Sparks

Georgia players celebrated championship at White HousePresident shakes hands of men, not women in videoFormer tennis star Navratilova leads criticismA White House photo celebrating a champion women’s sports team has drawn backlash due to the positioning of Donald Trump and a group of men, who overshadowed the female athletes by lining up in front of them.The University of Georgia women’s tennis team was one of several collegiate teams to visit the White House on Wednesday to mark a recent championship win. In a photo shared by press aide Margo Martin, a group of six men, including Donald Trump, took up the front row of a stage setup, with 11 women standing in the background largely obscured. Continue reading...

• Anthropic launched Claude Mythos Preview on April 7, 2026, an advanced AI model designed for defensive cybersecurity that uncovered thousands of major vulnerabilities in every major operating system and web browser. • Through Project Glasswing, access granted to tech giants including Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple, and over 40 organizations maintaining critical software infrastructure. • Rising concerns from experts and governments about misuse risks to economies, public safety, and national security; US software stocks tumbled on April 9 amid fears of AI disruption to traditional security firms.

Donald Trump says he is ‘working very hard’ with House Republicans to extend Section 702 without changesUS politics live – latest updatesA controversial law that grants the US government sweeping powers for warrantless surveillance is set to expire next week. Replacing it has inspired fierce debate within the White House and Congress, including a scheduled vote cancelled the day of.A coalition of progressive Democrats and far-right Republicans is pushing for reform of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa), but they face strong bipartisan opposition from lawmakers advocating for an 18-month renewal with no changes, in line with Donald Trump’s demands. House GOP leaders delayed a procedural vote on a clean extension of Section 702 on Wednesday, after the chamber’s rules committee approved the measure on Tuesday night. Republican leadership was expected to bring the measure to the floor on Wednesday but canceled the scheduled vote, amid dissent from privacy advocates in their own party. Legislative action on the bill could still occur later in the day, as Republicans address their internal disagreements. Continue reading...

US president’s 19-minute Wednesday address at the White House was met with bewilderment from commentatorsDonald Trump’s primetime nationwide address on the war with Iran caused widespread bewilderment, with commentators voicing shock at his vow to continue bombing to “bring them back to the stone ages”.Speculation before Wednesday’s speech from the White House Blue Room suggested that the president might be about to signal a winding up of the US military effort, which began on 28 February. Continue reading...

EU, Spain and Germany, as well as rights groups, condemn law to execute Palestinian convicted terroristsA vote in the Israeli Knesset approving a bill sanctioning the execution of Palestinians convicted on terror charges for deadly attacks, but not Jewish extremists accused of similar crimes, has been greeted with widespread international condemnation.“The death penalty bill in Israel is very concerning to us in the EU,” the EU spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said in Brussels. “This is a clear step backwards – the introduction of the death penalty, together with the discriminatory nature of the law. Continue reading...

• Miami (Ohio) enters Selection Sunday with a 31-1 record, posing the biggest question for the NCAA Tournament committee on March 15, 2026. • Their single loss contrasts sharply with bubble teams like Auburn (17-16), which boasts top metrics but recent struggles, including nine losses in their last 12 games. • A Dayton win over VCU in the Atlantic 10 title game could eliminate one bubble spot, heightening competition for teams like SMU, San Diego State, Stanford, and Indiana.