Pulse
Original reporting by Pulse, synthesizing breaking news from multiple sources with AI-powered analysis. Each story combines insights from leading publishers, expert commentary, and real-time data.
Practical Magic 2 Trailer Stuns CinemaCon, Reunites Kidman and Bullock
Warner Bros. Pictures premiered the Practical Magic 2 trailer at CinemaCon, bringing Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock back to the stage. The teaser highlighted new cast members and confirmed Susanne Bier as director, reigniting buzz for the long‑awaited sequel.
Restoration of Chicago’s Historic Sears Sunken Garden Begins Friday
Friends of the Sears Sunken Garden will commence construction on Friday to restore the historic pergola, improve ADA access and install new lighting at the 1907 Sears Sunken Garden in North Lawndale. The five‑year, community‑driven project, delayed by permitting, is...
Elite Marathoner Jess McClain Credits Busy, Fun Lifestyle for New Motivation Formula
Jess McClain, a leading American marathoner, revealed her productivity formula—staying busy with nonprofit leadership and freelance marketing while keeping training fun—to sustain focus and improve results, a strategy that helped her place eighth at the 2025 World Championships and positions...
Study Finds Human Perception Peaks Align Across Trials, Revealing Rhythmic Timing
Researchers Thomas Schoeberl and Stefan Treue reported that perceptual performance peaks become phase‑aligned across repeated sensory trials. The finding, published in Communications Psychology, challenges continuous models of perception and points to a rhythmic structure that could be leveraged for cognitive...
One-Week Mindfulness Practice Improves Time-Based Prospective Memory
Researchers at Henan University found that a seven‑day mindfulness regimen improves people’s ability to remember future tasks without external time cues. The study, involving 95 undergraduates, highlights meditation’s potential to strengthen prospective memory, a skill critical for daily health management...
Ikoyi Wins Food & Wine’s 2026 Best Global Restaurant Award
London’s Ikoyi has been crowned Best Global Restaurant in Food & Wine’s 2026 Tastemakers Awards. Founded by chef Jeremy Chan and Iré Hassan Odukale, the restaurant’s spice‑centric, seasonally British menu earned top marks from a worldwide panel of chefs, travel...
Phytochemical Blend Boosts Recovery Metrics in Small Study, Researchers Report
Researchers from Loughborough University and the University of Nottingham reported that a nine‑day supplement containing calcium fructoborate, turmeric and pomegranate extract improved pressure‑pain threshold by 21% and enhanced sleep quality in recreational athletes. Funded by VDF FutureCeuticals, the double‑blind trial...
Stella McCartney Teams Up with H&M for Sustainable Capsule Launching May 7
Stella McCartney announced a new sustainable collaboration with H&M that drops on May 7, reviving signature pieces like low‑rise rhinestone jeans and a 1999 Met Gala tank. The partnership, announced with H&M creative advisor Ann‑Sofie Johansson, aims to drive change through mass‑market economic...
Art Dubai Unveils Updated Gallery List After Postponement, 50 Exhibitors Confirmed
Art Dubai has released a revised roster of 50 regional and international galleries for its 2026 edition, now set for May 15‑17 at Madinat Jumeirah. The fair introduced a performance‑based fee structure and noted that roughly 75 galleries have withdrawn...
AI‑Generated Books Flood Market, Sparking Legal and Ethical Debate
A wave of AI‑written, edited and ‘polished’ books has entered major retail platforms, with thousands of titles now available for purchase. The Conversation warns that the surge raises urgent questions about authorship, copyright enforcement and the overall quality of literature....
Foreclosure Filings Jump 6% in Q1 as Tax Hike Rejection Highlights Homeowner Strain
ATTOM data shows 118,727 U.S. properties received foreclosure filings in the first quarter, up 6% from the prior quarter, while South Hadley, Massachusetts voters turned down a proposed 50% property‑tax increase that would have added $11 million to the town budget....
Treasury Secretary Bessent Forecasts 3%‑plus US Growth Amid Inflation Concerns
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a Washington audience that the U.S. economy remains strong enough to grow beyond 3% in 2026, despite higher oil prices and global inflation risks. His upbeat outlook clashes with recent IMF downgrades and rising energy...
Showpad Launches AI Platform to Boost Field Sales Productivity by up to 44%
Showpad introduced an AI‑native revenue effectiveness platform for field sales teams, claiming a median quota increase of up to 44%. The solution bundles content management, sales readiness, buyer engagement and revenue intelligence into a single GenieAI‑powered product, aiming to cut...
TeraWulf Slides 6% After $900 Million Stock Sale Sparks Dilution Fears
TeraWulf (WULF) fell 6.1% to $19.67 after pricing a $900 million common stock sale at $19 per share. The secondary offering, the largest since its 1994 IPO, sparked investor anxiety over dilution and the company’s ability to fund its AI data‑center...
Amazon's $11.57 B Globalstar Deal Escalates Battle with Musk's Expanding Starlink Constellation
Amazon announced an $11.57 billion purchase of Globalstar, aiming to build a 3,200‑satellite LEO network by 2029 and directly challenge Elon Musk’s Starlink, which now fields about 10,000 satellites and has filed to launch up to a million AI data‑center satellites....
Allbirds Secures $50 Million Convertible Deal, Rebrands as NewBird AI and Sends Stock 580% Higher
Allbirds announced a $50 million convertible financing facility to fund its transformation into NewBird AI, a GPU‑as‑a‑Service provider. The news catapulted BIRD shares more than five‑fold, reviving investor interest in the once‑struggling sustainable‑shoe brand.
Amazon MGM Leverages E‑Commerce Power to Market ‘Project Hail Mary’ at CinemaCon
Amazon MGM Studios showcased an integrated marketing playbook at CinemaCon, pairing its e‑commerce clout with theatrical distribution to amplify the $525 million worldwide run of ‘Project Hail Mary.’ Executives promised 15 new releases per year and an international distribution unit, underscoring...
Fire at Viva Energy's Corio Refinery Threatens 10% of Australia's Fuel Supply
A major fire at Viva Energy's Corio refinery in Geelong has halted production on two petrol units, jeopardizing roughly 10% of the nation's fuel supply. Energy Minister Chris Bowen and refinery CEO Scott Wyatt warned of possible shortfalls while firefighting...
China's Q1 Retail Sales Rise 2.4% YoY to $1.86 Trillion, Signaling Modest Recovery
China's National Bureau of Statistics reported a 2.4% year‑on‑year increase in retail sales of consumer goods for the first quarter of 2026, totaling 12.77 trillion yuan ($1.86 trillion). The modest rebound is driven by stronger online consumption and service‑sector sales, offering a...
FDA to Review Easing Restrictions on Peptide Injections Backed by RFK Jr.
The Food and Drug Administration announced a July meeting to consider easing limits on more than half a dozen peptide injections championed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The move pits the secretary’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda against...
STR Search Launches Turnkey Short‑Term Rental Service for High‑Income Investors
STR Search introduced a technology‑enabled, done‑for‑you short‑term rental acquisition service aimed at investors earning $200,000 to $1 million plus. Backed by a $50,000 tax‑savings guarantee and a $5,000 happiness guarantee, the platform promises to cut 500‑1,000 hours of work per deal.
E-Stewards and Bloom ESG Launch Critical‑Metals Metric for Electronics Recycling
e-Stewards and Bloom ESG have introduced a sector‑specific Critical Metals Conserved metric that quantifies cobalt, lithium and rare‑earth recovery in electronics recycling. The tool, built on primary recovery and smelter data, offers audit‑ready material‑intelligence for corporate ESG reporting and is...
Artists Accuse Top AI Firms of Using Their Work Without Permission
Artists and documentary makers allege that AI powerhouses such as OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Meta and Google have mined copyrighted artwork to train generative models without permission or payment. The dispute, highlighted by Oscar‑winning director Daniel Roher, underscores a growing legal...
AARP and Jean Chatzky Warn Social Security Trust Fund Will Run Dry by 2034
AARP and former NBC Today financial editor Jean Chatzky warned that the Social Security trust fund is projected to be exhausted by 2034, cutting scheduled benefits to 81% without congressional action. The warning underscores growing public anxiety and a slate...
Stellantis Posts 12% Q1 Shipment Rise Under New CEO Antonio Filosa
Stellantis announced a 12% rise in first‑quarter global shipments to 1.4 million vehicles, led by a 17% jump in North America, as new CEO Antonio Filosa’s restructuring plan begins to bear fruit. The automaker also unveiled a $388 million “Megahub” near Detroit...
Travelers’ CTO Pushes Fewer, Bigger AI Bets, Launches Anthropic and OpenAI Tools
Travelers’ chief technology and operations officer Karen Lefebvre is consolidating the insurer’s AI program into a handful of high‑impact projects. In January 2026 the firm gave roughly 10,000 engineers and analysts access to Anthropic’s personalized assistants, and a month later...
ISS Sues Indiana Over H.B.1273 Law Targeting Proxy Advisers
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has filed a federal lawsuit challenging Indiana's new H.B.1273 law that would force proxy advisers to issue mandated warnings when recommending votes against company management. ISS argues the statute is unconstitutionally vague, infringes free speech, and...
Ohio Casino Control Commission Fines Kalshi $5 Million for Unlicensed Binary‑options Contracts
The Ohio Casino Control Commission imposed a $5 million penalty on prediction‑market platform Kalshi for offering binary‑options style contracts without a license. The fine follows a federal court ruling that treated the contracts as gambling, not swaps, and comes as Kalshi...
Cleary Gottlieb's ClearyX Offers AI‑Driven Self‑Service Legal Platform
Cleary Gottlieb subsidiary ClearyX launched an AI‑powered self‑service platform that lets corporate clients handle due diligence and contract analysis in‑house. Pricing begins at $12,000 per project or $30,000 annually for CX+Transact and $50,000 a year for CX+Insights, signaling a shift...
Analysts Warn AI Could Overhaul Healthcare, Citing Both Gains and Risks
Industry analysts say generative AI could reshape diagnostics, treatment planning and administrative efficiency, yet warn that AI’s “confidently wrong” outputs risk patient safety. Roughly 50% of Americans now turn to AI for major health decisions, underscoring the urgency of oversight.
TCS Sends Nashik Staff Home Over Harassment Probe, Prompting Protests
Tata Consultancy Services ordered its Nashik BPO staff to work from home on April 16, citing safety concerns amid a police investigation into sexual harassment and alleged forced religious conversion. The move follows nine FIRs, eight arrests and allegations that...
TSMC Q1 Profit Jumps 58% to $18bn as AI Demand Fuels Surge
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. posted a 58.3% year‑on‑year increase in first‑quarter net profit to NT$572.5 bn ($18 bn), while revenue rose 35.1% to NT$1.13 trn ($36 bn). The surge reflects surging AI‑related chip orders and reinforces TSMC’s position as the backbone of the global...
Federal Agencies Ramp Up AI Deployment Ahead of 2026 Digital Transformation Summit
Federal departments are scaling artificial‑intelligence tools to modernize missions and meet executive AI mandates. The effort will be showcased at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Digital Transformation Summit on April 22, where leaders from the Defense, Transportation and State departments...
Survey Shows 16% of U.S. College Students Switch Majors Over AI Job Impact
The Lumina Foundation and Gallup released a survey revealing that 16% of U.S. college students have already changed their major in response to AI’s effect on the job market, while 47% say they have seriously contemplated doing so. The data...
AI‑Generated Code Swamps Pipelines, Making QA the New Bottleneck
Tapforce CEO Artur Balabanskyy warns that AI tools can generate 100,000 lines of code in a few hours, turning quality assurance into the primary constraint on software delivery. The shift forces DevOps teams to redesign testing, quality‑gate, and release‑automation processes.
Schwab Forecasts $5.8 T Global Grid Upgrade Surge Fueled by AI Power Demand
Charles Schwab’s latest report warns that AI‑driven data centers will push U.S. electricity demand from 147 TWh in 2023 to over 606 TWh by 2030, sparking a projected $5.8 trillion global spend on grid upgrades through 2035. The analysis spotlights a $1 trillion U.S....
Barings Opens Abu Dhabi Office to Expand Middle‑East Investment‑Banking Franchise
Barings announced the opening of a new office in Abu Dhabi's ADGM on April 16, 2026, marking its latest push into the Gulf. The move is designed to deepen relationships with sovereign wealth funds, family offices and other institutional investors,...
MLBPA Dismisses COO Xavier James and HR Chief Michael O'Neill Amid Probe
The Major League Baseball Players Association terminated chief operating officer Xavier James and human‑resources head Michael O'Neill on Wednesday, citing findings from an internal investigation tied to a federal probe. The firings come as the union grapples with a looming...
Xpanceo Aims for AR ‘iPhone Moment’ with Smart Contact Lenses
Xpanceo founder Roman Axelrod announced the company’s push to make smart contact lenses the next “iPhone moment” for AR, eyeing the 45 million U.S. contact‑lens users and 150 million daily wearers worldwide. The startup plans a ten‑year road to consumer‑ready devices, starting...
Apollo Global Management Joins S&P 500 as Earnings Surge to Record Levels
Apollo Global Management (APO) was added to the S&P 500 in December, and its Q4 2024 earnings call revealed record fee‑related earnings of $554 million for the quarter and $2.1 billion for the year. The firm posted $751 billion in assets under management...
HDI Global CEO Flags Elevated Volatility in US Commercial Insurance
HDI Global chief executive Jim Clark warned that the US commercial insurance market is moving into a period of elevated volatility. He said insurers must adopt risk‑by‑risk underwriting, focus on profitable growth, and lean on data‑driven tools as capacity shifts...
Oxford Casino Sues Maine Over Tribal Internet Gaming Monopoly
Oxford Casino filed a federal suit on Jan. 23 alleging that Maine's law granting the Wabanaki Nations exclusive internet‑gaming rights creates a race‑based monopoly. The case, now joined by all four Maine tribes, could force the Supreme Court to revisit...
Citadel CEO Ken Griffin Warns a Six‑to‑twelve‑month Hormuz Shutdown Would Trigger a Global Recession
Citadel founder Ken Griffin told the Semafor World Economic conference that a six‑to‑12‑month closure of the Strait of Hormuz would make a global recession unavoidable. He linked the risk to oil prices above $100 a barrel and the chokepoint’s role...
Tinuiti Appoints Abbey Klaassen as CEO, Adds Bryan Wiener as Board Chair to Boost Growth for CMOs
Tinuiti announced Abbey Klaassen as its new chief executive, succeeding Zach Morrison after 21 years, and named Bryan Wiener chairman of the board. The leadership overhaul is designed to accelerate AI‑driven, data‑centric services for chief marketing officers seeking faster, independent...
Bloom Energy's 24% Jump Triggers Clean‑Power ETF Surge After Oracle Fuel‑Cell Deal
Bloom Energy surged about 24% after Oracle signed a 2.8 GW fuel‑cell agreement, sending the SPDR S&P Kensho Clean Power ETF up 4.1% and boosting nuclear and smart‑grid ETFs. Solar‑focused funds fell as First Solar missed earnings and a pending polysilicon...
Middle East War Spikes Oil Prices, Straining Emerging Market Budgets and Fuel Subsidies
The war in the Middle East has triggered the biggest oil‑supply disruption in history, sending Brent up over 60% and forcing Jamaica’s government to abandon a $4.50‑per‑litre fuel cap, a move that could cost the island $80 million in lost revenue....
Holiday Inn Suva Launches Fiji’s First Self‑Service Check‑In/Out Kiosk
Holiday Inn Suva has installed Fiji’s first self‑service check‑in and check‑out kiosk, a cashless station that accepts local and international cards. The move, led by IHG’s regional team, is designed to cut wait times during peak periods and signal a...
DTCC Teams with Amazon to Cloud‑Migrate Core Clearing Systems by 2030
Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC) announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services to move its core clearing, settlement and risk‑management systems to the cloud by the end of the decade. The phased migration aims to modernize the backbone of...
Graceland Portable Buildings Names Frank Long CFO to Drive Next Growth Phase
Graceland Portable Buildings announced Frank Long as its new chief financial officer. Long brings 20+ years of finance leadership, most recently as VP of Finance at NANA North LLC, a $450M+ firm. The hire signals Graceland's push to expand advanced...
Israeli Strikes Kill Four Lebanese Medics, Injure Six in Mayfadoun
Israeli military strikes on Mayfadoun killed four Lebanese medics and injured six others, marking the latest lethal attack on health workers in the Israel‑Hezbollah war. The assaults came a day after historic talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington, raising...