“Ukraine is continuing its attacks on Russian oil infrastructure despite calls from the West seeking to end such strikes. Russian officials on Sunday said Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery operated by Lukoil and a Baltic pipeline near St Petersburg. The governor of Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region said air defence units had repelled a 30-drone barrage. Last week, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that some allies have signalled for Ukraine to reduce long-range strikes on Russia’s oil sector due to rising global energy prices. Zelensky said he would be happy to do so – but only if Russia reciprocates by stopping its own attacks on the Ukrainian grid.” (04/06/26)
“British officials are moving swiftly to court Anthropic after the US Defense Department labeled it a supply-chain risk for refusing military use of its Claude AI system. The designation, currently blocked by a federal judge, has created a diplomatic and regulatory opening for the UK to position itself as a more supportive base for AI firms. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration is backing the pitch, which includes expanding Anthropic’s London operations and a potential London Stock Exchange listing.” (04/06/26)
“A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that New Jersey gaming regulators cannot prevent Kalshi from allowing people in the state to use its prediction market to place financial bets on the outcome of sporting events. A three-judge panel of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 in finding that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has exclusive jurisdiction over the sports-related event contracts that Kalshi allows people to trade on its platform. … The ruling was in line with the position advanced in other litigation by the CFTC under President Donald Trump’s administration. The regulator last week sued Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois to prevent them from pursuing what it called unlawful efforts to regulate prediction markets.” (04/06/26)
“US President Donald Trump says a leak to the media about the existence of a second shot-down airman shortly after American troops rescued the first one threatened to upend the entire operation. The rescue of the F-15E pilot on Friday evening was first reported by Israeli media …. ‘We didn’t talk about the first [rescue] for an hour, and then somebody leaked something, which we’ll hopefully find that leaker,’ Trump says during a White House press conference on the weekend rescue mission. … ‘We’re going to go to the media company that released it, and we’re going to say, ‘National security. Give it up or go to jail,” he continues.” (04/06/26)
“Meta is preparing to release the first new AI models developed under Alexandr Wang, with plans to eventually offer versions of those models via an open source license, Axios has learned. Meta has been the largest U.S. player to let others modify its frontier models, and there has been growing speculation the company might retreat from that strategy altogether. Before openly releasing versions of the new models, Meta wants to keep some pieces proprietary and to ensure they don’t add new levels of safety risk, according to sources.” (04/06/26)
“Your birth weight may be more important than your current adult weight when it comes to your risk of stroke later in life. A new study hints that people who were born with a low birthweight may face a higher risk of stroke in young adulthood, even if they are not overweight or underweight as adults. This suggests that what happens in the womb and during early birth can leave a long-term mark on the brain’s blood-supply system, which may show up as higher stroke risk several years later. The study is set to be presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO2026) in Istanbul, Turkey (12-15 May). Dr Lina Lilja and Dr Maria Bygdell of the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, who are study authors and colleagues say that low birthweight can be included in stroke risk assessment for adults.” (04/06/26)
“Almost immediately after an immigration agent shot and wounded a Venezuelan immigrant in Minneapolis this winter, the federal government cast the injured man as an attempted murderer and the agent as the victim of a brutal beating. … video footage of the shooting, newly obtained by The New York Times, raises questions about why it took weeks for the government’s case to fall apart. The video contradicts the agent’s claim that three assailants had beaten him with a shovel and broom for roughly three minutes before he opened fire. Instead, the confrontation depicted in the video lasts about 12 seconds and shows two men struggling with the agent. It shows no sustained attack with a shovel.” (04/06/26)
“Scientists have identified a hallmark signature produced by psychedelic drugs in the human brain when users experience their mind-altering effects. The ‘neural fingerprint’ of the psychedelic trip was spotted among hundreds of brain scans of people on LSD, psilocybin, DMT, mescaline and ayahuasca, pointing to a shared impact on the brain’s behaviour. The finding emerged from a major study that combined 11 brain imaging datasets from around the world in an effort to build a reliable picture of how the substances temporarily rewire the brain. The insights are increasingly important as researchers investigate the drugs in clinical trials as potential therapies for severe mental health and neurological conditions such as depression, schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder.” (04/06/26)
“The Democratic Republic of Congo has agreed to accept migrants deported from the US who are not themselves Congolese under a deal effective from this month, officials said. The Ministry of Communication said a temporary reception system had been set up, while facilities to accommodate arrivals had been selected in the capital, Kinshasa. ‘Logistical and technical support’ will be provided by the US, the statement on Sunday said, adding that the Congolese government would bear no financial cost for the scheme. The government did not say how many deportees they would accept. The US has already sent deportees to several other countries in Africa as part of Washington’s crackdown on immigration. Amid concerns that migrants could be returned to their home countries – where some fear persecution – Congolese officials said no such transfers are being planned.” (04/06/26)
“The Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for the Trump administration to dismiss the criminal case against Trump ally Steve Bannon over his failure to respond to congressional subpoenas. Although Bannon was convicted and served jail time, he and the Trump administration are now seeking to have the case thrown out after the fact, in what would be a mostly symbolic outcome. … Bannon was convicted in 2022 on two counts of contempt of Congress over his refusal to comply with the subpoenas, which sought documents and testimony related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by President Donald Trump’s supporters.” (04/06/26)
