[00:00] Announcer: This is Neural Newscast for Friday, April 3rd, 2026.
[00:06] Isabel Moreno: Here is What Matters This Morning.
[00:08] Announcer: From Neural Newscast, I'm Thomas Keene.
[00:11] Isabel Moreno: And I'm Isabel Moreno.
[00:13] Announcer: A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck the Maluka Sea early yesterday, triggering small tsunami
[00:20] Announcer: waves and at least one confirmed death in Indonesia.
[00:24] Isabel Moreno: The United States Geological Survey reports the quake hit at a depth of 22 miles,
[00:29] Isabel Moreno: causing strong shaking for up to 20 seconds in coastal cities.
[00:33] Announcer: Disaster officials say a 70-year-old woman died in the Minahasa district,
[00:38] Announcer: while tsunami waves reached one foot in height in West Haomahera.
[00:43] Isabel Moreno: Regional authorities have urged coastal residents to remain inland
[00:47] Isabel Moreno: until a final all-clear is issued as assessments of building damage continue.
[00:52] Announcer: The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also recorded small waves in the southern Philippines,
[00:58] Announcer: though no major damage was reported in Davao.
[01:02] Isabel Moreno: This region is among the most seismically active in the world,
[01:05] Isabel Moreno: and local search and rescue teams are still inspecting remote island districts.
[01:10] Announcer: We will continue to track the recovery efforts in North Sulawesi
[01:14] Announcer: as more data on infrastructure damage becomes available later today.
[01:19] Isabel Moreno: Turning now to politics in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called for the sacking of Reform UK spokesperson Simon Dudley.
[01:29] Announcer: Dudley faces intense criticism after an interview where he suggested that building safety regulations introduced after the Grenfell fire were not working.
[01:39] Isabel Moreno: He reportedly told Inside Housing magazine that everyone dies in the end,
[01:44] Isabel Moreno: comparing the fire deaths to rare statistics like road accidents.
[01:48] Announcer: The families of the 72 victims have described his remarks as dehumanizing
[01:53] Announcer: and the shameful attempt to erase corporate responsibility for the disaster.
[01:58] Isabel Moreno: Dudley has since issued an apology on social media,
[02:01] Isabel Moreno: claiming he did not intend to belittle the tragedy
[02:05] Isabel Moreno: while maintaining concerns over over-regulation.
[02:08] Announcer: Meanwhile, the world of aerospace is looking back at history following the successful launch
[02:13] Announcer: of the Artemis II mission on Wednesday.
[02:16] Isabel Moreno: This 10-day journey marks the first time astronauts have headed to the moon since the Apollo 17
[02:22] Isabel Moreno: mission in December 1972.
[02:25] Announcer: It is remarkable to consider that during the last lunar mission, a gallon of gasoline
[02:30] Announcer: cost 36 cents and David Bowie was debuting Ziggy Stardust.
[02:35] Isabel Moreno: The technological jump is even more vast, as the 1972 crew used floppy disks,
[02:42] Isabel Moreno: while this crew is testing the advanced Orion spacecraft.
[02:46] Announcer: Still, the mission remains a critical stepping stone for NASA's long-term goal of sending humans
[02:54] Announcer: to the surface of Mars in the coming decades.
[02:57] Isabel Moreno: Next, residents in Northern California are dealing with the aftermath of a magnitude 4.6
[03:04] Isabel Moreno: earthquake that struck Santa Cruz County early yesterday.
[03:08] Announcer: The tremor was centered near Boulder Creek and was felt across the Bay Area from San Francisco
[03:15] Announcer: down to the Monterey Bay.
[03:17] Isabel Moreno: The United States Geological Survey reports a 60% chance of a magnitude 3.0 or higher aftershock occurring within the next week.
[03:28] Announcer: While some pharmacy shelves were cleared in Boulder Creek, no major structural damage or significant injuries have been confirmed so far.
[03:37] Isabel Moreno: Officials are reminding residents to drop, cover, and hold on during aftershocks, rather than running outside during the actual shaking.
[03:47] Announcer: Here is what else we are watching today.
[03:50] Isabel Moreno: NASA engineers will be monitoring the Orion capsule's trajectory as the Artemis II crew continues their 230,000-mile journey away from Earth.
[04:01] Announcer: In the business sector, investors are looking for a response from the Berkeley group regarding their decision to freeze land purchases due to regulatory costs.
[04:12] Isabel Moreno: And the United States GS will update its aftershock forecast for both the California and Indonesia seismic zones as new data is collected over the next 48 hours.
[04:24] Announcer: The international community is also expected to offer aid to Indonesia as the full scale of the Malukasi earthquake becomes clear.
[04:33] Isabel Moreno: We will keep a close eye on those recovery efforts and the ongoing debate over housing safety standards in the United Kingdom.
[04:41] Announcer: That is the briefing for this morning. From all of us here, thanks for listening.
[04:47] Isabel Moreno: Neural Newscast is AI-assisted, human-reviewed.
[04:51] Isabel Moreno: View our AI transparency policy at neuralnewscast.com.