Trump’s economic shocks are derailing Britain’s building plans

Donald Trump has done his best to crush the green shoots of the global, post-pandemic economic recovery – nowhere more so than in the UK.The US president’s vandalism can be seen across the economic landscape, especially in the property sector, which has become more sensitive to international events since the spread of Covid-19 disrupted long-established supply chains and sent the cost of raw materials soaring.What should be a strictly domestic consideration – what to build and where – has been shaped by the backwash from one geopolitical crisis after another, inducing a long period of stasis.The latest UK industry statistics come hot on the heels of Trump’s attack on Iran.The data provider Glenigan said last week the value of new projects had dropped by more than a third in the three months to the end of February

‘It’s stupid’: why western carmakers’ retreat from electric risks dooming them to irrelevance

Iran war should be wake-up call about costs of not going full throttle towards EVs as Chinese have done, experts sayBy the 1980s, Detroit’s once titanic carmakers were being upended by rivals from Japan. Ford, General Motors and Chrysler had grown rich selling gas guzzlers, but when oil prices rose and suddenly cheap, fuel-efficient Japanese models looked attractive, they were unprepared. The collapse in sales led to hundreds of thousands of job losses in the automotive heartland of the US.Now western car manufacturers are making what one former boss calls a similar “profound strategic mistake” as they pull back from electric vehicles (EVs) and refocus on the combustion engine just as oil prices are soaring once again. Experts say the industry’s future – and that of tens of millions of jobs – could be on the line

‘Thank God they’re still alive’: Kaiser therapists claim its new screening system puts patients at higher risk by delaying their care

Ilana Marcucci-Morris is worried about the patients she treats and how long it took for them to arrive in her office. At Kaiser Permanente’s psychiatry outpatient clinic in Oakland, California, she says she increasingly finds herself assessing people experiencing severe mental health issues whom she believes should have been sent to the emergency room weeks earlier. For those who do make it to their appointments, she thinks: “Thank God they’re still alive.”It wasn’t always this way, according to Marcucci-Morris, a licensed clinical social worker. Licensed professionals used to almost always be the first point of contact for patients with behavioral health issues at Kaiser, she said

How the FBI can conduct mass surveillance – even without AI

The FBI declares it can conduct mass surveillance without AI, despite Anthropic’s protest.A central part of the standoff between Anthropic and the Department of Defense has revolved around the artificial intelligence firm’s refusal to allow its technology to be used for mass domestic surveillance. Yet even without the cooperation of AI firms, remarks this week from Kash Patel, FBI director, show how authorities are by any reasonable measure already operating a system that can surveil citizens at scale.On Wednesday, Patel confirmed to a Senate intelligence committee hearing that the FBI is actively buying commercially available data on Americans. Patel’s answer, which was under oath, was in response to a question from senator Ron Wyden on whether the agency was purchasing location data on citizens, as it had previously admitted to doing in 2023

‘It’s an excuse’: New York Giants’ Cam Skattebo says CTE and asthma are ‘fake’

New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo is facing backlash after dismissing both chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and asthma as “fake” during a recent podcast appearance.Speaking on the Bring the Juice podcast, the 24-year-old was asked whether he believes CTE – a degenerative brain condition linked to repeated head trauma – is real. Skattebo called it an “excuse”, agreeing with the host before making a similar claim about asthma.“Yeah, asthma’s fake too,” Skattebo said, adding at one point that people should “just breathe air”.The comments have drawn criticism given the scientific consensus around both conditions

Josh Kerr surges to 3,000m gold for Britain at world indoor championships

After the injuries and the trash talk, Britain’s Josh Kerr delivered where it mattered most on Saturday night by winning a thrilling 3,000m world indoor title with a last-lap surge.It had been billed as the race of the championships, with all three 1500m medallists from the Paris 2024 Olympics going mano a mano once more. On that occasion Kerr had been pipped to the line by the American Cole Hocker, who took a shock gold medal, with Yared Nuguse taking bronze. This time, though, Kerr was not to be denied.He made hard work of it as he was in a tricky position with three laps remaining and then hold off the fast-finishing Hocker to win in 7min 35