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President Vladimir Putin is rejecting calls to negotiate peace with Kyiv, with Ukraine's recent drone strikes on Russia's oil refineries and ports strengthening his resolve to keep fighting for now.

Source tells the Guardian Platner intends to officially withdraw on Monday; Democrats have limited time to finalize an alternative Senate nominee in MaineSign up for the Breaking News US emailFormer Olympic canoeist David Hearn has pleaded not guilty to vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.Hearn, 67, from Maryland, was arrested last month after stopping by the pool on a bike ride. He told several outlets that he was detained for almost five hours after he reached into the water to inspect what he described a piece of the blue liner that was partially detached from the bottom of the pool as he was curious what it felt like. Continue reading...

One Nation leader welcomed by far-right figures including Tommy Robinson and Rupert Lowe. Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning, and happy Friday – Nick Visser here to take over and round out the week. Let’s get to it.Hanson says Taylor should go ‘after the real enemy, Labor’Angus Taylor has today come out attacking One Nation instead of going after the real enemy, Labor.Angus has played right into the hands of Anthony Albanese. While the Liberal leader is telling voters how bad One Nation is, he’s quietly adopting One Nation policies. Continue reading...

National Weather Service says record-breaking event with power to supercharge weather becoming more likelyEl Niño is strengthening and the risks of a historic event with the power to supercharge extreme weather around the world are rising, according to the latest analysis from the US National Weather Service.Models show there is now an 81% chance that a very strong El Niño “that would rank among the largest El Niño events in the historical record going back to 1950” will develop before the end of this year, forecasters said in an advisory released Thursday. There is almost near certainty – a 97% probability – that the conditions will persist through spring 2027. Continue reading...

Bipartisan group warns HHS that older adults and people with disabilities risk being pressured to end their livesLawmakers urged the health and human services (HHS) secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, on Thursday to establish strict hospice reporting rules to prevent discrimination and coercion in medically assisted suicide.The bipartisan group of members of Congress warned that older adults, people with disabilities, or those with disaffected caregivers face a particular risk of being pressured to end their lives. Continue reading...

PM Modi concluded a high-level summit with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier today, marking an expansion of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).

Staggered release of ChatGPT 5.6 follows similar restrictions on rival firm Anthropic’s latest AI modelsOpenAI released its latest advanced AI model, called ChatGPT 5.6, on Thursday after earlier delaying the public rollout over US government concerns about cybersecurity. The Trump administration had requested last month that OpenAI limit the release to a small group of government-approved users.OpenAI complied with the White House’s request last month. The company stated in a blogpost that it had briefed government officials on ChatGPT 5.6’s capabilities and restricted the model to trusted partners at their behest. The product’s wider release came after additional testing by the government’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation agency, according to Axios. Continue reading...

President Donald Trump may call himself the master of making a deal, but four Wall Street Journal writers think he stinks at writing them. The Journal on Thursday published a stern rebuke of Trump's memorandum of understanding with Iran, arguing a single "poorly worded clause" resulted in the battle for the Strait of Hormuz. "The root of the dispute is Paragraph 5, which says Iran will make arrangements to restore shipping through the strategic waterway and then work with Oman to determine how to administer it in the future," the report states. "But it also includes an Iranian pledge to ensure safe passage and remove military obstacles such as mines." The pledge became a problem because it was open to different interpretations by both sides as the war ramps up again, the Wall Street Journal reporters argued."Trump administration officials saw that clause as unlocking the strait, the main accomplishment of the president’s deal." they wrote. "Iranian hard-liners, however, have used it to push a maximalist interpretation that gives the Islamic Republic exclusive control over the waterway as a key source of leverage."Geopolitical analyst Michael Horowitz agreed with their assessment. "Washington has tried to convince Tehran that compliance would be more profitable, but this framing misses the point," he reportedly said. "Iran's behavior isn't driven by financial motives but by security concerns and bargaining leverage. It's a power dynamic."Now the U.S. faces tough times ahead in the struggle, according to the analysis"Tehran has also repeatedly asserted that it will work out arrangements for future management of the strait with its weaker neighbor across the waterway, Oman," the Journal report stated. "The difficulty coming to terms on opening the Strait of Hormuz points to rough negotiations ahead."