Breaking AI & Tech News Analyzed

US lawmakers, including Senator Chris Murphy and Representative Greg Casar, are taking steps to regulate prediction markets by introducing the Banning Event Trading on Sensitive Operations and Federal Functions (BETS OFF) Act. This legislation seeks to prohibit wagers on sensitive events such as government actions, terrorism, war, assassination, and events where an individual knows or controls the outcome. The proposed bill comes in response to concerns that betting platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket have allowed users to profit from geopolitical conflicts, including the US and Israel's joint strikes against Iran and the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Critics argue that these platforms enable individuals with insider knowledge to influence government decisions and profit from them. Murphy emphasized that the legislation aims to prevent the monetization of sensitive events, stating, "What happens to us spiritually when every moral question in this country becomes a market?" He added that certain matters should not be influenced by the potential for profit. The lawmakers cited examples of significant profits made by users on Polymarket, including a $500,000 profit from a bet on Iran's supreme leader being out of power hours before a strike. They suggested that such trades may have been made by individuals with insider knowledge from within the White House or close to the administration. The BETS OFF Act is part of a broader effort to regulate the prediction market industry. Other proposed legislation includes measures to establish federal consumer protections, ban elected officials from profiting from prediction markets, and impose age verification for users.

Israeli settlers carried out coordinated attacks on multiple towns and villages in the occupied West Bank for the second consecutive night, resulting in at least nine Palestinian injuries. The violence took place during the Eid al-Fitr holiday, marking the end of Ramadan.In one incident, a 45-year-old man was shot in the foot during a confrontation with Israeli settlers in Deir al-Hatab, east of Nablus. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that a 47-year-old Palestinian man was attacked by settlers in Jabal al-Arma in Beita, while others were beaten.The attacks were widespread, with homes and cars set ablaze and property vandalized across the occupied West Bank. Simultaneous assaults occurred in at least six communities, including villages near Jenin and Nablus.The violence followed a funeral for 18-year-old Yehuda Sherman, an Israeli settler killed in a collision with a Palestinian vehicle. Israeli police are investigating claims that the collision was deliberate.The Israeli government's expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank has been met with international criticism. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that 25 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and soldiers so far this year.Amnesty International condemned the expansion of illegal settlements and state-backed settler violence, calling it a "direct indictment of the international community's catastrophic failure" to take action. The International Court of Justice ruled in 2024 that Israel's continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and should end "as rapidly as possible".

The UK government has instructed HS2 Ltd to assess the feasibility of operating its high-speed trains at reduced speeds, aiming to curb escalating costs and facilitate an earlier launch in the 2030s. The proposal involves limiting train speeds to 186mph (300km/h), a significant decrease from the initially planned 224mph. Potentially billions of pounds in savings could be achieved through this adjustment, which would bring the project more in line with typical European high-speed rail standards. Currently, most UK trains operate at a maximum speed of 125mph, while HS1 trains serving Kent and the Channel tunnel reach up to 186mph. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has commissioned HS2 Ltd to report back on the potential savings from slower trains before the summer recess. This development follows a review by HS2's new CEO, Mark Wild, who has been working to regain control of the project's costs and delays. Alexander acknowledged the challenges facing the project, stating that previous plans significantly underestimated the work required. Despite these challenges, she praised Wild's leadership and noted that HS2 is now making progress, having completed the excavation of all 23 miles of deep tunnels needed for the initial stage of the railway. The project's overall budget is expected to be reassessed and restated in 2026 prices, with predictions that it will exceed £100bn due to soaring inflation and rising labour and steel costs. As of now, the total expenditure stands at £46.2bn at current prices. Government sources suggest that the original design for the world's fastest railway was “gold-plated” and “needlessly overspecced”, contributing to the cost overruns. Wild emphasized that speed was never the primary objective, and the railway's focus should be on delivering better journeys, increased network capacity, and economic growth.

The Albanese government is likely to introduce an extra levy on gas producers' high profits in response to the Iran crisis driving up energy costs for Australians. The prime minister's department has requested Treasury modelling of additional levies on gas companies, stating that energy producers 'should not benefit from high international prices at the expense of domestic customers'.Australia's gas industry is reaping extraordinary profits while households and businesses struggle with high fuel prices. This has sparked calls for a fair share levy to ensure gas companies pay their fair share of tax. The levy, based on Norway's taxation model, would see Australia share around 50% of profits, much more in line with world standards.Currently, Australia shares only 27% of fossil fuel profits, with some estimates as low as 18% when profit is defined in cashflow terms. In contrast, other major fossil fuel exporting countries typically share between 75% and 90% of profits.The fair share levy would provide significant and immediate cost-of-living relief if some of the revenue raised was returned to households. Research shows 87% of voters support a fair share levy, with only 3% disagreeing.Despite potential outrage from the gas industry, the levy is designed to not increase gas prices or deter investment, as seen in Norway's successful implementation. A stable, long-term commitment to the fair share levy would provide investment certainty.

Europe has achieved staggering progress in clean power production, but its efforts are being undermined by a slow transition away from fuel-burning machines. According to Adrian Hiel, director of the Electrification Alliance, the EU has radically transformed its power supply but now needs to focus on increasing the use of electricity in everyday applications.The sluggish pace of electrification has left households exposed to higher bills as the Iran war has driven oil and gas prices to soar. The International Energy Agency has called for a faster shift to electric cars and heat pumps to complement its fuel-saving action plan.Hiel emphasized that high taxes on electricity are a major barrier to the green transition, suggesting that electricity should be taxed like a fresh apple, not like alcohol and tobacco. EU leaders, including Ursula von der Leyen, have acknowledged the need to adjust energy taxes to promote clean air and secure energy.The Electrification Alliance, which includes industry associations like SolarPower Europe and the International Copper Association Europe, is pushing for a faster switch to a decarbonized economy. Hiel noted that the falling cost of clean technology has made it easier for people to ditch fossil fuels, citing his own experience of insulating his home and installing a heat pump and solar panels.Looking ahead, Hiel warned that gas prices are likely to remain high for several years, putting pressure on governments to help households pay their bills and potentially hindering efforts to promote home electrification.

The stone-bounded churchyard is home to a pair of stonechats that flit between gravestone perches with their characteristic call – which is uncannily like two pebbles being snicked together. As the author hauls themselves up on to the narrow shoulder of the hill, they note the presence of choughs, a welcome speciality of this coast's ecology, with their starkly red beak and legs.

The recent decision by the Small Business Administration (SBA) to deny loans to small business owners who are not US citizens has raised concerns about the politicization of the agency. Kelly Loeffler, the new administrator of the SBA, announced that the agency would no longer approve loans to small business owners unless they are US citizens, effectively excluding legal immigrants with green cards and full residency from accessing loans.This move has been criticized for being a political decision that harms small businesses and the economy. The SBA's mission is to support small businesses, which are the backbone of the US economy. By denying loans to certain entrepreneurs, the agency is limiting access to capital and hindering the growth of small businesses that could benefit their communities and the country at large.The decision is also seen as a reaction against the Biden administration's efforts to promote diversity and inclusion. Under Biden, the SBA had often featured diverse groups of business owners in its marketing materials, but this new policy seems to be tailoring the message to serve the Trump administration's political agenda.Supporting small businesses should not be a controversial position, and most of the time it is not. However, the SBA's politicization has made it a propaganda tool for the party in power, rather than a neutral agency serving the interests of small businesses.To address this issue, some suggest taking the SBA out of the government and spinning it off into a separate entity, similar to the Manufacturing Extension Partnership or the MITRE Corporation. This entity would be funded by both the government and private industry and would be required to report to Congress through its existing small business committees.The goal of this new entity would be to coordinate government loan guarantees, assist with federal funding, and provide training, counseling, and support to small businesses. This would help to insulate the agency from political cycles and ensure that it serves the interests of small businesses, rather than the interests of the party in power.

Have you ever felt like you're racing against the clock, constantly chasing appointments and deadlines? This relentless pursuit of time is a universal experience, but what is time, really? Is it a physical phenomenon or just a tool we use to coordinate our lives? Time is often seen as an independent, physical entity that ticks by relentlessly, but emerging scientific evidence suggests that this isn't the case. Time is more like a mathematical tool, useful for coordinating our interactions, but it doesn't have an independent existence of its own. Just like money, we've become dependent on it, but it's not a physical reality. The pressure to be 'on time' is instilled in us from a young age, and we're constantly surrounded by clocks and digital alerts that divide our day into smaller pieces. This has led to a phenomenon known as 'time famine,' where the more efficient and productive we try to be, the less time we feel we have. Studies have shown that people experiencing time famine are less likely to engage in activities they enjoy, eat healthily, or seek medical attention when needed. Our brains don't have dedicated areas for tracking time, and our experience of it can vary greatly. Time can seem to drag or fly by, depending on our circumstances. For example, people with certain conditions, like akinetopsia, experience time in sudden jumps or frozen moments. The psychedelic drug mescaline can also distort time perception, making it seem like hours or even centuries have passed. Quantum physicists have found that time is not a fixed, physical flow. The famous double-slit experiment shows that a physicist's choice of measurement can influence the behavior of a particle. In a lesser-known variant of this experiment, the physicist's choice at the point of measurement can even influence the particle's past behavior. This suggests that time is not a fixed, linear concept, but rather a flexible and subjective experience. Some indigenous cultures, like the Aymara people of Chile, experience time differently. They see the future as hidden behind them, unseeable and unknowable. The Amondawa people of the Amazon have no clocks or concept of time. Instead, they live in the present, experiencing 'lived time,' which is a personal, malleable experience of change. Lived time is different from clock time, as it's not defined by numerical counters or seconds. Each moment is like a tapestry, woven from changes on multiple timescales. When we focus on lived time, it expands and becomes richer, rather than narrowing or contracting. It's a flow that carries us and connects us with others, rather than something we chase and never catch. To combat time famine, we need to remind ourselves that the clock is a tool, not a master. We should beware of digital alerts and alarms that divide our day into smaller pieces and instead focus on the rich pattern of changing connections that wire us into each moment. By doing so, we can tap into the creative process of lived time and experience a more fulfilling and connected life.

New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo has apologized for his recent comments downplaying the seriousness of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and asthma. In an appearance on the Bring the Juice podcast, Skattebo called CTE an 'excuse' and claimed that asthma is 'fake', suggesting that people should 'just breathe air'. After receiving widespread backlash for his comments, Skattebo offered a retraction on social media, stating that his remarks were a 'tasteless joke' and that he never intended to downplay the seriousness of head injuries or asthma. He sincerely apologized to anyone who was offended by his remarks and assured that he will be more mindful and respectful going forward. CTE is a degenerative brain condition linked to repeated head trauma, which can cause mood swings, depression, suicidal thoughts, and memory loss. A 2017 study found CTE in 110 of 111 former football players. The condition can only be diagnosed after death, and the NFL finally acknowledged a link between football and CTE in 2016. Asthma affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide and can lead to death in extreme cases. Skattebo's mother, Becky Skattebo, replied to her son's post, saying she was asthmatic and that his comments were made in jest. Skattebo was a popular figure with Giants fans in his rookie season in 2025 due to his physical running style, scoring seven touchdowns and running for 410 yards before an ankle injury ended his season.