3,000 jobs at risk unless MoD signs helicopter order, sources say

The UK’s last military helicopter factory must land a long-awaited order from the Ministry of Defence within the coming weeks to secure about 3,000 manufacturing jobs, industry sources suggest.Skilled workers at Leonardo Helicopters – the Italian owner of the former Westland factory in Yeovil, Somerset – fear the company will follow through on threats to close the facility at the end of March, if the UK military fails to place an order for new helicopters by that time.Leonardo was the only bidder for the UK’s £1bn “new medium helicopter” contract that was launched in February 2024, but delays in awarding the deal seem to have put the future of the factory at risk.The bid’s “best and final offer” expires in March. One source close to the process suggested the company needed to be told it had been awarded the deal by January if it was to meet the contract’s various deadlines

Are a record number of mom and pops going bankrupt? Kinda but not really

Are mom-and-pop stores going bankrupt at historically high levels? That would seem to be the impression you’d get from recent news reports referencing data released from Epiq Bankruptcy Analytics, a provider of legal services that specializes in bankruptcy services.Uh-oh! Some have seen this as proof that Donald Trump’s policies are bankrupting Main Street. Well, no, not quite.It is true that, according Epiq’s data, there were 2,221 filings for bankruptcy protection under a special provision for small businesses of the bankruptcy code – subchapter V – that was created for this purpose back in 2019. And it is true that the number of filings increased last year

‘Dangerous and alarming’: Google removes some of its AI summaries after users’ health put at risk

Google has removed some of its artificial intelligence health summaries after a Guardian investigation found people were being put at risk of harm by false and misleading information.The company has said its AI Overviews, which use generative AI to provide snapshots of essential information about a topic or question, are “helpful” and “reliable”.But some of the summaries, which appear at the top of search results, served up inaccurate health information, putting users at risk of harm.In one case that experts described as “dangerous” and “alarming”, Google provided bogus information about crucial liver function tests that could leave people with serious liver disease wrongly thinking they were healthy.Typing “what is the normal range for liver blood tests” served up masses of numbers, little context and no accounting for nationality, sex, ethnicity or age of patients, the Guardian found

Elon Musk says UK wants to suppress free speech as X faces possible ban

Elon Musk has accused the UK government of wanting to suppress free speech after ministers threatened fines and a possible ban for his social media site X after its AI tool, Grok, was used to make sexual images of women and children without their consent.The billionaire claimed Grok was the most downloaded app on the UK App Store on Friday night after ministers threatened to take action unless the function to create sexually harassing images was removed.Responding to threats of a ban from the government, Musk wrote: “They just want to suppress free speech”.Thousands of women have faced abuse from users of the AI tool which was first used to digitally strip fully clothed photographs into images showing them wearing micro bikinis, and then used for extreme image manipulation.Pictures of teenage girls and children were altered to show them wearing swimwear, leading experts to say some of the content could be categorised as child sexual abuse material

Buffalo Bills v Jacksonville Jaguars: NFL playoffs wildcard round live

It’s GOOD! Bills 13-10 Jaguars 5:44, 3rd quarterC Little 43 yard field goalTrevor Lawrence tries to get in on the act and bumps into the line for no gain. Full marks for effort, I guess. 3rd and 10. Oooooooooh a touchdown to Brenton Strange is knocked down by Tre’Davious White. What a play

David hat-trick dismantles Stormers to send Harlequins into Champions Cup last 16

Harlequins back? Or is this latest outrageous twist in the story of their inconsistency a case of same old, same old? First, it needs to be acknowledged that this was a comprehensive dismantling of a side who had not lost a game this season. This was hardly the Stormers’ first team, but an unbeaten squad is an unbeaten squad. God knows, they are beaten now.The notion that Harlequins are one of the Premiership’s whipping boys was made to look absurd as they strutted the turf of the Stoop with supreme confidence and aplomb. Try after try followed, a hat-trick for Nick David with consecutive tries either side of half-time