakthroughs as ranked by Wall Street Journal readers: the internet, personal computing, color television, and artificial intelligence. • The recognition highlights SRI's foundational role in transformative technologies. • This acknowledgment underscores US leadership in science and innovation history.

Images in Helen Polley’s post included a marching band, people laying wreaths and ex-serving members giving speeches set to a track by US rapper ChingyGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA federal Labor senator has deleted a social media video which mistakenly included audio of an explicit rap song over a carousel of photos of Anzac Day commemorations.Senator Helen Polley, a former shadow minister and current chair of parliament’s committee on law enforcement, posted a video compilation of images paying respect to Australia’s defence forces. Continue reading...

• Scientists using the Rubin Observatory identified over 11,000 new asteroids in our solar system. • Discoveries include hundreds of distant objects beyond Neptune, expanding knowledge of outer solar system. • This US-based telescope project enhances planetary defense and solar system mapping efforts.

NSW and Queensland governments ‘severely underdelivered’ on promised infrastructure to improve water flows, independent review findsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo state governments have drastically underdelivered more than $160m in infrastructure measures to improve river health in the northern Murray-Darling basin eight years since they were promised, a major independent review has found.This includes failure by the New South Wales government to secure any of the private land access needed to improve water flows over floodplains in the state’s Gwydir region where scientists had to scramble to rescue turtles in dried up wetlands last week. Continue reading...

• President Trump announced hopes for a Friday meeting with Russian leaders to pave the way for a second sit-down including Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy. • He tempered expectations, noting complex diplomacy amid ongoing conflict stalemate. • The potential talks signal U.S. push for resolution, potentially altering European security dynamics.

Labor says cuts to disability scheme mean elderly will get more help. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Nick Visser will be your guide through the morning.Today the health minister, Mark Butler, will detail major changes to the NDIS including significant funding “savings”. The government says the savings, in part, from the national disability insurance scheme will go to funding improved aged care including showering and dressing. Continue reading...

• Preliminary data from the Simonyi Survey Telescope at NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory revealed over 11,000 new asteroids, including hundreds beyond Neptune and 33 near-Earth objects. • University of Washington scientists contributed to the ultrafast alerting system detecting up to seven million cosmic changes nightly. • Findings enhance solar system mapping and planetary defense efforts.

Massive fire followed explosion at 5,000-sq-ft warehouse near Esparto, an hour from Sacramento, on 1 July Multiple people have been charged with murder in connection to a fatal fireworks-warehouse explosion in California that killed seven people and injured two others in July.The explosion at the 5,000-sq-ft warehouse sparked a massive fire near the small town of Esparto, about an hour outside Sacramento. The explosion took place on 1 July; local celebrations to commemorate the Fourth of July holiday were cancelled that year. Continue reading...

• Academy Awards nominations announced April 5 in Los Angeles, with sci-fi drama 'Eclipse' topping at 14 nods, followed by 'The Reckoning' at 12. • Director Ava DuVernay's 'The Reckoning' earned Best Director and Best Actress for Zendaya, while 'Eclipse' star Timothée Chalamet got Best Actor. • Nominations reflect diversity push, with 45% women and 40% people of color among acting nominees, per Academy stats.

• Complex TV curates 10 must-watch movies for April 2026, featuring Christopher Nolan films alongside Wayans family comedies. • The lineup includes hood classics 'Belly' and 'King of New York,' offering diverse cinematic options from prestige dramas to urban tales. • This selection caters to varied tastes, blending high-profile directors with cult favorites for streaming viewers.

• West Virginia lawmakers completed 306 bills (153 House, 153 Senate) out of 2,777 introduced in the 2026 session, with Senate Bill 1 launching the First Small Business Growth Act via Commerce Department incentives. • Senate Bill 104 grants $5,000 salary increases to all state mine inspectors effective July 1, 2026, covering electrical, underground, and surface specialists. • Additional measures include Senate Bill 44 regulating cottage foods and Senate Bill 137 raising second-degree murder sentences to 15-60 years with 15-year parole minimum.

• Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on March 31 that it will target 18 major US technology and industrial companies in the West Asia region starting 8 PM Tehran time on April 1 (1630 GMT), in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks on Iranian pharmaceutical facilities and leadership. • The hit list includes Microsoft, Google, Apple, Meta, Intel, IBM, Tesla, Nvidia, Boeing, HP, Cisco, Oracle, Dell, and others, accused of enabling high-tech warfare through AI, ICT, and satellite tracking for assassinations. • IRGC urged employees to immediately evacuate workplaces and residents within a one-kilometer radius to leave for safety, labeling the firms as 'terrorist companies' and promising destruction of their regional units.

• The United States is broadening national security restrictions beyond telecommunications infrastructure to encompass consumer technology products such as routers and drones. • This expansion reflects growing concerns about foreign influence and vulnerabilities in consumer-grade technology that could pose risks to national security infrastructure. • The move represents an escalation in regulatory oversight of the tech sector as the government seeks to protect critical systems and supply chains from potential threats.

• Major companies—Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, OpenAI, and xAI—signed a federal pledge to provide their own electricity for AI data centers, shielding U.S. consumers from grid overload. • The commitment responds to exploding energy needs from AI infrastructure, following Meta's Louisiana gas plant initiative and similar efforts nationwide. • Industry leaders aim to prevent rate hikes and blackouts while fueling the AI boom central to U.S. tech competitiveness.

Government, industry and opposition see growing public support for a new gas tax but the industry is fighting backGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe gas industry is mobilising in opposition to a potential new tax on the sector as political momentum builds – including among Labor MPs – for the government to use the May budget to prevent producers profiting from the Middle East war.The Australian Energy Producers (AEP) chief executive, Samantha McCulloch, claimed a new tax would punish the same Asian trading partners Australia was leaning on to supply more fuel amid the global energy crisis. Continue reading...

CMA also looks into Pasta Evangelists, funeral operator Dignity and review company Feefo in latest crackdownThe UK competition watchdog has launched investigations into five companies including Autotrader and Just Eat over concerns they have not done enough to tackle fake and misleading online reviews.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has previously investigated the tech companies Amazon and Google, said its latest crackdown includes the funeral services operator Dignity, the review company Feefo and the restaurant chain Pasta Evangelists. Continue reading...

• The US Pentagon is developing plans for a 'final blow' in the Iran war, involving ground troops and massive bombing, as reported by Axios citing two US officials and knowledgeable sources on March 27, 2026. • US Central Command confirmed an Israeli airstrike killed Iran's IRGC Navy commander, amid escalating naval tensions near the Strait of Hormuz. • The Wall Street Journal revealed considerations for deploying 10,000 additional US troops with armored vehicles to the Middle East, coordinating with existing Marines and the 82nd Airborne Division.

• U.S. hospitals face escalating financial pressures as expenses rise over twice as fast as prices, with specialty margins varying widely amid ongoing challenges. • Ophthalmology leads with 17.5% margins, followed by genetics at 12.8%, hematology at 12.2%, cancer at 10.6%, and pulmonology at 2.4%. • Dipping overall margins signal need for cost controls as systems grapple with climbing operational expenses.

• President Donald Trump named prominent tech figures like Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, AMD CEO Lisa Su, and investor Marc Andreessen to his President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) on March 25, 2026. • The council, co-chaired by AI/crypto advisor David Sacks and science/technology assistant Michael Kratsios, typically has 24 members but currently lists 13, including two women: Safra Catz and Lisa Su. • PCAST, established since 1990 and originating under FDR, provides advisory reports on topics like quantum computing, pandemics, and energy without regulatory power; the current iteration ends in ten months unless extended.

• Morningstar identifies three core stocks as overvalued on March 24, 2026, recommending investors scale back holdings. • Estee Lauder shares declined after reports of Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group exploring a takeover, while Puig shares rallied in Madrid. • The analysis urges taking profits amid high valuations, with Estee Lauder in turnaround mode showing minimal reaction to news.

• Jim Parsons turns 53 on March 24, known for four Emmy wins as Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory and currently starring in Titanique musical. • Jessica Chastain and Peyton Manning also celebrate birthdays today, with Manning famous for his 2007 SNL United Way spoof sketch. • Alyson Hannigan, star of Buffy and How I Met Your Mother, shares the date after competing on Season 32 of Dancing with the Stars.

• NASA released initiatives on March 24, 2026, to advance America's National Space Policy, including an RFI for payloads supporting 2027-2028 lunar flights and the Rosalind Franklin Rover launch to Mars in 2028 with a mass spectrometer for organic matter analysis. • A new Earth science mission launching next year will measure convective storm dynamics to predict extreme weather up to six hours in advance; near-term lunar payloads include VIPER rover and LuSEE-Night, with up to 30 robotic landings from 2027. • These efforts ensure U.S. presence in low Earth orbit, expedite lunar science via commercial partnerships, and release new Saturn images from James Webb and Hubble telescopes, underpinning future Moon and Mars exploration.

Triple J will air without presenters while ABC News Breakfast is not expected to air as staff walk off the job to protest pay and conditionsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesSign up for Guardian Australia’s free weekly media newsletter hereThe ABC’s flagship news programs including 7.30 and AM will be replaced by the BBC World Service when ABC journalists walk off the job for 24 hours for the first time in 20 years on Wednesday.Staff are protesting what they say is a low pay offer from ABC managing director Hugh Marks, as well as work conditions and the broadcaster’s refusal to rule out replacing journalists with AI bots. Continue reading...

• Washington legislators adjourned sine die on March 12 after passing five significant AI-related bills, including SB 1786 requiring provenance data in AI-generated video, image, and audio content, and HB 2311 establishing safety standards for chatbots targeting children. • SB 1786 was approved by the full Senate on March 3 and is nearing third reading in the House, while HB 2311 passed its second Senate reading on March 9 with a "Do pass" recommendation from the Senate ATT Committee on March 17. • The bills represent growing legislative momentum on AI regulation across states, with additional measures addressing false advertising claims for health products and algorithmic transparency still in committee hearings.