Новости за 16.02.2024

An accident at a supermarket construction site in the Italian city of Florence has killed three workers and left two others missing. The accident on Friday happened when a reinforced concrete beam toppled over a slab of a pre-fabricated building, which then collapsed. Local authorities say rescue teams are searching for the missing and that they fear the death toll could rise further. Three other workers who were pulled from the rubble were taken to local hospitals and were reported to be in serious condition. Читать дальше...

NEW YORK (AP) — West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin announced on Friday that he is not running for president, saying he didn't want to be a “spoiler.”

The maker of ChatGPT is now diving into AI-generated video. Meet Sora — OpenAI’s new text-to-video generator. The tool, which the San Francisco-based company unveiled on Thursday, uses generative artificial intelligence to instantly create short videos based on written commands. Sora isn’t the first to demonstrate this kind of technology. But industry analysts point to the high quality of the tool’s videos displayed so far, and note that its introduction marks a significant leap for both OpenAI and the future of text-to-video generation. Читать дальше...

The United Auto Workers union is threatening to go on strike next week at Ford’s largest and most profitable factory in a dispute over local contract language. The union said Friday that nearly 9,000 workers at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville will strike on Feb. 23 if the local contract dispute is not resolved. If there’s a strike, it would be the second time the union has walked out at the sprawling factory in the past year. In October, UAW workers shut down the plant during national contract... Читать дальше...

Major technology companies signed a pact Friday to voluntarily adopt “reasonable precautions” to prevent artificial intelligence tools from disrupting democratic elections worldwide. Tech executives from Adobe, Amazon, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and TikTok gathered at the Munich Security Conference to announce a new voluntary framework for how they will respond to AI-generated deepfakes that deliberately trick voters. Twelve other companies — including Elon Musk’s X — are also signing on. Читать дальше...

As Kansas City, Missouri, tries to recover after the mass shooting that turned a Super Bowl celebration into chaos, police are working with juvenile prosecutors to determine what happens next with the two young people in custody. One person died and 22 were hurt in the shooting Wednesday. Police Chief Stacey Graves says half of those injured were under the age of 16. A mother of two was killed. Police say they detained three juveniles but released one who they determined wasn’t involved. Investigators... Читать дальше...

Police say the shooting after the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration that killed one woman and injured more than 20 people appears to have stemmed from a dispute. The shooting happened outside the city’s historic Union Station. Police Chief Stacey Graves said Thursday that half of the 22 people injured in the shooting were under the age of 16. Police say three people were initially detained but that now only two juveniles remain in custody. Several firearms were recovered. Investigators are... Читать дальше...

In a single week, the Republican chairs of three U.S. House committees announced they would not be seeking reelection, raising questions about whether the chaos that has reigned this Congress is driving out some of the GOP’s top talent. What makes the retirements particularly noteworthy is that none of the chairs were at risk from the term limit requirements House Republicans impose on their committee leaders. They conceivably could have returned to the same leadership roles in the next Congress... Читать дальше...

President Joe Biden plans to welcome Kenyan President William Ruto to the White House in May, hosting a state visit after reneging on his promise to visit Africa last year. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced Friday that the visit set for May 23 will seek to “strengthen our shared commitment to advance peace and security, expand our economic ties, and stand together in defense of democratic values.” Word of Ruto’s visit comes after Haiti announced this week that it is working... Читать дальше...

A measure of consumer sentiment ticked higher this month, after soaring in December and January, underscoring that Americans are starting to feel better about the economy after years of gloom. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index. released Friday, ticked up to 79.6 in February, from 79 in January. The small gain followed two months of sharp increases that were the largest in more than 30 years. The improvements could impact the presidential race this year, which will likely focus... Читать дальше...

President Joe Biden’s campaign is embracing TikTok to court younger voters ahead of the presidential elections, but U.S. adults have mixed views about whether the video-sharing app should even operate in the country. A new poll by The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds a three-way split when it comes to banning the app. The poll shows 31% of U.S. adults would would favor a nationwide ban on TikTok use, while 35% say they would oppose that type of action. An additional... Читать дальше...

Farmers are blocking highways and holding demonstrations in many rural areas in northern India to protest over a range of grievances that have also led tens and thousands to march toward the capital. The rural strike is also supported by some trade unions. Farmers in the northern states of Haryana and Punjab are holding sit-ins near toll plazas on major highways. Tens of thousands of farmers are demanding guaranteed crop prices, renewing a movement that succeeded in getting contentious agricultural laws repealed in 2021. Читать дальше...

Hong Kong customs officials have arrested seven people linked to the territory's largest money laundering case on record, involving about $1.8 billion. The officials said Friday that part of the money laundering operation was tied to a scam case in India. They said the seven suspects were part of a large-scale transnational syndicate that used various shell companies and bank accounts to transfer large sums from overseas to the city under the disguise of running an international trading businesses. Читать дальше...

Shares in Asia are higher, with Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index coming close to its record set 35 year ago. U.S. futures were lower after stocks on Wall Street set a fresh record following some mixed reports on the economy. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% Thursday, surpassing the all-time high it set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9% and the Nasdaq composite added 0.3%. Treasury yields eased in the bond market after a report showed sales at U.S. retailers weakened by more last month than economists expected. Читать дальше...

Montana Congressman Matt Rosendale is dropping his bid for the U.S. Senate less than a week after announcing he was running. Rosendale said Thursday that “the hill was just too steep," citing a lack of resources and former President Donald Trump's endorsement of fellow Republican Tim Sheehy for the race. It's not clear if Rosendale will seek re-election to his U.S. House seat. Several other Republicans have already announced their intentions to enter that race, which is in a solidly GOP district.

This week’s new streaming entertainment releases include “Young Sheldon” returning for its seventh and final season, Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. exploring the power of gospel in a two-part PBS documentary and two projects from Jennifer Lopez, a movie about her love life and a 13-track album. Amy Schumer’s semi-autobiographical Hulu dramedy “Life & Beth” series returns for a second season and Christopher Nolan’s celebrated Oscar-nominee “Oppenheimer” arrives on Peacock. Plus, Ubisoft’s pirate-themed... Читать дальше...

President Joe Biden is going to visit East Palestine, Ohio, over a year after a deadly explosive fire there caused by a 2023 train derailment. The president's visit Friday to the village of 5,000 is at the invitation of its mayor. The White House says Biden waited for the right moment to visit East Palestine but he has faced criticism that he was ignoring the victims. The Environmental Protection Agency is on the verge of finishing an extensive cleanup paid for by the train company, Norfolk Southern. Читать дальше...

A shooting that wounded more than 20 people and killed one during the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade occurred in a state with few gun regulations and historic tension over how cities handle crime. Dozens of policymakers from Missouri and neighboring Kansas were caught in the chaos. Some have vowed to take action. Efforts to make it harder to own and possess firearms are unlikely to pass in the state's GOP-led Legislature. A rare exception to Republicans’ fierce resistance to gun regulations... Читать дальше...

In Algeria, people have long relied on foreign currencies to buy imported items in short supply or finance their children's educations abroad. But the value of the Algerian dinar has recently swung wildly on the country's black market as its value has plummeted compared to euros, pounds and dollars. The oil-rich country's large black market for foreign currency is among the signs of its economic woes. The parallel exchange rate underscores how everyday Algerians have lost their buying power as the government has juggled competing priorities... Читать дальше...

Alabama carried out the nation’s first execution using nitrogen gas. Kenneth Eugene Smith was put to death in January when state prison officials replaced his breathing air with nitrogen gas, causing him to die from lack of oxygen. Smith shook and convulsed on the gurney for several minutes during his execution. The Alabama attorney general says the state will pursue more nitrogen executions in the future. Ohio also has introducted legislation to authorize nitrogen executions. Unlike with lethal injection drugs... Читать дальше...

Tens of thousands of Indian farmers are protesting for guaranteed crop prices, renewing a movement that succeeded in getting contentious new agricultural laws repealed in 2021. They began marching toward the capital New Delhi earlier this week, but their efforts have been blocked by police so far. Authorities are determined to avoid a repeat of the earlier protests, in which the farmers camped outside New Delhi for over a year. Farmer groups say they are resuming their protests because the government has failed to meet key demands... Читать дальше...

The Biden administration is easing its restrictions on banking giant Wells Fargo, saying the bank has sufficiently fixed its toxic culture after years of scandals. The news sent Wells Fargo’s stock up sharply in afternoon trading as investors speculated that the bank, which had been under a tight leash for by regulators for years, may be able to start growing again. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the regulator of big national banks like Wells Fargo, terminated a consent order that... Читать дальше...

Grad student has career-best 2.07 goals against average and surpassed the 3,000-save plateau this season.

It was a February day, the heart of winter, but there has been no offseason for my bike and no on season for my skis.