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We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
CHICAGO (WLS) — In the wake of a devastating 7.4-magnitude earthquake that rocked Colombia, rescue teams are tirelessly working to find survivors amid the rubble. Meanwhile, Chicago’s Colombian community, along with residents currently in the region, are sharing their harrowing stories and sending heartfelt prayers to those impacted by the calamity.
According to authorities, the earthquake has claimed 132 lives and left 572 others injured, striking the country’s western expanse early on Monday. Dramatic footage from Pereira captures the chaos, with buildings reduced to ruins and residents grappling with the stark aftermath of nature’s fury.
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Silvana Botero, a Chicago local, found herself in Medellín visiting family with her son, Juan Pablo Lopez, when the earth began to tremble.
“I’m so scared because, you know, you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Botero admitted, articulating the anxiety felt by many in the quake’s wake.
Lopez, recounting his experience, said he was asleep when the violent shaking roused him from his slumber.
“I thought it was a dream. I was like, wait, I was just sleeping. Then, my grandma was screaming. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I got to get up,'” Lopez said.
Botero said her thoughts immediately turned to her family and the possibility of buildings collapsing around them.
“The only thing that I did was like grabbing my grandma, looking at the buildings, and all I kept thinking like, ‘Am I going to see buildings falling? Like, what’s going on?'” she said.
While Medellín was spared the catastrophic damage reported in other parts of the country, former Chicago resident Tom Pardue said the earthquake was still powerful.
“It started shaking a lot. I was like, ‘Oh my God, this thing could fall,'” Pardue said.
Pardue said the quake caused visible damage to his building.
“One of my walls cracked and, in the hallways, the walls cracked as well,” he said.
Back in Chicago, members of the Colombian community spent the day checking on family and friends.
Walter Bohorquez, manager of his family’s Mekato’s Colombian Bakery on the North Side, said hearing about the earthquake immediately prompted him to call relatives in Colombia.
“When I woke up this morning, and I heard about the earthquake, the first thing that passed in my mind was calling my family,” Bohorquez said.
Bohorquez said his father is currently in Colombia and felt the earthquake. While his family was not injured, he said his wife’s relatives told him about widespread fear and destruction.
“They say that it’s like it’s like a movie. It’s like a movie because you see people crying, people running. The buildings collapse,” Bohorquez said.
He said his wife’s family is from Cali, one of the hardest hit areas. Bohorquez said they described feeling the earthquake strongly and said many people remain afraid to return to their homes.
“My wife’s family, they say that they felt very, very you know-the earthquake felt very strong. And they’re afraid, afraid of going back to their houses,” Bohorquez said.
Bohorquez said the images and reports coming out of Colombia have been difficult to watch.
“I just want people to pray for Colombia. I just want people to join in praying for Colombia so we can find more people alive,” he said.
Located approximately six hours west of Sydney, the small town of Fifield, near Parkes, is home to just over 130 residents according to the latest Census. Yet, this quiet town has unexpectedly found itself at the heart of a significant strategic initiative by the US government.
The United States Department of Defense has agreed to provide a substantial conditional loan of US$400 million (approximately $566 million) to Sunrise Energy Metals, an Australian corporation. This company aims to deliver the first global supply of an essential critical mineral outside of China’s control.
Listed as a critical mineral in both Australia and the United States, scandium plays a vital role in sectors such as aerospace and defense due to its strategic importance.
This financial injection marks the latest effort by the US government to diversify its critical mineral supply chains and decrease reliance on Chinese sources. However, achieving this goal will demand ongoing funding and strong governmental support.
Why scandium is on the radar
Highly coveted for its unique properties, scandium is essential in manufacturing ultra-high-strength alloys, which are crucial for the cutting-edge technology used in modern fighter jets. Additionally, it plays a pivotal role in solid oxide fuel cells, which are indispensable for ensuring the stable power supply necessary for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
Two factors have contributed to the sudden interest in scandium.
First, demand for scandium is being driven by massive increases in defence spending across North America, Europe and Asia and an investment boom in power-hungry AI data centres.
Second, China’s sweeping export controls on rare earth elements, including scandium, have contributed to a persistent shortage of supply on the global market, pushing up prices.
These export controls are designed to maintain China’s dominance of supply chains for key critical minerals and slow down the US defence and industrial base.
Still, the market for scandium is tiny. According to statistics from the US Geological Survey, the entire world only consumed 60 tonnes of the metal in 2025.
The world’s first dedicated mine
Scandium is usually found in very small quantities. For that reason, until now, it has been exclusively produced as a byproduct of nickel and titanium processing.
This is what sets the Sunrise Energy Metals project apart — the proposed mine has scandium deposits in a high enough concentration to be the first primary source of scandium in the world.
If production goes ahead, and lives up to its promise of producing 60 tonnes of high-purity scandium each year by 2028, this would be enough to completely satisfy the current level of global demand.
According to the company, there is also potential to expand the project in the future and add another 120 tonnes of production.
China still has leverage
The deal gives the US government first rights to purchase scandium from Sunrise Energy Metals, with production expected to start in late 2028.
However, there are some risks for this project’s economics. While China continues to restrict its exports, scandium will continue to fetch a high price. But China has the ability to remove those restrictions at any time, flooding the market with low-cost scandium and potentially squeezing Sunrise Energy Metals’ profits.
China has played this card before with lithium, flooding the market and making some Western mines uneconomic.
Many other rare earth elements projects also face this risk. That’s partly why earlier this year, in a US$96 million deal (about $136 million) with another Australian mining company, Lynas, the Pentagon agreed to price floors, to shield Lynas from potential price crashes.
Adding to this, the Pentagon’s multi-million-dollar loan to Sunrise Energy Metals is just that — a loan. It must be paid back, potentially with interest.
The loan is also conditional on a number of milestones. These include the construction of a scandium metal refining facility in the US that can produce a range of different military grade scandium compounds.
When you consider the major upfront capital costs required to produce a small amount of the metal, and overlay the threat of low-cost, subsidised Chinese production, the risks of this kind of investment become clear.
Success isn’t guaranteed
While this project is critical to US defence and strategic ambitions, its success will require long-term investment and government support.
The NSW government, for its part, has chipped in with an offer to defer royalties for five years.
As long as China has the ability to flood the global market with cheap critical minerals – whether its graphite, gallium, or in this case, scandium – projects like these are vulnerable to price crashes.
The US and Australia should consider whether a price floor on scandium is necessary to protect this critical supply chain for the long term.
Robert Monterosso is a research fellow in the United States Studies Centre’s Economic Security Program. He does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Anne Hathaway is chuckling at the rumor mill churning out stories that she’s faking her pregnancy.
On Monday, the acclaimed actress, now 43, took a witty approach on Instagram to dismiss speculation about her ‘faux’ baby bump. This followed a moment when a so-called ‘ridiculous’ maternity ensemble she sported on Sunday captured widespread online attention.
In a playful caption accompanying a behind-the-scenes video montage, Hathaway quipped, “Fake hair, real bump. Dive into The End Of Oak Street Block Party chaos with me as you watch my outfit literally evaporate in the heat!!”
The video showcases the Oscar-winning actress in her element, surrounded by her glam squad. A stylist is seen making adjustments by adding a hairpiece for that extra ponytail volume, to which Hathaway candidly confesses, “It’s not my hair.”
Hathaway made a striking appearance at the Los Angeles premiere of her new film, “The End Of Oak Street,” over the weekend. She confidently flaunted her midriff with a cropped top and low-rise jeans, shortly after announcing this summer that she and her husband, Adam Shulman, are excitedly anticipating their third child.
Fans went wild on TikTok, with a slew of comments accusing her of wearing a prosthetic bump.
Anne Hathaway is laughing off rumors that she’s feigning her third pregnancy
The 43-year-old actress wrote in the caption of an Instagram video, ‘Fake hair, real bump’
‘Why does it look fake?’ asked one internet user, with the comment collecting nearly 6,000 likes.
Another person added, ‘It does look fake. There’s body makeup on it.’
Others came to Hathaway’s defense, explaining her stomach looks different than other pregnant women’s because she’s in great shape.
‘It looks different because she was already fit and probably continues to work out, so she is all muscle and baby!’ said one fan.
And someone else commented on the star’s Instagram post, ‘The fact that other women were questioning her literal pregnant belly because “mine didn’t look like that” is so strange to me.’
The actress had been trolled for modeling a custom baby blue high-low Prabal Gurung halter top made of silk and boasting a floor-grazing train with low-rise jeans from La Ligne’s Jenny.
One critic wrote online that the outfit ‘looks ridiculous’, another shared, ‘This one is so wrong, sorry,’ and a third exclaimed, ‘Jeans? JEANS?! That dazzling top deserves a better companion’.
Fans went wild on TikTok, with a slew of comments accusing her of wearing a prosthetic bump
A stylist is seen securing a hairpiece to her ponytail as Hathaway admits: ‘It’s not my hair’
Hathaway hit headlines earlier this summer when she announced she was expecting her third child at the age of 43.
Hathaway shares sons Jonathan, ten, and Jack, six, with Shulman, whom she wed in 2012.
While appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers in July, she got candid about her pregnancy.
‘I mean, we knew what we were doing, but we were so shocked it worked!’ she said about finding out she was with child.
‘We were so shocked it went this way’, the actress echoed about her and her husband’s surprise at their baby news.
She described the pregnancy as a ‘buzzer beater’.
And remarking on becoming pregnant in her 40s, she recently told Access Hollywood: ‘There’s always hope until there’s not, but when you get to a certain age, that hope looks like 1 per cent to 2 per cent.
‘So we just decided to see where life took us, with a very, very healthy, realistic expectation, which was very low.’
Hathaway shared, ‘We’re overjoyed because we just know from personal experience that not everybody gets this, and certainly not when you want it – sometimes not ever.’
Minnesota fraud mastermind sentenced to 41.5 years in prison
In a significant courtroom decision, Aimee Bock, the architect of the notorious ‘Feeding Our Future’ fraud case, was sentenced to 41.5 years behind bars by a Minnesota judge. This elaborate scheme siphoned off nearly $250 million earmarked for feeding children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Bock’s legal team contended that many of the participants acted independently of her control, the prosecution painted a stark picture of the enduring harm her actions inflicted, emphasizing the breach of public trust and the societal repercussions.
A woman in Florida has been taken into custody following allegations that she faked having cancer to swindle over $40,000 from more than 200 individuals, reportedly to settle her personal liabilities.
Facing serious charges, Maribeth Ellen Jones, a 51-year-old resident of Bonita Springs, has been accused of grand theft with amounts ranging between $20,000 and $100,000. Jones surrendered at the Naples Jail Center after Collier County detectives issued a warrant charging her with this second-degree felony, as confirmed by the Sheriff’s Office.
As a community activities director, Jones allegedly deceived residents over two years, from 2022 to 2024, claiming she was battling cancer. Her plea sparked generosity, with over 200 individuals donating funds under the false impression that she was in desperate need of financial support for her supposed medical treatments.
OHIO BROTHERS WHO POSED AS MIDDLE EASTERN ROYALTY RECEIVE LENGTHY SENTENCE FOR $21M FRAUD SCHEME
Maribeth Ellen Jones, 51, of Bonita Springs, has been charged with grand theft between $20,000 and $100,000.(Collier County Sheriff’s Office)
Detectives said she even pretended her condition was worsening and had community members cut her hair to make it appear she was preparing to undergo chemotherapy.
Community members created a GoFundMe page for Jones that was linked to her personal bank account, according to the sheriff’s office. They also gave her cash and personal checks.
Jones had been the beneficiary of two previous GoFundMe campaigns in which she also claimed to have cancer, the sheriff’s office said.
Detectives said the woman had community members cut her hair to keep up the appearance and make it seem like she was preparing for chemotherapy.(Collier County Sheriff’s Office)
“GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform and anyone who seeks to take advantage of the generosity of others,” a GoFundMe spokesperson told Fox 13.
“We can confirm fundraisers organized on behalf of Maribeth Jones were removed from our platform, and her account was banned for any future fundraising. More than $41,000 was refunded to donors on the platform through GoFundMe’s Giving Guarantee, which offers a full refund in the rare case something isn’t right,” the spokesperson continued.
Detectives said their investigation determined Jones did not have cancer and that she used the donated money to pay personal debts.
Detectives discovered that Maribeth Ellen Jones lied about having cancer and used the money to pay her personal debts.(Collier County Sheriff’s Office)
She is accused of defrauding 238 Naples residents out of more than $40,000.
“This is an appalling case because it exploited the kindness and generosity of people who truly wanted to help someone they believed was fighting for her life,” Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said in a statement. “If you lie to steal from the generosity of others in Collier County, we will arrest you and hold you accountable.”
“This type of scam not only hurts victims financially, it undermines trust in legitimate fundraisers for people who genuinely need help,” Rambosk added.
A devastating turn of events has left a Marine Corps veteran and retired Illinois firefighter grappling with life-changing health challenges. Joe Belgio, 44, has spent over a year hospitalized due to severe brain injuries, which reportedly stem from consuming raw oysters.
The incident took place at Gibsons Steakhouse & Bar in Oak Brook, located roughly 15 miles from Chicago’s bustling downtown. According to a lawsuit acquired by ABC 7 Chicago, Belgio encountered tragic consequences after dining on contaminated oysters on June 30, 2025. As a result, he suffered a cardiac arrest, plunged into a prolonged coma, and now endures permanent brain damage.
Melanie Stayer, Belgio’s fiancée, shared that they were celebrating with family on what seemed a joyous occasion, completely unaware of the impending tragedy.
Reflecting on that fateful day, Stayer described it as a simple celebration at a beloved restaurant with a man who cherished life’s moments with family. The couple had recently welcomed their daughter, Carmela, who was only five months old during the incident. “Life can change so quickly,” she expressed, recounting the abrupt shift to distress from joy.
Tragedy deepened when, three days post-consumption of the tainted oysters, Belgio suffered cardiac arrest. His attorney, Scott O’Sullivan, revealed that Belgio lost consciousness and was deprived of oxygen for a critical duration of at least eight minutes.
O’Sullivan said Belgio was revived by the Cicero Fire Department, the same department in which he had previously served, before being rushed to the hospital.
His attorney said doctors screened Belgio for bacteria and found several pathogens in his system.
The lawsuit alleges Belgio contracted two dangerous bacteria from the oysters — Enteropathogenic E. coli, known as EPEC, and Plesiomonas shigelloides, CBS News reported.
The 44-year-old spent months in a coma after falling ill and has since been confined to a hospital bed — requiring around-the-clock care.
“He is most likely bedridden for the rest of his life,” O’Sullivan said. “He is extremely brain damaged, with very little cognitive capacity, and will need care for the rest of his life.”
Gibsons released a statement to ABC 7 Chicago saying “there have been no other reported cases of illness.”
“Based on the facts and our internal investigation, there is no evidence to suggest that our establishment caused his health condition. We are confident that a fair and thorough legal process will agree with this conclusion,” a spokesperson for the steakhouse said.
Two other seafood suppliers, Supreme Lobster and Seafood Company, have also been named in the lawsuit, according to ABC 7 Chicago.
A GoFundMe set up to help Belgio and his family pay for care describes him as a loving father, Little League coach and “a man dedicated to service.”
“An ex-Marine and firefighter who has devoted his life to protecting others and serving his country,” the page reads.
“He completed a courageous tour of duty in Iraq, demonstrating unwavering loyalty and heart every step of the way. Joe has always been the first to lend a hand when help is needed.”
Since launching on July 8, 2025, the page has raised over $85,000.
Belgio has already racked up more than $1 million in medical bills, CBS News reported.
Anne Hathaway proudly displayed her growing baby bump as she prepared for her guest appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, taking the spotlight at the Hollywood studio.
The 43-year-old Odyssey actress captivated in a chic, all-black ensemble, featuring a flowing sleeveless top secured with a single button to accentuate her pregnancy.
She completed her look with low-cut, boho-inspired wide-leg trousers and a pair of peep-toe, heeled mules, exuding effortless style.
Anne made a striking entrance at the El Capitan Entertainment Centre in Los Angeles, her fashionable ensemble turning heads as she arrived.
Expecting her third child with husband Adam Shulman, the actress flaunted beach waves in her long, chocolate brown hair, accentuated with chunky gold jewelry and trendy oval sunglasses to finish her look.
Her sighting comes just shortly after Hathaway reacted to trolls claiming her baby bump is ‘fake’ and speculated she is pretending to be pregnant.
Anne Hathaway wore a bump-baring crop top ahead of her television appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live after addressing rumors that she is ‘faking’ her pregnancy
She arrived at the studio in glamorous attire and proudly showed off her baby bump in an all-black outfit
Earlier on the same day, Hathaway took to Instagram to subtly address the rumors after she was roasted over a ‘ridiculous’ maternity outfit over the weekend.
‘Fake hair, real bump,’ she wrote in the caption in one of her Instagram Reels amid her ongoing press tour.
Over the weekend, Hathaway had attended the Los Angeles premiere of her latest film The End of Oak Street.
She went viral for her red carpet look at the event, with many Internet users accusing her of wearing a prosthetic bump.
At the premiere, she wore a custom baby blue high-low Prabal Gurung halter top, featuring a silk, floor-grazing train, paired with low-rise jeans.
Earlier this summer, she announced that she was expecting baby number three at age 43.
Hathaway shares sons Jonathan, 10, and Jack, six, with Shulman, whom she wed in 2012.
While appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers in July, she got candid about her pregnancy.
She wore a flowing, sleeveless top with just one button fastened to highlight her cleavage and her baby bump
She paired the low-cut, boho-chic top with low-rise, wide-leg trousers and peep-toe, heeled mules
She styled her long, chocolate brown hair in beach waves and showed off her natural beauty with radiant, glamorous makeup
She completed her look with chunky, gold jewelry and a pair of oval-shaped sunglasses
The actress is expecting her third child with her husband Adam Shulman and announced her pregnancy news earlier this summer; pictured in March
Earlier on the same day, Hathaway took to Instagram to subtly address the rumors after she was roasted over a ‘ridiculous’ maternity outfit over the weekend
She shut down rumors that her baby bump was ‘fake’ with an Instagram post after she was trolled for her look at the Los Angeles premiere over the weekend
Join the discussion
Why do you think celebrities face so much scrutiny over their pregnancies and appearance?
‘I mean, we knew what we were doing, but we were so shocked it worked!’ she said about finding out she was with child.
‘We were so shocked it went this way,’ the actress echoed about her and her husband’s surprise at their baby news.
She described the pregnancy as a ‘buzzer beater.’
And remarking on becoming pregnant in her 40s, she recently told Access Hollywood: ‘There’s always hope until there’s not, but when you get to a certain age, that hope looks like 1 percent to 2 percent.
‘So we just decided to see where life took us, with a very, very healthy, realistic expectation, which was very low.’
Hathaway added: ‘We’re overjoyed because we just know from personal experience that not everybody gets this, and certainly not when you want it – sometimes not ever.’
In a recent press conference in Seattle, DiJonai Carrington addressed the controversy surrounding her flagrant foul on Sophie Cunningham, emphasizing that the move wasn’t meant to be malicious. She also chose to remain reticent regarding her social media post mentioning “WHITE PRIVILEGE” over the weekend.
Carrington described the incident, which took place during the Sky’s losing effort against the Fever, as “unfortunate,” stating that her play style has always been aggressive. The contact occurred as she tried to prevent Cunningham from scoring a layup.
“It was unfortunate that I made contact with her in the way that I did, but it was never intentional,” Carrington remarked as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times. “And, look, it might happen again. That’s just how I play. I’m gonna always go all out. I’m not gonna just let an open layup happen. But like I said, I’m never intending to hurt anybody, regardless of the outside noise or whatever the situation may be.”
Sophie Cunningham #8 of the Indiana Fever is fouled by DiJonai Carrington #7 of the Chicago Sky during the first half at United Center on Saturday, August 8, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois. Getty Images
The play resulted in Carrington receiving a flagrant 2 foul after she aggressively attempted to defend Cunningham, who herself has been at the center of numerous controversies. The call led to Carrington’s game ejection and sparked significant controversy and discussion.
Following the ejection, Carrington’s enigmatic post on Threads stirred the pot further. However, when reporters pressed her for an explanation on Monday, she opted not to reveal its meaning.
“I already spoke with people who potentially will have the agency to create the change that I’m hoping comes about from not just this incident, but ones in the past and that are obviously going to be coming up in the near future, probably,” she said.
Carrington has spoken to the WNBA, although from the sounds of it she was not encouraged by the talks and expressed a desire for consistency “across the board” when it comes to the way things are called.
“Whether it’s the foul that I committed, whether it’s the reaction, the retaliation, I would just love it to be consistent across the board regardless of the name on your jersey or your skin color or the score of the game, the stakes, whatever,” she said. “I would love there to just be consistency when it comes to all of that. I don’t think we’re there yet. That’s something that I’ve talked to the league about as well. I think that will eliminate a lot of the frustrations that we all have.”
DiJonai Carrington of the Chicago Sky dribbles the ball during a game against the Seattle Storm on Monday, August 10, 2026, at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. NBAE via Getty Images
Despite her negative outlook on the situation, Carrington said that she would continue to fight for what she believed in.
The drama from the play and the fallout has been the latest instance of a story in the WNBA taking on a life of its own, and it’s only fitting that Cunningham would be in the middle of it.
The Fever star has made headlines off the court after she addressed the topic of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
South Australia is taking the lead on Australia’s first extensive inquiry into artificial intelligence. The state government aims to influence how this swiftly evolving technology will be governed and utilized.
Premier Peter Malinauskas has highlighted both the vast potential and the possible threats of AI, especially concerning societal impact and future employment.
“We have the option to let this sector develop in our nation without oversight,” he noted.
“Alternatively, we can set priorities to ensure AI serves the public’s best interests.”
Scheduled to commence in October, the inquiry is set to present its findings by July 1, 2027. The focus will be on exploring the economic and societal benefits that AI could bring to the region.
With artificial intelligence already changing workplaces, education, healthcare and government, experts told SBS News that the royal commission will be forced to address a sweeping range of issues.
But why is South Australia launching its own state-based royal commission, what will it investigate, and what can it realistically achieve?
Why is South Australia holding an AI royal commission?
Malinauskas says Australia is at a “fork in the road” over how AI should be developed and governed.
The premier told the media on Monday that he wants South Australia to establish safeguards around the technology while positioning the state to benefit from its economic opportunities.
The announcement follows his recent trip to the United States, where he met with major technology companies including OpenAI, Anthropic and Apple.
During the trip, Malinauskas visited OpenAI’s headquarters in San Francisco and signed a memorandum of understanding with the company’s co-founder and president Greg Brockman.
Anton van den Hengel, chief scientist at the Australian Institute for Machine Learning, told SBS News that South Australia was well-placed to benefit from the technology because of its existing AI research and startup ecosystem.
The South Australian government has backed AI since 2018, he said, while the state had strong research, technical and research translation capabilities, as well as a “brilliant set of start-ups”.
“For a long time, Australia’s geography has been limitation rather than opportunity. One of the many benefits of AI is that that’s no longer the case. We’re very well placed to participate in the upside of AI.”
He said the royal commission would offer a chance “to make sure that we all benefit from the opportunities”.
Professor Toby Walsh, chief scientist at the University of New South Wales’ AI Institute, welcomed the idea of a thorough examination of Australia’s approach to AI.
But he questioned how much a state government can achieve when AI companies and technologies operate nationally and globally.
He said Australia had an opportunity to learn from its experience with social media, where governments were slower to respond to the technology’s effects.
“It is something that we should have done in advance for social media, something that we, perhaps, can do a bit more in advance for artificial intelligence.”
“It would be about considering: how does Australia get the benefits, not just avoid the downsides?” he said.
What could the inquiry examine?
The future of work is likely to be one of the major issues addressed by the royal commission.
The SA premier warned AI could result in a rapid reduction in demand for some jobs.
Walsh said while it was difficult to predict the scale of the disruption, he did not think comparisons with previous industrial revolutions were exaggerated.
The difference, he said, was the rapid speed at which the latest technological revolution was unfolding, describing it as “almost overnight”, while previous industrial revolutions took decades to develop, giving workers more time to adapt.
Walsh said it was possible more jobs could ultimately be created than destroyed, but workers would need new skills to adapt to changing industries.
The challenge for governments, he said, would be supporting people through that transition, emphasising that it could involve changes to education and training, as well as helping people already in the workforce develop new skills.
The royal commission is also expected to examine AI’s relationship with energy and water use as the infrastructure supporting the technology expands.
Walsh said the scale of the data centres being planned was not widely understood, and governments would need to consider how to build the infrastructure required for AI sustainably.
He pointed to one proposed data centre in NSW which he said could consume around five per cent of Australia’s electricity generation.
“We’re building data centres quicker than we’re building renewables,” he said.
AI infrastructure also has other environmental impacts, including water use, land requirements and noise pollution.
The federal government has promised future data centres will use new renewable energy, but Walsh said there was a significant challenge in putting that into practice.
The royal commission is also expected to examine the impact and opportunities of AI in health and education, two areas Walsh told SBS News have enormous potential.
“I think AI presents a great opportunity in helping us live healthier, longer lives and providing quality education to everyone,” he said.
But those opportunities also come with significant risks.
Walsh said AI needed to be introduced into those sectors “with great care”, even where the potential benefits were substantial.
Can South Australia actually regulate AI?
One of the biggest questions surrounding the inquiry is how much a state government can achieve when AI companies and technologies operate nationally and globally.
Walsh expects the federal government will ultimately need to take responsibility for regulating AI, but he believes South Australia’s inquiry could help advance the national debate, and suggested the move could reflect frustration with the pace of the federal response.
He pointed to the state’s previous role in the debate around social media regulation, saying a South Australian inquiry could similarly help “kick start” action at the federal level.
But van den Hengel warned governments need to be careful not to regulate themselves out of participating in the technology.
While he agreed that the pace of change was concerning, he argued countries that simply focused on regulation risked losing their ability to shape how AI develops.
“The dangerous thing for Australia is that by regulating that, we’ll let ourselves be bystanders in the AI race,” he said.
“The more you make it difficult for AI companies to prosper in your economy, the less control you get, because you wind up just importing other people’s AI.”
What’s the scope of South Australia’s inquiry?
AI’s potential impact stretches across almost every part of society.
Walsh said that breadth presented a challenge for a royal commission working to a relatively tight time frame.
“I think it’s going to be critically important the terms of reference are well thought out,” he said.
“If the commission is going to get back quickly with some focused recommendations, it’s going to have to have some very carefully crafted terms of reference.”
The terms of reference set out the key areas of investigation of a royal commission. They’re expected to be announced in the next four to six weeks.
Three royal commissioners will also be appointed in the coming weeks.
For Walsh, the fundamental challenge for Australia is finding a way to embrace the opportunities presented by AI while preparing for the risks that come with it.
Chris Brown is expertly balancing fatherhood with the dynamic world of touring.
Recently, the acclaimed singer took a break from his tour with Usher to spend cherished moments with his daughter Royalty and his newborn son Arrow.
Chris Brown’s Instagram Stories gave fans an inside look at his family life on tour. Royalty was seen enjoying time backstage with him during a stop at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where Brown and Usher delivered two consecutive sold-out performances on August 7 and 8.
In another heartwarming image shared online, the spotlight was on a more serene scene—Baby Arrow peacefully napping on Brown’s chest, offering a glimpse into the quieter moments of a hectic tour life.
Arrow, the newest addition to the Brown family, is his first child with girlfriend Jada Wallace, further expanding his joyful family circle.
Wallace announced their son’s arrival on April 26 and shared photos from her pregnancy along with a first glimpse of their newborn.
“Purest love,” she captioned the announcement.
Brown responded in the comments, “Taurus gang.”
The couple later revealed their baby boy’s name as Arrow. Since his arrival, Brown and Wallace have shared several photos of their son, including family moments with Royalty stepping into her role as a big sister.
Arrow makes Brown a father of four. In addition to Royalty, whom he shares with Nia Guzman, the singer is dad to son Aeko with Ammika Harris and daughter Lovely with Diamond Brown.
Chris Brown has previously talked about what he enjoys most about raising his children.
“It’s fun, it’s funny to see them grow, see different things they learn… they teach you. I’m loving it, I’m having a blast,” he said during an interview with Big Boy’s Neighborhood.
He explained that despite his celebrity status, his children simply know him as their dad.
“I think majority of the time when I am with my kids they only see Chris,” Brown said. “It’s a challenge, but it’s a good journey though. I try to get into their good graces by showing them my Sesame Street episode.”
When he is not busy spending quality time with his kids, Brown can be seen on tour with Usher. The duo are currently co-headlining The R&B Tour, which kicked off June 26 in Denver.
The stadium trek was initially announced with 33 dates across North America, taking the two stars through major markets in the United States and Canada.
This September, the legendary Dolly Parton is set to be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the prestigious Americana Music Association. Celebrating her profound influence on the genre over a career that spans decades, this accolade recognizes Parton’s enduring legacy. Unfortunately, due to health issues, Parton will not be able to attend the ceremony in person. Instead, she will graciously accept the award via a virtual appearance.
Dolly Parton will receive an AMA lifetime achievement award
Mark your calendars for September 16, as it is the day when the Americana Music Association will pay tribute to Parton by bestowing upon her this year’s coveted Lifetime Achievement Award.
Jed Hilly, the Executive Director of the Americana Music Association, expressed profound respect for Parton’s contributions. “The Americana Music Association has long held in high regard the remarkable talents of Ms. Parton as a singer, songwriter, and entertainer, in addition to her role as one of the music world’s finest ambassadors,” he stated. “Her outstanding achievements span from philanthropy and television to film and business. Our aim is to celebrate Dolly for the cornerstone of her legacy: an unparalleled songwriter and artist whose timeless songs have influenced generations.”
<p id="par-4_12" index-data-stream="6" data-extracted-layout="normalized">With a remarkable career spanning six decades, Dolly Parton has gifted the world with a multitude of chart-topping hits, solidifying her status as an iconic figure in the music industry.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dolly-parton-will-accept-the-ama-lifetime-achievement-award-virtually">Dolly Parton will accept the AMA lifetime achievement award virtually</h2>
<p id="par-5_36" index-data-stream="7" data-extracted-layout="normalized">Parton will not attend the ceremony in person. Instead, she will accept the award virtually. Parton previously took a step back from her career amid health issues. She said she has been dealing with kidney stones.</p>
<p id="par-6_30" index-data-stream="8" data-extracted-layout="normalized">“I have some good news and a little bad news,” she said. “But the good news is I’m responding really well to meds and treatments, and I’m improving every day.”</p>
She postponed a series of shows in Las Vegas while she recovers.
“Now, the bad news is, it’s gonna take me a little while before I’m up to stage-performance level, because some of the meds and treatments make me a little bit swimmy-headed, as my grandma used to say,” she said. “And of course, I can’t be dizzy carrying around banjos, guitars, and such on five-inch heels, and you know that I’m going to be wearing them. Not to mention all those heavy, rhinestone outfits, the big hair, my big personality.”
Parton has assured fans that she will make a return to her career in the future.
She has said she never wants to retire
Parton has been a performer for most of her life. She said she does not ever want to stop.
“As long as I feel good. I had a little problem last year (in 2015) … got stumped up with kidney stones, but it didn’t slow me down,” she said, per USA Today. “I was even working on the phone every day getting that TV movie together, even when I was in the hospital for a week or so. I’m amazed at this point of all the interest in my life.”
While she understands that her career might change as she ages, she doesn’t want to ever fully retire.
“I’m never going to retire,” she said. “I just want to do greater work. As mom would say, I’m letting the spirit lead me.”
