22 h. ago First orbital rocket launched from mainland Europe crashes after takeoff

Uncrewed Spectrum test rocket’s failure seconds after blast-off said to have produced extensive data nonethelessA test rocket aimed at kickstarting satellite launches from Europe fell to the ground and exploded less than a minute after takeoff from a Norwegian spaceport on Sunday, in what the German startup Isar Aerospace had described as an initial test.The uncrewed Spectrum rocket was billed as the first attempt at an orbital flight to originate from Europe, where several nations, including Sweden and Britain, have said they want a share of the growing market for commercial space missions. Continue reading...

Events

26 h. ago Trans people are less than 1% of the population. Trump made them a political lightning rod

Donald Trump has signed a slew of policies aimed at wiping trans people out of records, sports and even history

Politics

30 h. ago Transgender people are about 1% of the US population. Yet they're a political lightning rod

President Donald Trump has signed a slew of policies aimed at wiping transgender people out of government records, sports and even history

Politics

42 h. ago When the physicists need burner phones, that’s when you know America’s changed | John Naughton

US academics, fearing persecution by their own government, are becoming ideological refugees. Europe, and Britain, must offer them sanctuaryAt international academic conferences recently, one sees an interesting trend. Some American participants are travelling with “burner” phones or have minimalist laptops running browsers and not much else. In other words, they are equipped with the same kind of kit that security-conscious people used to bring 15 years ago when travelling to China.So what’s up? Well, these academics have a finger on the pulse of Trump’s America, and are concerned about what might happen when they return home. They’ve read on Robert Reich’s Substack about the French scientist who was prevented from entering the country because US Border Patrol agents had found messages from him in which he had expressed his “personal opinion” to colleagues and friends about Trump’s science policies. Continue reading...

Events

62 h. ago US Naval Academy to no longer consider race when evaluating candidates

White House detailed policy change in filing asking court to suspend appeal by group opposed to affirmative actionThe US Naval Academy has changed its policy and will no longer consider race as a factor when evaluating candidates to attend the elite military school, a practice it maintained even after the US supreme court barred civilian colleges from employing similar affirmative action policies.The Trump administration detailed the policy change in a filing on Friday asking a court to suspend an appeal lodged by a group opposed to affirmative action against a judge’s decision last year upholding the Annapolis, Maryland-based Naval Academy’s race-conscious admissions program. Continue reading...

Politics

64 h. ago Stocks tumble on inflation fears as Trump policies continue to cause market volatility

Sell-off comes as 25 percent auto import tariffs set to begin in early April

Economics

65 h. ago US stocks tumble as deepening consumer gloom raises stagflation fears

Consumer sentiment darkens while Federal Reserve’s inflation gauge rises

Politics

3 d. ago Stanford and 3 U of California campuses face probes as part of Trump's anti

The Trump administration says it has opened investigations into the admissions policies at Stanford University and three campuses within the University of California system, including UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Irvine

Politics

3 d. ago Farage rails against equality policies and says he is ‘not a fan’ of Andrew Tate

The Reform UK leader praised Donald Trump’s US administration for scrapping policies aimed at improving equality in American workplaces.

Events

5 d. ago Rising fears of Trump tariffs pummel US consumer confidence to four

Tariffs panned by economists for sowing uncertainty that they said made it challenging for businesses to plan aheadUS consumer confidence plunged to the lowest level in more than four years in March, with households fearing a recession in the future and higher inflation because of tariffs.The Conference Board said on Tuesday that write-in responses to the survey showed “worries about the impact of trade policies and tariffs in particular are on the rise”, adding: “There were also more references than usual to economic and policy uncertainty.” Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Tesla sales plunge 42% in Europe and market share continues to shrink amid fallout over Elon Musk's support for hard

Tesla's market share in Europe continued to shrink year-on-year in February, as sales dropped for a second consecutive month despite rising overall EV registrations on the continent.

Economics

7 d. ago Trump news at a glance: reports of IRS data deal spark fears for undocumented migrant workers

Possible shift in taxpayer data use aligns with more aggressive Trump immigration policies – key US politics stories from Sunday at a glanceThe US Internal Revenue Service is reportedly nearing a deal to allow immigration officials to use tax data to support Donald Trump’s deportation agenda.Under the proposed data-sharing agreement, said to have been in negotiations for weeks, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) could hand over the names and addresses of undocumented immigrants to the IRS, raising concerns about abuse of power from the Trump administration and the erosion of privacy rights. Continue reading...

Economics

7 d. ago Trump’s policies shatter Wall Street’s ‘US exceptionalism’ trade

Stocks and dollar fall in tandem as tariffs dent outlook for American economy

Politics

9 d. ago Here’s what you need to know about your rights when entering the US

Trump’s hardline immigration policy is sweeping up even visa and green card holders into detention centersTell us: have you experienced any issues at the US border recently?Since Donald Trump returned to the White House, he has carried out the hardline immigration policies he promised on the campaign trail.Trump’s administration sent migrants to the Guantánamo Bay naval base in Cuba – with little access to legal counsel – and singled out two pro-Palestinian academics for deportation. The administration also failed to return El Salvador-destined deportation flights in potential violation of a court order. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Barrabool can land biggest prize on racing’s £550,000 Go North weekend

Weekend offers decent money for horses just below the top rung and Barrabool is one to watchThe weekends between the Cheltenham festival and Aintree’s Grand National meeting will never be an obvious target for the elite jumping horses but the £550,000 Go North weekend, which is now in its fifth year, offers decent money for horses just below the top rung and the £100,000 Ladbrokes Herring Queen Series Final at Kelso on Saturday is a race in which a case can be made for all 12 runners.Surrey Belle’s 57-length win at Newcastle last time will probably be enough to send her off favourite, but that was a four-runner race where her main market rival was way below form. Continue reading...

Economics

1 week ago AOC and Bernie draw crowds of thousands: Is the Democratic Party having its Tea Party moment?

Analysis: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joins Bernie Sanders on a tour at a time when her party is increasingly looking for someone to aggressively oppose Donald Trump’s policies, Richard Hall writes.

Politics

1 week ago Nvidia to spend hundreds of billions on US supply chain over next 4 years, says chief

Jensen Huang’s chip pledge follows onshoring plans by other tech companies as Donald Trump’s trade policies ripple through industry

Economics

1 week ago Nvidia to spend hundreds of billions on US supply chain, says chief

Jensen Huang’s pledge follows onshoring plans by other tech companies as Trump trade policies ripple through industry

Economics

1 week ago Fed cuts US growth forecast as Trump’s policies weigh on outlook

Central bank also lifts inflation projection as chair Jay Powell warns of tariff impact

Politics

1 week ago AI and US tariffs expected to fuel fresh surge in secondhand fashion sales

Use of hi-tech search tools enables shoppers to find items they want, while trade war pushes up prices of new clothesArtificial intelligence will spur on sales of secondhand clothing, according to the boss of one of the biggest online resale sites, after global sales rose 15% last year – more than four times faster than the wider market.Pre-loved clothing items now account for $227bn (£175bn) or 9% of total fashion sales, according to a report by analysts at GlobalData for online the clothing reseller ThredUp. The figure represents a big leap over the past five years and has led to resellers eating into the market share of major clothing retailers. Continue reading...

Economics