Новости за 17.02.2024

Authorities in Virginia are investigating the cause of a house explosion and fire that killed one firefighter, injured 10 others and leveled a home in a Washington, D.C., suburb. Firefighters were called to the home in Sterling, Virginia, by a report of a gas smell at about 7:30 p.m. Friday. They found a 500-gallon underground propane tank with a leak on the side of the residence. A short time later, a fiery explosion took place while firefighters were inside the home. Chief Keith Johnson says a cause has not been determined... Читать дальше...

George Washington was uneasy about the idea of commemorating his life. He was the first leader of a new republic — not a tyrant. And yet the nation will once again celebrate the first U.S. president on Monday, 292 years after he was born. The meaning of Presidents Day has changed dramatically over the centuries. At first the day was often unremarkable and filled with work for Washington himself. Today his birthday is a bonanza of consumerism and the reason many people get a three-day weekend. Some... Читать дальше...

Police say the deaths of two people who were shot in a dorm room at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs will be investigated as homicides. The Colorado Springs Police Department says in a social media post that the shootings Friday morning do not appear to be murder-suicide. The victims, who were not immediately identified, were found dead when police responded to a report of a shooting around 6 a.m. Police say the coroner’s office will determine how they died, but each person was shot at least once. Читать дальше...

TOKIO (AP) — El cohete insignia H3 de Japón alcanzó la órbita terrestre y liberó dos pequeños satélites de observación en una segunda prueba clave tras un fallido lanzamiento inaugural el año pasado, manteniendo la esperanza del país en la carrera espacial global.

A Black author says Georgia's white founding father deserves credit for inspiring the abolitionist movement that ultimately ended slavery. A new book by Michael Thurmond titled “James Oglethorpe, Father of Georgia” focuses on Oglethorpe's failed attempt to ban slavery after starting Britain's 13th American colony in 1733. Historians have widely dismissed Oglethorpe's effort as a naive failure, considering that by the time of the Civil War Georgia would have more slaves than any U.S. state but Virginia. Читать дальше...

Kansas City was at its highest moment of community pride, celebrating a Super Bowl win, when it experienced one of 21st-century American culture’s most traumatic events — a public mass shooting. By the time it was over, one woman was dead and nearly two dozen other Chiefs fans were wounded. Police now blame a dispute between several people. On Friday, two juveniles were charged with gun-related and resisting arrest charges. Additional charges are expected in Wednesday's post-rally shooting. While it lasted only moments... Читать дальше...

A lot people think Google searches are getting worse. And the rise of generative AI chatbots is giving people new and different ways to look up information. While Google has been the one-stop shop for decades — after all, we do call online searches “googling” — its longtime dominance has attracted a flood of spammy links and AI-generated junk content fueled by “search engine optimization” techniques. That pushes down genuinely useful results. Studies by researchers suggest the quality of traditional Google search results is indeed declining. Читать дальше...

Large numbers of Americans believe the founders intended the U.S. to be a Christian nation. The belief is especially strong among Republicans and their white evangelical base. Historians say such views misread and simplify a complex history. The Constitution doesn't privilege any religion, and it puts a premium on religious freedom. Founders included some Christians and some who would fail any test of Christian orthodoxy. While many Americans today hold general God-and-country sentiments, pollsters... Читать дальше...

MUNICH (AP) — China's foreign minister told a gathering of international security policy officials Saturday that trying to shut China out of trade in the name of avoiding dependency would be a historic mistake.

La temperatura récord del agua del mar mató a más de tres cuartas partes del coral cultivado por el hombre que los científicos habían colocado en los cayos de Florida en los últimos años en un intento de mantener una especie amenazada muy vulnerables al cambio climático, según descubrieron los investigadores.

As Texas public university students returned to the classroom in January, a new law in Texas banning diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from state funded higher education institutions took effect. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott followed Florida in signing the legislation in 2023. At least five other states have since passed DEI restrictions and GOP lawmakers have proposed at least 45 bills in 19 states this year. The rollout in Texas offers a glimpse of what the future of higher education... Читать дальше...

Nigerians are facing one of the West African nation’s worst economic crises in years. It was triggered by surging inflation, the result of monetary policies that have pushed the currency to an all-time low against the dollar. The situation has provoked anger and protests across the country. The latest government statistics released Thursday showed the inflation rate in January rose to 29.9%, its highest since 1996, mainly driven by food and non-alcoholic beverages. Nigeria’s currency, the naira, further plummeted to 1,524 to $1 on Friday... Читать дальше...

Questions still remain about the motive behind a women's shooting attack at celebrity pastor Joel Osteen's Texas megachurch that ended when she was gunned down by security. Shooter Genesse Moreno's Feb. 11 attack at Lakewood Church in Houston left her 7-year-old son and a man seriously injured. Moreno's long record of criminal misdemeanors and documented history of mental illness have raised scrutiny on her ability to legally purchase the AR-style rifle she used. Moreno was killed after exchanging gunfire with two off-duty officers inside. Читать дальше...

State governments across the U.S. are adopting or considering laws that would block the sale of personal health data or information about who visits sensitive sites such as sexual health facilities. Medical records are protected by a federal privacy law, but information collected by a lot of apps is not. State legislation is trying to close that gap. Data privacy is not a new concern, but there's been a heightened awareness since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and state abortion bans started kicking in. Читать дальше...

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ testimony about her relationship with a special prosecutor in Georgia’s election interference case against former President Donald Trump was a familiar scene for many Black women. Willis testified Thursday during an extraordinary hearing that could result in her office being removed from the case against Trump. In interviews with The Associated Press, many Black women leaders expressed frustration and disappointment that public attention had turned from... Читать дальше...

Just in time for the 2024 presidential election, a new book chronicles the storied history of whistle-stop campaign trains, from the earliest days of rail travel through to today. Author Edward Segal spent decades researching and cataloging the phenomenon, which he calls a uniquely “American invention.” His book, “Whistle-Stop Politics: Campaign Trains and the Reporters Who Covered Them,” is filled with colorful anecdotes told through interviews and correspondence with politicians and journalists... Читать дальше...

A New York judge has spared Donald Trump a “corporate death penalty” ruling, but the business did get hit hard with bans and cash penalties. The ruling Friday in the civil fraud case against Trump will drain cash from corporate coffers and severely restrict the ex-president's ability to run his real estate empire. Still, it could have been worse. In a surprise reversal, the judge said he wasn't going to follow through on an earlier order canceling Trump's business certificates as a prelude to a “dissolution” of his companies. Читать дальше...

NUEVA YORK (AP) — El creador de ChatGPT está incursionando en los videos generados por inteligencia artificial.

Mexican regulators have recommended that online retailers Amazon and Mercado Libre reveal their algorithms and wall off TV streaming to avoid stifling competition. Mexico’s Federal Commission on Economic Competition said in a preliminary finding that the two firms control 85% of online marketplace sales in Mexico. It said that market dominance created “an absence of real competitive conditions in the online retail market.” For Amazon, the finding was the latest in a string of regulatory challenges it has faced in its countries of operation. Читать дальше...

Donald Trump’s legal debts might now exceed a half-billion dollars. A New York judge ordered Trump and his companies Friday to pay $355 million in fines, plus interest, after ruling that he had manipulated his net worth in financial statements. The stiff penalty comes on top of other judgments, including $88 million owed to the writer E. Jean Carroll for damaging her reputation after she accused him of sexual assault. Add interest payments on top of that and the judgments could deal a staggering... Читать дальше...

President Joe Biden says there was no sign Russia has decided to go ahead and deploy an emerging anti-satellite weapon, the disclosure of which has rattled Washington. The White House confirmed this week that U.S. intelligence officials have information indicating Russia has obtained such a capability. It's not currently operational. The president continues to stress that there is no immediate danger to humans. “There is no nuclear threat to the people of America or anywhere else in the world with... Читать дальше...

A new Japanese flagship H3 rocket lifted off from a space station in southwestern Japan on Saturday in a key second test flight a year after its failed debut launch. The H3 rocket blasted off from a launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center two days after its originally scheduled liftoff that was delayed due to bad weather.The rocket’s initia flight has been smooth as planned, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said in its livestreaming. JAXA and its main contractor Mitsubishi Heavy... Читать дальше...

An Army reservist responsible for Maine’s deadliest mass shooting told state police in New York before his hospitalization last summer that fellow soldiers were worried about him because he was “gonna friggin’ do something.” Robert Card told troopers who escorted him to a hospital that people kept talking about him behind his back, “and it’s getting old.” And he said fellow reservists were worried about him because he was “capable.” The release of the officer’s body cam video recorded July 16 followed... Читать дальше...

City crews have taken a first step toward securing an unfinished complex of downtown Los Angeles high-rises that have been vandalized with graffiti and used for dangerous social media stunts since the developer ran out of money. Workers on Friday began removing scaffolding protecting a temporary walkway that officials say said has enabled trespassers enter the property. The high-rises have drawn significant police resources, and city leaders fear someone will die, especially after social media videos showed people parachuting from the towers. Читать дальше...

Researchers are finding that record hot seawater killed more than three-quarters of human-cultivated coral that scientists had placed in the Florida Keys in recent years. It was an effort to prop up a threatened species that’s highly vulnerable to climate change. Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week returned to five reefs where they had planted staghorn and elkhorn coral, both species classified as threatened in the endangered species list, to see how the... Читать дальше...