Новости за 16.07.2023

Microsoft has signed an agreement with Sony to keep the Call of Duty video game series on PlayStation after the tech giant buys video game maker Activision Blizzard. The announcement was made Sunday in a Twitter post by Phil Spencer, who heads Microsoft’s Xbox division. Activision Blizzard makes the best-selling Call of Duty lineup. Microsoft is buying the company to expand its video game imprint beyond Xbox. The deal has been loudly criticized Sony, which is afraid of losing access to what it describes as a “must-have” game title. Читать дальше...

Death Valley is putting a sizzling exclamation point on a record warm summer across the globe as it flirts with some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded. The valley along part of inland California's border with Nevada has long been the hottest place on Earth. Meteorologists with the National Weather Service said Sunday temperatures were expected to reach a high of 128 degrees. Death Valley’s brutal temperatures come amid a blistering stretch of hot weather that has put roughly one-third of Americans under some type of heat advisory... Читать дальше...

A First Amendment group sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott and others on Thursday over the state’s TikTok ban on official devices. The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Texas by The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, a free speech group in New York. It argues the state’s decision to restrict access to TikTok is unconstitutional and is comprising teaching and research. The complaint cites one professor in the state, who it says has had to suspend or alter her research projects as a result of the ban. Читать дальше...

Police have swarmed a neighborhood south of Atlanta, searching for a man suspected of fatally gunning down three men and a woman. Police say Andre Longmore is accused of killing the four victims Saturday in a quiet subdivision in Hampton, Georgia. Neighbor Frankie Worth told The Associated Press he heard a gunshot and saw a neighbor with his hands jerking from the recoil of firing a silver handgun. Worth says the man appeared to have shot another neighbor before he disappeared from view. Police say the suspect... Читать дальше...

Many college students who are struggling with hunger are facing the potential loss of food stamp benefits that were boosted in the pandemic. COVID-era rule changes made it easier for as many as 3 million students to enter the SNAP, or food stamps, program. But now those changes are expiring, and thousands of college students will be gradually removed from a program they say is still vital to their ability to feed themselves and stay in school. Some advocates have already seen hunger rising among college students because of inflation... Читать дальше...

After a globe-trotting publicity blitz by star Tom Cruise, “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” launched with a franchise-best $80 million over five days, though it came in shy of industry expectations with a $56.2 million haul over the three-day weekend. The Paramount Pictures debut was boosted by strong overseas sales of $155 million from 70 markets. But while a $235 million worldwide launch marked one of the best global openings of the year, “Dead Reckoning” couldn’t approach the high-speed velocity of last summer’s top film... Читать дальше...

With six weeks until the first 2024 Republican presidential debate, some hopefuls are finding creative ways to boost their donor numbers and ensure they make it on stage. Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy rolled out a plan to let people who raise money for his campaign keep 10% of what they take in from other donors. Another contender began offering $20 gift cards in return for campaign donations of as little as $1. Such efforts are in response to a Republican National Committee requirement that... Читать дальше...

After a three-year exile driven by the pandemic, San Francisco’s downtown has waited for the crowds, the commuters and electric ambience to return. Instead, it has become a prime example of what downtowns shouldn’t look like: vacant, crime-ridden and in decay. Retailers are exiting en masse, office workers and tourists are staying away and hotels are shuttering. It’s one of many cities in the U.S. whose downtowns are reckoning with a wake-up call: diversify or die. So what’s a city to do? Like other metropolises... Читать дальше...

After a three-year exile driven by the pandemic, San Francisco’s downtown has waited for the crowds, the commuters and electric ambience to return. Instead, it has become a prime example of what downtowns shouldn’t look like: vacant, crime-ridden and in decay. Retailers are exiting en masse, office workers and tourists are staying away and hotels are shuttering. It’s one of many cities in the U.S. whose downtowns are reckoning with a wake-up call: diversify or die. So what’s a city to do? Like other metropolises... Читать дальше...

Another Powerball drawing ends with no winner, sending the jackpot soaring to an estimated $900 million. No ticket for Saturday’s drawing matched the white balls 2, 9, 43, 55, 57 and red Powerball 18. Ticket buyers have a chance at either $900 million paid out in yearly increments or a $465.1 million one-time lump sum before taxes. The last time someone won the Powerball jackpot was April 19 for a top prize of nearly $253 million. Since then, no one has won the grand prize in the past 37 consecutive drawings.

Soil and its potential for storing carbon is gaining attention from farmers, researchers and even Congress. The growing interest comes as the idea of selling carbon credits comes to agriculture. Farmers who use no-till methods to cut down on plowing and plant cover crops to reduce erosion are helping keep carbon in the soil. But a big question is how much – which is important in knowing whether a carbon credit program actually does any good. The USDA this week announced $300 million to monitor agricultural emissions... Читать дальше...

Families of several women who were slain and dumped along the coastline of New York's Long Island are trying to find closure after the capture of a man who authorities say is responsible. Police on Friday announced the arrest of 59-year-old architect Rex Heuermann. They say he killed at least three of the 11 people whose homicides in the area have baffled investigators for more than a dozen years. There were doubts about whether the serial killer would ever be caught. But now that a suspect is in custody... Читать дальше...

Some legal cannabis growers in Washington state who were ordered to halt operations in April over concerns about pesticide contamination are getting back to business. State regulators recently lifted the restrictions against five licensees whose products were determined to have unapproved levels of a chemical related to DDT, a pesticide banned in the U.S. in 1972. The growers didn't use DDT themselves, but their crops sit on old fruit orchards where it was used decades ago. Pesticides in cannabis are a concern in legal pot states nationwide... Читать дальше...

Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis are dominating the fight for campaign cash in the Republican presidential contest. That's according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission on Saturday. Some White House contenders appear to be struggling, like former Vice President Mike Pence. But still others reported significant hauls that help ensure the GOP’s 2024 primary will be crowded for the foreseeable future. On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has quickly amassed a sizeable fortune. Читать дальше...

United Airlines and its pilots' union say they have a deal on a new labor contract. It would raise pilots pay by up to 40% over the next four years. The agreement was announced Saturday. It followed more than four years of tumultuous bargaining that included picketing, talk of a strike vote, and an offer rejected by pilots last November. The new agreement with bigger pay raises reflects the leverage enjoyed by labor groups, especially pilots, as airline revenue soars on the strong recovery in travel. Читать дальше...

Elon Musk says Twitter is losing cash because advertising is still down sharply and the social media company is carrying heavy debt. Musk tweeted about the company's condition on Saturday. He says Twitter has to generate positive cash flow before it can do anything else. Twitter has struggled to hang on to advertisers since Musk bought the company for $44 billion last fall. Advertisers have been concerned about widespread layoffs and changes in the site's content moderation. Twitter has a new competitor... Читать дальше...

Trainer Chad Brown had four of the five entries in the $500,000 race, with favorite In Italian second.

Briggs is giving the ValleyCats much production since they re-signed him July 5. In five games, he was hitting .375 (6 for 16) with a homer and eight RBIs entering Saturday night’s game against the Evansville Otters at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium.

On the heels of a trip to Beijing, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is back in Asia for a series of Group of 20 finance minister meetings in India. Yellen plans to promote warming relations between the U.S. and India and focus on the most pressing challenges to the global economy. That includes the increased threat of debt defaults facing low-income countries, many of which owe their biggest debts to China. This trip is Yellen’s third to India in nine months. It's an indicator of the growing... Читать дальше...

Authorities in Georgia are hunting for a man suspected of gunning down three men and a woman in a suburban neighborhood south of Atlanta. Hampton police Chief James Turner said during a news conference that authorities are seeking to arrest Andre Longmore, who is the city roughly 30 miles south of Atlanta. The shootings happened late Saturday morning in a subdivision in Hampton. Turner said detectives are investigating at least four crime scenes near one another in that neighborhood. He declined to discuss a possible motive. Читать дальше...

On June 30, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill that prevents the NCAA, or any other organization with authority over college athletics, from entertaining a complaint, opening an investigation or taking any other adverse action against a college for involvement in an athlete’s name, image or likeness. While it doesn’t allow pay for play, it strengthens the NIL law that New York passed last year.