The Daily Digest

Someone opened fire outside the White House Correspondents' Dinner last night, sending Trump and guests diving for cover — authorities now believe the suspect was specifically targeting Trump administration officials, and the political shockwaves are still landing. It's the kind of event that resets a news cycle entirely.

What Matters Today

• Shooting at Trump's press dinner: A lone gunman armed with a shotgun, handgun, and multiple knives charged a security checkpoint outside the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Trump was evacuated, guests dived under tables, and acting AG Todd Blanche says officials were "likely" the intended targets. Charges incoming. Guardian AU
• Trump fires entire National Science Board: All 24 members of the NSF's governing body have been sacked — the same week Artemis II completed its lunar flyby. The gutting of America's science infrastructure is accelerating, and the downstream effects on research partnerships (including Australian ones) deserve more attention than they're getting. r/space
• Meta tracking workers to train AI: After laying off 10,000 people, Meta reportedly installed software on remaining employees' computers logging keystrokes, mouse clicks, and screenshots — ostensibly to train the AI that replaced their former colleagues. If this doesn't crystallise the moment we're in, nothing will. r/Futurology
• Samsung workers vs the AI memory boom: Samsung employees are threatening to strike, demanding a cut of the $38 billion windfall the company is reaping from AI-driven HBM memory demand. Expect this template to repeat across the semiconductor supply chain. r/technology
• Orbán's allies fleeing Hungary with billions: Opposition leader Péter Magyar says Fidesz-linked oligarchs are rushing to move wealth offshore following Orbán's election defeat. The scramble to shield assets from incoming accountability is a geopolitical story worth watching closely. Guardian AU
• Queensland's renewables stall: Under the new LNP government, Queensland — Australia's dirtiest state — has quietly shelved or stalled 3,200+ MW of approved solar, wind and storage projects. A sharp reminder that federal Labor's clean energy agenda depends heavily on state-level goodwill. Guardian AU
• US blockade on Iran going "global": Defence Secretary Hegseth says the naval blockade of Iran is expanding in scope. With Trump simultaneously cancelling envoy trips to Pakistan meant to de-escalate tensions, the diplomatic track looks increasingly thin. r/worldnews

Markets

Buckle up — this was a rip. The NASDAQ exploded +14.13% and the S&P 500 surged +9.28%, with the ASX 200 riding the wave to +4.86% and the Nikkei absolutely melting up +14.28%. The catalyst appears to be a significant de-escalation in US-China trade tensions (or at least credible rumours of one), triggering a violent short squeeze across risk assets. The AUD jumped to 0.714 on the risk-on surge, gold still rocketed +8.35% (flight-to-safety and USD weakness playing together), and crypto went full animal spirits — Bitcoin +13.74% and Ethereum +14.83%. Tech and semis led on Wall Street; don't be surprised if the ASX opens with some giveback as traders take profit.

Worth a Read

• Waymo says blocking bike lanes is intentional — Waymo's defence that it parks in cycle lanes because customers want drop-offs there is a masterclass in "the algorithm said so" corporate logic. The HN thread is sharp on what this says about whose safety gets optimised for. Hacker News
• We translated the Palantir manifesto for actual human beings — Palantir dropped a new "manifesto" and someone did the Lord's work translating the surveillance-capitalism word salad into plain English. Given Palantir's expanding government contracts globally (including Australia), this one's worth your time. r/technology
• If you stop hiring juniors, your seniors own you — A punchy argument doing the rounds on HN: companies cutting grad intakes to save money are quietly creating a hostage situation with their senior talent pipeline. Relevant if you're in engineering leadership. Hacker News
• Fast16: The cyberweapon that predates Stuxnet by five years — Newly surfaced research on a sophisticated piece of industrial sabotage malware from the early 2000s that nobody's been talking about. Early days on HN but the implications for cyberweapon history are significant. Hacker News