Новости за 13.08.2023

State Sen. John Scott, a longtime South Carolina lawmaker who served in state government for more than three decades, has died after a stint in the hospital. In a statement released by Senate President Thomas Alexander, Scott’s family says he “passed away peaceably while surrounded by family and close friends.” He was 69. Scott had been at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston since Friday when he was hospitalized for an undisclosed medical issue, according to Senate officials. The... Читать дальше...

Authorities say five people, including an adolescent, were found dead after a house explosion in western Pennsylvania that destroyed three structures and damaged at least a dozen others. Plum Borough police chief Lanny Conley said Sunday the bodies of four adults and one adolescent were recovered after the blast shortly before 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Three people were taken to hospitals, where one person remained in critical condition while the other two were released. Fifty-seven firefighters were treated at the scene for minor issues. Читать дальше...

BOSTON (AP) — Los funcionarios de la Casa Blanca preocupados por el potencial de daño social de los chatbots que funcionan con inteligencia artificial y las potencias de Silicon Valley que los apresuran a salir al mercado están muy interesados en una competencia de tres días que finaliza el domingo en la convención de hackers DefCon en Las Vegas.

Authorities say four people died and a fifth was unaccounted for following a house explosion in western Pennsylvania that destroyed three structures and damaged at least a dozen others. Allegheny County officials say three people were taken to hospitals after the blast shortly before 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the borough of Plum. One was in critical condition and two were treated and released. County spokesperson Amie Downs says emergency responders reported people trapped under debris after the blast... Читать дальше...

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed a law banning firearms advertising that officials determine produces a public safety threat or appeals to children, militants or others who might later use the weapons illegally. Pritzker on Saturday signed the Firearm Industry Responsibility Act, making Illinois the eighth state to approve legislation that rolls back protections for firearms manufacturers or distributors. Pritzker signed the bill alongside lawmakers and gun control advocates at Gun Sense University... Читать дальше...

The White House is taking on “junk fees,” those extra charges tacked on to plane tickets, hotel rooms, hospital bills and more. Now congressional Democrats are teaming up with the Biden administration and a progressive advocacy group to try to turn a policy initiative into a political rallying cry for next year’s election. They're betting a small but potentially potent kitchen table issue will resonate with voters. Democratic House members have already held events organized with help from the Progressive... Читать дальше...

Even President Joe Biden has some regrets about the name of the Inflation Reduction Act. As the giant law turns 1 on Wednesday, it’s increasingly clear that immediately curbing prices wasn’t the point. Price increases have indeed cooled over the past year, with the inflation rate dropping from 9% to 3.2%. But economists say little to none of the drop came from the law. Harvard University economist Jason Furman says he can't “think of any mechanism” by which the law would have reduced inflation. Furman... Читать дальше...

Death certificates don’t always reflect the role that extreme heat played in ending a person’s life even when it seems obvious it was a factor. Experts say a mishmash of ways more than 3,000 counties calculate heat deaths means we don’t really know how many people die in the U.S. each year because of high temperatures in an ever warming world. That imprecision harms efforts to better protect people from extreme heat because officials who set policies and fund programs can’t get the financial and other support needed to make a difference. Читать дальше...

The cost to live in Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui keeps rising thanks to a chronic housing shortage and an influx of second-home buyers and wealthy transplants snatching up properties. Now, after a fast-moving wildfire incinerated much of the compact coastal settlement, there is concern that rebuilt homes will target affluent outsiders seeking a tropical haven rather than homegrown residents who give Lahaina its spirit and identity. That would turbo-charge what is already one of Hawaii’s gravest and biggest challenges... Читать дальше...

As the death toll from a wildfire that razed a historic Maui town reached 89, authorities warned Saturday that the effort to find and identify the dead was still in its early stages. It’s already the deadliest U.S. wildfire for over a century. Crews with cadaver dogs have covered just 3% of the search area, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said. At least 2,200 buildings were damaged or destroyed in West Maui, Gov. Josh Green said, of which 86% were residential. Across the island, he added, damage was estimated at close to $6 billion. Читать дальше...

A common practice in drawing state legislative districts has come under question in Wisconsin, where a lawsuit is seeking to reshape voting districts before the 2024 elections. At issue is a traditional redistricting requirement that districts be contiguous. Nationally, that generally has meant all parts of a legislative district must be connected. But the lawsuit contends most of Wisconsin's Assembly and Senate districts contain bubbles of neighborhoods not physically connected to the main part of the district. Читать дальше...

Bystanders who trained their smartphone cameras on an Alabama riverfront dock, as several white boaters pummeled a Black riverboat co-captain, couldn’t have known the footage would elicit a national conversation about racial solidarity. But last weekend's now-infamous brawl has truly tapped into the psyche of Black America and created a cultural moment. Many see the ordeal on the riverfront dock in Montgomery as a long-awaited answer to countless calls for help that went unanswered for past Black victims of violence and mob attacks. Читать дальше...

An expanding network of social media personalities is amplifying and echoing President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador. That's creating an echo chamber as Bukele strengthens his grip and seeks to hold on to power. Influencers are flooding TikTok, YouTube and other social media with pro-Bukele content, rewarded with access to his government’s inner workings even as it’s cracked down on the free press. A 42-year-old populist who often wears a baseball cap backwards, Bukele worked years in political advertising. Читать дальше...