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UK holds local elections amid storm over new voter ID rules

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:44 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Millions of people in England were voting Thursday in local elections that are the first test of electoral opinion since Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took over a fractious and exhausted Conservative Party six months ago. The Conservatives say they expect to lose ground in elections for more than 8,000 seats on 230 local councils across England as voters punish them for the turmoil that engulfed the party under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He resigned amid multiple scandals and was replaced by Liz Truss, whose rash tax-cutting plans spooked financial markets, hammered the value of the pound and roiled the wider British economy.The party chose Sunak, a smooth former banker, to try to restore stability to the economy and the government.Sunak said Wednesday that his party was expecting the election to be “hard for us,” but vowed the Conservatives were leaving behind the “box set drama” of the Johnson and Truss eras.“I’ve only been prime minister for six months but I ...

Daughter of ousted Thai prime minister could win his old job

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:44 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — She has confidence, she has charisma, but most of all she has the family name and a face that reminds many of her famous father. In the race to become Thailand’s next prime minister, opinion polls show Paetongtarn Shinawatra to be the heavy favorite to take the post after the May 14 general election.But some fear that victory for the youngest daughter of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra — the country’s most divisive figure — could plunge Thailand back into a familiar cycle of protest and military intervention.Having the 36-year-old Paetongtarn on the ballot is expected to pay off handsomely for the popular Pheu Thai opposition party. It’s polling so well that it’s hoping for a landslide victory, with enough seats to overcome the ruling party’s built-in edge and name the prime minister.While Paetongtarn is the clear vote-getter of her party’s three candidates, any of the three could emerge from post-election wheeling and dealing as Thailand’s new l...

India to talk with China, Russia before Central Asia meeting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:44 GMT

PANAJI, India (AP) — India’s foreign minister is expected to hold bilateral talks Thursday with counterparts from China and Russia ahead of a Central Asian security forum meeting. Foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization began arriving in host India’s tourist hotspot Goa, where they are expected to discuss deepening economic and security cooperation in the region on Friday. The planned meeting between India’s Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and China’s Qin Gang comes as the two countries remain embroiled in a three-year-long intense standoff involving thousands of soldiers stationed along their disputed border in the eastern Ladakh region. During a meeting last week between their defense ministers, India accused its neighbor of eroding ties by violating bilateral agreements, and China said the border conditions were “stable overall.”A clash three years ago in Ladakh killed 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese.The differing tone of the statements refl...

Harris to meet with CEOs about artificial intelligence risks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will meet on Thursday with the CEOs of four major companies developing artificial intelligence as the Biden administration rolls out a set of initiatives meant to ensure the rapidly evolving technology improves lives without putting people’s rights and safety at risk.The Democratic administration plans to announce an investment of $140 million to establish seven new AI research institutes, administration officials told reporters in previewing the effort. In addition, the White House Office of Management and Budget is expected to issue guidance in the next few months on how federal agencies can use AI tools. There will also be an independent commitment by top AI developers to participate in a public evaluation of their systems in August at the Las Vegas hacker convention DEF CON.Harris and administration officials on Thursday plan to discuss the risks they see in current AI development with the CEOs of Alphabet, Anthropic, Microsof...

WHO fires scientist who led COVID search over sex misconduct

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:44 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says it has fired the scientist who led a high-profile delegation from the U.N. health agency to China two years ago to jointly look into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, citing sexual misconduct.Peter Ben Embarek, who led the WHO side of a joint team with scientists in China, was dismissed last year, the health agency said. WHO says it has stepped up efforts to root out sexual abuse, exploitation and harassment in recent months after a string of cases and incidents were reported in the press. “Peter Ben Embarek was dismissed following findings of sexual misconduct against him and corresponding disciplinary process,” said spokeswoman Marcia Poole said in an email. “The findings concern allegations relating to 2015 and 2017 that were first received by the WHO investigations team in 2018.”She said other allegations could not be fully investigated as the “victim(s) did not wish to engage with the investigation process.”Ben Embarek did...

Hate passwords? Google is sidelining them

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:44 GMT

AN FRANCISCO (AP) — Good news for all the password-haters out there: Google has taken a big step toward making them an afterthought by adding “passkeys” as a more straightforward and secure way to log into its services.Here's what you need to know:WHAT ARE PASSKEYS?Passkeys offer a safer alternative to passwords and texted confirmation codes. Users won’t ever see them directly; instead, an online service like Gmail will use them to communicate directly with a trusted device such as your phone or computer to log you in.All you'll have to do is verify your identity on the device using a PIN unlock code, biometrics such as your fingerprint or a face scan or a more sophisticated physical security dongle.Google designed its passkeys to work with a variety of devices, so you can use them on iPhones, Macs and Windows computers as well as Google’s own Android phones.WHY ARE PASSKEYS NECESSARY?Thanks to clever hackers and human fallibility, passwords are just too easy to steal or defeat. And...

Risk of severe storms today, tomorrow and Saturday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:44 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Today marks 'day 1' of an active weather pattern settling in over Central Texas.Our Thursday starts with warm and humid conditions under mainly cloudy skies. By late afternoon, a broken line of storms will fire up along the dry line out west and attempt to push east into our area. There is uncertainty as to how well these storms will hold together, but as of now, we expect isolated strong storms over the Hill Country that likely fall apart before moving into Austin.If storms are to develop and hold together long enough to reach our area, large hail and damaging winds will be the primary concerns.SEVERE: Slight risk (2 out of 5) for widely scattered severe storms includes all of Central Texas Thursday afternoon/eveningSEVERE: Slight risk (2 out of 5) in the Hill Country & marginal risk (1 out of 5) for Austin-metro & eastern counties Friday afternoon & eveningSEVERE: Marginal risk (1 out of 5) for severe storms in the Hill Country Saturday afternoon/eveni...

98.3 TRY Social Dilemma: Is It Acceptable To Take Shampoo/Soap From a Hotel Room?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:44 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Today's 98.3 TRY Social Dilemma came from Dennis and it's about what he calls "acceptable" stealing. Here's his email: Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Hi Jaime. I was recently staying at a hotel on business. I loved the shampoo and soap they had out, so I specifically called down to get more of it up to my room, and then packed it away to bring it home with me. I think this is acceptable stealing. I'm sure the hotel knows that's what's going to happen so I didn't think it was a big deal at all. However, when I got home, my wife read me the riot act and said it was just plain stealing...not "acceptable" stealing. I disagree with her. What do you think? Is it okay to take the soap and shampoos from hotel rooms? Or is that stealing. Oh and I guess I should mention that I wrapped them up in a washcloth from the hotel too. Didn't think they would miss it. So did I steal, or is this no big deal? Help me w...

Schenectady man who stole seven snow blowers sentenced

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:44 GMT

HALFMOON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Schenectady man was sentenced to 2-6 years in jail on Wednesday after pleading guilty to third-degree grand larceny. Bryan Pallone, 35, was accused of stealing seven snow blowers in the span of a month and was arrested in January. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! On November 16, 2022, troopers received a report from the Halfmoon Home Depot claiming five snow blowers had been stolen in the early morning hours of November 12, 2022. Police say that on December 12, 2022, two additional snow blowers were reported stolen from the Halfmoon Lowes. Police say an investigation led to Pallone's arrest, who had 20 outstanding warrants.According to the Saratoga County District Attorney's Office, Pallone pleaded guilty on April 13.

Saratoga Springs man sentenced for drug possession

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:44 GMT

WILTON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Saratoga Springs man was sentenced on Wednesday after previously pleading guilty to possessing drugs. Corey Saxton, 37, was initially arrested in July 2022. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Saxton was with two others when he was arrested. At the time, Saxton was an active parolee, and allegedly ran from police, leading to a foot chase. He was arraigned in the Town of Malta Court and was sent to the Saratoga County Jail with no bail. According to the Saratoga County District Attorney's Office, he pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance on February 23.Saxton was sentenced to three and a half years in jail.