Новости за 09.11.2023

Amazon is taking another step toward becoming a regular health care source for customers with the launch of a service centered on virtual care. The e-commerce giant says its Prime customers can now get quick access to a health care provider through a program that costs $9 a month or $99 annually. Patients will be able to connect virtually around the clock with care providers through its Prime One Medical membership program. The service includes video chats and an option to make in-person visits if they are available in the customer’s market.

The Biden administration says it's started 40,000 construction projects since the passage of major infrastructure legislation two years ago. And President Joe Biden's team is seeking to make the case that continued progress could depend on keeping him in the White House after 2024. Biden has long emphasized the bipartisan appeal of the $1 trillion investment in roads, bridges, ports, rail, internet and other projects. His administration says getting that money out the door has meant a new degree... Читать дальше...

Hollywood jumped into planning mode Thursday at the news of a tentative agreement between striking actors and the major entertainment companies. After 118 days of most productions shut down and most stars being unable to promote projects, publicists, studios and awards strategists went into hyperdrive plotting out how to best use their newly available talent for the rest of the year. Thursday morning, “The Marvels” star Iman Vellani was already being offered to press for interviews. One of the top... Читать дальше...

Some in the Western Balkans country saw it as reciprocation when the leaders of Albania and Italy announced a contentious agreement earlier this week to jointly process some asylum applications of migrants arriving by sea. Italy had welcomed thousands of Albanians fleeing poverty after the fall of communism more than three decades ago. And Albania’s current government wanted to pay back the Italians’ hospitality. Albania agreed on Monday to temporarily shelter thousands of migrants while Rome reviews their requests seeking asylum in Italy. Читать дальше...

The FBI director has told staff in an internal message that he's concerned about a “potential conflict of interest” in the process used by the Biden administration to select a Maryland site for the bureau’s new headquarters. The White House calls the process “fair and transparent.” FBI head Christopher Wray said in an email obtained by The Associated Press that his objections were not about the new site itself and he said Congress may review the matter. The government confirmed on Wednesday it had picked Greenbelt... Читать дальше...

From Hollywood to auto production lines, U.S. labor unions are once again in the national spotlight. But despite historic strikes and record contract negotiations seen this year, there’s still a lot stacked against organizing today — particularly for those who aren't part of larger, more established unions in sectors with stronger organizing roots. Rates of union membership have been falling for decades. More than 35% of private-sector workers were unionized 1953. Today, it's about 6%. Labor experts point to changes in the U.S. economy... Читать дальше...

The nation’s first openly gay governor is looking to re-enter politics nearly 20 years after he left. Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey announced Thursday that he will seek the mayor’s office in Jersey City in 2025. He made the announcement in a short video posted online and planned to formally launch his campaign with a news conference later in the day. McGreevey, a Democrat, is a former Woodbridge Township mayor who was elected governor in 2002. He announced in August 2004 that he was “a gay... Читать дальше...

In 2015 Heather McDonald launched her podcast “Juicy Scoop with Heather McDonald” as a way to promote her stand-up comedy. The former writer and panelist on Chelsea Handler's E! late night talk show “Chelsea Lately” has since released nearly 800 episodes that have has more than 200 million downloads. “Juicy Scoop” regularly charts within the top comedy podcasts on Apple. While she strives to keep her show light and free of divisive politics, she’s also dealt with being caught in the middle of a vaccine... Читать дальше...

Thousands of wildfires in Canada have incinerated an area larger than Florida since May. Early estimates say the fires have released into the atmosphere more than three times the carbon dioxide that Canada’s entire economy does in a year. And they’re still burning. Canada’s leaders, including liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have insisted for years that the country can both exploit its natural resources and lead the global fight against climate change. But the wildfires are putting a spotlight... Читать дальше...

Davyd Booth believes strongly that people everywhere are the same and that music touches the heart of everyone. The 73-year-old violinist returned to China this week with 13 fellow members from the Philadelphia Orchestra to mark the 50th anniversary of the orchestra's first visit and carry on the ensemble’s decadeslong effort to bring the United States and China closer together despite current political disagreements. He said on Thursday that “people all over the world are absolutely the same” and... Читать дальше...

French President Emmanuel Macron is appealing for for Israel to protect civilians in Gaza and has repeated calls for a humanitarian pause in Israel's actions against Hamas. Macron told a Gaza aid conference Thursday that protecting civilians is “non-negotiable.” The aid conference, which brings together 50 nations, coincides with negotiations for a three-day humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza in exchange for the release of about a dozen hostages held by Hamas. Two officials from Egypt, one from the... Читать дальше...

Apple might end up on the hook after all for billions of euros in back taxes to Ireland in the latest twist in a longrunning European Union dispute. That's after a legal opinion Thursday from an adviser to the bloc’s top court. The adviser's opinion says a decision by a lower court that the U.S. tech giant doesn’t have to repay the 13 billion euros ($13.9 billion) in taxes “should be set aside." The ECJ’s opinions aren’t legally binding, but are often followed by the court, which is expected to come... Читать дальше...

President Joe Biden is going to a Stellantis auto plant in the small city of Belvidere, Illinois. He had learned in June that the factory was slated to close and made it a priority to keep the plant open. The factory will stay open and expand as part of the tentative contract with automakers after the targeted strike by the United Auto Workers union. The White House says this win reflects the president's focus on workers and a desire to ensure that technological changes don't lead to job losses.... Читать дальше...

Japanese technology company SoftBank Group has reported it racked up a huge loss in the July-September quarter, as some of its investments soured. The Tokyo-based company's chief financial officer, Yoshimitsu Goto, tried to allay investors' worries in reporting a $6.2 billion quarterly loss in the last quarter. He stressed in an online news conference that the company is still going strong overall. SoftBank's woes have been highlighted with the news this week that office-sharing company WeWork has... Читать дальше...

An undersea volcano's eruption off Japan three weeks ago has provided a rare view of the birth of a tiny new island, but experts say it may not last long. The undersea volcano just off the southern coast of Iwo Jima started its latest series of eruptions on Oct. 21. A Japan Meteorological Agency volcanic analyst said that by early November, a new island had formed that is about 328 feet in diameter and as high as 66 feet above the sea. About one-tenth of active volcanos around the world are in Japan... Читать дальше...

Missed your favorite actors? After nearly four months of striking, they’re coming back. Wednesday’s deal between striking actors and studios and streaming services won’t immediately restore filming to its full swing. That will take months. But the tentative agreement — which both sides say include extraordinary provisions — means that more than six months of labor strife in the film and television industries is drawing to a close. Soon, tens of thousands of entertainment sector workers could get back to work. Читать дальше...

Shares are mostly higher in Asia after a another mixed close as Wall Street recalibrates following recent big swings. China reported that its consumer prices fell 0.2% from a year earlier in October while factory-gate prices declined 2.6%. Benchmarks fell in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Bangkok and rose in Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 edged up 0.1% in its third straight day of quiet trading. The Dow slipped 0.1% and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1%. Eli Lilly jumped after getting U.S. approval for a weight-loss drug... Читать дальше...

Honda has reported that its profit jumped 34% in the July-September quarter from a year earlier as a cheap yen helped boost the Japanese automaker’s overseas strong earnings thanks to healthy demand, especially in the U.S. Honda’s profit rose to 254 billion yen, or $1.7 billion, from 189 billion yen. Quarterly sales gained 17%. Production in North America continued to recover from the crunch caused by a shortage of computer chips and other supplies. Honda's senior managing executive officer, Shinji Aoyama... Читать дальше...

Police say an industrial robot crushed a worker to death at a vegetable packaging plant in South Korea. The man died of head and chest injuries after he was grabbed and pressed against a conveyor belt by the machine’s robotic arms. He worked for a company that installs industrial robots and was sent to the plant to examine whether the machine was working properly. Robots that have extensions to pick up and place items are common in South Korea’s agricultural communities. Police officials in the southern... Читать дальше...

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and her Chinese counterpart are meeting in San Francisco to open two days of talks aimed at making progress on a slew of economic issues at a time when competition has markedly intensified between the two countries. Yellen’s talks on Thursday with Vice Premier He Lifeng are designed to help lay the groundwork for an expected meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping next week. The White House is lowering expectations for big breakthroughs from the meeting between Biden and Xi.

A federal court jury has found a man not guilty of assaulting a woman at a U.S. research station in Antarctica. Stephen Tyler Bieneman was charged with misdemeanor assault over an altercation last November at McMurdo Station. Bieneman denied hurting the woman in testimony Wednesday. He said the woman was upset she wasn’t invited to his birthday party and charged at him when he asked her to return a nametag taken from his coat. The case drew attention after an Associated Press investigation uncovered... Читать дальше...

Hollywood's actors union has reached a tentative deal with studios to end its strike. The contract agreement reached Wednesday still must be approved by the union's board and its members, but the deal brings an end to the months of labor strife that has hobbled production in Hollywood. The union says the strike will be over on Thursday. Screenwriters ended their own strike on Sept. 26. It was the first time both writers and actors were on strike together since 1960.

A Colorado funeral home owner and his wife have been arrested after the decaying remains of at least 189 people were recently found at his facility.

Tennessee officials say it now takes less than half the time it took to process rape kits in August 2022. During a budget hearing with Gov. Bill Lee on Wednesday, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said funding for new positions and better pay helped spur the improvements. Tennessee's turnaround times for sexual assault kits drew scrutiny after the killing of teacher Eliza Fletcher in September 2022. The man charged with killing Fletcher was charged in a 2021 rape of a different woman shortly afterward... Читать дальше...

After a year-long, $12 million renovation Broadview Center, home to the UAlbany men’s and women’s basketball teams, was opened to the players and coaches.