Nasa confirms meteor after residents reported hearing thunder-like noises about the time the fireball was visible

A suspected meteorite crashed into a home in suburban Houston on Saturday night, according to local residents and officials.

Speaking to the local news outlet KHOU11 over the weekend, Spring area resident Sherrie James recalled the incident, saying: “My grandson went to check and said there was a hole in the ceiling … then I saw the rock, and I thought, ‘That looks like a meteor.’”

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Shadow justice secretary had called Trafalgar Square event an ‘act of domination’

James Cleverly has said he disagrees with his Conservative frontbench colleague Nick Timothy that public Muslim prayers are an act of domination, as another senior Tory called for the party to respect the right to worship.

Kemi Badenoch has defended Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, after he posted images of mass prayer at a Ramadan event on Monday evening in Trafalgar Square, calling it “an act of domination” and “straight from the Islamist playbook”.

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Cuba began restoring its energy system on Sunday, a day after a nationwide collapse of the entire grid left millions of people in the dark for the third time this month.

Some 72,000 customers in the capital, among them five hospitals, had electricity again early Sunday, according to a report from the state-run Electric Union and the Ministry of Energy and Mines, but it’s only a fraction of Havana’s total population of approximately 2 million.

In Havana and provinces such as western Matanzas and eastern Holguin, local power microsystems were set up to supply the most vital centers. Residents in some areas of the capital told The Associated Press that power returned during the early morning hours.

Cuba is currently facing an unprecedented energy crisis. Its aging grid has drastically eroded in recent years, but the government has also blamed the outages on a U.S. energy blockade, after President Donald Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba. His administration is demanding that Cuba release political prisoners and move toward political and economic liberalization in return for a lifting of sanctions. Trump also has raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover of Cuba.”

Another reason Cuba has been struggling with dwindling oil is the removal by the U.S. of Venezuela’s former President Nicolás Maduro, which halted critical petroleum shipments from the nation that had been a steadfast ally to Havana.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel has said the island has not received oil from foreign suppliers for three months. Cuba produces barely 40% of the fuel it needs to power its economy.

Daily blackouts have a significant impact on the population, whose lives are disrupted by reduced work hours, lack of electricity for cooking and damage to household appliances, among many other consequences.

“With the blackout and low voltage, my refrigerator broke — that was today. The day before yesterday, the voltage also dropped around 10 at night,” Suleydi Crespo, a 33-year-old woman with two small children, told AP on Saturday. “If there’s no electricity tomorrow, we won’t be able to get water.”

Residents also expressed exhaustion from the constant outages, whether nationwide or partial.

The Cuban Electric Union, which reports to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, reported that the total disconnection of the national energy system was caused by an unexpected shutdown of a generation unit at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camaguey province, without providing details on the specific cause of the failure.

The last nationwide blackout occurred on Monday. It took several days to restore power.

Saturday’s outage was the second in the past week and the third in March.

“We have to get used to continuing our usual routine. What else can we do? We have to try to survive. Get used to events, with or without electricity,” said Dagnay Alarcón, a 35-year-old vendor.

Authorities and Díaz-Canel himself have acknowledged the seriousness of the current energy situation. The Vice Minister of Energy and Mines Argelio Abad Vigo explained this week that the country has gone three months without receiving supplies of diesel, fuel oil, gasoline, aviation fuel or liquefied petroleum gas — all vital for the economy and power generation.

Fuel sales for vehicles are rationed, airlines have suspended flights or reduced frequencies many workplaces have reduced hours.

Trump has for months suggested Cuba’s government is on the verge of collapse. After a previous time Cuba’s electric grid collapsed, Trump told reporters he believed he’d soon have “the honor of taking Cuba.”

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Trump and border czar Tom Homan confirm plan to assist TSA agents amid partial government shutdown standoff

Donald Trump and his border czar, Tom Homan, have confirmed that the president’s administration is sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to US airports beginning Monday to assist with security amid extremely long lines – and to help airport security agents who have been working without pay since 14 February because of a partial government shutdown.

Homan will lead the effort, Trump said on Sunday.

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Naval Ravikant, a well-known venture capitalist and influencer, once stated that when he looks back on his life, he has only one piece of advice for his younger self — relax and don’t stress.

No Point Living Up To People’s Expectations

Appearing on the Tim Ferriss show on Oct. 29, 2015. Ravikant, then 40 years old, revealed he actually spent some time thinking about what he would tell his 30-year-old self.

“The advice was along the lines of chill out, don’t stress so much, not so much anxiety and everything will be fine,” he said. “Don’t try and live up to other people’s expectations.”

Ravikant stressed the importance of saying “no” to things, protecting time …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

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About 65% of US firefighters are volunteers, as New York state says number has fallen to lowest level in 40 years

Officials have warned of serious consequences after the number of volunteer firefighters, the bedrock of firefighting in the US, plunged, leading to entire departments to close in some states.

About 65% of American firefighters are volunteers, serving in their free-time alongside regular jobs. In 2008 there were 827,000 volunteers nationwide, but that figure dropped to 635,000 in 2023, the last year data is available.

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Iran and its ally, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, stepped up their attacks on Israel on Sunday, launching strikes across the country after the United States and Iran threatened to widen their targets in the war in the Middle East, now in its fourth week.

As Israel came under renewed fire, top Israeli leaders traveled to the southern town of Arad, one of two communities near a secretive nuclear research site struck by Iranian missiles late Saturday, wounding scores of people.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured the destruction in Arad and said it was a “miracle” no one was killed there. He claimed Israel and the U.S. were well on their way to achieving the war’s goals and implored the international community for more support.

Earlier, President Donald Trump warned the United States will destroy Iran’s power plants if Tehran fails to fully open the Strait of Hormuz, setting a 48-hour deadline on Saturday. Iran’s parliament speaker said if the U.S. follows through on its threat, Tehran will retaliate against American and Israeli energy and wider infrastructure in the region.

The developments signaled the Iran war, which the U.S. and Israel launched Feb. 28, was moving in a dangerous new direction, despite Trump’s mention last week he was considering “winding down” operations. It has killed hundreds of people, rattled the global economy and sent oil prices surging.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an airstrike Sunday that killed a man in northern Israel while Gulf Arab states — including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — said they were intercepting fresh barrages of new Iranian strikes.

Iran responds to Trump threat on its Strait of Hormuz closure

Iran has practically closed the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint connecting the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world through which roughly one-fifth of global supply passes. Attacks on ships and threats of further strikes have stopped nearly all tankers from navigating the strait, compelling some of the largest oil producers to make cuts because their crude has nowhere to go.

The blockade is a liability for both the U.S. and its allies in Europe and Asia, who rely heavily on the Persian Gulf supply to meet energy demand and power factories, vehicles and homes. The U.S. lifted some sanctions on Iranian oil at sea to relieve pressure on energy prices.

Trump said if Iran didn’t open the strait, the U.S. would destroy its “various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!”

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf responded Sunday on X that if Iran’s power plants and infrastructure are targeted, then vital infrastructure across the region — including energy and desalination facilities — would be considered legitimate targets and “irreversibly destroyed.”

Separately, Iranian officials said they would keep providing safe passage through the strait to vessels from countries other than its enemies.

Nuclear concerns as the war rages

Iran said its strikes in the Negev Desert were in retaliation to an earlier attack on Iran’s main nuclear enrichment site in Natanz, according to state-run media.

Tehran praised the attack as show of strength, even as Israel’s military asserts that Iranian missile launches have gradually decreased in frequency since the war began.

“If the Israeli regime is unable to intercept missiles in the heavily protected Dimona area, it is, operationally, a sign of entering a new phase of the battle,” said Qalibaf, the Iranian parliament speaker.

Dimona is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of the nuclear research center, and Arad about 35 kilometers (22 miles) to the north.

Soroka Medical Center, southern Israel’s main hospital, received at least 175 wounded from Arad and Dimona, the hospital’s deputy director Roy Kessous told The Associated Press.

Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, though it doesn’t confirm or deny their existence. The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on X it had not received reports of damage to the Israeli center or abnormal radiation levels.

Israel denied responsibility for hitting Natanz on Saturday while the Iranian judiciary’s official news agency, Mizan, said there was no leakage. The Pentagon declined to comment on the strike at Natanz, which was also hit in the first week of the ongoing war and in the 12-day war last June.

The U.N. watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — has said the bulk of Iran’s estimated 972 pounds (441 kilograms) of enriched uranium is elsewhere, beneath the rubble at its Isfahan facility.

Iran says strikes also hit hospital

Iran said that, in addition to Natanz, strikes also hit a hospital in Andimeshk. The Health Ministry reported patients and doctors were evacuated to another city.

Iran’s death toll in the war surpassed 1,500 on Saturday, state media reported, citing the ministry. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian strikes. More than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states have been killed in strikes.

The war has also seen noncombat-related accidents, including a U.S. refueling plane crash in Iraq that killed six U.S. service members and a Qatari military helicopter crash on Saturday blamed on a technical malfunction. All seven aboard were killed, Qatari authorities said Sunday.

Hezbollah strike on northern Israel claims first fatality there

The Israeli civilian was killed in the northern town of Misgav Am in what Israel’s military said “seemed to be” a rocket attack. Israeli medics said they found the man in his car and released a video showing two vehicles ablaze.

Hezbollah, an ally of Iran, launched strikes on Israel soon after the war began, saying it was in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel struck back, bombarding Lebanon and targeting Hezbollah in deadly airstrikes, expanding its presence in southern Lebanon and amassing more troops near the border.

Fighting in southern Lebanese towns have intensified recently as Israel continues its ground operations. Israel on Sunday expanded its list of targets to include all bridges over the Litani River, which Defense Minister Israel Katz said Hezbollah is using to move fighters and weapons into southern Lebanon. It later struck the Qasmiyeh bridge near Tyre.

Katz also ordered the military to accelerate its destruction of Lebanese homes near Israel’s northern border as part of a strategy he described as aligned with Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

After Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel on March 2, the Israeli military launched an offensive that Lebanese authorities say killed over 1,000 people and displaced over 1 million. Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel.

Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued a warning an hour before the Qasmiyeh bridge near the coastal city of Tyre was struck.

Lebanese authorities say Israel’s strikes have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than 1 million.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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Years before the rise of Instagram, Banksy figured out that the key to real influence lay in not in being famous, exactly, but in being anonymous.

The mystery of his identity has long been part of the value of his art, which for decades and across continents defied authority from public walls and self-shredded on the auction block. Now, Banksy’s apparent unmasking by the Reuters news agency has generated talk about whether the works themselves retain their cultural and financial value.

It also raises the question: Why pop the red balloon of his mystique in the first place? Many Banksy fans mourned the loss of the mystery and lashed out at the news outlet. One said it was like being told without warning that Santa Claus doesn’t exist.

“I feel like they are telling me how a magic trick is done,” said Thomas Evans, a Denver-based artist on Instagram. “Sometimes I just want to enjoy the magic trick.”

But some art experts say the murals and the message will survive Banksy’s naming because his appeal wasn’t driven solely by his anonymity. He and his works — mischievous and also dark — stand as witnesses to injustice, oppression and inequality around the world, from the artist’s native England to walled-off Bethlehem and war-ravaged Ukraine. Subtract his anonymity, they say, and the work still inspires reflection and discussion.

“People buy his works because they absolutely love it,” said Acoris Andipa, director of the Andipa gallery in London. “The main feedback that I get is that they really, frankly, don’t care if they know who he is.”

Naming the ghost — and the backlash — is engagement, too

Banksy, long thought to have been born Robin Gunningham around 1972, grew out of a tradition of street artists who viewed the undercover act of posting their art in public as a subversive form of expression. The postindustrial landscape of his native Bristol was his canvas and gallery. The walls of London, New York and elsewhere gave him a global stage just before the rise of social media.

Banksy’s apparent identity has been an open secret among protective fellow artists, and long been easy to find online for those who wanted to know. The Daily Mail reported in 2008 “compelling evidence suggesting” that was the artist’s birth name. It has been published by other news outlets, including by The Associated Press in 2016, as part of their coverage of the detective work.

Reuters reported last week that after The Daily Mail’s story, Banksy changed his legal name to David Jones — the second most-popular name in Britain. It’s also the given name of another rock star, the late David Bowie, whose Ziggy Stardust avatar inspired a 2012 Banksy painting of Queen Elizabeth II.

Bansky’s lawyer didn’t respond to a request for comment, and the artist’s spokeswoman declined to participate in this story.

Reuters pieced together that a David Jones traveled to Ukraine with a well-known associate of Banksy’s in late 2022 — just before the artist’s work began appearing on buildings that had been bombed by Russia. Banksy later confirmed that he’d created seven murals in the war zone, including one of a child flipping over a grown man who is wearing a black belt. Russian President Vladimir Putin practices judo.

There’s evidence that even some in the establishment he was protesting have accepted Banksy. They didn’t arrest him, for example, after the Royal Courts of Justice removed a Banksy stencil depicting a judge in a traditional wig and gown beating an unarmed protester with a gavel. Some street artists groused that they might be arrested for creating such graffiti — but when it’s a Banksy, it’s art.

Robin Gunningham wasn’t always so elusive

On Sept. 17, 2000, a Robin Gunningham was arrested for defacing a Marc Jacobs billboard atop a building on Hudson Street in New York.

In a handwritten signed confession, he described the work on the night in question: “I had been out drinking at a nightclub with friends when I decided to make a humorous adjustment to a billboard on top of the property,” he wrote in court records unearthed by Reuters and confirmed by the AP. “I painted eyeshadow a new mouth and a speach(sic) bubble” on the photo of a male model. He was charged with a misdemeanor.

The artist doesn’t need an alleged naming to make news. He created multiple works just in London in 2025, and grabbed headlines elsewherefor having his art sold or auctioned for millions. But Banksy has courted a public image centered around morality, justice and guerrilla tactics — he’s often likened to Robin Hood or Batman.

“Banksy woz ere,” he wrote with his animal murals at the London Zoo, which were removed in 2024.

Still, along with the sadness, there’s ample speculation in the art world and on social media that the artist himself orchestrated this round of naming. He didn’t deny the Reuters story.

That “would be very much in line with his practice of stunts and satire,” observed Madeleine White, the senior sales and acquisitions consultant at London’s Hang-Up Gallery, “As they say, ‘all publicity is good publicity.’”

She noted, however, that the backlash is directed at the media — not the artist, or the potency of his work. Reuters says it opted to publish some, but not all, of the information its reporters uncovered about Banksy’s identity, because he is a public figure, whatever his name — and he’s had an outsized influence on public events and discourse. What’s more, much of his work has been done on other people’s property.

Banksy’s star power is about far more than anonymity

Named or not, Banksy’s stardom lives, art experts say.

It endures in the wonder of his ability to erect new art under the noses of authorities well into the age of closed-circuit television and social media. It appeals because his spectacle and wit draw people in and the settings — the hulk of bombed buildings, for example, or Israel’s towering wall at the border of the West Bank — invite them to reflect. Now, fans are on the lookout for how and whether he’ll respond to the news of Robin Gunningham and David Jones.

Joe Syer, a Banksy expert and founder of MyArtBroker, said that the artist has always responded to world events. “And that’s where the real relevance, and value, sits.”

“If anything, Banksy’s anonymity has functioned less as a celebrity device and more as a way to keep the work universally accessible, detached from personality, ego, or biography,” he said in an email. “It allows the work to sit in public space, politically and culturally, without being anchored to an individual in the way the mainstream press often frames it.”

Christopher Banks, founder of the New York-based Objects of Affection Collection, reads Banksy’s naming “not as a biographical event, but as a structural stress test” of the artist’s system of managing his absence.

“Banksy’s best works carry their meaning without the author. He was there,” Banks wrote, citing the artist’s murals in Ukraine and his solidarity with the war’s victims.

“The name matters less than the presence. The presence was always what the work was about.”

Years before the rise of Instagram, Banksy figured out that the key to real influence lay in not in being famous, exactly, but in being anonymous.

The mystery of his identity has long been part of the value of his art, which for decades and across continents defied authority from public walls and self-shredded on the auction block. Now, Banksy’s apparent unmasking by the Reuters news agency has generated talk about whether the works themselves retain their cultural and financial value.

It also raises the question: Why pop the red balloon of his mystique in the first place? Many Banksy fans mourned the loss of the mystery and lashed out at the news outlet. One said it was like being told without warning that Santa Claus doesn’t exist.

“I feel like they are telling me how a magic trick is done,” said Thomas Evans, a Denver-based artist on Instagram. “Sometimes I just want to enjoy the magic trick.”

But some art experts say the murals and the message will survive Banksy’s naming because his appeal wasn’t driven solely by his anonymity. He and his works — mischievous and also dark — stand as witnesses to injustice, oppression and inequality around the world, from the artist’s native England to walled-off Bethlehem and war-ravaged Ukraine. Subtract his anonymity, they say, and the work still inspires reflection and discussion.

“People buy his works because they absolutely love it,” said Acoris Andipa, director of the Andipa gallery in London. “The main feedback that I get is that they really, frankly, don’t care if they know who he is.”

Naming the ghost — and the backlash — is engagement, too

Banksy, long thought to have been born Robin Gunningham around 1972, grew out of a tradition of street artists who viewed the undercover act of posting their art in public as a subversive form of expression. The postindustrial landscape of his native Bristol was his canvas and gallery. The walls of London, New York and elsewhere gave him a global stage just before the rise of social media.

Banksy’s apparent identity has been an open secret among protective fellow artists, and long been easy to find online for those who wanted to know. The Daily Mail reported in 2008 “compelling evidence suggesting” that was the artist’s birth name. It has been published by other news outlets, including by The Associated Press in 2016, as part of their coverage of the detective work.

Reuters reported last week that after The Daily Mail’s story, Banksy changed his legal name to David Jones — the second most-popular name in Britain. It’s also the given name of another rock star, the late David Bowie, whose Ziggy Stardust avatar inspired a 2012 Banksy painting of Queen Elizabeth II.

Bansky’s lawyer didn’t respond to a request for comment, and the artist’s spokeswoman declined to participate in this story.

Reuters pieced together that a David Jones traveled to Ukraine with a well-known associate of Banksy’s in late 2022 — just before the artist’s work began appearing on buildings that had been bombed by Russia. Banksy later confirmed that he’d created seven murals in the war zone, including one of a child flipping over a grown man who is wearing a black belt. Russian President Vladimir Putin practices judo.

There’s evidence that even some in the establishment he was protesting have accepted Banksy. They didn’t arrest him, for example, after the Royal Courts of Justice removed a Banksy stencil depicting a judge in a traditional wig and gown beating an unarmed protester with a gavel. Some street artists groused that they might be arrested for creating such graffiti — but when it’s a Banksy, it’s art.

Robin Gunningham wasn’t always so elusive

On Sept. 17, 2000, a Robin Gunningham was arrested for defacing a Marc Jacobs billboard atop a building on Hudson Street in New York.

In a handwritten signed confession, he described the work on the night in question: “I had been out drinking at a nightclub with friends when I decided to make a humorous adjustment to a billboard on top of the property,” he wrote in court records unearthed by Reuters and confirmed by the AP. “I painted eyeshadow a new mouth and a speach(sic) bubble” on the photo of a male model. He was charged with a misdemeanor.

The artist doesn’t need an alleged naming to make news. He created multiple works just in London in 2025, and grabbed headlines elsewherefor having his art sold or auctioned for millions. But Banksy has courted a public image centered around morality, justice and guerrilla tactics — he’s often likened to Robin Hood or Batman.

“Banksy woz ere,” he wrote with his animal murals at the London Zoo, which were removed in 2024.

Still, along with the sadness, there’s ample speculation in the art world and on social media that the artist himself orchestrated this round of naming. He didn’t deny the Reuters story.

That “would be very much in line with his practice of stunts and satire,” observed Madeleine White, the senior sales and acquisitions consultant at London’s Hang-Up Gallery, “As they say, ‘all publicity is good publicity.’”

She noted, however, that the backlash is directed at the media — not the artist, or the potency of his work. Reuters says it opted to publish some, but not all, of the information its reporters uncovered about Banksy’s identity, because he is a public figure, whatever his name — and he’s had an outsized influence on public events and discourse. What’s more, much of his work has been done on other people’s property.

Banksy’s star power is about far more than anonymity

Named or not, Banksy’s stardom lives, art experts say.

It endures in the wonder of his ability to erect new art under the noses of authorities well into the age of closed-circuit television and social media. It appeals because his spectacle and wit draw people in and the settings — the hulk of bombed buildings, for example, or Israel’s towering wall at the border of the West Bank — invite them to reflect. Now, fans are on the lookout for how and whether he’ll respond to the news of Robin Gunningham and David Jones.

Joe Syer, a Banksy expert and founder of MyArtBroker, said that the artist has always responded to world events. “And that’s where the real relevance, and value, sits.”

“If anything, Banksy’s anonymity has functioned less as a celebrity device and more as a way to keep the work universally accessible, detached from personality, ego, or biography,” he said in an email. “It allows the work to sit in public space, politically and culturally, without being anchored to an individual in the way the mainstream press often frames it.”

Christopher Banks, founder of the New York-based Objects of Affection Collection, reads Banksy’s naming “not as a biographical event, but as a structural stress test” of the artist’s system of managing his absence.

“Banksy’s best works carry their meaning without the author. He was there,” Banks wrote, citing the artist’s murals in Ukraine and his solidarity with the war’s victims.

“The name matters less than the presence. The presence was always what the work was about.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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Iran has launched missiles at Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean island that is home to a strategic U.K.-U.S. military base.

Britain condemned “Iran’s reckless attacks” after the unsuccessful attempt to hit the base. It’s unclear how close the missiles came to the island, which is about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) from Iran.

Here is what to know about the remote but strategic base.

Hub for US operations

The United States has described the Diego Garcia base as “an all but indispensable platform” for security operations in the Middle East, South Asia and East Africa.

Home to about 2,500 mostly American personnel, it has supported U.S. military operations from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2008, the U.S. acknowledged that it also had been used for clandestine rendition flights of terror suspects.

The U.S. deployed several nuclear-capable B-2 Spirit bombers to Diego Garcia last year amid an intense airstrike campaign targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Britain initially refused to let the base be used for U.S-Israeli attacks on Iran, but after Iran lashed out at its neighbors, the United Kingdom said American bombers could use Diego Garcia and another British base to attack Iran’s missile sites. On Friday, the U.K. government said that includes sites being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.K. says that the British bases can only be used for “specific and limited defensive operations.”

But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer “is putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran.”

Iran previously has put a self-imposed limit on its ballistic missile program, limiting their range to 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometers). Diego Garcia is well outside that range. However, U.S. officials long have alleged Iran’s space program could allow it to build intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at defense think tank the Royal United Services Institute, said that the attempt to hit Diego Garcia may have involved improvised use of Iran’s Simorgh space launch rocket, “which could offer greater range as a ballistic missile,” though at the cost of reduced accuracy.

A contested island chain

Diego Garcia is part of the Chagos Archipelago, a chain of more than 60 islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean off the tip of India. The islands have been under British control since 1814, when they were ceded by France.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Britain evicted as many as 2,000 people from Diego Garcia, so the U.S. military could build the base there.

In recent years, criticism has mounted over Britain’s control of the archipelago and the way it forcibly displaced the local population. The United Nations and the International Court of Justice have urged the U.K. to end its “colonial administration” of the islands and transfer sovereignty to Mauritius.

Trump criticism

After long negotiations, the U.K. government struck a deal last year with Mauritius to hand over sovereignty of the islands. Britain would then lease back the Diego Garcia base for at least 99 years.

The U.K. government says that will safeguard the future of the base, which is vulnerable to legal challenges. But the agreement has been criticized by many British opposition politicians, who say giving up the islands puts them at risk of interference by China and Russia.

Some of the displaced Chagos islanders and their descendants also have challenged the deal, saying they weren’t consulted and it leaves them unclear on whether they will ever be allowed to return to their homeland.

The U.S. administration initially welcomed the deal, but U.S. President Donald Trump changed his mind in January, calling it “an act of GREAT STUPIDITY” on his social media platform Truth Social.

Starmer’s initial refusal to let the U.S. attack Iran from Diego Garcia further angered Trump, who said earlier this month that “the U.K. has been very, very uncooperative with that stupid island that they have.”

Passage of the U.K.-Mauritius deal through Parliament has been put on hold until U.S. support can be regained.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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Across the country, collections are popping up to help Transportation Security Administration officers who have been without full pay for more than a month due to the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security.

The charity World Central Kitchen, more accustomed to feeding those in war zones and disaster areas, started providing meals to Washington, D.C.-area airports after many TSA officers missed their first full paycheck. On Thursday, Feeding San Diego began distributing 400 boxes with pasta, beans and peanut butter as well as fresh produce like strawberries and potatoes to affected agents near the airport after a request from TSA and the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.

Nonprofits are stepping in to help and coordinating closely with airports and local TSA offices because ethics rules around giving gifts to federal employees make it difficult for those affected by the shutdown to receive help directly.

Carissa Casares from Feeding San Diego said communicating with the airport means they can better tailor their resources and response to TSA workers’ needs.

“We need to work directly with the people who have direct access to these employees and get this food to them at a time and location that is most convenient to them,” Casares said.

Saturday marks the 36th day that the Department of Homeland Security has been shut down after Democrats refused to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection without changes to their operations after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.

More than 120,000 DHS employees are working without pay, including roughly 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers as negotiations between lawmakers and the White House on limits to immigration enforcement drag on.

The funding lapse comes just months after a 43-day government shutdown, the longest in the nation’s history, which drove long lines at food banks across the U.S. as over 700,000 federal workers worked without pay.

Rules limit what help TSA officers can accept

For those wanting to help, it’s not as simple as going to the airport and giving cash or gift cards directly to TSA officers, who are prohibited from accepting gifts at screening locations, according to a DHS spokesperson.

But Aaron Barker, president of the AFGE Local 554 in Georgia, said TSA officer unions don’t have the same restrictions and can accept donations to distribute to their members. Barker recommends those who want to donate look up their local union district on the AFGE website, or give through their local labor council.

“For some people it can be life or death,” said Barker. “It’s just sad and terrible that this is happening.”

Union members have told Barker they’re unable to cover utility bills or pay for their children’s medical procedures. They’ve received eviction notices or had cars repossessed. They’re having trouble affording routine items, too.

“People don’t think about the things they just naturally have in their home, like toothpaste, bathroom tissue, milk, detergent, dish liquid,” he said. “I’m sure those things are a necessity for every TSA officer.”

Nonetheless, no donation can be as effective as an end to the shutdown. “The first thing they want is their paycheck,” said Barker. “The money is the most immediate need.”

Coordination between nonprofits and TSA

Operation Food Search is working closely with TSA to safely deliver food and set up a temporary pantry at St. Louis Lambert International Airport.

The Missouri hunger relief nonprofit’s CEO said it is the first time they’ve distributed directly to TSA employees where they work.

“It removes their need to make an extra trip and drive here,” Kristen Wild said. “So we’re really excited that the airport allowed us to directly serve right there.”

They gave away just over half their 400 prepared food bags during a 2-hour period earlier this week, according to Wild. Each bag contained just under $20 worth of nonperishables such as apple sauce, pasta, rice and beans. Rules prohibit federal employees from soliciting or accepting gifts or items of monetary value greater than $20 if the gift is related to their government position.

Wild said she thought the $20 limit might be waived since they were distributing food through airport-approved channels.

“We didn’t know for sure,” Wild said. “But to play it safe we just kept it right under the $20 per bag amount so there would be no challenge to it.”

Airport communities band together

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport officials were fielding PETA donations and local food banks’ pallets on Friday afternoon as they stocked their private pantry for off-shift TSA staff.

But they’ve also seen dining vendors, usually tasked with feeding hungry travelers, step up. Airport tenants have offered discounts and donated through TSA to cover entire shifts’ meals, according to airport spokesperson Perry Cooper.

“You know a lot of these people,” Cooper said. “You see faces and that throughout the day as you’re wandering through. And then to realize that some of these folks are here and they’re not getting paid, you know, really tugs at your heart to think what’s a way that we can help.”

The airport community’s support adds to the roughly $6,000 they’ve received in cash and gift cards plus another $10,000 worth of food and household products, Cooper said. That includes donations from the labor union for air traffic controllers, whose jobs are unimpacted by this partial shutdown but who understand the strain of working without pay from full government closures.

More than 460 people picked up fresh produce when local nonprofit Food Lifeline brought a truckload last Friday, according to Cooper. Most of the attendees were TSA staff, Cooper said, though some people might have been homeless. Boxes including pineapples and broccoli lined folding tables along the airport’s main drive.

Regular travelers like Musie Hidad said he thinks about the TSA agents working unpaid every time he enters through security.

“The work they are doing is serious and they aren’t getting paid for it,” said Hidad, an Amarillo, Texas, resident, who was traveling to Columbus, Ohio, for work. “My heart goes out to them.”

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This week in the crypto world was a rollercoaster ride, with Bitcoin defending the $70,000 mark amidst market jitters. Ethereum, XRP, and Dogecoin tested their support levels, while Ethereum also entered what analysts are calling a ‘generational buy zone’.

In regulatory news, Nasdaq secured SEC approval to list blockchain versions of stocks and SEC Chair Paul Atkins announced a new crypto framework. Lastly, Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF set its ticker as BTC tests $70,000 support.

Bitcoin Defends $70,000 As Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin Test Support

Bitcoin traded around $70,000 as Bitcoin ETFs saw $90.2 million in net outflows on Thursday. Ethereum ETFs reported $136.4 million in net outflows. The meme coin market capitalization dropped around 3% over the past 24 hours to $33.4 billion. Crypto trader Jelle noted that Bitcoin is retesting the $70,000 level from below, making it a key decision point.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

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Exclusive: Townsville lawyer and former detective Darren Robinson’s appointment by attorney general Deb Frecklington has ‘brought back a lot of trauma’ for Indigenous community

The Queensland government has “opened old wounds” by appointing a former police detective who was heavily criticised for his role in events surrounding the 2004 riots on Palm Island to the state’s Legal Aid board, say First Nations community leaders and members of the legal fraternity.

The Liberal National party government sacked and replaced all Labor-appointed members of the Legal Aid Queensland board last month.

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The phrase should evoke optimism, positive expectations about the future, trust and belonging. That seems almost out of reach in a chaotic world

One term has already become the well-intentioned weasel word of 2026: “social cohesion”. A phrase that can be dropped into speeches, inquiries and legislation, its meaning shape-shifts depending on the audience. Is it about “glue” or the rule of law? About community resilience or countering fear? Does it mean finding places of real exchange, or shutting up and getting on?

Although it has been in the political lexicon for years, the terror attack that targeted Jewish people celebrating Hanukah in Bondi last December brought social cohesion to the fore as an urgent problem to solve.

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University polling and focus groups found sharpest increase in those worried about national security was cohort aged 18 to 24

Nearly half of Australians believe a foreign military will attack the country within five years, as anxiety over national security issues rises sharply, a new study suggests.

The Australian National University’s National Security College report found that two-thirds of those polled in 2026, including an increasing number of teenagers and young adults, were worried about national security issues.

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Leveraging Australian gas exports to ensure we get oil in return is among the offbeat ideas we could be hearing more about

The International Energy Agency suggested Australia reduce road speed limits, restrict car use in big cities and encourage more working from home in a bid to nullify what it called the “greatest threat to global energy supply in the history of the world”.

They won’t be the only interesting or offbeat ideas raised in federal parliament this week, as the Albanese government comes under pressure to find fixes – short-term and long-term – to the oil shocks seeing more bowsers run dry across the nation.

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Heather Danae Lewis who was one of 30 people charged in Minnesota church protest showed she did not attend event

Federal prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against a woman accused of participating in a controversial January protest at a Minnesota church after the woman apparently did not attend the event at all.

Prosecutors notified a federal judge they intended to drop charges against Heather Danae Lewis, who was one of 30 people charged in connection with an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest that disrupted a service at Cities church in St Paul. Officials have charged the protesters with civil rights crimes, saying they interfered with the right of the congregants at the church to exercise their religious beliefs. The media professional Don Lemon, who was at the event reporting on the protest, was among those charged.

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Kevin O’Leary on Saturday said that investors are pricing in a quick resolution to tensions tied to the Strait of Hormuz, arguing the next month is the key window the market is watching. He warned that a longer disruption could hit global growth hard, with oil prices acting as the main transmission channel.

In the post on X, O’Leary said he believes the available data points toward the issue being addressed within about 30 days. In the same post, he framed the strait as a narrow chokepoint and said a prolonged blockage would be far more damaging.

Why Hormuz Disruptions Could Spark Global Chaos

O’Leary described a scenario …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

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PM’s ‘cost of living champion’ calls for consideration of temporary measure to prevent profiteering from Iran war

The government’s top cost of living adviser has called on ministers to explore a temporary cap on the profits of energy and petrol companies to prevent them from cashing in excessively on the war in the Middle East.

Richard Walker – a Labour peer, the chair of Iceland supermarkets and the prime minister’s “cost of living champion” – said he had asked the government to examine limiting how much businesses were able to benefit from higher energy prices after Iran’s blockade of the strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route for Europe’s oil and gas, and the wider conflict in the region.

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For millions of Americans, higher electricity bills are becoming a monthly frustration and a growing force in the midterm elections.

Unlike more volatile costs such as gasoline, electricity is a steady, unavoidable expense tied directly to basic needs — keeping the lights on, heating and cooling homes and powering everyday life. That makes it especially politically sensitive at a time when many households are still feeling squeezed by broader inflation and high housing costs.

AMERICANS HIT WITH SOARING ELECTRICITY BILLS AS PRICE HIKES OUTPACE INFLATION NATIONWIDE

The issue is giving both parties fresh campaign ammunition, with Republicans casting higher bills as evidence of failed energy policies, regulatory overreach and a shift away from fossil fuels, while Democrats point to bill assistance programs, grid investments and clean energy incentives aimed at easing pressure on household budgets over time.

The fight is unfolding amid sharp regional divides in electricity prices. Federal energy data shows residential power costs vary widely across the country, illustrating how affordability pressures differ not just by income, but by geography, infrastructure and energy mix.

The latest figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration put the national average at 17.24 cents per kilowatt-hour, up 6% from a year earlier — a jump that outpaces wage growth for many households and adds to cumulative cost pressures from rent, insurance and groceries.

North Dakota has the lowest average residential electricity rate in the country at 11.02 cents per kilowatt-hour, while Hawaii — an outlier shaped in part by geographic isolation and reliance on imported fuel — has the highest, at 41.62 cents per kWh.

Nebraska, Idaho, Oklahoma and Arkansas also rank among the cheapest states, while California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York join Hawaii among the most expensive. Many of the higher-cost states are also pursuing aggressive clean energy transitions or maintaining older, more complex grid systems — factors that can raise near-term costs even as they aim to stabilize prices in the long run.

Several of the cheapest states are deep-red, a pattern Republicans are likely to seize on to reinforce broader arguments about energy policy and cost of living — even though power prices are shaped as much by geography, fuel availability, regulatory structures and long-term infrastructure investments as by partisan control.

THE STATES WHERE AMERICANS PAY THE MOST — AND LEAST — FOR ELECTRICITY

Cheap electricity, however, does not always mean affordable energy. Weather extremes, household consumption patterns, housing efficiency, aging infrastructure and state-level utility decisions all affect what families ultimately pay. In hotter or colder regions, for instance, even low rates can translate into high monthly bills due to heavy air conditioning or heating use.

Utilities are also seeking rate increases in many states to cover grid modernization, wildfire mitigation, storm hardening and the expansion of renewable energy — costs that are often passed on to consumers gradually but steadily.

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Even so, the partisan pattern may prove politically useful in a campaign season shaped by anxiety over household expenses and economic uncertainty.

Gas prices may grab more headlines, but electricity bills can be more politically durable: they arrive every month, are harder to cut quickly and are often tied to local utilities and regulators. That gives candidates a direct way to connect national energy debates to a tangible, recurring household cost and to voter frustration that is felt not at the pump, but at the kitchen table.

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Officer said he held himself responsible for accidentally phoning activist while in secret special branch meeting

An undercover police officer has admitted he was exposed as an infiltrator by his own blunder, which has been described by activists as worthy of Inspector Clouseau, the spycops public inquiry has heard.

The officer, who used the fake name Simon Wellings, jeopardised his own covert deployment by mistakenly recording himself discussing individual campaigners with other special branch officers.

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News that chickpea dip is to join list of products used for UK inflation basket confirms its move into the mainstream

It is a sign of the times. This week it was revealed that hummus is joining the list of foods used to measure the cost of living in Britain as the ubiquity of the dip at mealtimes sees it billed as the “new ketchup”.

The decision to drop a pot of hummus in the inflation basket is a moment for the all-conquering chickpea dip, which arrived on supermarket shelves on the late 1980s. Since then Britons have gone from spending virtually nothing to £170m a year on the versatile stuff.

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Regulators narrow securities definitions – a shift that could benefit Trump family’s crypto projects

On Tuesday, major US financial regulators published rules for the cryptocurrency industry that may reduce regulatory requirements and that insiders believe will benefit the Trump family’s ventures.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued new guidelines for the cryptocurrency industry to answer the longstanding question of what does or does not qualify as a security, a classification that entails strict oversight. SEC chair, Paul Atkins, has dubbed the framework a “token taxonomy” for the sector. Published jointly with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the guidelines classify most of crypto-based assets as commodities, collectibles, payment tokens or “digital tools”, exempting them from the SEC’s more stringent oversight and disclosure requirements. Only blockchain-based representations of existing securities, such as stocks and bonds, remain classified as securities under this new framework.

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Three cases previously confirmed reclassified by UK Health Security Agency after further testing

The number of confirmed meningitis cases linked to the Kent outbreak has fallen from 23 to 20.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Sunday that three cases previously thought confirmed had been downgraded after further testing.

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There are flooding rains in Hawaii, rare snow in Alabama and a severe heatwave in the west coast

The US is experiencing a striking mix of weather extremes this March. Flooding rains in Hawaii, rare snow in Alabama, flip-flopping temperatures in the north-east and, perhaps most concerning, a severe heatwave affecting the west coast are raising questions about how strange these patterns really are, and what role the climate crisis is playing.

Experts suggested that people around the US need to pay closer attention to the climatecrisis and do what they can to “minimize the impacts”.

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Tech defense startups doing business with the U.S. military could someday look back at March 2026 as the month their relationships moved into the serious phase. Instead of dabbling in limited pilot projects with the startups, the Pentagon is starting to place big bets on a select few of these companies, writing them into core missions with the kind of fixed-priced deals that have long been standard among established defense contractors.

Last week, the U.S. Army announced an enormous deal with Anduril—a five‑ to ten‑year enterprise contract with a ceiling of up to $20 billion—that consolidates roughly 120 to 130 existing orders they already have under one umbrella and creates a one‑stop vehicle to cut future deals much faster. The Army already inked a brand-new $87 million contract with Anduril earlier this week, as the first task order under that agreement. 

For venture-funded defense tech startups, which make everything from AI-powered drones to advanced threat detection systems, Anduril’s long-term contract sets a new bar that reflects how the young industry has evolved in the past few years—and opens the door to new opportunities and risks. The Pentagon’s embrace of a select few companies also comes at a time when the military has clashed with Anthropic, which develops general-purpose AI models and has sought to set limits on how the military can use its technology. 

The contract is a “meaningful signal,” says Steven Simoni, cofounder of the autonomous precision weapons startup Allen Control Systems, which also has a contract with the U.S. Army.
“For a long time, the defense acquisition system rewarded presentations, prototypes, and promises. What we’re seeing now is an institutional desire to back companies that can actually build, deploy, and sustain real systems in the field,” he said in an email.

Anduril, which was founded in 2017 by virtual reality technology pioneer Palmer Luckey, has focused squarely on security applications like anti-drone defense and border protection from the start. While the company is reportedly eyeing a $60 billion valuation in its latest funding round, it is still a young company that pales in size next to incumbents like Lockheed Martin or Boeing when you look at revenue and order backlogs.

The enterprise contract “suggests the government increasingly sees Anduril’s stack as repeatable and scalable, rather than bespoke R&D,” says Ali Javaheri, a senior analyst at PitchBook.

This isn’t the first time the Army has done a deal like this with a tech company. Last year, it signed a 10‑year, enterprise service agreement with the data analytics and AI company Palantir, with a ceiling of up to $10 billion, consolidating about 75 of its existing software and data contracts into a single channel. Anduril’s contract both copies and extends that model: this time wrapping hardware and services around the software. It also doubles the ceiling, and ties the whole thing to a live mission—countering drones across the military. Massive enterprise agreements with tech providers are no longer one‑off flukes; there is now a pattern of VC‑backed platforms winning prime‑like enterprise deals that let them compete directly with the old guard.

“Autonomy, counter-UAS, and software-defined C2 are moving from experimental budgets into more durable procurement pathways, which is exactly the kind of shift investors have been waiting to see from defense tech,” Javaheri says, referring to counter-drone systems and the ways that system commanders are directing their forces.

Playing with the primes

Playing in the big leagues comes with some risks. All of the individual task orders that happen under the Anduril deal will be firm-fixed price contracts, or FFPs, which tend to only be used when both the requirements and costs are well understood. The advantage for the Army is price certainty: It locks in what it will pay, and the company has to eat any unexpected or surging costs over the life of the deal. The upside for the contractor is that if it can deliver more cheaply than expected, it keeps the extra margin.

All this is fine and dandy unless something goes wrong. For defense contractors, there’s a long list of examples—now cautionary tales—in which fixed-price structures ultimately proved to be a bad fit for complex or immature designs. There was Boeing’s KC‑46 tanker, which started as a fixed‑price incentive contract of around $4.4 billion to $4.9 billion. Technical problems piled up with its remote vision capabilities and fuel system issues, which led Boeing to ultimately absorb more than $7 billion in losses. 

The Navy’s experience with Lockheed Martin’s Freedom‑class Littoral Combat Ships tells a similar story. Design flaws in the combining gear forced the service and the company to spend roughly $8 million–$10 million per ship on fixes.

Simoni says large contracts like what Anduril has notched set a “much higher bar,” as it requires “dedicated manufacturing capacity, consistent supply chain discipline, and the proven ability to deliver on timelines that matter operationally, not just technically.”

Matthew Steckman, president and chief business officer at Anduril, says taking on these kinds of risk is part of Anduril’s stated objective.

“That’s the goal, to take the risk out of the government’s hands and into industry, incentivizing defense companies to deliver capabilities on time for that price and holding them accountable if that outcome isn’t achieved,” he said in a statement to Fortune.

By signing on to write fixed-priced contracts with such an enormous ceiling—which, to be clear, the Army is under no obligation to fully spend—the government is signaling confidence that Anduril’s software and hardware are mature enough to warrant that kind of cost assurance. If they’re wrong, big bills could shake the startup’s financial position, and the Army formations that now depend on the company.

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Israeli air defence systems fail to intercept projectiles during attacks on southern cities of Arad and Dimona

Iranian missile strikes have wounded about 200 people in southern Israel, after air defence systems failed to intercept projectiles that hit two cities close to a nuclear facility.

Among the injured in the attacks on Arad and Dimona were a 12-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, both reported to be in serious condition. The Israeli broadcaster Channel 13 reported early indications of possible deaths, though there was no official confirmation.

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For Scott DeRue, the climb to the C-suite has mirrored the literal peaks he’s summited along the way.

As CEO of The Ironman Group, he oversees nearly 250 endurance events worldwide. But his career path has been anything but linear—spanning roles as a professor, dean of the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, and president of Equinox. He’s also climbed the Seven Summits, including Mount Everest and Kilimanjaro. The thread connecting it all hasn’t been a single industry or a straight-line path; it’s been intention.

“I have my family, The Ironman Group, and my passions of endurance sports and mountaineering,” DeRue told Fortune. “Every hour of every day is spent with one of those three things—and nothing else.”

That level of focus has shaped both his professional trajectory and personal ambitions. It dates back to when he was 13, unloading semi-trucks filled with upholstery fabric—an experience that taught him about hard work, paying taxes, and a lesson that would stick: no role has to be permanent.

But as he worked his way up, DeRue said success didn’t hinge on traditional networking—in fact, he believes the concept is often misunderstood.

“One of the terms that I think is most dangerous is the idea of ‘networking,’” the 48-year-old said. “Because it’s about relationships, not networking. You want to develop relationships built on mutual value and before you need them, and I think that’s an art that is lost on many.”

DeRue’s advice is simple: ditch the transactional mindset. 

Rather than treating connections as one-off exchanges—swapping business cards or adding someone on LinkedIn—he emphasizes consistent, genuine engagement. That may mean checking in regularly, sharing updates, and offering help without expecting anything in return.

It’s a philosophy rooted in advice he received early in his career: think of relationships like a bank account: “There are debits and credits,” he said. “You always want to have a positive balance.”

That message likely resonates with Gen Z, many of whom struggle with how to approach professional connections. About 38% of young workers say networking makes them anxious, according to a survey conducted by Strand Partners for LinkedIn, with many avoiding it altogether because they don’t know where to start. 

Today, DeRue oversees a workforce that swells to about 1,000 employees around the world during peak race season. Ironman—best known for its grueling triathlons—was purchased by Advance, the parent company of Condé Nast, in 2020 for an undisclosed amount. Prior to that, the company was sold in 2015 for $650 million.

Gen Z wants purpose in their careers. DeRue once took a whole month off work to try to find his

For Gen Z, a paycheck is increasingly not enough to feel satisfied in careers—purpose is a priority. More than half of Gen Zers and millennials say meaningful work is a key factor when evaluating employers, and 89% of Gen Z say purpose is critical to their job satisfaction and well-being, according to Deloitte’s 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey.

As entry-level roles grow more competitive, finding that balance can be challenging. And it’s a tension DeRue knows well.

After graduating from the University of North Carolina in 1999, he began his career at consulting firm Monitor Group (later acquired by Deloitte). While the role offered a strong start, it lacked the sense of direction he was searching for.

So, he took a month off to reflect and interview people in his life about their careers—until he identified what he calls his “North Star.”

“Since the age of 25, I’ve had one single through-line, North Star purpose: to create experiences for people that help them unlock their potential,” he said.

That clarity, he added, is what allows people to navigate uncertainty and build careers that feel meaningful over time. And looking back, even with his expansive resume, the biggest advice he would give himself is to “be bolder.”

And just as important is adopting what he calls a “no regrets” mindset.

“Even when things don’t work out, did you make a principled decision? Were you thoughtful about it?” DeRue said. “You can’t always control the outcome—but you can control how you approach it.”

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As the weekend wraps up, let’s take a look at the top stories that made headlines in the tech and finance world. Here’s a quick roundup of the most significant events that occurred over the past few days.

Apple’s New Mac Sees Record Launch Week

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) had a stellar launch week for its new MacBook Neo, with a significant number of first-time users. The new budget-friendly laptop is priced at $599, or $499 for students, and has garnered substantial interest from both new and existing customers. This could potentially boost Apple’s presence in the education market and contribute an additional 0.5% to its overall revenue, according to industry feedback.

Read the full article here.

Google Tests Gemini AI App For Mac

Alphabet.Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google is working on a dedicated Gemini AI

Full story available on Benzinga.com

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Leon Panetta calls president ‘naive’ over strait of Hormuz closure and says ‘the chickens are coming home to roost’

Donald Trump is stuck between “a rock and a hard place” after three weeks of war in Iran and “sending a message of weakness” to the world, Leon Panetta, a former US defence secretary and Central Intelligence Agency director, has told the Guardian.

Panetta, who served in the Bill Clinton and Barack Obama administrations, recalled that national security officials were always keenly aware of Iran’s ability to create an energy crisis by blocking the strait of Hormuz. That very scenario is now unfolding, leaving Trump with no exit strategy beyond wishful thinking.

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Young professionals are using ChatGPT to rehearse salary negotiations, deliver tough feedback, and navigate workplace conflict — before the conversations ever happen. From entry-level employees to mid-career managers, workers are turning to AI tools to prepare before stepping into their manager’s office.

Why This Generation Needs a Practice Gym

For a generation that came of age amid remote work, economic uncertainty, and rapid technological change, preparation feels less optional and more essential. Deloitte’s global survey of more than 23,000 workers found that Gen Z and millennials are intensely focused on growth and skill development as workplace expectations evolve, and another study showed that 56% of Gen Z workers use AI to help figure out how to communicate with a boss or colleague.

For many early-career professionals, the toughest part isn’t the content of the conversation—it’s the experience of having it. That’s not a character flaw; it’s the product of a world where fewer interactions require real-time conflict resolution, emotional regulation, or face-to-face persuasion. If you’ve spent years communicating through screens and asynchronous channels, the first time you have to deliver tough feedback or negotiate on the spot can feel like showing up to a championship match without a single practice rep.

How to Try It Right Now

For the first time, that kind of practice gym is within reach. Advances in large language models have dramatically lowered the cost of creating personalized, high-quality dialogue that lets employees rehearse difficult conversations on demand.

Here’s how to start: open ChatGPT and switch to voice mode. Give it context on an upcoming situation you’re anxious about, then ask it to simulate the conversation. Tell it to challenge your assumptions, interrupt you the way a stressed manager might, or push back hard on your reasoning.

It will feel awkward at first — like your first day back in the gym after a long layoff. That’s fine. Fluency comes from repetition.

  • Listen first, then reflect.Prompt ChatGPT to listen without interrupting, then summarize what you said in three key points. This exercise alone often brings unexpected clarity.
  • Roleplay the other person.Prompt: “Pretend you are [coworker X] and help me rehearse the conversation I need to have with them.”
  • Repeat until it feels natural. The first session will feel strange. By the third, it won’t. Consistency is the only requirement.

The Next Frontier: Team-Level Training

But individual practice is only the beginning. A new generation of AI-enabled corporate trainers can now bring this kind of preparation to entire teams.

These trainers will develop adaptable lessons geared to what an employee needs to know — not what they already know. They’ll surface the conversations employees didn’t know they needed to have, tailoring training for distinct roles and seniority levels.

This isn’t theoretical. Organizations like Skillwell — which I lead — are already demonstrating that EQ leadership skills are not innate traits Over the next decade, I expect the number of people practicing professional skills via AI-enabled simulation to expand by several orders of magnitude. The tools exist. The adoption curve is just beginning.

The Gym Is Open

Real-world experience remains the best teacher. But organizations no longer have to wait for high-stakes moments to arrive — and hope their people are ready. AI-powered simulation gives every worker a place to train, build fluency, and show up prepared when it matters most.

The practice gym is open. The only question is whether your organization will walk in.

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

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Steve Reed says ‘UK is not going to be dragged into this war’ after Israeli warnings that Iranian missiles could hit Europe

Iran is not believed to have the capability or intent to hit the UK with its missiles, a cabinet minister has said, after Tehran aimed two at the UK-US airbase on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

One missile failed to reach the island, while another was shot down by a US warship, according to reports. It was the longest-range attack yet by Iran since the country was attacked by the US and Israel.

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This year marks the 250th anniversary of the publication of The Wealth of Nations—the book that built the intellectual foundation of free-market capitalism. Smith’s argument was elegant: when individuals pursue their own interests within competitive markets—governed by rules and institutions—it leads to economic prosperity for the entire society, guided by what he called the “invisible hand” that steers resources toward broad prosperity. 

What Smith did not anticipate was that if leaders in government and owners of capital form a stealthy alliance to help one another, the invisible hand vanishes  and competition is replaced by the kind of massive monopolies or oligopolies that strangle  societal prosperity.

The Invisible Hand Has Left the Building

Over time, the belief that markets would self-correct and growth would eventually “lift all boats,” has lost credibility. We have more knowledge, wealth, and technological competence than any generation in history, yet the world faces multiple existential crises: widening inequality, erosion of democracy, ecological collapse, and a pervasive breakdown of trust in institutions. These are not isolated failures but the inevitable outcomes of a governance model that has prioritized profit above people and the planet, for too long. Capitalism, in its current form, has surrendered its moral authority. Barring a few exceptions, democracy has been  downgraded to function as government of the few, by the few, and for the few.

Yet this moment should not be seen only as a crisis. It may also mark the early stage of an epochal transition to a better state.

A Quiet Revolt Is Already Underway

Across the world, millions of progressive people—employees, consumers, youth and women—are increasingly unwilling to accept exclusion as destiny. Their impact is already visible. Consumers punish irresponsibility. Employees reject exploitation. Citizens demand transparency. Markets do not operate in a vacuum; they are embedded in societies. The era of unaccountable leadership may now be short-lived—not through revolution, but through obsolescence.

Enter Peopleism

What comes next will not be another ideology in the traditional sense, but a structural reordering of priorities—one that redefines the purpose of economic systems and institutions. This is where a new idea begins to take shape: Peopleism.

The premise is straightforward: systems exist to serve people—not the other way around. Economic and political institutions derive legitimacy only when they visibly advance human dignity, social inclusion, and planetary well-being. Capital remains indispensable, but it functions as a means rather than a master. Wisdom—not power or scale—becomes the defining leadership capability of the twenty-first century.

Every human enterprise—corporate or government—rests on three indispensable pillars: capital, people, and nature. To privilege one while degrading the others is a formula for systemic instability and long-term fragility.

Evolution, Not Revolution

Peopleism is not an outright rejection of capitalism. It is capitalism’s evolution—a leadership and governance upgrade, aligned with economic reality. It integrates ethics, ecology, and governance into a new operating model  that aims to deliver  “an economics that works for all.” It demands a leap from piecemeal fixes to structural transformation.

Peopleism accepts that owners of capital play an important entrepreneurial role. Many are worthy capitalists; who abide by the system—legally and ethically. They are a nation’s asset, key employment-generators, and the lifeline of the economy. But some big capitalists, in every nation, use the power of money to influence governments for their own benefit, and tacitly control media, regulators, and even the judiciary. It is these capitalists that most urgently need the leadership leap to Peopleism.

What It Looks Like in Practice

Think of Peopleism less as a moral doctrine and more as a survival strategy —one that empowers every entrepreneur and leader to scale new heights through wisdom, compassion, and accountability. It is about enabling every business leader to be a “peopleist”—to do well and do good while building an honorable legacy.

The Tata Group’s founder, Jamsetji Tata, put it plainly: “The community is not just another stakeholder in business, but, in fact, is the very purpose of its existence.”
Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard went further: “We’re in business to save our home planet”, — and transferred 100% of the company’s voting stock to the Patagonia Purpose Trust, with planet Earth as its sole shareholder.

Such practices are not yet the norm, but they serve as precedents and ignite hope. History suggests that radical shifts are resisted by incumbents but accelerated by necessity. We now find ourselves at a collective watershed moment—a moment when history ceases to determine our future.

The Choice Ahead

The transition to a better world is not guaranteed. It has to be chosen. Peopleism is that choice—a leadership ethos for a world that no longer accepts irresponsible power. If the twentieth century belonged to capitalism, the twenty-first may well belong to an idea whose time has come: Peopleism.

What would it take for your industry to make that leap?

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

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Every other month, one U.S. doctor trades rugged Appalachia for Venetian waterways to recharge from his hectic work life. And he’s part of a growing trend of American professionals looking for a change of pace in breezy European countries. 

Since December 2023, Dr. Alexander Gabrovsky has been splitting his time between his physician job in the U.S. and water-front villa in Italy. And it all started after stumbling across a listing for a porto d’acqua “water door” apartment in Venice; the one-bedroom, two-bath home accessible by boat overlooks a medieval church and local town square. Longing for a slice of tranquil Italian life, he put down an offer €60,000 ($69,000) below the asking price, and within a matter of months, the deal was closed at $438,000.

“It was definitely a spontaneous decision. It was an emotional decision,” Gabrovsky tells Fortune. The Italian city had been a fascination throughout most of his life, and thanks to his flexible job schedule, he finally decided to follow through. “Venice captured my imagination: the history, the art, the lifestyle.”

Alexander Gabrovsky's Venice apartment.

Alessandro Pietrosanti / www.alessandropietrosanti.co.uk

Living the dream for six months of the year also comes with some sacrifices. To make his cross-country living work while juggling an in-person job, the 42-year-old condenses his work schedule into intense multi-week clusters.

Gabrovsky says he’ll work 12-hour shifts for three weeks straight at his gig in Kentucky, then spend a month relaxing in Venice, then repeat the cycle. Normally, full-time hospitalists work seven days on, seven days off—but he says his plan is economical with travel costs, circumvents the 90-day tourist cap, and carves out enough meaningful time to unwind in Italy. 

“I can work in a way that allows me to travel right to Europe for an extended amount of time,” Gabrovsky explains. “While I’m [in Kentucky], it’s 12-hour shifts. There’s a little bit of social life, but you’re really just working and sleeping.”

Alexander Gabrovsky's Venice apartment.

Alessandro Pietrosanti / www.alessandropietrosanti.co.uk

Buying the Venetian ‘water door’ apartment for $438,500 with all his savings—and making it work

When Gabrovsky was trawling the internet for a waterfront getaway, he found the perfect pad in Castello: representing the tail of the fish of Venice drawn out on a map. 

It was nestled at the crux of three canals, with two water door entrances that allow him to ride a boat right up into his living room. Luckily, buying the house was pretty straightforward: he leaned on some internet sleuthing, but help from the firm Italian Real Estate Lawyers sealed the deal.

The city also came with unique paperwork, like getting permission to moor his boat outside his apartment, but getting set up was a fairly painless process. 

Alexander Gabrovsky's Venice apartment.

Alessandro Pietrosanti / www.alessandropietrosanti.co.uk

“It was definitely daunting at first,” Gabrovsky recalls. “The lawyers that I used were very helpful—I obviously watched a lot of YouTube videos and educated myself as much as I could about it…The process was fairly smooth.”

Inside, the historic apartment was a fixer-upper, but the American was well prepared to bring the late medieval-era flat back to its former glory. In addition to having one bedroom and two bathrooms, the apartment features a kitchen, living room, loft, and two balconies. The building’s foundation is extremely old: its wooden beams and brickwork originated in the 14th century, with additional expansions made throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. 

Living in a piece of history also came with a price; Gabrovsky bought the property for €380,000 ($438,500), which he says exhausted nearly all his savings at the time. However, the physician reasoned that it was still cheaper than buying a comparable property in the U.S., renovations included. He spent $16,000 installing a brand new kitchen, and another few grand restoring the water doors, but the revamp was relatively inexpensive. 

Alexander Gabrovsky's Venice apartment.

Alessandro Pietrosanti / www.alessandropietrosanti.co.uk

Gabrovsky deploys other financial hacks to ensure he can afford his transnational lifestyle. While he’s in rural Kentucky for his job assignments, he typically stays in hospital-provided accommodations, which greatly reduces his housing expenses.

Flying between the U.S. and Italy every month can also run up a big bill, but Gabrovsky keeps travel costs down. He only flies with carry-on luggage, avoids checked bag fees, and always looks to buy the best-priced plane tickets in advance.

The doctor leads a ‘rich’ life between the U.S. and Italy: lower costs, less stress, and slower living

By splitting his time between Kentucky and Venice, Gabrovsky says he isn’t just saving on living costs. The setup also lets the physician enjoy a culture-rich European city aligned with his academic background, having received a PhD in medical literature from the University of Cambridge in 2015. 

“Venice is a breathing, living museum,” Gabrovsky explains. “I like the contrast of the energy of the rugged mountains of Appalachia, to all of a sudden being in Italy and having a spritz and watching boats go by. Having that variety of experiences is very refreshing, and also helps me put different things in perspective, seeing how different people live. It makes life very rich.”

Alexander Gabrovsky inside his Venice apartment

Alessandro Pietrosanti / www.alessandropietrosanti.co.uk

Plus, Italy’s leisurely living is a good break from his intense work grind. Gabrovsky says it’s “therapeutic” to be in town; Venice’s beauty, calming waters, and car-free environment are natural destressors from the hustle and bustle of America. Touching down in the city, he’s immediately surrounded by beautiful buildings and the warmth of friendly Venetians, who invite him over for long dinners that go into the evening.

He gets the best of both worlds in Italy: being a part of an active and vibrant community, while living a slower pace of life. It helps reset his nervous system before delving back into weeks of 12-hour shifts. 

“Italy certainly helps me relax, because the pace in Venice and Italy in general is a lot slower, especially in a historic city like Venice,” the physician says. “Learning to slow down and appreciate, having to walk everywhere and not get in your car, but instead take my boat out into the lagoon and go rowing…It does help de-stress.”

Living between two countries is a dream for many Americans, but taking the leap can be very daunting. There are many things to consider, from country caps on tourists staying without a visa, to the different real estate laws in purchasing property as a foreigner. But Gabrovsky says it’s well worth it for disillusioned Americans to try and bring their dual-living fantasies to life. 

“Americans who are thinking about either moving abroad and doing a digital nomad visa, or splitting their life between the U.S. and somewhere else abroad, if you feel a strong passion for it, then go for it,” he advises.

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The week brought a series of significant developments, including a potential shift in the Fed’s interest rate policy, a controversial statement from a top White House advisor, and a historic slump in the gold market. Here’s a quick overview of the stories that made headlines.

Trump’s Iran War Is Bringing Rate Hikes Back On The Table

President Donald Trump‘s aggressive push for interest rate cuts has been met with an unexpected response from the bond market. The ongoing war in Iran has led to a surprising prediction – a potential rate hike by the end of the year. This comes as a stark contrast to the 60 basis points of cuts that were anticipated less than three weeks ago.

Read the full article here.

Trump Advisor Sparks Outrage

Kevin Hassett, the top economic adviser at the White House, made a …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

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Cortina d’Ampezzo, the “Pearl of the Dolomites,” is a blend of Olympic heritage with celebrity chic, fine dining and Alpine tradition, even as climate change and new tourism reshape the area.

(Image credit: Valerio Muscella for NPR)

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Figures seen by the Guardian show the two peers each attended just 1.12% of sessions in past four years

Evgeny Lebedev’s longstanding commitment to being the most relaxed member of the House of Lords has come under threat from another peer, Ian Botham, with both recording identical attendance rates of 1.12% over the past four years.

According to Lords records seen by the Guardian, Lebedev and Botham – who were both appointed by Boris Johnson – each managed to make it to seven of the 625 sessions of the upper house that took place from the start of 2022 to the end of 2025.

Continue reading…

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