Today: September 25, 2024
Today: September 25, 2024

World

World

France's parliament approves big boost in military spending, spurred by Ukraine war

France’s parliament on Thursday approved a multi-billion-euro boost to military spending through the rest of this decade, spurred by Russia’s war in Ukraine and fast-growing global threats. President Emmanuel Macron pushed for the bigger budget, which would spend 413 billion euros ($450 billion), the most significant spending hike in half a century. The money would modernize France’s nuclear arsenal, augment intelligence spending and develop more remote-controlled weapons. He has argued the boost was needed to ensure “our freedom, our security, our prosperity, our place in the world.” The defense minister has compared it to France’s push in

July 13, 2023
France's parliament approves big boost in military spending, spurred by Ukraine war
World

Russian lawmakers move to further restrict transgender rights in a new legislation

Russian lawmakers on Thursday approved a toughened version of a bill that outlaws gender transitioning procedures, with added clauses that annul marriages in which one person has “changed gender” and bar transgender people from becoming foster or adoptive parents. The bill received swift, unanimous approval of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, in its key second reading, and lawmakers scheduled the third and final reading for Friday. There is little doubt that the bill, a crippling blow to Russia’s oppressed LGBTQ+ community, will be adopted amid the Kremlin’s crusade to protect what it views

July 13, 2023
Russian lawmakers move to further restrict transgender rights in a new legislation
World

US wholesale prices for June point to further easing of inflation pressures

Wholesale prices in the United States decelerated again last month, the latest sign that inflationary pressures are easing in the face of the Federal Reserve’s streak of interest rate hikes. The government’s producer price index — which measures inflation before it reaches consumers — rose just 0.1% last month from June 2022, the smallest such increase since August 2020. And from May to June, prices rose an identical 0.1% after having fallen 0.4% from April to May. The index that the Labor Department issued Thursday reflects prices charged by manufacturers, farmers and wholesalers. It can provide an

July 13, 2023
US wholesale prices for June point to further easing of inflation pressures
World

US Jobless Rates Plummet. Is the Labor Market Secretly Rebelling Against the Fed?

The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits fell again last week as the labor market continues defy the Federal Reserve’s attempt to cool it through higher interest rates. U.S. applications for jobless claims fell by 12,000 to 237,000 for the week ending July 8, from 249,000 previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out some of the week-to-week ups and downs, fell by 6,750 to 246,750. Jobless claim applications are seen as a proxy for the number of layoffs in a given week. Overall, 1.73 million people were collecting unemployment benefits

July 13, 2023
US Jobless Rates Plummet. Is the Labor Market Secretly Rebelling Against the Fed?
World

Disney extends CEO Bob Iger's contract 2 more years through 2026

Bob Iger will remain as CEO of The Walt Disney Co. through the end of 2026, agreeing to a two-year contract extension that will give the entertainment and theme park company some breathing room to find his successor. Shares climbed before the market open on Thursday. Iger rejoined Disney as CEO in November, taking over control of the company from Bob Chapek. He had previously served as CEO and chairman from 2005 to 2020 and then as executive chairman and chairman through 2021. Chapek’s short tenure was met by much criticism, particularly from Disney park loyalists who openly criticized Chapek

July 13, 2023
Disney extends CEO Bob Iger's contract 2 more years through 2026
World

IOC declines to give Russia and Belarus formal invitations to Paris Olympics 1 year out

Russia and Belarus will not get a formal invitation to the 2024 Paris Olympics when more than 200 national teams receive their traditional invites later this month, the IOC said Thursday. It is an International Olympic Committee tradition exactly one year before a Summer Games or Winter Games opens to invite all the national teams worldwide to the event. Despite the protocol move, some Russian and Belarusian athletes could still compete in Paris despite their countries’ war on Ukraine. Their national teams will not yet be asked to come. The IOC said Thursday that 203 eligible

July 13, 2023
IOC declines to give Russia and Belarus formal invitations to Paris Olympics 1 year out
World

A heat wave named Cerberus has southern Europe in its jaws, and it's only going to get worse

Tourists in central Athens huddled under mist machines, and zoo animals in Madrid were fed fruit popsicles and chunks of frozen food, as southern Europeans braced for a heat wave Thursday, with a warning of severe conditions coming from the European Union’s space agency. Emergency measures – including staffing changes, cellphone alerts, and intensified forest fire patrols – were readied or put into effect in several countries as temperatures in parts of Mediterranean Europe were set to reach 45 degrees Celsius (113F) Friday and into the weekend. In Athens and other Greek cities, working hours were

July 13, 2023
A heat wave named Cerberus has southern Europe in its jaws, and it's only going to get worse
World

FTC appeals judge's ruling that would allow Microsoft's Activision Blizzard takeover

The Federal Trade Commission says it is appealing a judge’s ruling that would have allowed Microsoft to close its deal to buy video game company Activision Blizzard. A Wednesday court filing from the FTC says it is appealing it to the San Francisco-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Antitrust enforcers at the FTC have been trying to stop Microsoft’s $68.7 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard, maker of popular game franchises like Call of Duty, arguing it will harm competition in the video game industry. But in a Tuesday ruling, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley denied the

July 13, 2023
FTC appeals judge's ruling that would allow Microsoft's Activision Blizzard takeover
World

The gunman who killed 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue is found eligible for the death penalty

The gunman who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 is eligible for the death penalty, a federal jury announced Thursday, setting the stage for further evidence and testimony on whether he should be sentenced to death or life in prison. The government is seeking capital punishment for Robert Bowers, who raged against Jewish people online before storming the Tree of Life synagogue with an AR-15 rifle and other weapons in the nation’s deadliest antisemitic attack. The jury agreed with prosecutors that Bowers — who spent six months planning the attack and has since expressed

July 13, 2023
The gunman who killed 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue is found eligible for the death penalty
World

Ons Jabeur is in a second consecutive Wimbledon final. She plays Marketa Vondrousova for the title

There was a time when Ons Jabeur might not have recovered from the deficit she found herself in during the Wimbledon semifinals. Down a set. Down a break. So close to being just a game from defeat. She credits her sports psychologist with helping her understand how to deal with those on-court situations, with managing to keep her focus, keep her strokes on-target. Thanks in part to that, and a steadiness down the stretch at Centre Court on Thursday, Jabeur is on her way to a second consecutive final at the All England Club and her

July 13, 2023
Ons Jabeur is in a second consecutive Wimbledon final. She plays Marketa Vondrousova for the title
World

No fingerprints, DNA sample or leads from cocaine found at the White House, the Secret Service says

No fingerprints or DNA turned up on the baggie of cocaine found in a lobby at the White House last week despite a sophisticated FBI crime lab analysis, and surveillance footage of the area didn’t identify a suspect, according to a summary of the Secret Service investigation obtained by The Associated Press. There are no leads on who brought the drugs into the building. U.S. Secret Service agents found the white powder during a routine White House sweep on July 2, in a heavily trafficked West Wing lobby where staff go in and out and tour groups

July 13, 2023
No fingerprints, DNA sample or leads from cocaine found at the White House, the Secret Service says
World

Top UN court rejects Nicaragua's case in a long-running maritime dispute with Colombia

The United Nations’ top court on Thursday rejected a case brought by Nicaragua in a decades-long dispute with Colombia over maritime borders and entitlements in the Caribbean. The International Court of Justice dismissed Nicaragua’s bid to gain economic rights over an area of the Caribbean sea that lies more than 200 nautical miles (380 kilometers) from its shores. Nicaragua wanted the international court to review the limits of its continental shelf, and determine new maritime boundaries for the Central American nation. Colombia already claims exclusive economic rights in much of the area that lies to

July 13, 2023
Top UN court rejects Nicaragua's case in a long-running maritime dispute with Colombia
World

Guatemala's political turmoil deepens as 1 candidate is targeted and the other suspends her campaign

Guatemala sank deeper into political turmoil Thursday as prosecutors targeted a progressive presidential candidate who proved to be surprisingly popular, prompting his opponent to suspend her campaign, saying the playing field was no longer even. The government’s actions against candidate Bernardo Arévalo — first suspending his Seed Movement party, then raiding the country’s election tribunal offices after it certified election results — sparked other objections as well, from within and outside Guatemala. U.S. officials called them a threat to the country’s democracy. By Thursday afternoon, those actions appeared to have backfired. Candidates left and right warned

July 13, 2023
Guatemala's political turmoil deepens as 1 candidate is targeted and the other suspends her campaign
World

EU, Japan celebrate close cooperation with end of EU food restrictions in wake of Fukushima disaster

The European Union and Japan celebrated their close cooperation with Thursday’s announcement that the 27-nation bloc will lift the food import restrictions it had imposed in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a short summit with EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, further cementing a diplomatic unity that was only reinforced since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “We know that the Pacific security and European security are indivisible,” von der Leyen said after both leaders discussed their joint strategic challenges at the NATO summit in Vilnius,

July 13, 2023
EU, Japan celebrate close cooperation with end of EU food restrictions in wake of Fukushima disaster
World

Founder of failed crypto lending platform Celsius Network arrested on fraud charges

The founder and former CEO of the failed cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network was freed on $40 million bail Thursday after pleading not guilty to federal fraud charges alleging that he schemed to defraud customers by misleading them about key aspects of the business. Alexander Mashinsky, 57, of Manhattan, was charged with securities, commodities and wire fraud in an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court. He was also charged with illegally manipulating the price of Celsius’s proprietary crypto token while secretly selling his own tokens at inflated prices. Mashinsky left the court without commenting after an

July 13, 2023
Founder of failed crypto lending platform Celsius Network arrested on fraud charges
World

First Amendment group sues Texas Governor and others over the state's TikTok ban on official devices

A First Amendment group sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott and others on Thursday over the state’s TikTok ban on official devices, arguing the prohibition – which extends to public universities – is unconstitutional and impedes academic freedom. The complaint was filed by The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, a free speech group in New York that’s suing on behalf a coalition of academics and researchers who study technology’s impact on society. The lawsuit said the state’s decision to restrict access to TikTok on official devices, as well as on personal devices used to conduct

July 13, 2023
First Amendment group sues Texas Governor and others over the state's TikTok ban on official devices
World

A deadly bomb ambush of police in Mexico has endangered mothers who search for the missing

A drug cartel bomb attack that allegedly used a fake report of a mass grave to lure police into a deadly trap has had devastating collateral damage: It has led some authorities to abandon the volunteers who search for Mexico’s 110,000 missing people. Most of the searchers are distraught mothers looking for the bodies of the thousands of victims of kidnapping gangs and drug cartels, who dump their bodies in clandestine graves. A day after Tuesday’s attack that killed four police officers and two civilians in Jalisco state, Gov. Enrique Alfaro announced that he was temporarily

July 13, 2023
A deadly bomb ambush of police in Mexico has endangered mothers who search for the missing
World

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI signs deal with AP to license news stories

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and The Associated Press said Thursday that they’ve made a deal for the artificial intelligence company to license AP’s archive of news stories. “The arrangement sees OpenAI licensing part of AP’s text archive, while AP will leverage OpenAI’s technology and product expertise,” the two organizations said in a joint statement. The price of the deal was not disclosed. “Both organizations will benefit from each other’s established expertise in their respective industries, and believe in the responsible creation and use of these AI systems,” the statement said. The two companies said they are also examining

July 13, 2023
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI signs deal with AP to license news stories
World

Memphis Grizzlies forward Kenneth Lofton among undrafted players shining in summer league

Memphis Grizzlies forward Kenneth Lofton Jr. is among several undrafted players making an impact in the Las Vegas summer league. The former Louisiana Tech standout who was not selected in 2022 is averaging 20.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in three games while shooting 58% from the field. Lofton uses his 6-foot-6, 275-pound frame to seemingly score at will. He was the G-League Rookie of the Year for the Memphis Hustle last season and later got his two-way contract converted into a regular deal. He took advantage of a call-up to the Grizzlies and had 42 points and 14 rebounds against

July 13, 2023
Memphis Grizzlies forward Kenneth Lofton among undrafted players shining in summer league
World

Judge rules man accused of trying to open jet's door, attacking crew, not competent for trial

A man charged with attacking a flight attendant with a broken metal spoon and attempting to open an airliner’s emergency door on a cross-country flight in March is not currently competent to stand trial, a federal judge ruled. Magistrate Judge Judith Dein, basing her decision on a mental health evaluation of Francisco Severo Torres and her own observations in court, determined Wednesday that further treatment is warranted, according to court records. “The Court hereby finds … that the defendant is presently suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he

July 13, 2023
Judge rules man accused of trying to open jet's door, attacking crew, not competent for trial
World

Chicago's Shedd Aquarium welcomes its first rockhopper penguin chick in 8 years

It’s bright and early at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium and the penguin population’s newest member is ready for a wellness check. A fuzzy brown southern rockhopper chick is gently plopped onto a scale in an exam room and Shedd’s penguin team members are happy with the results. So, it seems, is the chick, who waves its flippers in the air and stretches out its neck. “You’re doing the happy flaps!” says senior trainer Katy Roxbury, who offers the chick bits of herring. The first southern rockhopper penguin hatched at Shedd in eight years came out of its shell

July 13, 2023
Chicago's Shedd Aquarium welcomes its first rockhopper penguin chick in 8 years
World

Vermont braces for more rain in wake of historic flooding

Vermont prepared for the next round of storms — and possibly a tornado — as people took advantage of calm weather Thursday to clean up from historic flooding that damaged thousands of homes, businesses and roads, and left some residents stranded. As floodwaters receded, the good news was that there were no new rescue missions, dams were holding up and more roads reopened. The bad news was that strong thunderstorms were expected to move into parts of the state by Thursday night, which could cause more flash flooding, Gov. Phil Scott said at a news conference. Conditions could spawn a

July 13, 2023
Vermont braces for more rain in wake of historic flooding
World

Biden administration suspends satellite monitoring of Colombian coca crops as cocaine surges

The Biden administration has quietly ditched a key gauge used for decades to measure success in the war on drugs, suspending satellite monitoring of coca crops in Colombia as cocaine production surges in South America. A State Department spokesperson said the move was “temporary” but gave no timeframe for data collection to resume or explain why it was suspended in the first place. It was also unclear whether satellite surveys would continue in Peru and Bolivia, which together account for about half of coca production in the Andean region. The move, first reported by Colombia’s El Tiempo

July 13, 2023
Biden administration suspends satellite monitoring of Colombian coca crops as cocaine surges
World

Andrew Tate sues his accusers in human trafficking case

Controversial social media personality Andrew Tate and his brother are suing a Florida woman, saying she falsely accused them of imprisoning her in Romania, leading to their arrest there on human trafficking charges. The widely followed former professional kickboxer and his brother, Tristan, are seeking at least $5 million in the lawsuit, which was filed in Palm Beach County against the woman, her parents, another woman who lived at the Tates’ Bucharest estate and a male friend of the woman. The Tates say the five conspired to falsely accuse them of human trafficking and rape,

July 13, 2023
Andrew Tate sues his accusers in human trafficking case
World

Jets agree to 4-year, $96 million contract extension with All-Pro Quinnen Williams, AP source says

All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and the New York Jets agreed Thursday to a four-year contract extension worth $96 million, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. Williams is now the second-highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL behind only the Rams’ Aaron Donald, who is making $31.7 million per year. The deal for Williams includes $66 million in guaranteed salary, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team didn’t announce terms of the contract. The guarantee is the largest in Jets history, surpassing the $51 million linebacker C.J.

July 13, 2023
Jets agree to 4-year, $96 million contract extension with All-Pro Quinnen Williams, AP source says

Follow