Material

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection uncovered child sexual exploitation material on five cruise ships in San Diego between April 23-25, leading to the detention of 28 crew members including staff from Disney Magic. • Authorities revoked visas and deported the detained crew members, with passengers witnessing handcuffings during the enforcement operation. • The discovery represents a significant coordinated effort to combat child exploitation in the cruise ship industry.

Prosecutors drop two other charges against Jasper Jones author, 43, including allegations he produced child exploitation materialAward‑winning author Craig Silvey has pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child exploitation material, while a charge that he produced such material has been dropped.Silvey, 43, was first charged in January after detectives from Western Australia police’s child abuse squad raided his Fremantle home, allegedly catching him communicating online with child exploitation offenders and seizing his electronic devices. Continue reading...

Lauren Ashley Mastrosa given 18-month community corrections order after book was read by handful of advance readersThe author behind an offensive novel depicting toddler role-play has been convicted but spared jail for penning child abuse material.Lauren Ashley Mastrosa, a 34-year-old former marketing executive for a Christian charity, wrote Daddy’s Little Toy under the pen name Tori Woods and published it through an online pre-release in March 2025. Continue reading...

• Artificial intelligence has identified new materials significantly stronger than conventional metal alloys through machine learning analysis of material combinations. • MIT researchers used AI to discover a 3D printable aluminum alloy that demonstrates five times greater strength, with efficiency improving dramatically under specific conditions. • This AI-driven materials discovery could accelerate development of advanced materials for aerospace, automotive, and manufacturing applications.

Police say they found a ballistic-style vest, several notebooks and literature they allege contained extremist referencesTwo New South Wales teenagers have been charged with allegedly possessing violent extremist material after police searched one of their homes and found a ballistic-style vest, several notebooks and literature they allege contained extremist references.The Australian federal police and NSW police released a statement on Friday morning confirming the boys, aged 15 and 16 and both from Moree in northern NSW, had been charged with possession of alleged extremist material after a joint counterterrorism investigation. Continue reading...

Chad Bianco, running for governor, previously confiscated 650,000 ballots for baseless voter fraud investigationSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA Republican sheriff in California has confiscated additional ballot materials from a special election, escalating his conflict with state lawmakers who say he is conducting a baseless investigation into claims of voter fraud.On Tuesday, Chad Bianco, the Riverside county sheriff who is running for governor, was already at the center of a legal controversy after seizing 650,000 ballots from last year’s special election. Earlier this week he ordered his office to seize 426 additional boxes of ballot materials as part of the alleged criminal investigation, prompting criticism from lawmakers including Rob Bonta, California’s Democratic attorney general. Continue reading...

Man was teaching at a secondary school for boys when he allegedly targeted the girl – who police say he did not knowGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA high school teacher has been accused of grooming a teenage girl and offering money for her to produce sexually explicit material.Police allege the 29-year-old man targeted a 14-year-old girl not known to him, before she told her parents who alerted authorities. Continue reading...

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...

Jasper Jones author also charged with additional count of possessing child exploitation materialFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralian author Craig Silvey has been charged with more child exploitation offences.The 43-year-old was previously charged with possessing and distributing child exploitation material in early January. Continue reading...