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Netanyahu orders Iran strikes despite Trump claiming ‘I call all the shots’ | First Thing

Direct exchange of fire between warring nations in apparent defiance of Trump was in response to an Israeli attack on Beirut, and breaks April’s ceasefire. Plus: incredible pictures of the Beatles’ final tour of the USDon’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereGood morning.

First Thing: Trump-backed Ken Paxton ousts John Cornyn in Texas primary

First Thing: Nato ready to defend ‘every inch’ of territory as Russian drone hits Romania

So You Want a Coat of Arms

The first thing you notice upon entering the College of Arms, in London, is a small and incongruously blue statue of a kiwi, clutching a gold axe in its right claw. Sorry, let me try that again: In the odd historic language of heraldry, this is “a kiwi Azure grasping in the dexter foot an ice axe bendwise Or. ”The bird belongs to the coat of arms of Sir Edmund Hillary, a New Zealander, who was part of the first team to conquer Mount Everest.

'Hot Jupiter' winds blasting at over 15,000 mph reveal 1st evidence of exoplanets with magnetic fields

'Hot Jupiter' winds blasting at over 15,000 mph reveal 1st evidence of exoplanets with magnetic fields "A key step toward ultimately understanding which planets can stay alive, keep their water, and perhaps even, one day, host life as we know it." Astronomers have discovered the first evidence of magnetic fields around planets beyond the solar system, and they did so by studying the worlds' high-speed, violent winds. This marks the first direct measurement of exoplanet magnetic field...

Microsoft’s AI chief says superintelligence is near, but won’t take your job

Today I’m talking with Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI. And I’m actually going to keep today’s intro short — I’m working from my wife’s family farm this week, as you’ll see in the video, but also this is a real burner of an episode. We covered everything from Mustafa’s approach to training new models to his criticisms of Anthropic talking about Claude as though it is conscious.

Zelenskyy proposes face-to-face meeting to discuss end of war in open letter to Putin

Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for a meeting with Putin, saying only face-to-face talks will yield an agreement on territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin in an open letter to the Russian leader on Thursday, saying he was ready for a "full ceasefire." The letter marks one of the few times Zelenskyy has appealed directly to Putin since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion and the first time he has ever sent a letter directly to the...

Superintelligence: The Idea That Eats Smart People (2016)

This is the text version of a talk I gave on October 29, 2016, at Web Camp Zagreb [video] (45 mins) SuperintelligenceThe Idea That Eats Smart People | | | In 1945, as American physicists were preparing to test the atomic bomb, it occurred to someone to ask if such a test could set the atmosphere on fire. This was a legitimate concern.

Why TMC revolt is about Abhishek Banerjee, not Mamata

The rebellion within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has deepened over the past week, with rebel MLAs backing expelled leader Ritabrata Banerjee for the post of leader of opposition and drawing comparisons with Maharashtra's Shiv Sena split. But a closer look suggests the revolt may be less about challenging Mamata Banerjee's leadership and more about questioning the growing authority of her nephew and political heir, Abhishek Banerjee. At first glance, the developments appear to be a direct...

World Cup Rank: The 50 best players in the 2026 to...

As silly as it might seem, whoever wins the 2026 World Cup is going to have an outsize impact on who the soccer world decides is the best soccer player in the world. Sure, there are 11 players on each team. And OK, fine, the best players have possession of the ball for only about three total minutes every match.