Новости за 06.05.2023

Former Federal Communications Commission head Newton Minow, who famously described network TV as a “vast wasteland,” has died. Minow's daughter, Nell Minow, confirmed that her father died Saturday at home in Chicago, surrounded by loved ones. Although the Chicago attorney held his FCC post for just two years in the early 1960s, Minow left a lasting stamp on the industry — promoting public television and working to televise presidential campaign debates. He was 97.

Warren Buffett's company said its first-quarter profits soared along with the paper value of its investment portfolio. That gave the thousands of shareholders filling an arena to listen to Buffett spend hours answering questions at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting some good news to start the day. Berkshire said it earned $35.5 billion, or $24,377 per Class A share, during the quarter. This year’s first quarter was relatively quiet compared to a year ago when Buffett revealed that he had gone on... Читать дальше...

Oprah Winfrey has given the commencement address at her alma mater, Tennessee State University. She told the class of 2023 on Saturday how she was a student there when she was recruited by a local television. At the time, she was working at her father's store, presenting the weekend news at a Black radio station, and attending classes. She said she turned down the offer before a professor changed her mind. Her career took off, but she fell one credit short of graduating. Years later, Winfrey was... Читать дальше...

Sandro Botticelli's iconic goddess of love in his 15th-century masterpiece “Birth of Venus” has now become a “virtual influencer” in a new Italian tourism campaign. The campaign has sparked a widespread backlash — with critics arguing that the project plays into Italian stereotypes and disrespects the country’s cultural heritage. Some also point to the campaign's poor execution, including a promotional video that features a winery in Slovenia instead of Italy. Tourism officials have pushed back to defend the project... Читать дальше...

California's reparations task force is expected to vote Saturday on recommendations for a formal apology for the state’s legacy of slavery and discrimination against Black people. The group will sign off on key recommendations making up its final report before the proposals are put in the hands of state lawmakers. Two of the legislators are on the nine-member reparations committee. The group's work is the first of its kind at the state level. The recommendations include creating an agency to provide... Читать дальше...

For President Joe Biden, the past few days have raised hopes that the U.S. economy can stick a soft landing—possibly avoiding a recession as the 2024 election nears. Most U.S. adults have downbeat feelings about Biden’s economic leadership, as high inflation has overshadowed a strong jobs market. It’s long been economic orthodoxy that efforts to beat back inflation by the Federal Reserve would result in unemployment rising and the country sinking into recession. But to the president and some economists... Читать дальше...

Officials say five workers were hospitalized after a fire erupted at a petrochemical plant in the Houston area. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office say Friday the fire was at a Shell plant in Deer Park, a suburb east of Houston. The city of Deer Park said in an advisory that there was no shelter-in-place order for residents. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a tweet that the fire was caused by “a heat exchange between two heavy gas oils” and that the fire is contained and has diminished. Gonzalez said five... Читать дальше...

Jail records show the suspect in a mass shooting in Atlanta that left one woman dead and four others wounded has been charged with one count of murder and four counts of aggravated assault. Deion Patterson waived his first court appearance Thursday after police say he opened fire in the waiting room of an Atlanta medical practice Wednesday. Workers and others in a bustling commercial district took shelter for hours during the manhunt. Authorities swarmed the city’s midtown neighborhood shortly after noon in search of the shooter. Читать дальше...

The potential criminal charges against a U.S. Marine veteran who put Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold aboard a New York City subway train might depend on whether a “reasonable” New Yorker would have acted similarly. Neely died Monday when a fellow rider on a train hurtling beneath Manhattan pulled him to the floor and pinned him with a hold taught in Marine combat training. One witness says Neely had been screaming at other passengers but hadn’t attacked anyone. The Manhattan district attorney’s... Читать дальше...

A video recording of former President Donald Trump being questioned about the rape allegations against him has been made public for the first time. The video released Friday provides a glimpse of the Republican’s emphatic, often colorful denials. Jurors got to see the video of the 2022 deposition during the trial over a lawsuit filed against Trump by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. Written transcripts of Trump’s testimony had also previously been made public, but not the recording itself. All planned testimony in the trial concluded Thursday... Читать дальше...

A federal judge's ruling blasting Chicago planners for not equipping more of their intersections with audible signals that help blind pedestrians cross busy streets has given advocates a victory they call long overdue. The recent ruling could push other major U.S. cities to install accessible pedestrian signals. The decision mirrors a previous federal ruling in New York, which is ahead of schedule in complying with a judge's mandate to retrofit most of its signalized crosswalks in the next decade. Читать дальше...

Senior midfielder Sarah Falk added six goals for top-seeded UAlbany (11-6), which advances to the 10 a.m. Sunday championship game against Binghamton, which beat defending champion Vermont in the other semifinal.

The federal agency that regulates pipelines has announced new rules aimed at reducing leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from a network of nearly 3 million miles of natural gas pipelines that crisscross the country. The proposal Friday by the Transportation Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration would significantly improve the detection and repair of leaks from gas pipelines, keep more product in the pipes and prevent dangerous accidents, officials said.

Colorado lawmakers pushed a bill to the governor’s desk that would allow politicians to block social media users from their private accounts just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would consider to what extent that’s legal. The idea has sparked a national debate as social media becomes an increasingly popular tool for politicians, blurring the line between personal accounts and public forums. That line has already spurred a litany of lawsuits, including one against former President Donald Trump, but legal precedent remains slim. Читать дальше...

U.S. health regulators are weighing the first-ever request to make a birth control pill available without a prescription. On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration posted its initial review of a decades-old pill that could become the first drug of its kind to move over the counter. But the agency flagged concerns about the application from drugmaker Perrigo, including problems with the reliability of some of the company's data and signs women had trouble understanding the labeling instructions. Читать дальше...

Nevada State Police have confirmed they don’t have enough highway patrol troopers to keep providing assigned coverage between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. in Washoe County. A police union official says they were notified the change is expected to take effect in June or July. Washoe is the state’s second most populous county and includes Reno. The rollback was prompted by a critical staffing shortage that Nevada State Police leaders and union officials had warned for years would impact public safety if left unaddressed. Читать дальше...

Attorneys have debated the proper jurisdiction for settling a legal challenge to the first-in-the-nation tax on digital advertising during arguments before Maryland’s highest court. Meanwhile, an attorney for the state of Maryland appeared to surprise judges on the state's Supreme Court when she said during Friday's arguments that the state has already collected some taxes from companies that voluntarily submitted revenues to the state under the tax aimed at Big Tech. A lower Maryland court ruled... Читать дальше...

The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration is warning that deep cuts in federal spending could make summer air travel worse. FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen told Congress on Friday that deep spending cuts in a House-passed bill would cause his agency to stop training new air traffic controllers. Nolen says it would also slow efforts to modernize FAA technology, including an alert system that broke down in January, briefly stopping flights around the country. Nolen is objecting to... Читать дальше...

A chemical plant in the Houston area has caught fire, sending a huge plume of smoke into the sky.