Новости за 27.07.2023

Ballston Spa member outlasts good friend Kathy Harkins for the title after Harkins’ lost ball on the 13th hole.

When death threats forced Irish pop singer Sinead O’Connor to call off a peace concert in Jerusalem in the summer of 1997, a young man named Itamar Ben-Gvir took credit for the campaign against her. Today, he is Israel’s national security minister. The transformation of Ben-Gvir from a fringe Israeli extremist trying to take down O’Connor’s coexistence-themed concert to the powerful minster overseeing the Israeli police force reflects the rise of Israel’s far-right. O’Connor died Wednesday in London. Читать дальше...

The White House has announced a series of measures that it said would reduce the cost and increase the supply of housing while bolstering protection for renters. The measures announced Thursday would provide communities with funding to reduce zoning barriers, expand financing for affordable and energy-efficient housing as well as promoting the conversion of commercial buildings to residential housing. It also announced policies that would help renters, including giving tenants in public housing and... Читать дальше...

Lawyers for Donald Trump have met with members of special counsel Jack Smith’s team ahead of a potential indictment over the former president’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. That's according to a person familiar with the matter, who said the Thursday meeting included Trump lawyer John Lauro. Trump himself has confirmed the meeting in a post on his Truth Social network. Trump earlier this month was informed by Smith’s office that he was a target of the Justice Department’s investigation... Читать дальше...

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Poor track conditions that should have been flagged by a freight railroad company’s inspectors caused the derailment of an Amtrak train in Montana that killed three people and injured 49 others in 2021, federal investigators said Thursday in a final report.

A Baltimore teenager was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter Thursday in the deadly shooting of a baseball bat-wielding driver who approached youths washing windshields at a busy downtown intersection last summer. The jury verdict came following a 10-day criminal trial rife with racial and political overtones. Defense attorneys tried to assign some responsibility to Timothy Reynolds, 48, who was killed after he armed himself with a bat and confronted the youths. Prosecutors, however, argued the defendant planned and executed the shooting. Читать дальше...

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the patterns or practices of the police department in Memphis, Tennessee, nearly seven months after the violent beating of Tyre Nichols by five officers after a traffic stop. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division made the announcement Thursday in Memphis. Clarke says the probe will look into the city and its police department. She mentioned Nichols’ death, but said the investigation is not based on a single event, or a single unit with the police agency. Читать дальше...

A cargo ship packed with cars is still burning close to a world-renowned bird habitat off the coast of the Netherlands. Firefighters and salvage crews are waiting for the flames from a fire that started late Tuesday to subside before attempting to board the vessel. The Fremantle Highway was sailing from the German port of Bremerhaven to Singapore when it caught fire in the North Sea about 27 kilometers (17 miles) north of the Dutch island of Ameland. German and Dutch officials expressed concern of an environmental disaster if the vessel sank. Читать дальше...

The costs associated with Norfolk Southern's fiery February derailment in Ohio have more than doubled to $803 million as the railroad works to clean up the mess and moves forward with all the related lawsuits. Norfolk Southern recorded another $416 million charge related to the East Palestine derailment on Thursday as part of its second-quarter earnings. Most of the costs are related to the cleanup of the hazardous chemicals that were released. The derailment prompted a national reckoning on railroad safety. Читать дальше...

Southwest Airlines is reporting a $683 million profit for the second quarter, and revenue is a quarterly record as planes are packed during the peak summer travel season. The financial results reported Thursday were in line with Wall Street expectations. But the airline is warning that a key revenue ratio will fall in the third quarter, and it also faces higher labor costs as it negotiates new contracts with unions. The shares fell at the opening bell on Wall Street.

Civil rights activists cheered when Ron DeSantis pardoned four Black men wrongfully convicted of rape as one of his first actions as Florida’s new governor. But four years later, as DeSantis eyes the presidency, African American leaders decry what they call a pattern of “policy violence” against people of color executed by the DeSantis administration that reached a new low point following the recent release of new “anti-woke” public school curriculum on Black history. Florida’s teachers are now required... Читать дальше...

McDonald’s is grinning thanks to Grimace after a marketing campaign to celebrate the “birthday” of its big purple mascot went viral and contributed to surprisingly strong second quarter sales. Global same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, rose nearly 12% in the April-June period. That handily beat Wall Street’s forecast of a 9.4% increase. The Grimace campaign, which featured a limited-time purple milkshake, took on a life of its own after fans posted videos of themselves drinking... Читать дальше...

The European Union has opened an antitrust investigation into Microsoft over concerns that bundling its Teams messaging and videoconferencing app with its Office productivity software gives it an unfair edge over competitors. The European Commission said Thursday that it would carry out its in-depth investigation “as a matter of priority.” The investigation stems from a complaint filed in 2020 by Slack Technologies, which makes popular workplace messaging software. Slack alleged that Microsoft was... Читать дальше...

The European Central Bank is set to raise interest rates again Thursday. Economists are saying it could be the last hike in a rapid-fire series that started a year ago. Higher rates have been pushing up the cost of credit across the economy, slowing loans for business activity and home purchases. The idea is to cool off demand for goods that has been keeping inflation too high at 5.5%. But there are concerns the ECB might overdo it and hold back economic growth or even cause a recession. Investors... Читать дальше...

The last of nearly 100 whales that beached on the southwest Australian coast have been euthanized after a second day of frantic, but unsuccessful efforts to rescue them. The pod of long-finned pilot whales stranded themselves Tuesday on Cheynes Beach in Western Australia state, south of the capital Perth. Despite the efforts of wildlife officers and volunteers, 52 stranded whales died on the beach. Authorities say the remaining 45 were euthanized Wednesday after efforts to lead them to deeper water failed. Читать дальше...

Asian shares are mostly higher after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to their highest level in more than two decades, as expected. Market attention turned to a decision later in the day by the European Central Bank and to whether Japan’s central bank might alter its longstanding ultra-lax monetary policy at a policy meeting that ends on Friday. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1%, remaining near a 15-month high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% and the Nasdaq... Читать дальше...

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Papua New Guinea leaders on Thursday to discuss developing the Pacific Island nation’s military strength and deepening security ties, as the United States competes with China for influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Mutinous soldiers in the African nation of Niger claim to have overthrown the democratically elected president, announcing on state television that they have put an end to the government over the country’s deteriorating security. The announcement Wednesday night comes after a day of uncertainty as members of Niger’s presidential guard surrounded the presidential palace, detaining President Mohamed Bazoum. It was unclear where the president was at the time of the announcement or if he had resigned. Читать дальше...

Elon Musk may want to send “tweet” back to the birds, but the ubiquitous term for posting on the site he now calls X is here to stay — at least for now. For one, the word is still plastered all over the website formerly known as Twitter. With “tweets,” Twitter accomplished in just a few years something few companies have done in a lifetime: It became a verb and implanted itself into the lexicon of America and around the world. Upending that takes more than a top-down declaration, even if it is from... Читать дальше...

Federal officials are considering a crackdown on defective lithium-ion batteries that power hoverboards, scooters and motorized bicycles because of a rash of deadly fires caused by exploding batteries. The effort comes as New York City implements new laws meant to reduce the number of fires, injuries and deaths in a city where e-bikes have become ubiquitous. One of the new laws requires that all e-bicycles and batteries are certified as safe by an independent testing company. The number of e-bikes in New York City has swelled to 65,000... Читать дальше...

President Joe Biden plans to announce new steps to address the extreme heat that has threatened millions of Americans, most recently in the Southwest. The White House says officials are working on improved weather forecasts and more accessible drinking water. The leaders of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as the mayors of Phoenix, Ariz., and San Antonio, Texas, will participate in the event with Biden. Both cities have seen... Читать дальше...

New laws targeting LGBTQ+ people are proliferating in GOP-led states, but the conversations often lack a clear understanding of how many people will be directly affected. Data collection on the number of LGBTQ+ people living in the U.S. has been relatively scant. The best data currently available comes from UCLA's Williams Institute and a KFF/The Washington Post poll. Those studies show there are between 1 and 2 million adults in the U.S. who identify as transgender. Most advocacy groups estimate that 1.7% percent of people are born intersex... Читать дальше...

The state board of education has delayed action on a proposal that would bar transgender girls from participating on high school girls’ athletic teams in Alaska. Several board members said they wanted more time to consider the issue. Opponents of the proposal called it discriminatory and unconstitutional and say it likely will lead to litigation. Supporters, including Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, said it is needed to ensure fairness in girls’ sports. The board heard more than 2 1/2 hours of public testimony Wednesday... Читать дальше...

Severe thunderstorms have struck southern Michigan, uprooting trees, downing branches and power lines and cutting electricity to more than 140,000 customers. DTE Energy reported nearly 108,000 customers without power as of 5:40 p.m. Wednesday, and Consumers Energy reported more than 32,000 without service. The National Weather Service reports trees and tree limbs have fallen in the Detroit area, Ann Arbor and other locations across southern Michigan. The weather service measured a 67 mph wind gust in the Detroit suburb of Romulus.

Las Vegas Aces player Riquna Williams has been barred from team activities after her arrest on felony domestic violence charges. A judge said Wednesday the veteran WNBA shooting guard can be freed from jail without bail but can't contact her alleged victim. The Aces say Williams is precluded from team activities. Williams was arrested Tuesday on charges including strangulation, assault and wielding weapons described as a heavy candle and a metal stand. Williams is a 10-year WNBA veteran who hasn't played this season due to a back injury. Читать дальше...