Month: March 2023

By FRANCES D’EMILIO and MATT O’BRIEN Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italy is temporarily blocking the artificial intelligence software ChatGPT in the wake of a data breach as it investigates a possible violation of stringent European Union data protection rules, the government’s privacy watchdog said Friday. The Italian Data Protection Authority said it was taking

The Associated Press HELSINKI (AP) — Finland received the green light to join NATO when Turkey ratified the Nordic country’s membership late Thursday, becoming the last country in the 30-member Western military alliance to sign off. All NATO members must vote unanimously to admit a new country. into the alliance. The decision by the Turkish

By FATIMA HUSSEIN and SALLY HO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Under pressure from the U.S. government, TikTok is now facing the music with the possibility of a nationwide ban if it defies a government order to sell to an American company — unless the popular social media app can convince a high-powered panel that

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatian authorities say that a small plane has crashed in a northern town, killing two people on board. The Croatian government’s traffic ministry says the plane crashed during takeoff on Friday at the airport in Pula, which is located in the Istria peninsula. A statement says authorities have opened an investigation

By ANDREW DALTON and SAM METZ Associated Press PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — All that for a dollar? Nah, Gwyneth Paltrow ’s motivation to go to trial to fight a lawsuit accusing her of sending a fellow skier “absolutely flying” at a posh Utah ski resort in 2016 was about vindication. She got it when

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police say at least eight people have been killed in a deadly stampede at a Ramadan food distribution center in the southern port city of Karachi. Friday’s stampede happened when hundreds of people panicked and started pushing each other to collect the food outside a factory. Some of them fell

By JOHN SEEWER Associated Press The federal government filed a lawsuit against railroad Norfolk Southern over environmental damage caused by a train derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border that spilled hazardous chemicals into nearby creeks and rivers. The U.S. Department of Justice said it’s seeking to hold the company accountable for “unlawfully polluting the nation’s waterways

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese Cabinet minister in charge of tackling the country’s declining birthrate unveiled a draft proposal Friday aimed at reversing the downtrend, including increased subsidies for childrearing and education and a salary increase for younger workers to incentivize marrying and having kids. Japan’s population of more than

By JOHN MARSHALL AP Basketball Writer Purdue’s Zach Edey was a near-unanimous choice as The Associated Press men’s college basketball player of the year. Edey received all but one vote from a 58-person media panel, with Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis receiving the other. The 7-foot-4 Canadian was sixth nationally in scoring at 22.3 points per game

By TOM KRISHER, FATIMA HUSSEIN and MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer new electric vehicles will qualify for a full $7,500 federal tax credit later this year, and many will get only half that, under rules proposed Friday by the U.S. Treasury Department. The rules, required under last year’s Inflation Reduction Act, are

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — A new show of works by one of Germany’s most famous living artists, Gerhard Richter, has opened at Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie museum. “Gerhard Richter. 100 Works for Berlin” shows for the first time the long-term loan from the artist’s foundation. At the center of the exhibition that

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese state TV says a former chairman of Bank of China Ltd., one of the country’s four major state-owned lenders, is under investigation by the ruling Communist Party’s anti-corruption agency. China Central Television said on its website that Liu Liange is suspected of “serious disciplinary violations.” The one-sentence report gave no details

By GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — As new volunteers kept streaming into the Church of the Incarnation, Reynaldo Hidalgo prepped fresh palm fronds for them to weave into elaborate designs that will be blessed at services on Palm Sunday, the start of Christianity’s holiest week. “It’s to give welcome to the king, our

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge slowed sharply last month, an encouraging sign in the Fed’s yearlong effort to cool price pressures through steadily higher interest rates. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer prices rose 0.3% from January to February, down from a

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The foreign ministers of Cyprus, Greece and Israel say the eastern Mediterranean can provide a key energy corridor to Europe through a planned electricity cable connecting the three countries’ power grids and a potential natural gas pipeline. The three ministers met in the Cypriot capital Friday

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Ukrainian government is looking to block its athletes from competing in sports events which readmit Russian athletes. That could include qualifying competitions for next year’s Paris Olympics. The International Olympic Committee recommended Tuesday that sports federations allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as neutral athletes without national symbols. Ukraine wanted

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian state media says Israel has launched airstrikes on the suburbs of Syria’s capital for the second day in a row. Iranian and Syrian state media on Friday reported that the strikes killed an Iranian adviser when they hit south of Damascus. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit is letting go of almost its entire work force with the satellite launch company finding it difficult to secure funding three months after a failed mission. The company, headquartered in Long Beach, California, will cut 675 jobs, about 85% of its workforce, according to a

By ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Five days ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to fire his defense minister set off a wave of spontaneous protests and a general strike that threatened to paralyze the country, forcing the Israeli leader to suspend his divisive plan to overhaul the judicial system. But as

By KEN MAGUIRE AP Sports Writer LONDON (AP) — Russian and Belarusian players will be able to compete at Wimbledon as neutral athletes after the All England Club on Friday reversed its ban from last year. The players must sign declarations of neutrality and comply with “appropriate conditions,” including not expressing support for Russia’s invasion

By ABBY SEWELL Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A European Union official visiting Lebanon says the international body will boost its humanitarian assistance to the crisis-stricken country, but that more significant long-term aid depends on reforms and a deal with the International Monetary Fund. EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič says the EU will