Times

• De Los Angeles Times bezocht het comedyfestival Netflix is a Joke in 2026 en bracht verslag uit over de grappigste optredens en hoogtepunten van het uitgebreide meerdaagse evenement. • De publicatie stelde een selectie samen van de beste comedy-acts en momenten die tijdens de programmering van het festival te zien waren. • Netflix is a Joke blijft een van de grootste comedyfestivals in de Verenigde Staten, met een breed scala aan comedytalent en entertainment.

• De Straits Times Index van Singapore steeg op 7 mei met 0,3% naar 4.941,96, geleid door een stijging van 10,9% van Venture Corp naar $18,28, al daalde de index op 8 mei met 0,4% naar 4.921,90. • Deze beweging weerspiegelt selectieve kracht in de techsector te midden van bredere voorzichtigheid op de Aziatische markten. • De winst van Venture onderstreept het vertrouwen van beleggers in de veerkracht van de elektronische productie in Singapore.

Stanley Burkhardt, convicted abuser and ex-investigator of sex crimes against children, gives deposition in civil caseConvicted child molester Stanley Burkhardt – a former investigator of sex crimes against children who has been in and out of prison for decades – invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination more than 700 times while being questioned under oath recently, including when asked whether he committed a series of unsolved murders of youths in his orbit.Burkhardt’s decision to remain silent came when faced with questions about the killings during a deposition in a civil lawsuit by an alleged sexual abuse victim of his – a case aimed at him and the New Orleans police department (NOPD) which used to employ him. Continue reading...

Green leader said he hosted fundraisers for the Red Cross but accepts he should not have described himself as a spokesperson for itGood morning. Zack Polanski was largely unknown until he became the Green party leader in September last year and since then, as his party has soared in the polls, there has been intense scrutiny of his pre-politics career. The best-known embarrassing revelation about his past is the fact that he once told a woman he could enlarge her breasts if she listened to his hypnotherapy spiel. Nigel Farage, who also leads a dispruption party enjoying spectacular success, has scandals in his past too, and Polanski’s allies would argue that they are worse. Farage took a £5m donation from a political supporter which he did not declare, he still has not provided as good explanation as to how his partner was able to afford to buy a home in Farage’s Clacton constituency and arguably he told 30 million women that he could enlarge the size of their bank balances if they listened to his spiel on Brexit. Guardian readers can decide for themselves who is more dodgy.But, as we tell our children, life isn’t fair. And it certainly isn’t fair for leftwing politicians campaigning in an environment where the rightwing media have considerable influence. Polanski discovered that again last night when the Times printed a story with various claims about him, of which the main one related to an allegation about his embellishing his CV. Here is our version by Jessica Elgot.I hosted various fundraisers for the British Red Cross, and indeed I would go on stage and speak for them about the amazing work they do tackling humanitarian crises, on the climate crisis and indeed for refugees all around the world.I used the wrong word and I accept that.It feels some of these stories feel like scraping the barrel to go back 10, 15 years.I’ve had so many friends – I’m literally talking maybe 20 or 30 in the last few weeks – who have phoned me and said a Times journalist has been phoning and they’ve been desperately trying to find things about your past. They asked me lots of questions and seem disappointed that I didn’t have some juicy, dirty gossip. Continue reading...

• Indian cybersecurity companies are deploying in-house AI agents built on large language models to combat threats. • These AI agents reduce software vulnerability detection and remediation times from days to hours. • The acceleration matches attackers' machine-speed operations, where human response windows shrink to near zero.

Analysis finds real wages fell 12% since 2019, with inequality widening in the US beyond global levelsCEO pay increased 20 times faster than worker pay around the world in 2025, according to a new analysis from Oxfam and the International Trade Union Confederation, the world’s largest trade union federation.When adjusted for inflation, global worker pay declined 12% between 2019 and 2025, the equivalent of 108 days of free work during that time period. In comparison, CEO compensation increased by 54% between 2019 and 2025. Continue reading...

• Google engineers developed TurboQuant, a method compressing AI data to require up to six times less working memory without performance loss. • The system enables AI algorithms to retain information and compute powerfully with reduced hardware needs. • This breakthrough lowers barriers for deploying advanced chatbots and AI models on resource-constrained devices.

FT branch of NUJ say there is not ‘compelling case’ for mandate for editorial staff to be in office four days a weekJournalists at the Financial Times are at loggerheads with the publication’s management over plans to order staff back to the office four days a week by the end of the year.Members of the Financial Times’ union have unanimously voted to invoke the company’s dispute procedure over the proposals, arguing that management have “not made a compelling case” for the need to move from the current three office days. Continue reading...

A six-month-old girl was found alone in a stroller at a busy intersection in the famed Manhattan sightseeing areaSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxPolice are searching for the father of a baby left in a stroller in Times Square on Tuesday night.The New York police department said they received an emergency call at about 11pm concerning the six-month-old girl, who was found at West 44the Street and Seventh Avenue. Police reported that she was unharmed, conscious and alert inside a stroller. The infant was transported to an area hospital. Continue reading...

Demographic also overrepresented when police officers use force such as handcuffs, firearms or Tasers, says children’s commissionerBlack children across England and Wales are almost eight times more likely to be strip-searched by police than their white counterparts, a report has disclosed.Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, said Black children are also overrepresented when officers use force and were more likely to have their “size, gender or build” cited as justification. Continue reading...

Tim Friede put his ‘ass on the line’ to help stop snakebite deaths – whose numbers appear to be rising amid the climate crisisAs we overheat and degrade our planet, more people are set to come into contact, sometimes fatally, with venomous snakes. One man hopes to provide an unusual solution to this, after subjecting himself to 200 intentional snakebites to his body.For nearly 20 years, Tim Friede, 58, allowed some of the most lethal snakes in the world to bite him so he could build up an immunity that could one day be developed into a universal antivenom. Continue reading...

A man in Phoenix had ‘over 100 stings’ and was airlifted out of a mountain trailSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA hiker was taken to a hospital in critical condition after bees stung him more than 100 times on an Arizona mountain trail over the Easter weekend – an emergency which required the help of a helicopter crew.The man reported “over 100 stings” had left him “unable to continue his descent” from the summit of Lookout Mountain Preserve in north Phoenix at about 10am on Saturday, the local fire department said in a statement. Continue reading...

• The California track and field team competed Friday across three separate meets, with several athletes posting program top-10 times and event wins during the early outdoor season. • Senior John Sesteaga led the men's 5000m with a personal-best 14:33.83, while Addie Johnson recorded a program top-10 performance in the women's 5000m with a time of 16:04.57, rising to No. 6 all-time. Redshirt freshman Sabine Kim improved her outdoor 5000m personal record by 80 seconds, finishing in 16:32.16. • The Bears' performances included a 110m hurdles win with a 15.07 personal record, a discus mark of 34.75m, and a pole vault personal best of 4.40m, demonstrating strong early-season momentum.

• Commercial property insurer FM Global announced April 2, 2026 that the Financial Times has recognized it as one of The Americas' Fastest-Growing Companies of 2026. • The Johnston, Rhode Island-based insurer joins other leading regional companies on the prestigious FT list recognizing high-growth businesses. • The recognition highlights FM's strong business performance and market position in the competitive commercial property insurance sector.

Prime minister urges Australians to consider using public transport and conserve fuel for ‘critical industry’ and othersFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralian prime minister Anthony Albanese has used a rare address to the nation to attempt to allay public fears over dwindling fuel supplies, vowing to keep petrol prices down by shoring up international supplies and ramping up local production.But the opposition has been scathing of the address, describing it as “nothing but hot air” and urging more clarity over the fuel crisis. Continue reading...

• Caltech scientists led by Manuel Endres unveiled a theoretical design for neutral-atom quantum computers that slashes required hardware by roughly 100 times, potentially making scalable machines feasible within years. • The breakthrough uses laser-trapped atoms movable across arrays, enabling long-distance connections unlike fixed-qubit systems; Endres noted, 'It’s actually very surprising how well this works,' calling it 'ultra-efficient error correction.' • Last year, the team assembled a record 6,100 atomic qubits, published in Nature, advancing beyond nearest-neighbor limitations in other platforms.

Exclusive: Health secretary’s pledges in doubt as analysis shows health service will not deliver key improvementsThe NHS is set to miss key targets to shorten waiting times for help at A&E, cancer care and planned hospital treatment, leaving millions of patients facing persistently long delays.The health service in England will not deliver a series of milestone improvements in its performance that ministers demanded it achieve by the time the fiscal year ends on Tuesday, a Guardian analysis of the NHS’s most recent data has found. Continue reading...

• 50 Cent announced a $100 million partnership with Planet Hollywood to launch PH Live, a state-of-the-art entertainment venue in Times Square, New York City, on March 27, 2026. • The immersive space will host surprise concerts, movie premieres, exclusive A-list parties, and feature curated menus including 50 Cent's favorites like steak with mac and cheese and a signature burger. • This deal redefines New York City nightlife, positioning 50 Cent as a major entertainment mogul with a high-tech hub in a prime location.

Passengers report varying experiences at different times of day at security screening as ICE agents assist TSA staffUS politics – live updatesHartfield-Jackson Atlanta international airport turned the digital wait time sign off days ago. Predicting passenger behavior can be hard; predicting the behavior of unpaid TSA agents is also hard. Keeping an accurate clock has been impossible.Even though ICE agents have started filling in for TSA screeners at some airports, a morning flight might mean a three-hour slog with lines winding around baggage carousels, from the security checkpoint all the way outside to the curb. Continue reading...

• A joint U.S.-Ecuador military strike on March 6 targeting an alleged narco-terrorist training camp actually destroyed a dairy farm in the remote Ecuadorian village of San Martín in the Amazon jungle, according to a New York Times investigation. • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted video of the strike online claiming the U.S. was "bombing Narco Terrorists on land," but local residents reported Ecuadorian soldiers had arrived three days earlier by helicopter, interrogated and beat farmworkers, and set fire to structures before the bombing occurred. • The Alliance for Human Rights, an Ecuadorian coalition, filed a 13-page complaint with Ecuadorian authorities and the United Nations over the incident, raising serious questions about civilian casualties and military conduct in the operation.

Campaigners criticise frequent use of storm overflows when parts of the country were in drought for monthsRaw sewage was discharged into rivers and seas almost 300,000 times last year after the driest spring for more than 100 years and the sunniest and warmest year on record in England.Water companies released raw sewage into rivers and seas from storm overflows – designed to be used in extreme wet weather conditions – 291,492 times. This was a 35% reduction on record spills in 2024. Average discharges were 20.5 spills for each overflow, compared with 31.8 in the previous year. Continue reading...

Investors believe Bank of England is likely to act amid sustained rise in inflation from Iran warBusiness live – latest updates‘Trumpflation’: how the Iran war’s economic storm could affect BritonsThe Bank of England will raise the cost of borrowing four times this year, pushing UK interest rates from 3.75% to 4.75% amid the conflict in the Middle East, according to financial market speculators.In a blow to mortgage payers, international investors are betting that the UK is vulnerable to a sustained rise in inflation after the US-Israel attack on Iran. Continue reading...

Lawsuit alleged changes gave DoD free rein to punish reporters and outlets over coverage it did not likeSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s restrictive Pentagon press access policy, which threatens journalists with being branded security risks if they seek information not authorized for public release.The lawsuit by the New York Times in the Washington DC federal court alleged that policy changes by the defense department last year gave it free rein to freeze out reporters and news outlets over coverage the department did not like, in violation of the constitution’s protections for free speech and due process. Continue reading...

• Georgia Tech researchers developed SAIL (Speed Adaptation for Imitation Learning), allowing robots to learn and execute complex tasks like stacking cups, folding cloth, and food packing significantly faster than human demonstrations. • SAIL robots completed tasks three to four times quicker across 12 evaluated scenarios in simulation and on physical platforms, while preserving precision, control, and safety. • The breakthrough addresses speed barriers in imitation learning, advancing general-purpose robots capable of any human-hand task for industrial and household use.

• A New York Times investigation on March 19, 2026, alleges civil rights icon Cesar Chavez groomed and sexually abused teenage girls in the farmworkers movement. • Sources detail multiple accounts of abuse during the 1970s, challenging Chavez's legacy as a labor hero. • The revelations prompt reevaluation of U.S. civil rights history and calls for institutional accountability.

Hummus and pet grooming also join list of goods and services used to help judge the impact of rising prices Business live – latest updatesThe UK’s increasing sobriety will be recognised from next month in the basket of goods used to calculate inflation after alcohol-free beer was added to a list by the Office for National Statistics totalling 760 items.Hummus and pet grooming were also included in the list of goods and services used to help judge the impact of rising prices on the cost of living. Continue reading...