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Damning Pentagon report reveals brutal taxpayer-footed bill for Trump’s Iran war
A newly disclosed Pentagon Inspector General report reveals that the first phase of the US war with Iran, codenamed Operation Epic Fury, cost $33.4 billion between 28 February and 29 June and left “strategic inventory shortfalls” in munitions stockpiles. The findings contradict repeated public assurances from President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth that…
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‘She went to her studio every day and no one was allowed near it’: the glorious nature paintings of Yasmin David
A new exhibition, The Nature of Light, at the Thelma Hulbert Gallery in Honiton, is bringing overdue recognition to the landscape painter Yasmin David, whose extensive body of work only came to light after her death when her daughter discovered hundreds of paintings stacked in a cupboard. David, whose mother was the bohemian Lorna Garman…
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Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory
The Victorian jobs minister, Melissa Horne, has accused datacentre giant NextDC of using artificial intelligence to draft a letter lobbying her to support the expansion of its Footscray facility, alleging the correspondence contained basic factual errors. The exchange highlights growing political sensitivity around datacentre expansion in Victoria ahead of the state election, as local residents…
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No Big Deal review – is this how AI ends humanity … with a sitcom so bad it bores you to death?
The Guardian’s TV critic reviews No Big Deal, a workplace comedy created almost entirely using AI, which premiered on YouTube and is billed as “The Office meets Dragons’ Den”. The review is scathing, describing the AI-generated characters as lifeless and the show as unwatchable due to technical flaws and a complete absence of humour, using…
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Teen boy is found dead on blackened bedsheets inside ritzy San Francisco apartment marking city’s first death caused by frightening new drug that’s STRONGER than fentanyl
A 16-year-old boy’s death in San Francisco has been linked to cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid estimated to be ten times more potent than fentanyl, marking the drug’s first confirmed fatality in the city. Dante Lacourte was found dead by his mother in their Nob Hill apartment in April, and the case has since led to…
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Now Light’s minimalist phone can easily call an Uber
Light, maker of minimalist “dumbphones,” has added a Rideshare tool that lets users book Uber and Lyft trips directly from the Light Phone III and the upcoming Light Flip. The move marks a notable step for a device explicitly designed to be used as little as possible, but it fits founder Kaiwei Tang’s stated philosophy…
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Mom-of-four left fighting for life after hit-and-run driver rammed her off bike as family hunts for culprit
Lisa Martinez, a 42-year-old mother of four, is fighting for her life after being struck by a car while riding her bicycle in Oak Cliff, Dallas, on 29 August. The driver fled the scene before police arrived, and both Martinez’s family and Dallas Police are now appealing for information to identify and locate the culprit.…
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What weapon could the US have put into space?
The United States has announced it has deployed a weapon in Earth’s orbit, though officials have given few details about its capabilities or purpose. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said the “on orbit” weapon was needed to protect US forces from hostile action, but declined to say what it does or when it…
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India ends free ride for larger transactions on its ubiquitous digital payments network
India is ending free processing for larger merchant transactions on its Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the QR-code-based digital payments network that underpins much of the country’s economy. From 15 October, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which runs UPI, will charge a 0.4% fee on certain payments above ₹2,000 (roughly $21), a significant shift…
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District Attorney WON’T seek death penalty for Nick Reiner out of respect for his slain parents’ view on executions, sources say
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has confirmed he will not seek the death penalty against Nick Reiner, who is accused of murdering his parents, filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife Michele. The decision follows consultation with Reiner’s siblings, Jake and Romy, and reportedly reflects the late couple’s own opposition to capital punishment. It…