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Video game performers will go on strike over artificial intelligence concerns

BY Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood's video game performers voted to go on strike Thursday, throwing part of the entertainment industry into another work stoppage after talks for a new contract with major game studios broke down over artificial intelligence protections.

The strike — the second for video game voice actors and motion capture performers under the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists — will begin at 12:01 a.m. Friday. The move comes after nearly two years of negotiations with gaming giants, including divisions of Activision, Warner Bros. and Walt Disney Co., over a new interactive media agreement.

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Lightning and a burning car pushed into a gully are blamed for wildfires scorching Pacific Northwest

BY Associated Press

A California man under arrest Thursday was accused of starting the state's largest wildlife of the year by pushing a burning car into a gully as other fires scorched the Pacific Northwest.

Flames from the fire the suspect is accused of starting exploded into what is now the Park Fire, which has burned more than 110 square miles (289 square kilometers) near the city of Chico. Evacuations were ordered in Butte and Tehama counties, with the blaze only 3% contained by midday Thursday.

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Company says manufacturing problem was behind wind turbine blade breaking off Nantucket Island

BY Associated Press

NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) — The maker of a massive wind turbine blade that broke apart off Nantucket Island and washed up on the beaches says a manufacturing problem was responsible.

GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik said on an earnings call Wednesday that insufficient bonding at one of its factories in Canada was responsible for the blade coming apart and that there was no indication of a design flaw. As a result, the company will reinspect all 150 blades that had been made at the factory.

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OpenAI tests ChatGPT-powered search engine that could compete with Google

BY Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — OpenAI is testing a ChatGPT-powered search engine that could put the artificial intelligence company in direct competition with search giant Google and affect the flow of internet traffic seeking news and other timely information.

San Francisco-based OpenAI said Thursday it is releasing a preview of the SearchGPT feature to get feedback from a small group of users and publishers.

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Norfolk Southern profits complicated by derailment insurance payments, proxy fight and productivity

BY Associated Press

Norfolk Southern got a boost during the second quarter from insurance payments related to last year's disastrous East Palestine derailment, but it also made progress in reducing its expenses and getting more efficient.

The Atlanta-based railroad said it earned $737 million, or $3.25 per share, in the quarter, but there were several unusual factors influencing the results. And last year's $356 million profit, or $1.56 per share, was heavily weighed down by costs related to the derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.

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Migrants and homeless people are cleared out of Paris during the Olympics

BY Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Carrying backpacks and small children, hundreds of people sleeping on the streets of Paris climbed aboard buses surrounded by armed police on Thursday, the latest group of migrants and homeless people to be driven out of the city ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics.

The group of largely African migrants headed for the fringes of the city in buses paid for by the French government and into temporary lodging until at least the end of the Games. While some living on the streets were happy to have a roof over their head for the night, few knew what laid ahead once the world's eyes were off Paris.

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UN asks nations to better prepare, cool the vulnerable as 'extreme heat epidemic' breaks records

BY Associated Press

After three of Earth's hottest days ever measured, the United Nations called for a flurry of efforts to try to reduce the human toll from soaring and searing temperatures, calling it “an extreme heat epidemic.”

“If there is one thing that unites our divided world, it's that we're all increasingly feeling the heat,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday at a news conference where he highlighted that Monday was the hottest day on record, surpassing the mark set just a day earlier. “Earth is becoming hotter and more dangerous for everyone, everywhere.”

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Scherzer passes Verlander for 10th on career strikeout list with 3,400, most among active pitchers

BY Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer moved into 10th place on the career strikeout list and the most among active pitchers with 3,400, fanning a season-high nine for the Texas Rangers on Thursday against the Chicago White Sox.

Scherzer passed fellow three-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander with his third of the game, and 3,394th of his career, after Eloy Jiménez took a 93.3 mph fastball for a called third strike in the second inning. Scherzer had matched his former teammate with his second strikeout, when Andrew Vaughn swung and missed an 83.8 mph slider for the final out of the first.

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Automakers hit 'significant storm,' as buyers reject lofty prices at time of huge capital outlays

BY Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — Investors are punishing automakers' stocks this week after second-quarter earnings reports exposed industrywide issues of slowing sales and high prices, just as the companies are having to spend huge sums to make new electric and gas vehicles.

Each auto company has unique problems, but common to many are growing vehicle stockpiles on dealer lots, requiring increased discounts to sell them to buyers with stressed-out household budgets.

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Ukraine's foreign minister in Hong Kong calls on officials to stop Russia from evading sanctions

BY Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday called on Hong Kong to prevent Russia and Russian businesses from using the region to circumvent sanctions.

Kuleba met with Hong Kong leader John Lee as part of a visit to China. He called on the administration to prevent Russia from using Hong Kong to circumvent restrictions resulting from Russia's war in Ukraine, according to a statement from the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry.

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Uvalde, Texas, school officer pleads not guilty to charges of failing to protect kids during attack

BY Associated Press

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — A former school police officer who was part of the slow law enforcement response to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of failing to take action as a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers inside a fourth-grade classroom.

Adrian Gonzales was among the nearly 400 law enforcement personnel who responded to the scene but then waited more than 70 minutes to confront the shooter inside the school.

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South Africa appoints a woman as chief justice for the first time

BY Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa appointed its first female chief justice on Thursday.

President Cyril Ramaphosa named Mandisa Maya, the current deputy chief justice, as the country's new most senior judge. Her term is due to start on Sept. 1, when she will replace Chief Justice Raymond Zondo as the head of the apex Constitutional Court. Zondo is retiring.

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US viewers' Olympic interest is down, poll finds, except for Simone Biles

BY Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — On the heels of low ratings for the coronavirus pandemic-marred Tokyo and Beijing Olympics, Paris may not do much better among U.S. viewers, a poll from Gallup released Thursday found.

Simone Biles and women's gymnastics are poised to be a bright spot, with those surveyed selecting it as their most anticipated sport.

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Committee studying how to manage Wisconsin sandhill cranes

BY Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A group of legislators, farmers and conservationists studying how to control Wisconsin’s sandhill crane population is set to hold its first meeting next month.

The Joint Legislative Council’s 12-member Study Committee on Sandhill Cranes is set to meet Aug. 1 at the Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area.

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Man dies at 27 from heat exposure at a Georgia prison, lawsuit says

BY Associated Press

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — The Georgia sun scorched the slab of concrete beneath Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano’s body when nurses found him in a puddle of his own excrement, vomiting, according to a complaint.

Officers left Ramirez in an outdoor cell at Telfair State Prison on July 20, 2023, for five hours without water, shade or ice, even as the outside temperature climbed to 96 degrees by the afternoon, according to a lawsuit brought by his family. That evening, the complaint says, Ramirez died of heart and lung failure caused by heat exposure. He was 27.

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Workers at GM seat supplier in Missouri reach tentative agreement, end strike

BY Associated Press

The union representing workers a Lear Corp. plant in Missouri that makes seats for General Motors vehicles said Thursday it reached a tentative agreement with the company, ending a strike that was in its fourth day.

About 480 workers at Lear Corp. in Wentzville who walked out at midnight Sunday are back at work. They are represented by United Auto Workers union.

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Remains identified of Wisconsin airman who died during World War II bombing mission over Germany

BY Associated Press

RACINE, Wis. (AP) — Military scientists have identified the remains of a Wisconsin airman who died during World War II when his plane was shot down over Germany during a bombing mission.

The remains of U.S. Army Air Force Staff Sgt. Ralph H. Bode, 20, of Racine, were identified using anthropological analysis and mitochondrial DNA, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said Thursday.

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Video game actors are going on strike. Here's why

BY Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood's video game performers voted to go on strike Thursday after negotiations with game industry giants that began nearly two years ago came to a halt over artificial intelligence protections.

Leaders of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have billed the issues behind the labor dispute — and AI in particular — as an existential crisis for performers. Game voice actors and motion capture artists' likenesses, they say, could be replicated by AI and used without their consent and without fair compensation.

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Missouri lawsuits allege abuse by priests, nuns; archdiocese leader in Omaha among those accused

BY Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Sixty people allege in new lawsuits filed in Missouri that they were abused as children by dozens of priests, nuns and others, and the man who now leads the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska, is among the accused.

Five separate lawsuits seeking unspecified damages were filed this week in St. Louis and neighboring counties. All told, the lawsuits name 56 alleged abusers. The suits seek unspecified damages.

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Finance ministers of the Group of 20 in Brazil discuss tax on super-rich

BY Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Finance ministers from leading rich and developing nations gathered in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday for a two-day meeting to discuss a global tax on the super-rich, a top priority for Brazil, which holds the presidency.

According to the proposal before the Group of 20, individuals with over $1 billion in total assets would be required to pay the equivalent of 2% of their wealth in income tax.

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Chicken wings advertised as 'boneless' can have bones, Ohio Supreme Court decides

BY Associated Press

Consumers cannot expect boneless chicken wings to actually be free of bones, a divided Ohio Supreme Court ruled Thursday, rejecting claims by a restaurant patron who suffered serious medical complications from getting a bone stuck in his throat.

Michael Berkheimer was dining with his wife and friends at a wing joint in Hamilton, Ohio, and had ordered the usual — boneless wings with parmesan garlic sauce — when he felt a bite-size piece of meat go down the wrong way. Three days later, feverish and unable to keep food down, Berkeimer went to the emergency room, where a doctor discovered a long, thin bone that had torn his esophagus and caused an infection.

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North Carolina review say nonprofit led by lieutenant governor's wife 'seriously deficient'

BY Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A nonprofit operated by the wife of North Carolina Lt. Gov Mark Robinson that she recently shuttered was "seriously deficient" in its recent operations, according to a state review examining how it carried out a federally funded meal program helping some child care providers.

A letter dated Wednesday from the state Department of Health and Human Services addressed to Balanced Nutrition Inc. owner Yolanda Hill and others gave the group two weeks to correct a myriad of shortcomings regulators cited or be disqualified from participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

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All Aboard! US women's basketball team arrives at Olympics via train from London

BY Associated Press

VILLENEUVE-D'ASCQ, France (AP) — Brittney Griner settled into her seat on the Eurostar train and put on her headphones to watch “Vikings” — one of her favorite TV shows — during the 90-minute trip to France from London.

It was an escape to help her forget her last time on a train. That occurred in 2022 when she was headed to a Russian prison after being sentenced to nine years in jail for drug possession and smuggling.

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Flyers sign All-Star Travis Konecny to an 8-year extension worth $70 million

BY Associated Press

The Philadelphia Flyers signed All-Star Travis Konecny to an eight-year extension worth $70 million, committing to him being a long-term part of their core as they seek to shift from rebuilding mode to contending.

The deal announced Thursday keeps Konecny under contract through 2033. He will count $8.75 million against the salary cap starting when it kicks in for the 2025-26 NHL season, which would make him Philadelphia's highest-paid player.

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Fast-moving wildfire in the Canadian Rockies ravages the town of Jasper

BY Associated Press

GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alberta (AP) — A fast-moving wildfire in the Canadian Rockies that had prompted 25,000 people to flee roared into the near-deserted town of Jasper overnight as a “wall of fire,” devastating up to half the structures in the picturesque resort, officials said Thursday.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, following a mass evacuation of the town and a neighboring national park earlier in the week, but Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said in a letter on the town's website that the wildfire “ravaged our beloved community."

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270 flights canceled in Frankfurt as environmental activists target airports across Europe

BY Associated Press

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — A total of 270 flights were canceled at Germany's busiest airport Thursday after environmental activists launched a coordinated effort to disrupt air travel across Europe at the height of the summer vacation season to highlight the threat posed by climate change.

Frankfurt Airport said flights were halted for safety reasons after climate activists breached security fences in the early morning. Its runways were back in operation by 7:50 a.m. local time.

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Comic-Con 2024: What to expect as the convention returns to San Diego

BY Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Comic-Con International, the comic book and pop culture extravaganza, is kicking off in San Diego. The convention, which draws over 130,000 fans annually, opens for a preview night Wednesday and runs through Sunday.

With the COVID-19 pandemic and the Hollywood strikes disrupting past years of the convention either through complete cancellation or modifications to the way they ran, this year will be the most traditional Comic-Con since 2019.

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Workers go on strike at five-star Paris hotel where IOC members are staying for Olympics

BY Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Workers went on strike Thursday at the five-star hotel in Paris where members of the International Olympic Committee are staying, walking out just a day before the opening ceremony of the Games.

According to the major French union CGT, the IOC paid the hotel where staffers were striking, Hôtel du Collectionneur, 22 million euros ($23.88 million) for exclusive use of the facility.

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New York's Public Theater to celebrate reopening of Central Park stage with all-star cast

BY Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A starry group of veteran Public Theater actors — including Lupita Nyong’o, Peter Dinklage, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Sandra Oh — will help reopen the newly revitalized Delacorte Theater in Central Park in a free production of “Twelfth Night.”

“To say that we are reopening this next phase of the Public and we’re doing it with these four performers who have history and roots at the Public Theater just felt like an extraordinary way to imagine the production,” said Saheem Ali, the Public’s associate artistic director and resident director.

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Argentina coach slams chaotic 'scandal' at Olympic soccer match vs Morocco

BY Associated Press

The head of Argentina's soccer federation said the chaotic ending to its Olympic soccer match against Morocco on Wednesday “makes no sense," and coach Javier Mascherano called the scene “a scandal.”

The opening match of the men's soccer tournament was suspended for nearly two hours during added time after Morocco fans invaded the field and threw bottles in protest of a late goal by Argentina. The goal was later overturned by the video assistant referee, and Argentina lost 2-1.

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Transit and environmental advocates sue NY governor over decision to halt Manhattan congestion toll

BY Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Transit and environmental advocacy groups in New York filed lawsuits Thursday challenging Gov. Kathy Hochul's decision to block a plan to reduce traffic and raise billions for the city's ailing subway system through a new toll on Manhattan drivers.

The groups argue in two separate state Supreme Court suits that the Democrat violated the state’s laws and constitution when she indefinitely paused the fee, citing economic concerns.

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Judge turns down MLB players' union request to confirm arbitrator decision against Bad Bunny firm

BY Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The Major League Baseball Players Association lost in its attempt to get a federal judge to confirm an arbitration decision denying an attempt by an agent at Bad Bunny’s Rimas Sports firm to block his decertification by the union.

U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman wrote Thursday that the arbitrator's decision was not a final ruling in the case and not subject to judicial confirmation. The discipline remained in place while an appeal is heard by a different arbitrator.

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An Olympic-sized fight erupts among anti-doping officials, and it's just getting started

BY Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — The stream of threats, recriminations and anti-doping innuendo flowed freely again Thursday when tensions over a U.S. law designed to combat drugs in sports escalated on the eve of the Paris Olympics.

It's a fight that's been simmering for a decade, sparked by Russia's brazen doping scandal at the Sochi Olympics. The reaction from the World Anti-Doping Agency and IOC was criticized as too weak by many, including the United States. So much so, that the U.S. passed a law in 2020 giving federal authorities power to investigate sports doping and cover-ups.

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Bills' Von Miller says he believes domestic assault case to be closed, with no charges filed

BY Associated Press

PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — No charges have been filed, and Von Miller said Thursday that he considers the case of him allegedly assaulting his pregnant girlfriend as being closed based on feedback the Buffalo Bills edge rusher got from his legal representatives.

“No charges were ever filed and the case is closed. I’m able to just move forward and focus solely on football,” Miller told reporters following the Bills’ second day of training camp in suburban Rochester, New York.

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Truck driver faces manslaughter charges after 5 killed in I-95 crash, North Carolina officials say

BY Associated Press

KENLY, N.C. (AP) — A truck driver is facing manslaughter charges after five people died in a crash that shut down northbound Interstate 95 in North Carolina for nine hours Wednesday, according to the state Highway Patrol.

The crash happened about 1:30 p.m. in Wilson County in an area where a lane was closed for maintenance, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said in a news release. A Freightliner tractor-trailer hauling orange juice failed to reduce speed as traffic slowed and hit a Chevy Tahoe, a Toyota RAV-4 and two other tractor-trailers, then caught fire, officials said.

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New reality TV show 'Playground' puts dance studio dramas center stage

BY Associated Press

London (AP) — The reality of a dance career is that it’s tough. New Hulu reality series “Playground" doesn't shy away from that.

The show is set at the Playground dance studio in Los Angeles, home to famous hip-hop choreographers and teachers, and documents the ups and downs of dancers who want to make it big.

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Travis Kelce picked as the top tight end in the AP’s NFL Top 5 rankings

BY Associated Press

All the off-field attention that Travis Kelce generated last season while dating pop star Taylor Swift may have overshadowed his ability as a football player.

But Kelce still did more than enough in his day job as Patrick Mahomes' most trusted pass catcher for the Kansas City Chiefs to be selected as the top tight end in the NFL by The Associated Press.

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Multiple crew failures and wind shear led to January crash of B-1 bomber, Air Force says

BY Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A fiery January crash of a B-1 bomber in South Dakota was caused by multiple crew failures, terrible winter weather and a last-minute brush with wind shear that resulted in all four members ejecting and the total loss of the $450 million warplane, Air Force Global Strike Command said Thursday.

The command’s report was unusually blunt in describing what the investigation uncovered about the crews involved in the evening crash at Ellsworth Air Force Base. The investigators said the crash exposed an “organizational culture that tolerated decaying airmanship skills, a lack of discipline, poor communication, and inadequate focus on regulations."

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Texas city strips funding for monthly art event over drag show

BY Associated Press

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — The Lubbock City Council has voted to strip funding from a popular free monthly arts walk, after a council member suggested the event promoted a drag show.

The 5-2 vote on Tuesday strips the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts of $30,000 of tax dollars collected from hotel stays — about a quarter of the funding for the First Friday Art Trail.

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I tried Speedo's Olympic swimsuit. It's fast in the pool, but takes forever to put on

BY Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — It's usually not a good sign when a swimsuit needs instructions for how to put it on. More concerning? When you learn that even Olympians need about 10 minutes to get into Speedo's new Fastskin LZR Intent and LZR Valor suits.

Determined to squeeze into the latest skin-tight polyurethane compression suit, I grabbed a red Pure Valor 2.0 openback kneeskin and entered the crowded women's changing room at The Molitor Hotel to see what the big deal is about the newest version of the suit many swimmers will be wearing during the Paris Olympics.

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Ford shares slide as disappointing Q2 adjusted profit rattles investors

BY Associated Press

Shares of Ford Motor Co. are tumbling Thursday after the automaker's second-quarter adjusted profit badly missed Wall Street's expectations as it spent more money fixing customers’ cars and trucks.

Late Wednesday Ford reported an adjusted profit of 47 cents per share. That was far short of industry analysts’ estimates of 68 cents, according to FactSet.

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Prince Harry says his crusade against British tabloids has contributed to royal family rift

BY Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry said his crusade against the British tabloids has contributed to his royal family rift, according to a documentary airing Thursday.

In his most extensive comments since he won a major victory last year when a judge found phone hacking was “widespread and habitual” at the U.K.'s Mirror Group Newspapers, the Duke of Sussex told the broadcaster ITV that he wished his family had joined him in his invasion of privacy litigation.

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Microsoft's World of Warcraft development workers are unionizing

BY Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 500 workers behind the popular video game franchisee “World of Warcraft” are unionizing.

The game's development team employees — which include designers, engineers, artists, quality assurance testers and more — are joining the Communications Workers of America, the union announced Wednesday. CWA says Microsoft subsidiary Blizzard Entertainment, World of Warcraft's publisher, has recognized the union.

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Newsom issues executive order for removal of homeless encampments in California

BY Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued executive order for removal of homeless encampments in his state.

Newsom’s order would direct state agencies on how to remove the thousands of tents and makeshift shelters across the state that line freeways, clutter shopping center parking lots and fill city parks. The order makes clear that the decision to remove the encampments remains in the hands of local authorities.

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Four detainees stabbed during altercation at jail in downtown St. Louis

BY Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Four detainees at a downtown St. Louis jail were injured when they were stabbed during a fight — the latest of several instances of violence at the jail.

A guard sent out a distress call about a disturbance around 1:20 p.m. Wednesday at the City Justice Center, spokesman for the St. Louis Department of Public Safety, Monte Chambers, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The injured detainees were taken to a hospital. Their conditions were not immediately made available.

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Wind farms' benefits to communities can be slow or complex, leading to opposition and misinformation

BY Associated Press

After NextEra proposed a wind farm in Greeley County, Nebraska two years ago, Robert Bernt, a dairy farm owner in the area, helped to mobilize community members against the idea.

His group held town hall meetings and ran ads on the radio, arguing the wind farm would “fragment” the community, by lowering property values and leaving “decaying blades in our landfills.”

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China issues rare praise to Philippine president for his ban on Chinese online gambling operators

BY Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — China issued a rare compliment to the administration of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Thursday for his order banning widespread and Chinese-run online gaming operations. Marcos accused some of venturing into crimes including financial scams, human trafficking, kidnappings, torture and murder.

Relations between China and the Philippines under Marcos have been strained since he allowed an expanded U.S. military presence in the country under a 2014 defense pact and hostilities between their forces started to flare in the disputed South China Sea last year. A Philippine campaign to expose China’s aggressive actions in the disputed waters through the press to gain international support has sparked a scathing war of words.

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Union Pacific profit grows 7% as the railroad continues to get more efficient under CEO Jim Vena

BY Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific delivered 7% growth in its second-quarter profit even though the number of shipments it hauled remained essentially flat because it was able to continue streamlining its operations.

The Omaha, Nebraska, railroad said Thursday that it earned $1.67 billion, or $2.74 per share, in the quarter. That's up from last year's $1.57 billion, or $2.57 per share, before CEO Jim Vena took over after a hedge fund pressured Union Pacific to improve its profitability.

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Wind power can be a major source of tax revenue, but officials struggle to get communities on board

BY Associated Press

PIPER CITY, Ill. (AP) — In Scott Saffer's science classroom, kids bake cookies in a decked-out kitchen, care for fish, turtles and a snake, and have access to a workshop full of tools. As the gifted enrichment coordinator at Tri-Point School District, Saffer is living his teaching dream, one he knew he'd need money to accomplish.

For a while, due to budgetary concerns in rural Ford County, Illinois, he moved to a neighboring school district. But when wind turbines came to town, Tri-Point had the funding to bring him back without a pay cut. There, he was one of 10 recipients of a prestigious statewide teaching award last year.

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Argentine President Milei travels to France to meet Macron after outcry over racist soccer chants

BY Associated Press

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine President Javier Milei arrived Thursday in Paris, his office said, where he is expected to meet French President Emmanuel Macron after tensions escalated between their countries over the Argentine soccer team's derogatory post-match chants about French players.

A short clip captured during Argentina's Copa America victory celebrations in Miami earlier this month shows triumphant Argentine players chanting a song considered racist toward French players of African heritage. "They play for France but their parents are from Angola," the refrain goes, with some transphobic slurs mixed in.

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Forced to emigrate, Venezuelans living abroad hope for change — and to eventually return home

BY Associated Press

The prolonged economic and political instability in Venezuela has forced millions of Venezuelans to leave over the past decade, quashing many of their dreams and leaving many wondering if they'll ever return to what was once South America's most prosperous country.

The refugee agency UNHCR estimates that more than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left since 2014, the largest exodus in Latin America’s recent history, with most settling in the Americas, from neighboring Colombia and Brazil to Argentina and Canada.

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Athens signs deal to buy 20 US-made F-35 jets in major military overhaul

BY Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece formally approved an offer to buy 20 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters from the United States as part of a major defense overhaul, government officials said Thursday.

“The letter of acceptance for the F-35s has been signed and sent to the United States,” Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said while visiting a military air base near Athens.

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Typhoon Gaemi hits China's coast after leaving 25 dead in Taiwan and the Philippines

BY Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A strong typhoon made landfall on China's southeastern coast on Thursday evening after sweeping across the nearby island of Taiwan, where it caused landslides and flooding in low-lying areas and left three dead.

Typhoon Gaemi had swept up the western Pacific, intensifying seasonal rains earlier in the week in the Philippines, where the death toll climbed to 22.

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Stock market today: Wall Street steadies itself after its worst sell-off since 2022

BY Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are stanching the bleeding on Thursday, a day after their worst losses since 2022 led to a wipeout for financial markets circling the world.

The S&P 500 was edging down by 0.1% in morning trading, as highly influential Big Tech stocks steadied themselves following a sell-off triggered by profit reports from Tesla and Alphabet.

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US economic growth increased last quarter to a healthy 2.8% annual rate

BY Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s economy accelerated last quarter at a strong 2.8% annual pace, with consumers and businesses helping drive growth despite the pressure of continually high interest rates.

Thursday’s report from the Commerce Department said the gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — picked up in the April-June quarter after growing at a 1.4% pace in the January-March period. Economists had expected a weaker 1.9% annual pace of growth.

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Meta's Oversight Board says deepfake policies need update and response to explicit image fell short

BY Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Meta's policies on non-consensual deepfake images need updating, including wording that’s “not sufficiently clear," the company's oversight panel said Thursday in a decision on cases involving AI-generated explicit depictions of two famous women.

The quasi-independent Oversight Board said in one of the cases, the social media giant failed to take down the deepfake intimate image of a famous Indian woman, whom it didn't identify, until the company's review board got involved.

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It's a college football player's paradise, where dreams and reality meet in new EA Sports video game

BY Associated Press

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway grabbed a controller, settled comfortably into a leather stool and immediately started to adjust Florida’s roster.

There was only one move to make, really: Lagway benched Graham Mertz and inserted himself into the starting lineup for a quick game of EA Sports College Football 25 against teammate Tank Hawkins.

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Former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis, who opposed gay marriage, appeals ruling over attorney fees

BY Associated Press

CINCINNATI (AP) — A former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples a decade ago is appealing a ruling ordering her to pay thousands in attorney fees.

The appeal filed by attorneys for Kim Davis in federal court argues that the landmark Obergefell ruling in 2015 should be overturned. Davis objected to same-sex marriage on religious grounds and was briefly jailed.

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Major funders bet big on rural America and ‘everyday democracy’

BY Associated Press

Someone may need to tell Carlton Turner that he’s working to save democracy.

Turner is co-director of the Mississippi Center for Cultural Production in the town of Utica, population 600, where his family has lived for eight generations. The organization, better known as Sipp Culture, is helping breathe life into a region that’s seen schools, grocery stores, and factories shutter or leave. A project in the works: transformation of one of Utica’s oldest buildings into a cultural center and commercial kitchen.

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Saquon Barkley wants to move on from 'Hard Knocks' Giants life to fresh start with Eagles

BY Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley has a small hang-up with “Hard Knocks” and its airing of his phone call to say goodbye to the New York Giants.

The Philadelphia Eagles running back said he had no clue his side of the conversation with Giants management in the midst of free agency would be recorded and aired on the documentary television series, and certainly didn't give his permission.

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Philippine oil tanker sinks in Manila Bay, raising fears of a possible major spill near the capital

BY Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine oil tanker sank in Manila Bay early Thursday after encountering huge waves, leaving a crewman dead and 16 others rescued in a late-night operation by the coast guard. The force was also assessing whether the vessel was leaking oil — in what could be a major spill — that could reach the bustling capital.

The tanker Terra Nova left Bataan province en route to the central province of Iloilo with about 1.4 million liters (370,000 gallons) of industrial fuel oil stored in watertight tanks when it got lashed by huge waves and took on water. The crew struggled to steer the tanker back to port but it eventually sank shortly after midnight, coast guard spokesperson Rear Adm. Armando Balilo said, citing statements from surviving crew members.

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Booties. Indoor dog parks. And following the vet's orders. How to keep pets cool this summer

BY Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — As much of the world swelters, it's not just people who need help with the dog days of summer. Pet owners have to consider how to both shield and cool down furry family members as intense — at times deadly — heat waves become more common.

“It’s really important to remember that if it’s hot outside for you, it’s even hotter for your pets,” says Dr. Sandra Faeh, American Veterinary Medical Association president. A dog's breed, weight and chronic health issues also matter. "There’s not one specific temperature that we can say, `this is the right temperature to go outside,' because they’re all different."

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Myanmar violence, South China Sea tensions are top issues as Southeast Asian diplomats meet in Laos

BY Associated Press

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — Southeast Asian foreign ministers and top diplomats from key partners including the United States and China are gathering in the Laotian capital on Thursday for the start of three days of talks expected to focus on the increasingly violent civil war in Myanmar, tensions in the South China Sea and other regional issues.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will participate in the meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Vientiane, which come as both Beijing and Washington are looking to expand their influence in the region.

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NYC bus crashes into Burger King after driver apparently suffers a medical episode

BY Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City bus driver apparently suffered a medical episode early Thursday and crashed his bus into a closed Burger King restaurant, police said.

The driver crashed the Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus into the fast food restaurant in Brooklyn just after midnight, police said. He was taken to a hospital for treatment. Neither of the two passengers on the bus was injured.

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More than a dozen African migrants dead, over 150 missing after their boat capsized on way to Europe

BY Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — More than a dozen migrants died and at least 150 others are missing after their boat capsized off Mauritania on their way to Europe, the International Organization for Migration said, triggering a frantic search and rescue operation.

There were 300 migrants on the boat that capsized on Monday near the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, and 120 have been rescued by the Mauritanian Coast Guard, the IOM said in a statement on Wednesday.

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Subway Series: Mets northbound and Yankees heading south

BY Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The Subway Series turned into two teams passing in different directions.

After the Mets completed a four-game sweep with a 12-3 rout in the Bronx on Wednesday night, Yankees manager Aaron Boone sounded his most frustrated in two years.

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Macron aims to sidestep political concerns and regain prestige with the Paris Olympics

BY Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Emmanuel Macron has pledged to make France shine during the Olympics. Weaker than ever at home after recent elections, the French president hopes the Paris Games also will help his own star glitter again.

The Olympics are the best way to convince the world to "choose France,” Macron said this week, trotting out a motto geared toward boosting foreign investment in the country. “It will promote our landscapes, our facilities, our savoir-faire as well, our gastronomy.”

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Japanese automaker Nissan lowers its profit forecast amid incentive, inventory woes

BY Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Nissan lowered its full fiscal year outlook on Thursday, as the Japanese automaker reported a 73% decline in profit in the April-June quarter compared to the previous year.

Chief Executive Makoto Uchida called the results “very challenging,” blaming sales incentives and marketing expenses resulting from intense competition, especially in the U.S. market.

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One Tech Tip: To hide your internet activity or your IP address, use a virtual private network

BY Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — On the move and looking for an internet connection to check email or post a video to TikTok? It's tempting to jump onto the free Wi-Fi at the coffee shop or the shopping mall. But don't do it unless you've got protection.

Using unsecured internet access can be risky. Hackers can secretly put themselves between you and the internet and view everything you do online, slip malware onto your device or even set up a rogue hotspot that looks authentic. It's one of those times when it's best to use a virtual private network, or VPN.

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Africa's demand for cooling systems is expanding. But regulating the industry is a struggle

BY Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — As the sun blazes down in Nigeria's capital Abuja, Ahmed Bukar turns on his home air conditioner to a blast of hot air. The charging valve on the outside unit is leaking out the cooling gas that the appliance runs on. A technician had recently helped him refill the air conditioner with gas, but he didn’t test for possible leaks.

In Abuja and across Nigeria, air conditioners sprout from the walls as the appliance turns from a middle-class luxury into a necessity in an increasingly hot climate. The industry is governed by regulations prohibiting the release of cooling gases into the air, for example by conducting leak tests after an appliance is fixed. Still, routine release of gases into the atmosphere due to shoddy installations, unsafe disposal at the end of use, or the addition of gas without testing for leaks is a common problem in Nigeria, though unlawful.

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Oregon fire is the largest burning in the US. Thunderstorms and high winds are exacerbating it

BY Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Powerful winds and hundreds of lightning strikes from thunderstorms rattled eastern Oregon and Idaho Wednesday afternoon, cutting power and stoking fires, including one in Oregon that is already the largest active blaze in the nation.

The Durkee Fire, burning near the Oregon-Idaho border about 130 miles (209 kilometers) west of Boise, Idaho, caused the closure of a stretch of Interstate 84 again Wednesday. Amid rapidly forming storms in the afternoon, the blaze crossed the interstate near the town of Huntington, home to about 500 people. It also merged with the Cow Valley Fire, another large blaze that had been burning nearby, Gov. Tina Kotek said.

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Judge's ruling temporarily allows for unlicensed Native Hawaiian midwifery

BY Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii judge has temporarily blocked the state from enforcing a law requiring the licensing of practitioners and teachers of traditional Native Hawaiian midwifery while a lawsuit seeking to overturn the statute wends its way through the courts.

Lawmakers enacted the midwife licensure law, which asserted that the “improper practice of midwifery poses a significant risk of harm to the mother or newborn, and may result in death,” in 2019. Violations are punishable by up to a year in jail, plus thousands of dollars in criminal and civil fines.

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A plan to replenish the Colorado River could mean dry alfalfa fields. And many farmers are for it

BY Associated Press

A plan to help shore up the depleted Colorado River by cutting off water to alfalfa fields in California's crop-rich Imperial Valley is finding support from the farmers who grow it.

The Imperial Irrigation District — the biggest user of water from the 1,450-mile (2,334-kilometer) river — has offered to pay farmers to shut off irrigation to forage crops including alfalfa for up to 60 days during the peak of the sweltering summer. While farmers often balk at the idea of letting fields lie fallow, at least 80% of properties eligible for the new program have been signed up to participate, said Tina Shields, the district's water department manager.

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Publisher Jimmy Lai will testify in his defense at Hong Kong national security trial, lawyer says

BY Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — A defense lawyer said Thursday that prominent publisher Jimmy Lai will testify in his defense in the landmark national security trial brought under a Beijing-imposed law that has all but wiped out public dissent.

Lai, the 76-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was arrested in 2020 during a crackdown on the mass pro-democracy protests that rocked Hong Kong in 2019. He was charged with colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to put out seditious publications. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

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Missouri Supreme Court halts release of man with overturned conviction as he was about to go free

BY Associated Press

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court halted the immediate release Wednesday of a man whose murder conviction was overturned — just as the man was about to walk free.

A St. Louis Circuit Court judge had ordered Christopher Dunn, now 52, to be released by 6 p.m. CDT Wednesday and threatened the prison warden with contempt if Dunn remained imprisoned. But Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been fighting Dunn's release.

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US files details of Boeing’s plea deal related to plane crashes. It's in the hands of a judge now

BY Associated Press

The Justice Department submitted an agreement with Boeing on Wednesday in which the aerospace giant will plead guilty to a fraud charge for misleading U.S. regulators who approved the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed, killing 346 people.

The detailed plea agreement was filed in federal district court in Texas. The American company and the Justice Department reached a deal on the guilty plea and the agreement's broad terms earlier this month.

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Vikings cornerback Mekhi Blackmon tears ACL in opening practice of training camp, AP source says

BY Associated Press

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Vikings cornerback Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL during a drill in the first practice of training camp on Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the injury said.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not yet announced the diagnosis. It's a big blow to a position group that was already an area of concern.

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Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee leaves game against Tigers with leg cramps

BY Associated Press

CLEVELAND (AP) — Guardians ace Tanner Bibee exited Cleveland's game against Detroit after five innings with leg cramps on Wednesday.

Bibee walked onto the mound to begin the sixth, but winced as he prepared to throw his warmup pitches. He spent several minutes stretching and applying pressure above his right knee.

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Wildfire smoke chokes parts of Canada and western US, with some areas under air quality alerts

BY Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fires burning in California, Oregon, Arizona, Washington and other western states, as well as Canada, have filled the skies in regions of the western U.S. with smoke and haze, forcing some affected areas to declare air quality alerts or advisories.

As of Wednesday morning, there were 79 large active wildfires across the country being managed that have burned 1,431,460 acres (579,292 hectares), according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Evacuation orders are in effect for 15 fires in the Northwest, where fires continue to show active to extreme behavior. Communities near several fires in California, the Northern Rockies and the Great Basin are also under evacuation orders.

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Phone lines down in multiple courts across California after ransomware attack

BY Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Several courts across California lost their phone lines this week after a ransomware attack targeting the state's largest trial court in Los Angeles County.

The Superior Court of Los Angeles County hosts phone servers for courts in Shasta, Inyo, San Luis Obispo, Stanislaus and Colusa counties, according to Melissa Fowler Bradley, executive officer for Shasta County Superior Court. The Los Angeles court was hit by the attack Friday.

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TELL NY1 YOUR CORONAVIRUS STORY,
IN YOUR OWN VOICE

Tens of thousands of New Yorkers have fallen sick from the coronavirus and the death toll keeps rising. Jobs have been lost, storefronts shuttered, hospitals overwhelmed. And many New Yorkers have seen their own lives changed in deeply personal ways.

NY1 wants to hear your story, in your own voice, to use in a future podcast. 

Tell us what is going on in your family, your job, your neighborhood. What are your daily struggles and your daily joys, your quiet fears and your hopes for the future?

Send us a voicemail, voice memo, or a video to YOURSTORYNY1@CHARTER.COM or leave a message at 212-379-3440. 

Make sure to tell us your first name and your neighborhood. If you’d like, let us know how to contact you. 

Symptoms

The 2019 novel coronavirus may cause mild to severe respiratory symptoms like:

  • cough
  • fever
  • trouble breathing and
  • pneumonia

The CDC believes symptoms may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 14 days after exposure to the virus.

(Source: NYS DOH)

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