Joe Rogan says he hopes artificial intelligence could take over government and foreign policy, including military conflict decisions, to help prevent wars worldwide.

Former Pentagon AI official Will Thibeau says "doomer"-driven AI regulation could kneecap the U.S. against China while helping Anthropic and OpenAI lock in a duopoly over startups.

Global energy prices have spiked alarmingly again, driven largely in recent days by the escalating conflict between Yemen's Houthis and Saudi Arabia causing chaos for the oil industry. Petrol and diesel costs have risen rapidly in most countries while the wholesale price of natural gas - used for heating homes and generating electricity - has almost doubled in the UK and Europe since July. There are growing concerns of another inflationary shock on the world economy, which could cause interest rates to rise, increase mortgage costs and raise the price of almost everything in the shops including food. So what is behind this latest surge - and what are the implications for the world economy? The global oil price is currently above $108 (£80) per barrel, up from $70 (£52) in June 2026 - a roughly 50% increase.

The burrito chain has enlisted Palantir for a platform that monitors pest incidents, employee illnesses, and other factors. The partnership comes after a nightmare summer for food safety across the US. Fast-casual burrito chain Chipotle is working with the data infrastructure giant Palantir . The company is working on a "food safety risk platform" hosted on Palantir's flagship software platform Foundry, according to screenshots viewed by WIRED. The platform appears to analyze factors like a store's health department scores, pest incidents, and employee illnesses to assign a food safety score--basically, the store's risk level.

Obamas' 'fiery and gorgeous' dog Sunny dies The Obamas' beloved pet dog Sunny has died after 13 years with the family, Barack Obama has announced. Yesterday, we lost a cherished member of our family, the former US president wrote on X, describing her as a loyal dog who was pretty much perfect and always by their side. The family had two Portuguese Water Dogs in the White House. They got Sunny at the beginning of Obama's second presidential term in 2013. Sunny met many high-profile visitors while Obama was president, from foreign dignitaries to Pope Francis.

Images showing widespread damage to multiple US sites in the Middle East from Iranian strikes have been obtained by the BBC's US partner CBS. The photos, provided by active military personnel, show a severed radar jet, flattened trailers and severely damaged buildings. The undated photos were taken at US bases and sites in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. One member of the military, who was not named by CBS, said: This is major damage to our bases that hasn't been communicated to the American public. We're standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face.

Bengio is a prominent voice in the campaign to rein in breakneck AI development. Bengio is a prominent voice in the campaign to rein in breakneck AI development. 'Godfather of AI' says tech regulation is nearing Covid-style pivot moment Concerns over AI safety are reaching a point where governments realise they must act to protect the public, similarly to in the Covid pandemic, according to one of the "godfathers" of the technology. Yoshua Bengio said recent events, including a "swarm" of OpenAI agents hacking a startup and tech insider warnings of an existential threat, were cutting through - making government action more likely. The Canadian computer scientist, a prominent voice in the campaign to rein in breakneck AI development, said he was now "more optimistic than many observers because I see the public moving".

Today's inflation figures underscore that the economy is the biggest challenge facing Andy Burnham. It is only 42 days until John Healey's first Budget, and there is increasingly apparent concern at all levels of the government and Labour Party about how that Budget can - or, as it may prove, cannot - substantiate Burnham's rhetoric about offering the biggest change in British politics in 40 years. Much of the tricky economic environment, yes, is driven by global factors including the persistence, and to some degree worsening, of the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. And the AI boom pushing up borrowing costs is another issue affecting many countries. But there are clearly domestic factors particular to Britain, and on that front it was very striking to hear the former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane telling LBC on Tuesday that without signs of cuts to public spending the markets now suspect that this is a traditional tax and spend socialist government with better TikTok videos.

The leaders of eight German states have backed the nation's chancellor amid growing speculation about his political future. The premiers - all of whom are part of Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) - wrote that restoring trust in their party lay in listening and taking political action, not in debates over personnel. Merz, who has only held the post for 16 months, is facing poor approval ratings while the anti-immigration, far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is surging, prompting questions about whether he is an electoral liability. He has vowed to carry on but two more state elections on Sunday have been seen as a key test of his leadership. Rumours of a Kanzlertausch - or Chancellor swap - have been around for months, but they have increased since the conservative CDU tumbled to a distant second behind the AfD in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt at the start of September. The AfD shot up to 43.8% of the vote while the CDU plummeted to 17.2%, marking the first time since World War Two that a far-right party has come close to controlling a German state.

Schools in England get extra £500m in bid to avoid teachers' pay strike Image caption, The largest teaching union had objected to the prospect of partly funding a 3.5% pay increase this year out of existing school budgets Schools in England are to get around £500 million in extra funding towards the teachers' pay award this school year, reducing the risk of a strike ballot by the largest education union. Schools had been expected to fund some of the 3.5% teachers pay increase for the current school year out of their existing budgets, which National Education Union (NEU) leaders had strongly objected to. Daniel Kebede, the General Secretary of the NEU, said the offer of more funding was a significant step in negotiations. In a letter to the union on Wednesday, which has been seen by the BBC, the government said the increase would be funded by savings in employers' contributions to the local government pension scheme. The letter said the 4.9 percentage point drop in what employers are expected to contribute will deliver significant savings on the pay bill for support staff, which will not be clawed back by central government.