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Europe reaches a deal on the world’s first comprehensive AI rules

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:32 GMT

LONDON (AP) — European Union negotiators clinched a deal Friday on the world’s first comprehensive artificial intelligence rules, paving the way for legal oversight of technology used in popular generative AI services like ChatGPT that has promised to transform everyday life and spurred warnings of existential dangers to humanity.Negotiators from the European Parliament and the bloc’s 27 member countries overcame big differences on controversial points including generative AI and police use of facial recognition surveillance to sign a tentative political agreement for the Artificial Intelligence Act.“Deal!” tweeted European Commissioner Thierry Breton, just before midnight. The bloc’s Parliament and member states “have finally reached a political agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act!” the parliamentary committee co-leading the body’s negotiating efforts tweeted. It came after marathon closed-door talks this week, with one session lasting 2...

Trump’s campaign is distancing him from allies who have sketched out plans for a second term

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is distancing him from efforts by allies and former aides to sketch out his plans for a possible second term, including who might fill his administration and what policies he might pursue.In a memo Friday from senior advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, the campaign said messages about a potential Trump government that come from anyone but the Republican or his team should not be considered official and are “an unwelcomed distraction.” It is the second such memo the campaign has released in the last four weeks dismissing news reports about how those in Trump’s orbit are preparing for a much more hard-right government stocked with loyalists. And it comes as Trump’s campaign has been increasingly pushing back against broader efforts to paint him and his second-term agenda as extreme. “Despite our being crystal clear, some ‘allies’ haven’t gotten the hint, and the media, in their anti-Trump zeal, has been all-too-will...

Top White House cyber aide says recent Iran hack on water system is call to tighten cybersecurity

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House national security official said recent cyber attacks by Iranian hackers on U.S. water authorities — as well as a separate spate of ransomware attacks on the health care industry — should be seen as a call to action by utilities and industry to tighten cybersecurity.Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger said in an interview on Friday that recent attacks on multiple American organizations by the Iranian hacker group “Cyber Av3ngers” were “unsophisticated” and had “minimal impact” on operations. But the attacks, Neuberger said, offered a fresh warning that American companies and operators of critical infrastructure “are facing persistent and capable cyber attacks from hostile countries and criminals” that are not going away.“Some pretty basic practices would have made a big difference there,” said Neuberger, who serves as a top adviser to President Joe Biden on cyber and emerging technology issues. “We need to be locking our digital d...

Man dies a day after exchange of gunfire with St. Paul police officer

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:32 GMT

A man who was shot in the head during an exchange of gunfire with a St. Paul police officer died early Friday, the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension announced.The Ramsey County Medical Examiner determined that Brandon Daleshaun Keys, 24, from the eastern suburb of Maplewood, died of the gunshot wound he sustained in Thursday afternoon’s shootout.The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension identified the officer who shot him as Michael Tschida, who was struck in the leg but was treated and released Thursday night. Tschida has 14 years of law enforcement experience and is on standard administrative leave, the BCA said in a statement.Police said Thursday night that the shooting happened after a woman called 911 and said a man was following her, violating a restraining order she had obtained against him.The BCA said its preliminary investigation found that the woman was driving with a man in her passenger seat when Keys pulled up behind her and started ramming her vehicle with his. Sh...

Judge voids result of Louisiana sheriff’s election decided by a single vote and orders a new runoff

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:32 GMT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A judge has voided the result of a Louisiana sheriff’s election that was decided by a single vote and ordered a new runoff be held, saying there is evidence a handful of ballots were cast illegally. Ruling this week, specially appointed Judge E. Joseph Bleich ordered a new election for sheriff in Caddo Parish, one of Louisiana’s most populous parishes, in the northwest corner of the state. Democrat Henry Whitehorn had been declared the winner last month after topping Republican John Nickelson by the slimmest of margins, from more than 43,000 ballots cast. A recount produced the same result — a one-vote edge for Whitehorn. Bleich said in his ruling that it was “proven beyond any doubt” that there were at least 11 “illegal votes cast” — making it “legally impossible to know what the true vote should have been.”“Just one illegal vote could have affected the outcome, and here, multiple illegal votes were cast and counted,” Bleich wrote.Bleich sa...

Illegally parked vehicle led police to Toronto carjacking, home invasion suspect

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:32 GMT

Toronto police say they were able to track down and arrest a carjacking and home invasion suspect after he illegally parked the vehicle he allegedly stole.Officers were first called to a residence in the Royal York and Hartfield roads area on Monday, December 4, at around 2 a.m. for reports of a home invasion.Investigators say the suspect broke into the home and pointed a firearm at the victim while demanding their car keys.The accused then fled in the stolen vehicle, police said.A few days later on Thursday, December 7 at around 12:50 p.m., police were called to the Burnhamthorpe Road East and Mill Road area for reports of an illegally parked vehicle.Upon arrival police determined that the vehicle in question was the one stolen during the home invasion.The suspect was arrested a short distance away.Michael Ackley, 19, of Toronto is facing charges including robbery with a firearm, assault peace officer and possession of property obtained by crime, among others.

‘Love Story,’ ‘Paper Moon’ actor Ryan O’Neal dead at 82

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:32 GMT

Ryan O’Neal, the heartthrob actor who went from a TV soap opera to an Oscar-nominated role in “Love Story” and delivered a wry performance opposite his charismatic 9-year-old daughter Tatum in “Paper Moon,” died Friday, his son said.“My dad passed away peacefully today, with his loving team by his side supporting him and loving him as he would us,” Patrick O’Neal, a Los Angeles sportscaster, posted on Instagram.Attempts to reach O’Neal representatives were not immediately successful.He did not give a cause. Ryan O’Neal was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012, a decade after he was first diagnosed with chronic leukemia. He was 82.“My father, Ryan O’Neal, has always been my hero,” Patrick O’Neal wrote, adding, “He is a Hollywood legend. Full stop.”O’Neal was among the biggest movie stars in the world in the 1970s, who worked with many of the era’s most celebrated directors including Peter Bogdanovich on “Paper Moon” and St...

Transcript of statement by CSIS director Vigneault during town hall meeting for staff

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:32 GMT

OTTAWA — The director of Canada’s spy agency, David Vigneault, says the officer at the centre of an investigation by The Canadian Press into allegations of rape and harassment no longer works for the agency, and an ombudsperson will be put in place to monitor workplace-related issues. He apologized to CSIS employees at a town hall event on Tuesday for his response to last week’s report about what officers called a “toxic workplace” in the British Columbia office. Here is the transcript of Vigneault’s remarks in English: I just want to start by saying: this is an extraordinary moment. As an organization, we have been through a lot. It is very challenging to be an employee of the service. I want you to know that I understand that and I also feel that. It is also a very emotional moment. We are talking to the entire organization and what is happening to one of us is affecting all of us. And so, I want to be very clear about that.For many, this can be trigg...

Maine man dies while checking thickness of lake ice, wardens say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:32 GMT

A man who was checking the thickness of ice on a lake in the Maine wilderness crashed into the icy water and drowned on Friday, game wardens said.Walter Demmons, 62 of Milford, was drilling holes with a friend to check the ice thickness while preparing to fish in Quakish Lake when they heard the ice crack, wardens said. Both men ended up in the frigid water, about 75 yards (66 meters) from shore on the lake in T3 Indian Township Purchase, which is about 8 miles (13 kilometers) southwest of Millinocket, wardens said.The two ice fishermen were communicating with each other as they tried to get back on the ice before Demmons told his friend he wasn’t going to make it and slid under the surface, wardens said.The friend, who eventually got back onto the ice and dialed 911, was treated for hypothermia while Demmons’ body was recovered an hour later with an ice rescue raft brought to the scene by the Brownville Fire Department, wardens said.Game wardens warned people to be especially...

Some facts about Canada’s spy agency, as director apologizes for rape claim response

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:32 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s spy chief David Vigneault has apologized to staff for his response to rape and harassment claims in the British Columbia office of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. He’s also pledging the creation of an ombudsperson’s office to deal with workplace problems. Here’s a look at Canada’s spy agency:— The duties of CSIS are to investigate threats to Canada’s security, report them to government, and take measures to reduce any risk they pose. It also briefs officials, collects foreign intelligence and does security assessments for immigration and other purposes, including when someone requires access to classified information.— The agency had more than 3,200 employees in 2020, according to its website. Last year, it said 48 per cent of staff were women and 20 per cent were members of racialized groups.— It says in its 2022 public report that it created more than 2,500 “intelligence products” and received about 500,...