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Today: April 04, 2025
Today: April 04, 2025
The Los Angeles Post

The Los Angeles Post

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World

Palestinian attacker opens fire at West Bank gas station, kills at least 4 people

A Palestinian attacker opened fire at a gas station near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank on Tuesday, killing at least four people and wounding several others, Israeli medics said, as violence continued to roil the occupied territory. Israeli security forces said they shot the gunman and were still searching for other attackers near the Jewish settlement of Eli north of the Palestinian city of Ramallah. Palestinian media reported that the attacker’s driver had fled the scene. The condition of the attacker was not immediately clear. Photos circulated of a man lying bloodied and face-down in

Palestinian attacker opens fire at West Bank gas station, kills at least 4 people
World

Stock market today: Asian shares mostly slip after US markets were closed for a national holiday

Asian shares mostly declined Tuesday as some investors took a wait-and-see attitude after U.S. markets were closed for a national holiday. Some investors were also disappointed after a meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Secretary of State Antony Blinken yielded no signs of progress from either side on Taiwan, human rights, technology and other issues of contention. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 inched down less than 0.1% in afternoon trading to 33,388.91. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.9% to 7,357.80. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.2% to 2,603.27. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 1.8% to 19,550.76, while the Shanghai

Stock market today: Asian shares mostly slip after US markets were closed for a national holiday
World

New study says high housing costs, low income push Californians into homelessness

Homeless people in California are already a vulnerable group, often struggling with poor health, trauma and deep poverty before they lose their housing, according to a new study on adult homelessness. The study released Tuesday by the University of California, San Francisco attempts to capture a comprehensive picture of how people become homeless in California, and what impeded their efforts at finding permanent housing. The representative survey of nearly 3,200 homeless people found that when they lost housing, their median household income was $960 a month, and for renters on leases it was $1,400 a month,

New study says high housing costs, low income push Californians into homelessness
World

Germany, China hold high-level meeting amid tensions over trade, Ukraine

Trade, climate change and the war in Ukraine are on the agenda Tuesday as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who is on his first foreign trip since taking office. The meeting in Berlin is the seventh time Germany and China have held high-level government consultations and comes a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, indicating an effort by Beijing to reach out to the West and improve frosty relations. Li, a former Communist Party secretary for Shanghai who took office in March as China’s No.

Germany, China hold high-level meeting amid tensions over trade, Ukraine
World

Ukraine downs Russian drones but some get through due to gaps in air protection

Ukrainian air defenses downed 32 of 35 Shahed exploding drones launched by Russia early Tuesday, most of them in the Kyiv region, officials said, in a bombardment that exposed gaps in the country’s air protection after almost 16 months of war. Russian forces mostly targeted the region around the Ukrainian capital in a nighttime drone attack lasting around three hours, officials said, but Ukrainian air defenses in the area shot down about two dozen of them. The attack was part of a wider bombardment of Ukrainian regions that extended as far as the Lviv region in

Ukraine downs Russian drones but some get through due to gaps in air protection
Political

Biden will host a forum about artificial intelligence with technology leaders in San Francisco

President Joe Biden will convene a group of technology leaders on Tuesday to debate artificial intelligence. The Biden administration is seeking to figure out how to regulate the emergent field of AI, looking for ways to nurture its potential for economic growth and national security and protect against its potential dangers. Biden plans to meet with eight experts from academia and advocacy groups. The sudden emergence of AI chatbot ChatGPT and other tools has jumpstarted investment in the sector. AI tools are able to craft human-like text, music, images and computer code. This form of automation

Biden will host a forum about artificial intelligence with technology leaders in San Francisco
World

French investigators search the offices of Paris Olympic organizers in suspected corruption probe

French investigators are searching the headquarters of the Paris Olympic organizers in a probe into suspected corruption, according to the national financial prosecutor’s office. The Paris organizing committee said in a statement that a search is under way at their headquarters in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, and that “Paris 2024 is cooperating with the investigators to facilitate their investigations.” It would not comment further. An official with the financial prosecutor’s office said the searches are linked to two investigations based on information provided by an anti-corruption agency. The official was not authorized to be publicly named

French investigators search the offices of Paris Olympic organizers in suspected corruption probe
World

Ukrainian refugees helped push German population up 1.3% last year

Large numbers of refugees from Ukraine fleeing Russia’s war fueled a 1.3% rise in Germany’s population last year, helping push up the number of inhabitants in the European Union’s most populous country to more than 84.4 million, official statistics showed Tuesday. Germany’s population expanded by 1.12 million in 2022, the Federal Statistical Office said. That compared with an increase of just 0.1%, or 82,000 people, the previous year. All of Germany’s 16 states saw their populations increase. The largest proportional increases were in the country’s two biggest cities, Berlin and Hamburg, which both saw rises of 2.1%.

Ukrainian refugees helped push German population up 1.3% last year
World

Billie Jean King recalls the meeting that launched the WTA women's tennis tour 50 years ago

A half-century later, Billie Jean King thinks back on the landmark gathering of female tennis players at a London hotel shortly before they competed at Wimbledon and acknowledges she wasn’t sure how things would go that day. “I had no idea. Absolute toss-up. Because you never really know. What I did know was that certain players didn’t like what we were trying to do,” King said in an interview with The Associated Press. “And I did know it had to happen that day. Had to.” Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of the meeting on June 21, 1973, at the Gloucester

Billie Jean King recalls the meeting that launched the WTA women's tennis tour 50 years ago
World

Europe, US urged to investigate the type of AI that powers systems like ChatGPT

European Union consumer protection groups urged regulators on Tuesday to investigate the type of artificial intelligence underpinning systems like ChatGPT, citing risks that leave people vulnerable and the delay before the bloc’s groundbreaking AI regulations take effect. In a coordinated effort, 13 watchdog groups wrote to their national consumer, data protection, competition and product safety authorities warning them about a range of concerns around generative artificial intelligence. A transatlantic coalition of consumer groups also wrote to U.S. President Joe Biden asking him to take action to protect consumers from possible harms caused by generative AI. Europe has

Europe, US urged to investigate the type of AI that powers systems like ChatGPT
World

Auto tycoon Ghosn files $1 billion lawsuit in Lebanon against Nissan over his imprisonment in Japan

Auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Nissan and about a dozen individuals in Beirut over his imprisonment in Japan and what he says is misinformation spread against him, Lebanese officials said Tuesday. According to the officials, Ghosn’s lawsuit accuses Nissan and the individuals of defamation and of “fabricating charges” against him, which eventually put him behind bars in Japan. The lawsuit was filed last month, the judicial officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the case. The officials did not identify the individuals that Ghosn is accusing. Ghosn was arrested

Auto tycoon Ghosn files $1 billion lawsuit in Lebanon against Nissan over his imprisonment in Japan
World

US and China hold top-level talks, but their rivalry remains unchecked

The United States and China may be back to talking at a high level, but their battle for global power and influence remains unchecked and mutual suspicion still runs deep. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken set low goals for his visit to Beijing this week, and he met them. About the most the rivals can hope for these days is to stop things getting much worse. Blinken pointed to difficult days ahead, while China’s foreign ministry warned the relationship was in a downward spiral. “It was clear coming in that the relationship was at a point

US and China hold top-level talks, but their rivalry remains unchecked
World

A list of mass killings in the United States since January

The latest mass killing in the United States happened Monday night in Philadelphia where a 40-year-old is accused of killing a man in a house and then gunning down four others on neighborhood streets before surrendering to police. Gun violence flared as the U.S. celebrated the Fourth of July holiday, leaving more than a dozen dead and almost 60 wounded — including children as young as 2 years old — in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Louisiana, Texas, Florida and Washington, D.C. The Philadelphia shooting is the country’s 29th mass killing of 2023 in which four or more people died, not including the

A list of mass killings in the United States since January
World

9 Egyptians appearing in Greek court over deadly migrant shipwreck

Nine Egyptian men accused of being members of a human smuggling ring involved in one of the worst migrant shipwrecks in the Mediterranean are appearing in court in southern Greece on Tuesday for questioning over their alleged role in the disaster. The nine, appearing in court in the southern city of Kalamata, face a string of charges including participation in a criminal organization, manslaughter and causing a shipwreck. More than 500 people are believed to be missing from last week’s sinking off the western coast of Greece of the dilapidated fishing trawler, which some estimates say

9 Egyptians appearing in Greek court over deadly migrant shipwreck
World

Andrew Tate is charged with rape and human trafficking in Romania

Divisive social media personality Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, have been charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women, prosecutors in Romania said Tuesday. Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, said prosecutors filed the charges against the brothers, who are both British-U.S. dual citizens, along with two Romanian women. In a statement, the agency said that the four defendants formed a criminal group in 2021 “in order to commit the crime of human trafficking” in Romania as well as the United States and Britain. It alleged that seven female victims were

Andrew Tate is charged with rape and human trafficking in Romania
World

Charitable giving in 2022 drops for only the third time in 40 years: Giving USA report

Charitable giving in the United States declined in 2022 — only the third time in four decades that donations did not increase year over year — according to the Giving USA report released Tuesday. Total giving fell 3.4% in 2022 to $499.3 billion in current dollars, a drop of 10.5% when adjusted for inflation. The decline comes at a time when many nonprofits, especially ones providing services to those in need, report an increase in requests for help. However, Josh Birkholz, chairman of the Giving USA Foundation, which publishes the report and provides data and insights

Charitable giving in 2022 drops for only the third time in 40 years: Giving USA report
Political

As Ukraine takes the fight to Russians, signs of unease in Moscow over war's progress

Facing harder questions at home. Contributor/Getty Images Whether or not the Ukraine counteroffensive that began in early June 2023 succeeds in dislodging Russian troops from occupied territory, there are growing signs that the push has prompted anxiety back in Moscow. Such unease was, I believe, detectable in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting on June 13 with a group of influential military bloggers – people who support the war but have at times been critical of the way it is being fought. The meeting was unusual: In recent months, Putin has avoided public statements about the war and postponed his annual

As Ukraine takes the fight to Russians, signs of unease in Moscow over war's progress
Political

AI could shore up democracy – here's one way

AI could help elected representatives raise up constituent voices. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky It’s become fashionable to think of artificial intelligence as an inherently dehumanizing technology, a ruthless force of automation that has unleashed legions of virtual skilled laborers in faceless form. But what if AI turns out to be the one tool able to identify what makes your ideas special, recognizing your unique perspective and potential on the issues where it matters most? You’d be forgiven if you’re distraught about society’s ability to grapple with this new technology. So far, there’s no lack of prognostications about the democratic doom that

AI could shore up democracy – here's one way
Arts

Graffiti has undergone a massive shift in a few quick decades as street art gains social acceptance

Tagging, once considered vandalism, has gained cachet and economic value in the art world. Ashim D’Silva for Unsplash.com, CC BY-SA Graffiti has become so mainstream in recent years that auction houses, museums and entire art shows cater to street art connoisseurs and collectors around the world. Images in the news of young vandals responsible for marking walls have been replaced by sleek websites belonging to global phenoms such as Banksy and Shepard Fairey. In cities around the world, graffiti is now associated with “street artists” rather than violent street gangs. Today, many cities, from Pittsburgh to Pretoria, invite street artists

Graffiti has undergone a massive shift in a few quick decades as street art gains social acceptance
Environment

Saving lives from extreme heat: Lessons from the deadly 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave

Volunteers pick up water to deliver to homeless people during a 2021 heat wave. AP Photo/Nathan Howard The heat dome that descended upon the Pacific Northwest in late June 2021 met a population radically unprepared for it. Almost two-thirds of households earning US$50,000 or less and 70% of rented houses in Washington’s King, Pierce and Snohomish counties had no air conditioning. In Spokane, nearly one-quarter of survey respondents didn’t have in-home air conditioning, and among those who did, 1 in 5 faced significant, often financial, barriers to using it. Imagine having no way to cool your home as temperatures spiked

Saving lives from extreme heat: Lessons from the deadly 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave
Environment

US national parks are crowded – and so are many national forests, wildlife refuges, battlefields and seashores

Visitors at Sliding Rock, a popular cascade in North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest. Cecilio Ricardo, USFS/Flickr Outdoor recreation is on track for another record-setting year. In 2022, U.S. national parks logged more than 300 million visits – and that means a lot more people on roads and trails. While research shows that spending time outside is good for physical and mental health, long lines and gridlocked roads can make the experience a lot less fun. Crowding also makes it harder for park staff to protect wildlife and fragile lands and respond to emergencies. To manage the crowds, some parks are

US national parks are crowded – and so are many national forests, wildlife refuges, battlefields and seashores
Economy

US charitable donations fell to $499 billion in 2022 as stocks slumped and inflation surged

Giving declines when the country tightens its belt. FreeTransform/iStock via Getty Images Plus Charitable giving in the U.S. fell to US$499 billion in 2022, as donors dealt with their losses in the stock market and coped with 40-year high inflation rates. For only the fourth time on record, Americans gave less than they did the previous year without accounting for inflation, according to the newest annual Giving USA report. The research, released by the Giving USA Foundation, in partnership with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, found that total giving fell 10.5% in inflation-adjusted terms, the steepest decline

US charitable donations fell to $499 billion in 2022 as stocks slumped and inflation surged
World

Vatican document highlights need for concrete steps for women, 'radical inclusion' of LGBTQ+

An unprecedented global canvassing of Catholics has called for the church to take concrete steps to promote women to decision-making roles, for a “radical inclusion” of the LGBTQ+ community and for new accountability measures to check how bishops exercise authority. The Vatican on Tuesday released the synthesis of a two-year consultation process, publishing a working document that will form the basis of discussion for a big meeting of bishops and laypeople in October. The synod, as it is known, is a key priority of Pope Francis, reflecting his vision of a church that is more about

Vatican document highlights need for concrete steps for women, 'radical inclusion' of LGBTQ+
World

Build begins on Wyoming-to-California power line amid growing wind power concern

Portrait photographer Anne Brande shoots graduation and wedding engagement photos at scenic spots throughout southeastern Wyoming’s granite mountains and sprawling sagebrush valleys, but she worries what those views will look like in a few years. Wind energy is booming here. “Dandelions in my yard, you know, when there’s four or five, it’s OK,” Brande said. “When my whole yard is dandelions, I’m just not too excited.” In a state where being able to hunt, fish and camp in gorgeous and untrammeled nature is a way of life, worries about spoiled views, killed eagles and disturbed big-game

Build begins on Wyoming-to-California power line amid growing wind power concern
World

How a Mexican spiritual leader preserves the sacred knowledge of the volcano known as El Popo

Moisés Vega has a distinctive job: The 64-year-old Mexican says he can speak the sacred language of volcanoes to ask for good weather and a good crop. Mexico lowered the alert level on the Popocatépetl volcano by early June after its eruptions of gas and ash had drawn the attention of the international community. For Vega, though, the 17,797-foot (5,425-meter) mountain, known as El Popo, is a living being that never fades from his sight. “The Popocatépetl is our father and the Iztaccíhuatl is our mother,” he said, referring to a neighboring volcano. “They are providers

How a Mexican spiritual leader preserves the sacred knowledge of the volcano known as El Popo

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