Don't Listen to Anyone Who Thinks Secession Will Solve Anything Americans increasingly fantasize about a divorce between red and blue states--but they dread the thought of civil war. You can't have one without the other. It's become almost like a histamine response: After a shocking national event like the assassination of Charlie Kirk, or Donald Trump's deployment of the military to Los Angeles last June, mentions of the term " civil war " and calls for secession surge online. This kind of talk flared again in January, when two citizens were shot and killed by immigration agents on the streets of Minneapolis, and governor Tim Walz mobilized the Minnesota National Guard to be ready to support local law enforcement. "I mean, is this a Fort Sumter?" Walz said in an interview with The Atlantic, invoking the battle that sparked the Civil War.

In its early days, the AI initiative known as Project Maven had its fair share of skeptics at the Pentagon. Today, many of them are true believers. The rise of AI warfare speaks to the biggest moral and practical question there is: Who--or what--gets to decide to take a human life? And who bears that cost? In 2018, more than 3,000 Google workers protested the company's involvement in "the business of war" after finding out the company was part of Project Maven, then a nascent Pentagon effort to use computer vision to rifle through copious video footage taken in America's overseas drone wars. They feared Project Maven's AI could one day be used for lethal targeting. In my yearslong effort to uncover the full story of Project Maven for my book,, I learned that is exactly what happened, and that the undertaking was just as controversial inside the Pentagon. Today, the tool known as Maven Smart System is being used in US operations against Iran . How the US military's top brass moved from skepticism about the use of AI in war to true believers has a lot to do with a Marine colonel named Drew Cukor. In early September 2024, during the cocktail hour at a private retreat for tech investors and defense leaders, Vice Admiral Frank "Trey" Whitworth found his way to Drew Cukor. Now Project Maven's founding leader and his skeptical successor were standing face-to-face. Three years earlier, Whitworth had been the Pentagon's top military official for intelligence, advising the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and running one of the most sensitive and potentially lethal parts of any military process: targeting.

Alexandre Rocha, a French father in Iceland, claims he lost parental rights after opposing his autistic son's sex reassignment, alleging courts prioritized ideology over his rights.

Furious Trump issues chilling threat to Iran demanding Strait of Hormuz is'FULLY OPENED' in hours or America will'obliterate their power plants'... and there's already a key target in sight Chappell Roan accused of'leaving Jude Law's 11-year-old daughter in tears and using security guard to threaten her' I was the only one JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette trusted when they burdened me with an extraordinarily intimate secret. How Iran's ruthless enforcers use rape to crush dissent: Brutal sex attacks on victims as young as 12 used to strike fear into protesters, rights groups reveal amid fury over sickening nurse gang rape Shia LaBeouf suffers public meltdown in Rome as he's caught screaming'f*** off' at woman... after battery arrests'He just didn't protect him': Insiders reveal REAL reason Justin Bieber and Usher's secret feud hit'boiling point' at Oscars Mom-to-be finds out cop who got her pregnant has HIV after baby mama's text... as he is charged with felony I thought I was losing my mind... then doctors told me I had'exploding head syndrome'. America is about to be torn apart by a financial tsunami - and it's not just an oil crisis to fear. Denise Richards's plastic surgeon reveals stunning before-and-after photos of her facelift'Get the f*** out of my life,' JFK Jr screamed at Carolyn Bessette... what she cruelly told friends about his manhood... the cuckolding, cocaine - and moment that sent her truly psychotic: MAUREEN CALLAHAN has the untold REAL story Florida's Olivier Rioux, tallest player in college basketball history, dwarfs 6ft8 March Madness rival as defending champs roll to win YouTuber who exposed Somali'fraudsters' in bombshell investigation reveals terrifying threats from left-wing activists... as he begs for cash to help pay for security Charlie's Angels bombshell Jaclyn Smith looks nowhere near her 80 years in Beverly Hills... see her now Fury over plan for 110 homes near Yosemite Park that will tower up to 24ft and'cause road chaos' Gisele Pelicot tells how she thought she was dying from a brain tumor... then she discovered the horrific truth of her husband's abuse Iran ballistic missile hits Israeli city in terrifying strike near top-secret facility that is key to country's atomic weapons program Couple murdered outside Walgreens near golf's Players Championship were killed by jealous ex, says sheriff As the threat of a nuclear war intensifies, the terrifying reality of what could happen after the bombs explode may cause more fear than the initial cataclysm. For decades, worst-case scenarios have projected that tens of millions could perish within minutes as nuclear warheads struck major metropolitan areas such as New York, Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles .

Will Gulf states join war? Game Theory: Are Iran's athletes political pawns? Game Theory Are Iran's athletes political pawns? While in Australia, members of Iran's women's football team found themselves at the centre of an international political storm. As several players choose to return home, difficult questions are being raised about athlete safety, agency and Western intervention.

Over 200 minerals from a private collection decades in the making are up for bid. An aquamarine with muscovite was found in Nagar District in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Over 200 colorful minerals will hit the auction block on March 20 as part of Heritage's The Collection of William and Ruth Loomis Fine Minerals Signature Auction . What started as a shared hobby evolved into a lifelong passion that soon will be offered to mineral collectors everywhere.

Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to temporary Eid al-Fitr'pause' in conflict Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to a temporary "pause" in hostilities during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr this week, officials said, amid weeks of deadly violence between the neighbouring countries. Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the pause - set to run from midnight on Thursday (19:00 GMT on Wednesday) until midnight on Tuesday (19:00 GMT on Monday) - had been requested by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye. However, he warned that "in case of any cross-border attack, drone attack or any terrorist incident inside Pakistan, [operations] shall immediately resume with renewed intensity". Shortly after the announcement, a spokesperson for Afghanistan's Taliban government also said it would temporarily suspend military operations against Pakistan. The pause in fighting is set to begin just days after Afghanistan accused the Pakistani military of killing hundreds of people in an air strike on a drug rehabilitation centre in the country's capital, Kabul.

Do Taliban's drone attacks expose a chink in Pakistan's armour? On the evening of March 13, drones struck three locations across Pakistan. Two children were wounded in Quetta. Civilians were also injured in Kohat and in Rawalpindi, the garrison city that houses the headquarters of Pakistan's armed forces and neighbours the capital, Islamabad. Pakistan's military said the drones were intercepted before reaching their targets.

Fires have broken out in Baghdad's Green Zone after a drone swarm, believed to have been launched by groups aligned with Iran. Araghchi: Iran's system holds despite targeted leaders Experts discuss'Israeli strategy' in killing of senior Iran official Ali L'We'll be doing something with Cuba very soon', Trump says Pakistan'strongly' rejects claim it struck Kabul hospital

India's outsourcing industry is worth $300bn. Indian technology stocks have seen an unprecedented rout over the past few weeks over fears of artificial intelligence upending the traditional outsourcing model that powers the country's $300bn (£223bn) back-office industry. The sell-off - part of a global correction in traditional software and IT stocks - preceded the market nervousness caused by recent geopolitical uncertainty, and is particularly significant for India. Over the past three-and-a-half decades, India's software industry has created millions of white-collar jobs, spawning a new middle class driven by high ambition and strong purchasing power. This, in turn, has fuelled demand for apartments, cars and restaurants across top-tier cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Gurugram over the past 30 years.