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As a cybersecurity reporter at ProPublica, much of my work over the past two years has focused on how the federal government and its IT contractors, like Microsoft, have navigated major technological transitions. The one now in the news every day is artificial intelligence.This emerging technology has its grip on everyone: Home users, corporations and the federal government are all rushing to use it. President Donald Trump and his Cabinet say AI will transform the nation, making us more prosperous, efficient and secure if only we can adopt it fast enough.But this messaging isnt new. President Barack Obamas administration used nearly identical language a decade and a half ago as the U.S. barreled into the technological revolution of cloud computing.Ive studied how the federal government has handled and mishandled this transition over the past two decades, and my reporting offers some cautionary tales and valuable lessons as policymakers encourage the use of AI and federal agencies adopt the technology.Lesson 1: Theres no such thing as a free lunchThen: In the early 2020s, a series of cyberattacks linked to Russia, China and Iran left the federal government reeling. The Biden administration called on major tech companies to help the U.S. bolster its defenses. In response, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella pledged to give the government $150 million in technical services to help upgrade its digital security. It also offered a free security upgrade for government customers.Now: Last year, the Trump administration announced a raft of agreements with tech companies that were meant to help federal agencies purchase enterprise AI tools at government-friendly pricing. Agencies could use OpenAIs ChatGPT for $1. Googles Gemini for 47 cents. Grok by xAI for 42 cents. The administration hoped that the low-cost pricing would make it easier for federal teams to acquire powerful AI capabilities to enhance mission delivery and operational efficiency.The takeaway: Be wary of freebies. Our investigation into Microsofts seemingly straightforward commitment revealed a more complex, profit-driven agenda. After installing the upgrades, federal customers would be effectively locked in, because shifting to a competitor after the free trial would be cumbersome and costly. At that point, the customer would have little choice but to pay for the higher subscription fees. The plan worked: One former Microsoft salesperson told me it was successful beyond what any of us could have imagined. In response to questions about the commitment, Microsoft has said its sole goal during this period was to support an urgent request by the Administration to enhance the security posture of federal agencies who were continuously being targeted by sophisticated nation-state threat actors.Agencies looking to buy AI tools at discounted rates today must consider how the costs might balloon down the road. The General Services Administration warns that AI usage costs can grow quickly without proper monitoring and management controls and advises agencies to set usage limits and regularly review consumption reports.Lesson 2: Oversight programs are only as effective as their resourcesThen: In the Obama era, the federal government shifted its sensitive information and computing needs to data centers owned and operated by private companies. Acknowledging the potential risks, the administration created the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP, in 2011 to help ensure the security of the cloud computing services that it was encouraging U.S. agencies to use.But in my recent investigation of the program, I found it was no match for Microsoft, which effectively wore down the FedRAMP team over five years as the company sought the programs seal of approval for a major cloud offering known as GCC High. Despite serious reservations about its cybersecurity, FedRAMP ultimately authorized the product, in part because it lacked the resources to keep going. In response to questions, Microsoft told me: We stand by our products and the comprehensive steps weve taken to ensure all FedRAMP-authorized products meet the security and compliance requirements necessary.Now: Today, this tiny outpost within the General Services Administration has even fewer resources to oversee the cloud technology on which the government relies including AI. FedRAMP says it now operates with an absolute minimum of support staff and limited customer service. The program was an early target of the Trump administrations Department of Government Efficiency.The takeaway: FedRAMP, which a 2024 White House memo said must be an expert program that can analyze and validate the security claims of cloud providers, is now little more than a rubber stamp for the tech industry, former employees told me. As federal agencies adopt AI tools that draw upon reams of sensitive information, the implications of this downsizing for federal cybersecurity are far-reaching. A GSA spokesperson defended the program and said FedRAMP now operates with strengthened oversight and accountability mechanisms.Lesson 3: Independent reviews are only so independentThen: The government has long relied on so-called third-party assessors to verify the security claims made by cloud service providers like Microsoft and Google. In theory, these firms are supposed to be independent experts that offer a recommendation to FedRAMP on whether a product meets federal standards. But in practice, their independence has an asterisk: They are paid by the companies they are evaluating.My recent investigation found that this setup creates an inherent conflict of interest. In the case of Microsofts GCC High, two assessors recommended the product despite being unable to fully vet it, according to a former FedRAMP reviewer. One of those firms did not respond to my questions and the other denied this account.Read MoreFederal Cyber Experts Thought Microsofts Cloud Was a Pile of Shit. They Approved It Anyway.FedRAMP, we found, is well aware of how the financial arrangement between the cloud companies and their assessors can distort official findings about cybersecurity problems. The program even created a back channel to encourage assessors to share concerns they might not otherwise raise in their official reports for fear of angering their tech clients and losing business.Now: With FedRAMP reduced to being a paper pusher, as one former GSA official put it, these third-party assessment firms have taken on even more importance in the vetting process. In response to questions from ProPublica, the GSA said that FedRAMPs system does not create an inherent conflict of interest for professional auditors who meet ethical and contractual performance expectations. It did not respond to questions about the programs back channel.The takeaway: The pendulum has essentially swung back to the pre-FedRAMP era, when each federal agency was individually responsible for vetting the products it used. The GSA told me that FedRAMPs job is to ensure agencies have sufficient information to make these risk decisions. The problem is that agencies often lack the staff and resources to do thorough reviews, which means the whole system is leaning on the claims of the cloud companies and the assessments of the third-party firms they pay to evaluate them.The post The Federal Government Is Rushing Toward AI. Our Reporting Offers Three Cautionary Tales. appeared first on ProPublica.

A rescue worker walks in front of residential building which was heavily damaged after a Russian strike in Odesa, Ukraine, Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Shtekel)2026-04-06T08:54:14Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) A Russian drone attack on Ukraines southern port city of Odesa killed two women and a toddler, authorities said Monday, while Ukrainian long-range drones targeted Russias key Black Sea port for oil exports.The nighttime attack on Odesa heavily damaged an apartment block, killing the women and a 2-year-old child, officials said. Rescuers working under floodlights pulled four people from the rubble.Eleven people were hospitalized, including a pregnant woman and two children the youngest less than a year old, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X.Russia has pounded civilian areas of Ukraine since it invaded its neighbor just over four years ago, killing more than 15,000 people, according to the United Nations.It has also taken aim at Ukraines power grid, and the Russia overnight barrages also hit energy infrastructure in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Dnipro regions, Zelenskyy said. More than 300,000 households were without electricity in the northern Chernihiv region after distribution facilities were damaged in attacks, according to the regional power utility. Over the past week, Russia has launched at Ukraine more than 2,800 attack drones, nearly 1,350 powerful glide bombs and more than 40 missiles of various types, according to Zelenskyy.Zelenskyy expressed concern in a weekend interview with The Associated Press that the Iran war is draining stockpiles of weapons that Ukraine needs to defend itself, especially American-made Patriot air defense systems that can stop missiles. Read More Zelenskyy said Monday that the countrys partners need to strengthen air defense together so that the interception rate of drones and missiles continues to increase.With U.S.-led peace efforts stalled, Zelenskyy added: Russia has no intention of stopping its invasion.Ukraine has fought back by developing its own long-range drones, which now reach targets some 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) inside Russia. Ukraine has used them recently to hammer Russian oil facilities as Moscow looks to boost its exports after the Trump administration gave it a temporary waiver from sanctions to ease supply constraints. Kyiv officials complain that Russia will use the additional revenue on new weapons to hit Ukraine harder.Russias Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 50 Ukrainian drones overnight.Krasnodar Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev said that eight people, including two children, were injured in a series of Ukrainian drone attacks on Novorossiisk, one of Russias largest Black Sea ports. The attack damaged six apartment buildings and two private houses, he said.Unconfirmed media reports said the drones targeted the Sheskharis oil terminal at the Black Sea port.Last week, Ukraines drones struck oil facilities in the Gulf of Finland, in northwest Russia.___Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine DEREK GATOPOULOS Gatopoulos is an Associated Press reporter covering Greece. He is based in Athens. twitter mailto

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This image provided by NASA on Monday, April 6, 2026, shows a view of the moon taken by the Artemis II crew before going to sleep on flight day 5. (NASA via AP)2026-04-06T10:05:47Z HOUSTON (AP) With the moon looming ever larger, the Artemis II astronauts raced to set a new distance record Monday from Earth on a lunar fly-around promising magnificent views of the far side never seen before by eye.The six-hour flyby is the highlight of NASAs first return to the moon since the Apollo era with three Americans and one Canadian a step toward landing boot prints near the moons south pole in just two years.A prize and bragging rights awaits Artemis II.Less than an hour before kicking off the fly-around and intense lunar observations, the four astronauts were set to become the most distant humans in history, surpassing the distance record of 248,655 miles (400,171 kilometers) set by Apollo 13 in April 1970.Mission Control expected Artemis II to surpass that record by more than 4,100 miles (6,600 kilometers). Artemis II is using the same maneuver that Apollo 13 did after its Houston, weve had a problem oxygen tank explosion wiped out any hope of a moon landing. Known as a free-return lunar trajectory, this no-stopping-to-land route takes advantage of Earth and the moons gravity, reducing the need for fuel. Its a celestial figure-eight that will put the astronauts on course for home, once they emerge from behind the moon Monday evening. Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadas Jeremy Hansen were on track to pass as close as 4,070 miles (6,550 kilometers) to the moon, as their Orion capsule whips past it, hangs a U-turn and then heads back toward Earth. It will take them four days to get back, with a splashdown in the Pacific concluding their test flight on Friday. Read More Wiseman and his crew spent years studying lunar geography to prepare for the big event, adding solar eclipses to their repertoire during the past few weeks. By launching last Wednesday, they ensured themselves of a total solar eclipse from their vantage point behind the moon, courtesy of the cosmos. Topping their science target list: Orientale Basin, a sprawling impact basin with three concentric rings, the outermost of which stretches nearly 600 miles (950 kilometers) across. Other sightseeing goals: the Apollo 12 and 14 landing sites from 1969 and 1971, respectively, as well as fringes of the south polar region, the preferred locale for future touchdowns. Farther afield, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn not to mention Earth will be visible.Their moon mentor, NASA geologist Kelsey Young, expects thousands of pictures.People all over the world connect with the moon. This is something that every single person on this planet can understand and connect with, she said on the eve of the flyby, wearing eclipse earrings. Artemis II is NASAs first astronaut moonshot since Apollo 17 in 1972. It sets the stage for next years Artemis III, which will see another Orion crew practice docking with lunar landers in orbit around Earth. The culminating moon landing by two astronauts near the moons south pole will follow on Artemis IV in 2028.While Artemis II may be taking Apollo 13s path, its most reminiscent of Apollo 8 and humanitys first lunar visitors who orbited the moon on Christmas Eve 1968 and read from the Book of Genesis. Glover said flying to the moon during Christianitys Holy Week brought home for him the beauty of creation. Earth is an oasis amid a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe where humanity exists as one, he observed over the weekend.This is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing and that weve got to get through this together, Glover said, clasping hands with his crewmates.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Nature, Published online: 06 April 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01027-4A goal-driven approach to medical research and development in the United States would address unmet medical needs, reduce costs and improve the reach of treatments.