The prime minister says the NHS could lose 1,000 extra training places if resident doctors go ahead with a six-day strike next week.
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Starmer gives doctors 48 hours to cancel strike or lose new jobs package
Federal ‘God squad’ poised to exempt oil and gas drilling in the Gulf from endangered species rules
A U.S. government panel was due to convene Tuesday for the first time since 1992 to consider exempting oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act due to unspecified national security concerns, a move critics say could doom a rare whale species and harm other marine life.
Nicknamed the “God Squad” by groups who say it can decide a species’ fate, the Endangered Species Committee comprises several Trump administration officials and is chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Republican President Donald Trump has made increased fossil fuel production a central focus of his second term. He wants to open new areas of the Gulf off the Florida coast to drilling, and has proposed sweeping rollbacks of environmental regulations disliked by industry.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth notified Burgum on March 13 that an Endangered Species Act exemption for oil and gas drilling in the Gulf was “necessary for reasons of national security,” according to a court filing from the administration.
Government officials have not disclosed the rationale for the request, which came amid global oil shocks and soaring energy prices brought on by the Iran war. Experts say the administration must specify the military need that would endanger a species to make a case for the national security exemption.
The Gulf of Mexico is one of the nation’s top oil-producing regions. It accounts for more than 10% of crude pumped annually in the U.S., plus a small share of domestic natural gas production.
But the Gulf also has been the scene of environmental disasters such as BP’s Deepwater Horizon blowout in 2010 that killed 11 workers and spilled 134 million gallons (500 million liters) of oil. A spill in the Gulf earlier this month spread 373 miles (600 kilometers), contaminating at least six species and polluting seven protected natural reserves.
The Trump administration in mid-March approved BP’s new $5 billion ultra-deepwater drilling project in the Gulf.
Environmental groups sought unsuccessfully to block Tuesday’s meeting. They claimed an exemption would doom the rare Rice’s whale to extinction. Only about 50 remain in the Gulf.
A judge who struck down the environmentalists’ request suggested it was premature since officials had not yet acted on the proposed exemption.
A 2025 National Marine Fisheries Service analysis determined the Gulf oil and gas program was likely to harm several species of whales, sea turtles and Gulf sturgeon that face potential harm from ship strikes, oil spills and other impacts.
The Endangered Species Committee was established in 1978 as a way to exempt projects from the Endangered Species Act, which makes it illegal to harm or kill species on a protected list, if no alternative would provide the same economic benefits in a region or if it was in the nation’s best interest.
The panel has convened just three times in its 53-year history and issued only two exemptions. The first was in 1979 to allow construction on a dam on the Platte River in Wyoming, home to the whooping crane. It last met in 1992, allowing logging in northern spotted owl habitats in Oregon. That exemption request was later withdrawn.
Its latest meeting follows a federal judge’s ruling on Monday that struck down attempts during Trump’s first term to weaken rules for endangered species.
The panel’s members include the secretaries of agriculture, interior and the Army, the chairperson of the Council of Economic Advisers, and the administrators of both the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Associated Press left email and telephone messages with Interior and Defense Department officials requesting comment.
Georgia proposal could take DNA swabs from immigrants in custody for minor offenses
ATLANTA — Over the past three decades, the collection of DNA from convicted criminals has become standard in the U.S. justice system, and many states now also swab people arrested for serious crimes.
Legislation awaiting a final vote in Georgia would take that a step further by collecting DNA from people charged with less serious misdemeanors — but only if federal immigration authorities want them detained. That could include immigrants not ultimately deported.
If enacted, Georgia’s measure would make it the third state to single out immigrants believed to be in the U.S. illegally for the collection of genetic material that wouldn’t be taken from others. Florida passed a similar law in 2023. And Oklahoma in 2009 authorized DNA collection from immigrants in the U.S. illegally, though it remains subject to funding.
The new legislation comes as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to expand its use of DNA and biometrics in immigration enforcement as it carries out a plan to deport millions of people from the U.S.
“It is one example of something we are seeing across the landscape, which is government actors at all levels vacuuming up DNA in all available contexts,” said Stevie Glaberson, director of research and advocacy at the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown University law school.
The FBI launched the National DNA Index System in 1998 to compile DNA samples submitted by federal, state and local authorities. It’s grown in size and scope and now contains more than 26 million DNA profiles, many from people convicted of crimes.
A federal law enacted 20 years ago allowed the attorney general to expand DNA collection to people arrested and to noncitizens detained under federal authority. But because of exceptions authorized by federal officials, few immigrants had their DNA collected.
That changed in 2020, during Trump’s first term, when a new Department of Justice rule took away much of that discretion. Over the next five years, the Department of Homeland Security added the DNA profiles of more than 2.6 million detainees to the national database, according to an analysis by the Center on Privacy and Technology.
The department did not answer questions from The Associated Press about the percentage of detained immigrants whose DNA has been collected during Trump’s second term.
But the department is looking to expand its authority. A proposed rule would allow it to collect DNA, including from U.S. citizens, to determine family relationships in immigrant benefit cases.
Though many states collect DNA from people arrested for felonies, just 10 states collect it from people arrested for certain misdemeanors, such as sex offenses, and none collect it for all misdemeanor arrests, according to an AP analysis of data compiled by the Boise State University Department of Criminal Justice.
But under the Florida and Oklahoma laws, any arrest could lead to DNA collection for immigrants subject to federal detainer requests. Officials in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation did not respond to questions about whether those laws are being used.
The Georgia legislation would require DNA collection from immigrants facing any misdemeanor or felony charges if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has issued a detainer request but has not picked up the person within 48 hours.
Georgia state Sen. Tim Bearden, a Republican sponsoring the bill, described the measure as a means of solving crimes.
“Technology is changing quickly, and DNA is one of those things that help us tremendously when we’re trying to make sure to bring justice to victims in this state and across this country,” Bearden said at a March hearing.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that “partnerships with law enforcement are critical to having the resources we need to arrest criminal illegal aliens across the country.”
A 2024 Georgia law mandates that local law enforcement cooperate with federal authorities to identify and detain immigrants in the U.S. illegally, or else lose state funding. This year’s legislation would build upon that.
Some legal experts say it could result in DNA collections from immigrants taken into custody for minor violations. Traffic offenses that are penalized as civil violations in some states are considered misdemeanors in Georgia, making them subject to the new law, said Mazie Lynn Guertin, executive director and policy advocate with the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
“We don’t think that swabbing a person who’s committed a traffic violation is a boon for public safety,” Guertin said. “The correlation between a broken tail light and a crime that’s solvable with DNA is pretty attenuated in most cases.”
People subject to federal immigration detainer requests aren’t necessarily undocumented or deportable, because they may later prove their legal presence, said Kyle Gomez-Leineweber, director of policy for Common Cause Georgia. But such people could have their DNA collected under the Georgia legislation.
“What this really does is it creates a two-tiered system where some of the DNA would be collected based off of the perception of an individual’s immigration status,” said Gomez-Leineweber.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 upheld a Maryland law allowing DNA to be collected from people charged — but not yet convicted — of certain serious crimes. That law allows DNA to be added to a database after it’s determined there is probable cause to detain someone, provided it’s deleted if the person is not ultimately convicted.
The Maryland case often is cited as justification for an expansion of DNA collection. But some immigrant advocates question whether civil immigration detainers meet the probable cause threshold to make DNA collection acceptable under the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.
“There doesn’t appear to be any kind of meaningful justification for states to step in to require the collection of DNA — of genetic material — from noncitizens in their custody who have merely been accused of a crime, even a low-level crime,” said Jorge Loweree, managing director of the American Immigration Council. “It seems like this is just an effort to increase the surveillance of noncitizens.”
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Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri. Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
World Cup: How Scotland settled on ‘one of MLS’ best facilities’ as base camp
In Naismith’s words, “world class facilities which are purpose-built for football”.
That might sound like the bare minimum, but as he scoured around for the ideal spot, the former international found many were tailored for NFL, basketball or baseball teams.
“You’re actually having to compromise a wee bit on the actual facilities at some places,” he explained.
“But in Charlotte, they’ve got the latest technology and recovery. The layout of these are all very much equipped for what we want, what we expect and what the players want day-to-day at their clubs.”
Dicker, who played and coached at Brighton, said the club’s training ground was one of the most impressive aspects when he made the move across the pond in 2024.
“We’ve got four grass pitches, a full-size astro pitch and another nine-aside astro,” he told the BBC.
“From multiple buildings, meeting rooms, the auditorium, gyms and the canteen, we’ve got everything pretty close but also in completely separate buildings.
“Real Madrid have been, Inter Milan were here for the Club World Cup, I think we’ve had four or five ‘big’ clubs come here for pre-season, so it wasn’t a surprise we had a lot of national teams come and look here.
“But we have a decent Scottish connection and I think that helps a lot. There’s a comfort there.
“The gaffer here obviously knows Steve well, I think they know they’ll be looked after quite well. He worked with John McGinn and a few other Scotland players, so having that connection, understanding what teams need and being flexible with it, really helps.”
NASA begins the countdown for humanity’s first launch to the moon in 53 years
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA began the countdown Monday for humanity’s first launch to the moon in 53 years.
The 32-story Space Launch System rocket is poised to blast off Wednesday evening with four astronauts. After a day in orbit around Earth, their Orion capsule will propel them to the moon and back. There are no stops — just a quick U-turn around the moon. The nearly 10-day flight will end with a splashdown in the Pacific.
“Our team has worked extremely hard to get us to this moment,” said launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson. “Certainly all indications are right now we are in excellent, excellent shape.”
Managers said the rocket is doing well following the latest round of repairs. Forecasters said the weather should cooperate.
NASA’s Artemis II mission should have soared in February, but was grounded by hydrogen fuel leaks. The leaks were fixed, but then a helium pressurization line became clogged, forcing a return to the hangar late last month. The rocket returned to the pad 1 1/2 weeks ago, and its U.S.-Canadian crew arrived at the launch site on Friday.
Unlike Apollo, which sent only men to the moon from 1968 through 1972, Artemis’ debut crew includes a woman, person of color and a non-U.S. citizen.
Artemis II’s pilot Victor Glover said over the weekend that he wants young people to see them and think, “Girl power and that’s awesome, and that young brown boys and girls can look at me and go ‘Hey, he looks like me and he’s doing what???’”
At the same time, Glover, who is Black, looks forward to when ”one day we don’t have to talk about these firsts” and exploring the cosmos becomes an all-encompassing “human history.”
NASA has the first six days of April to launch Artemis II before standing down until the end of the month.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Iran war: Korean Air takes emergency action as fuel prices soar
It is the latest Asian airline to announce measures to deal with the economic impact of the Iran war.
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Popular cream cheese brand issues recall in multiple US states
A popular bagel chain has recalled one of its cream cheeses because it may contain an undeclared ingredient, posing the risk of a serious allergic reaction.
Schreiber Foods, Inc, based in Green Bay, Wyoming, is recalling 144 cups of its Honey Almond Cream Cheese Spread for Einstein Bros. Bagels, according to a Friday press release from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The six-ounce spreads were incorrectly labeled as “Plain,” meaning that anyone who has an allergy or severe sensitivity to almonds runs the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the product.
The affected spreads — which can be identified by the Best If Used By date of Jul 21, 2026 — were distributed to Einstein Bros. Bagel locations in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming.
Although the cream cheese is in a mislabeled cup, it does have a “Honey Almond” lid, which is the correct identification for the product. However, the FDA has said that a “subsequent investigation indicates there was a limited packaging staging issue that was corrected, and review confirmed the issue was contained to this product only.”
Although there were no illnesses reported at the time of writing, consumers are urged to return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund.
Almonds are considered a tree nut, which is identified as one of the nine major food allergies in the U.S.
The eight other allergens are wheat, soy, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, milk, peanuts and sesame, according to the FDA. Allergic reactions to these nine foods vary but can involve hives and lip swelling to severe, life-threatening symptoms, often called anaphylaxis, that may involve fatal respiratory problems and shock.
Many other foods and treats have been recalled due to concerns about serious allergy risks. Earlier this month, Frito-Lay recalled select eight-ounce bags of its Miss Vickie’s Spicy Dill Pickle Potato Chips because they could contain jalapeño-flavored potato chips that may have milk, which is not one of the listed ingredients on the label.
The recalled chips may have been distributed as early as January 15, 2026, to various retailers, including grocery, convenience and drug stores in six states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
Last month, Juniper Granola, LLC, based in Rochester, New York, recalled its Chocolate Cherry and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Junebars because they may contain milk and soy, two ingredients that weren’t listed on the snack’s label.
Junebars, high-fiber snack bars made with whole foods, are usually made with dairy-free and soy-free chocolate chips, prompting the recall immediately after the error was discovered.
TV’s Kristoffer Hughes hopes to offer UK’s first human body composting service
Human composting is when a body placed in a sealed vessel containing organic matter turns into soil.
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PM gives BMA 48 hours to call-off strike or lose 1,000 training posts
Starmer sets deadline for doctors’ union to call off six-day walkout due to begin after Easter.
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‘Something wasn’t right’: Wrong sperm given to UK families by IVF clinics in northern Cyprus
Families of seven children believe the wrong sperm or egg donors were used in their IVF treatment.
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