Associated Press stories, Page 452
How do you know when AI is powerful enough to be dangerous? Regulators try to do the math
How do you know if an artificial intelligence system is so powerful that it poses a security danger and shouldn’t be unleashed without careful oversight? For regulators trying to put guardrails on AI, it’s mostly about the arithmetic. Specifically, an AI model trained on 10 to the 26th floating-point operations...
14-year-old student fatally shot 4 people in a rampage at a Georgia high school, officials sayVideo
WINDER, Ga. — A 14-year-old student opened fire at a Georgia high school and killed four people on Wednesday, authorities said, sending students scrambling for shelter in their classrooms — and eventually to the football stadium — as officers swarmed the campus and parents raced to find out if their...
Boeing to fly its empty capsule back to Earth soon — 2 NASA astronauts will stay behind
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Boeing will attempt to return its problem-plagued capsule from the International Space Station later this week — with empty seats. NASA said Wednesday that everything is on track for the Starliner capsule to undock from the space station Friday evening. The fully automated capsule will aim...
U.S. accuses Russia of using state media to spread disinformation ahead of the November election
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration accused Russia on Wednesday of a far-reaching effort to influence the U.S. presidential election, including by promoting disinformation and enlisting unwitting American influencers to spread propaganda on Russian state media. The actions taken by the U.S. government include sanctions against leaders of RT, a state...
Michigan man wins long shot appeal over burglary linked to his DNA on a bottle
DETROIT — A Michigan prisoner has persuaded a judge to throw out his burglary conviction, overcoming long odds by serving as his own lawyer in an appeal of a case that rested solely on his DNA being found on a soda bottle in a beauty shop. Gregory Tucker, 65, argued...
Workers at GM joint venture battery plant in Tennessee unionize and will get pay raise
DETROIT — About 1,000 workers at a General Motors joint venture electric vehicle battery plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, will get big pay raises now that they have joined the United Auto Workers union. GM and LG Energy Solution of Korea, which jointly run the plant, agreed to recognize the...
Atlantic City casino workers plan ad blitz to ban smoking after court rejects ban
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — A group of Atlantic City casino workers seeking to ban smoking in the gambling halls will launch an advertising campaign featuring their children in response to a judge’s rejection of a lawsuit that would have ended smoking in the nine casinos. The workers, calling themselves Casino...
From attic to auction: A Rembrandt painting sells for $1.4M in Maine
THOMASTON, Maine — A Rembrandt discovered in an attic sold for $1.4 million. The 17th century painting “Portrait of a Girl” by Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was discovered by art appraiser and auctioneer Kaja Veilleux in an attic in an estate in Camden, Maine. A label on the...
Raise taxes on the rich or cut them? Harris, Trump differ on how to boost the U.S. economy
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump is betting that Americans crave trillions of dollars in tax cuts — and that growth will be so fantastic that it’s not worth worrying about budget deficits. In short, he’s hoping that most economic analyses of his ideas are dead wrong. Vice President Kamala Harris believes...
U.S. job openings fall as demand for workers weakens
WASHINGTON — America’s employers posted fewer job openings in July than they had the previous month, a sign that hiring could cool in the coming months. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that there were 7.7 million open jobs in July, down from 7.9 million in June. The pace of hiring...
Queen guitarist Brian May says he had a ‘minor stroke’ but can still play
LONDON — Brian May, the lead guitarist of British rock band Queen, revealed Wednesday that he had a “minor stroke” last week, which caused him to temporarily lose control over his arm. May, 77, said in a video on his website that he was doing “OK” but that he was...
Lightning strike damages Rome’s ancient Constantine Arch
ROME — Workers mounted a crane Wednesday to secure Rome’s Constantine Arch near the Colosseum after a lightning strike loosened fragments from the ancient structure. A violent thunder and lightning storm that felled trees and flooded streets in the Italian capital damaged the honorary arch late Tuesday afternoon. Fragments of...
Nordstrom family offers to take department store private for $3.76B with Mexican retail group
NEW YORK — Members of the Nordstrom family with the help of a Mexican retail group are offering to take the century-old department store private for $3.76 billion per share cash, months after first expressing interest in a buyout. In a letter to the board of directors dated Tuesday, Erik...
‘Fake heiress’ Anna Sorokin will compete on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ amid deportation battle
LOS ANGELES — Anna Sorokin, the con artist who was convicted of swindling banks, hotels and friends in 2019 after falsely building a reputation as a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey, has found her newest venture: “Dancing With the Stars.” Described as the “notorious ankle bracelet fashionista” in a...
Even dollar store chains are seeing a pullback by customers as higher prices squeeze the vulnerable
Dollar Tree is slashing its full-year earnings and sales forecasts as its customers continue to struggle with higher prices and spend less. Shares tumbled more than 12% before the opening bell Wednesday after hitting a 52-week low on the prior day. Less than a week ago, shares of rival bargain...
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Kuleba resigns as Russian strikes kill 7 people in Lviv
KYIV, Ukraine — Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, one of Ukraine’s most recognizable faces on the international stage, submitted his resignation Wednesday ahead of an expected major government reshuffle. Russian strikes, meanwhile, killed seven people in a western Ukraine city, a day after one of the deadliest missile attacks since the...
South Korea says North Korea has again launched suspected trash-carrying balloons across the border
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea says it has detected suspected trash-carrying balloons launched by North Korea, in the latest round of a Cold War-style psychological warfare between the war-divided rivals. The metropolitan government of Seoul, South Korea’s capital, issued text alerts Wednesday saying that objects likely to be North...
Grenfell Tower was a ‘death trap’ due to failures by UK government and industry, inquiry finds
LONDON — A damning report on a deadly London high-rise fire said Wednesday that decades of failures by government, regulators and industry turned Grenfell Tower into a “death trap” where 72 people lost their lives. The years-long public inquiry into the 2017 blaze concluded that there was no “single cause”...
Pittsburgh man arrested at Trump rally wanted to hang protest banner, police say
HARRISBURG — A man arrested last week at a Pennsylvania rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had hoped to hang a banner to protest Trump’s policies, Johnstown’s police chief said Tuesday. Authorities announced that misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest were filed against Stephen A. Weiss, 36,...
New rules led to more kickoff returns, no hip-drop tackle penalties in preseason
The early returns on the NFL’s new kickoff rules are in from the preseason, and the result is a significant increase in returns. Owners voted this spring to overhaul the kickoff, hoping to revive a play that had little action last season after most kicks resulted in no returns while...
At least 7 cars hit, 6 people injured in gunfire on interstate near Seattle
SEATTLE — At least seven vehicles traveling along Interstate 5 just south of Seattle were hit by gunfire overnight, leaving at least six people injured before a suspect was taken into custody, officials said Tuesday. The state patrol did not release any information on the suspect in the shooting that...
Falcons add 3rd QB ahead of season opener, signing Nathan Peterman to practice squadVideo
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons added a third quarterback ahead of their season opener, signing former Pitt standout Nathan Peterman to the practice squad Tuesday. Peterman provides some insurance behind starter Kirk Cousins and backup Michael Penix Jr. after the Falcons dealt third-stringer Taylor Heinicke to the Los...
Police say 11-year-old used 2 guns to kill former Louisiana mayor and his daughter
MINDEN, La. — An 11-year-old boy is suspected of using two guns to fatally shoot a woman and her father, an 82-year-old man who once served as mayor, city council member and deputy sheriff in Louisiana, police said Tuesday. A 911 caller told police on Sunday morning that there were...
Brandon Aiyuk returns to 49ers practice with a new contract after making the process ‘difficult’Video
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Brandon Aiyuk’s first choice during his lengthy contract dispute with the 49ers that featured social media outbursts, a trade request and an awkward “hold in” was to remain in San Francisco. The 49ers never wanted to part ways with their star receiver, either. So what took...
Mongolia ignores an international warrant for Putin’s arrest, giving him a red-carpet welcome
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia — Russian President Vladimir Putin received a red-carpet welcome Tuesday to Mongolia, as the country ignored calls to arrest him on an international warrant for alleged war crimes stemming from Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The trip, which concluded Tuesday night, was Putin’s first to a member nation of...
