Government
Who died in 2025? Notable deaths of the year
The first non-European Pope in more than 1,000 years, the Oscar-winning star of Annie Hall and The Godfather, a soul legend and one of the world's most famous designers - here are some of the well-known faces no longer with us. Among those we remember are Hollywood stars Robert Redford, Diane Keaton and Gene Hackman, and theatrical dames Joan Plowright and Patricia Routledge. Robert Redford's acting career spanned more than 50 films and won him an Oscar as a director. For many filmgoers though, he was simply the best-looking cinema star in the world - once described as a chunk of Mount Rushmore levered into stonewashed denims. As well as leading roles in hits such as All The President's Men, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Way We Were, Redford also launched the Sundance Film Festival to champion independent filmmakers. Los-Angeles-born Keaton shot to fame with her role in The Godfather, but enjoyed a long creative partnership with Woody Allen. Annie Hall, a comedy based on their off-screen relationship, earned her a Best Actress Oscar and they collaborated on several other films. She was nominated for three further Oscars - all in the best actress category - for her work in Something's Gotta Give, Marvin's Room and Reds. BASIL! - the unmistakable sound of Sybil Fawlty admonishing her pompous and incompetent husband, is probably how Prunella Scales will best be remembered. Apart from starring in sitcom Fawlty Towers, she played many other roles on screen and stage, including Queen Elizabeth II in Alan Bennett's play, A Question of Attribution.
Is the US economy strong heading into 2026? The picture is complicated
How dangerous is the US standoff with Venezuela? Is the US economy strong heading into 2026? As the United States economy heads into 2026, the report card emerging on its performance is complicated. By many measures, the world's largest economy appears to be in a strong position. After a tumultuous year marked by President Donald Trump's return to the White House and his swing towards tariffs and protectionism, recent growth has outpaced the expectations of most analysts.
The office block where AI 'doomers' gather to predict the apocalypse
In a building in central Berkeley, not far from the university campus, a group of modern-day Cassandras are looking into concerns around the latest AI models. In a building in central Berkeley, not far from the university campus, a group of modern-day Cassandras are looking into concerns around the latest AI models. The office block where AI'doomers' gather to predict the apocalypse On the other side of San Francisco bay from Silicon Valley, where the world's biggest technology companies tear towards superhuman artificial intelligence, looms a tower from which fearful warnings emerge. At 2150 Shattuck Avenue, in the heart of Berkeley, is the home of a group of modern-day Cassandras who rummage under the hood of cutting-edge AI models and predict what calamities may be unleashed on humanity - from AI dictatorships to robot coups. Here you can hear an AI expert express sympathy with an unnerving idea: San Francisco may be the new Wuhan, the Chinese city where Covid originated and wreaked havoc on the world.
AI showing signs of self-preservation and humans should be ready to pull plug, says pioneer
Yoshua Bengio, a Canadian professor of computing, says the idea that chatbots are becoming conscious is'going to drive bad decisions'. Yoshua Bengio, a Canadian professor of computing, says the idea that chatbots are becoming conscious is'going to drive bad decisions'. A pioneer of AI has criticised calls to grant the technology rights, warning that it was showing signs of self-preservation and humans should be prepared to pull the plug if needed. Yoshua Bengio said giving legal status to cutting-edge AIs would be akin to giving citizenship to hostile extraterrestrials, amid fears that advances in the technology were far outpacing the ability to constrain them. Bengio, chair of a leading international AI safety study, said the growing perception that chatbots were becoming conscious was "going to drive bad decisions".
'Data is control': what we learned from a year investigating the Israeli military's ties to big tech
'In the Gaza Strip, we know that this massive trove of intercepted phone calls was used in airstrikes that killed civilians.' 'Data is control': what we learned from a year investigating the Israeli military's ties to big tech'In the Gaza Strip, we know that this massive trove of intercepted phone calls was used in airstrikes that killed civilians.' I n January this year, Harry Davies and Yuval Abraham first reported that Microsoft had deepened its ties to Israel alongside other major tech firms. Since then, the Guardian has published an award-winning series of investigations - in partnership with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call - that has revealed a symbiotic relationship between Silicon Valley and the Israeli military. One investigation exposed an Israeli mass surveillance program scooping up virtually all Palestinian phone calls and storing them on Microsoft's cloud services - setting off an inquiry that ultimately prompted the company to cut off Israel's access to some of its technology.
We still don't really know what Elon Musk's Doge actually did
Elon Musk walks to the White House after landing in Marine One on the South Lawn on 9 March in Washington DC. Elon Musk walks to the White House after landing in Marine One on the South Lawn on 9 March in Washington DC. We still don't really know what Elon Musk's Doge actually did W hen Elon Musk vowed late last year to lead a "department of government efficiency" (Doge), he claimed it would operate with "maximum transparency" as it set about saving $2tn worth of waste and exposing massive fraud. Today, with Musk out of the White House, Doge having cut only a tiny fraction of the waste it promised, and dozens of lawsuits alleging violations of privacy and transparency laws, much of what the agency has done remains a mystery. The effects of Doge's initial blitz through the federal government - which included dismantling the US Agency for International Development ( USAID), embedding staffers in almost every agency and illegally firing people en masse - are still playing out.
OpenAI tightens AI rules for teens but concerns remain
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset . Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions . Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper . Concerns remain over AI's impact on young people amid boom Tech expert praises New York's school cellphone ban as social media concerns rise Trump advisor details administration's push to boost AI hiring Kash Patel to close FBI's Hoover building in DC permanently Santa is'PACKING HEAT' during a traffic stop Trump has made AI a'key part' of his agenda, expert says Youth conservative movement has'never been in better hands,' podcast host says Most-used passwords of 2025 include '123456' and'password' Megan Garcia, a mother who lost her son to suicide after he allegedly became emotionally attached to an AI chatbot, discusses the dangers of the technology on'Fox News Sunday.'
Brett Kavanaugh Is Trying to Walk Back "Kavanaugh Stops." Too Late.
Jurisprudence Brett Kavanaugh Is Trying to Walk Back "Kavanaugh Stops." Justice Brett Kavanaugh does not seem happy that his name has become synonymous with racist immigration enforcement. In September, the justice wrote that Hispanic residents' "apparent ethnicity" could be a "relevant factor" in federal agents' decision to stop them and demand proof of citizenship. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection promptly seized upon his opinion as a license to stop any Hispanic person on the basis of race--often with excessive, even sadistic force --and detain them until they proved their lawful presence. Law professor Anil Kalhan termed these encounters "Kavanaugh stops," and the name swiftly caught on as evidence mounted that they had become standard practice across the country.