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Fake babies, real horror: Deepfakes from the Gaza war increase fears about AI’s power to mislead

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:32:53 GMT

By DAVID KLEPPER (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Among images of the bombed out homes and ravaged streets of Gaza, some stood out for the utter horror: Bloodied, abandoned infants.Viewed millions of times online since the war began, these images are deepfakes created using artificial intelligence. If you look closely you can see clues: fingers that curl oddly, or eyes that shimmer with an unnatural light — all telltale signs of digital deception.The outrage the images were created to provoke, however, is all too real.Pictures from the Israel-Hamas war have vividly and painfully illustrated AI’s potential as a propaganda tool, used to create lifelike images of carnage. Since the war began last month, digitally altered ones spread on social media have been used to make false claims about responsibility for casualties or to deceive people about atrocities that never happened. While most of the false claims circulating online about the war didn’t require AI t...

Nikki Haley wins backing from powerful Koch network as she aims to take on Trump

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:32:53 GMT

By STEVE PEOPLES (AP National Political Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Americans for Prosperity, the political arm of the powerful Koch network, formally endorsed Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign on Tuesday, promising to commit its nationwide army of activists — and virtually unlimited funds — to helping Haley defeat former President Donald Trump in the GOP primary contest. “AFP Action is proud to throw our full support behind Nikki Haley, who offers America the opportunity to turn the page on the current political era, to win the Republican primary and defeat Joe Biden next November,” AFP president and CEO Emily Seidel wrote in a memo announcing the group’s decision. “She has what it takes to lead a policy agenda to take on our nation’s biggest challenges and help ensure our country’s best days are ahead. With the grassroots and data capability we bring to bear in this race, no other organization is better equipped to help her ...

Indian rescuers pull out all 41 workers who were trapped in a tunnel for 17 days

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:32:53 GMT

UTTARKASHI, India (AP) — All 41 construction workers who were trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in northern India for more than two weeks were pulled out on Tuesday, bringing a happy end to a drawn-out rescue mission that had gripped the country for days. Locals, relatives and government officials erupted in joy, set off firecrackers and shouted “Bharat Mata ki Jai” — Hindi for “Long live mother India — as smiling workers began emerging from the tunnel entrance. Officials hung floral garlands around the necks of the first rescued workers as the crowd cheered. Nitin Gadkari, the country’s minister of road transport and highways, said in a video posted on the social media platform X that he was “completely relieved and happy” after all of the workers were rescued from the Silkyara Tunnel in the northern Indian town of Uttarkashi following the 17-day ordeal. “This was a well-coordinated effort by multiple agencies, markin...

Tuberculosis warning: County reports exposure at Golden Hall shelter

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:32:53 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Residents, employees, contractors and volunteers at the Golden Hall shelter in downtown San Diego have been notified about a tuberculosis exposure, county officials said Monday.The potential exposure dates were between Sept. 5 to Sept. 28 at 1101 First Ave., the County of San Diego said on its website. Tuberculosis is bacteria that spreads through coughing, speaking, singing or breathing, according to the county. Those experiencing homeless are more vulnerable to the airborne disease. Naked guy spotted on iconic Disneyland Ride “Symptoms of active TB include persistent cough, fever, night sweats, and unexplained weight loss,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., County public health officer. “Most people who become infected after exposure to tuberculosis do not get sick right away. This is called latent TB infection. Some who become infected with tuberculosis will become ill in the future, sometimes even years later, if their latent TB infection is not treated. For people who thi...

A teen is found guilty of second-degree murder in a New Orleans carjacking that horrified the city

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:32:53 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A now 18-year-old teenager faces life behind bars after being found guilty of second-degree murder in last year’s heinous carjacking and dragging death of a 73-year-old woman in New Orleans.Jurors deliberated for about four hours Monday before finding the teenager guilty as charged, news outlets reported. He faces a mandatory term of life in prison with a chance at parole after 25 years, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported. Sentencing is set for Jan. 12.Four teenagers, who ranged in age from 15 to 17, were charged as adults with second-degree murder in Linda Frickey’s March 2022 killing. Three of them — all girls — pleaded guilty on Nov. 20 to attempted manslaughter for their roles in the crime. Each was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Monday’s trial began with the defendant’s attorney telling jurors that his client — then 17 — had committed “terrible” acts against the elderly woman in an attempt to steal her silver Nissan...

Judge cites handwritten will and awards real estate to Aretha Franklin’s sons

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:32:53 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — A judge overseeing the estate of Aretha Franklin awarded real estate to the late star’s sons, citing a handwritten will from 2014 that was found between couch cushions.The decision Monday came four months after a Detroit-area jury said the document was a valid will under Michigan law, despite scribbles and many hard-to-read passages. Franklin had signed it and put a smiley face in the letter “A.”The papers will override a handwritten will from 2010 that was found at Franklin’s suburban Detroit home around the same time in 2019, the judge said. One of her sons, Kecalf Franklin, will get that property, which was valued at $1.1 million in 2018, but is now worth more. A lawyer described it as the “crown jewel” before trial last July.Another son, Ted White II, who had favored the 2010 will, was given a house in Detroit, though it was sold by the estate for $300,000 before the dueling wills had emerged.“Teddy is requesting the sale proceeds,” Charles...

How a group of ancient sculptures sparked a dispute between Greece and the UK

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:32:53 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — For decades, Britain and Greece were able to differ, largely politely, over the world’s toughest cultural heritage dispute: What’s the right place for some of the finest ancient Greek sculptures ever made, which have been displayed in London for more than 200 years but which Greece vocally wants back.Diplomacy failed when U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak abruptly called off a London meeting scheduled for Tuesday with Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis.Mitsotakis publicly voiced annoyance. Sunak’s spokesman linked the snub with the Greek leader’s using British television to renew his call, a day earlier, for the 2,500-year-old masterpieces’ return.Here’s a look at what the dispute’s about, and what could come next.WHAT ARE THE SCULPTURES — OR IS IT MARBLES?They were carved in 447-432 B.C. to adorn the iconic Parthenon, a temple of the city’s patron goddess Athena, on the Acropolis hill.Free-standing statues fille...

Michael Douglas gets lifetime achievement award at International Film Festival of India in Goa

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:32:53 GMT

PANAJI, India (AP) — Veteran Hollywood actor and producer Michael Douglas was honored with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the 54th International Film Festival of India as it came to a close on Tuesday.The two-time Academy Award winner, 79, said he was “humbled” and with everything going on the world, the festival was “a reminder of the magic of moviemaking.”“Cinema is one of the few mediums that has the power to unite and transform us. It transcends divisions, whether that be geography, race language and even time,” he said in his acceptance speech.“Today our global language of cinema is more meaningful than ever,” Douglas added.“Endless Borders,” an Iranian film directed by Abbas Amini, won the Golden Peacock for best film at the festival held annually in coastal Goa, India’s scenic tourist hotspot.“The film is about how complicated physical borders might be yet nothing can be more complicated than the emotional and moral borders that you impose upon yourself,” the ...

Mayo Clinic announces $5 billion expansion of Minnesota campus

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:32:53 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Mayo Clinic announced a $5 billion expansion plan for its flagship campus Tuesday that includes new buildings designed so they can evolve and expand as patient needs change over the coming decades.The project is part of a Mayo strategy to transform both patient care and its campus in downtown Rochester, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southeast of Minneapolis. This storied hospital is known for its patient care as well as scientific breakthroughs in cancer and gene therapies. It draws patients from around the world.A key to it will be the creation of “neighborhoods” within the new facilities, where patients can go for all the services they need for their particular condition, such as cancer, without needing to be shuttled between various departments. Another component of that strategy will be integrating in-person and virtual visits, and taking advantage of artificial intelligence, including to accelerate the development of new cures.The idea is to blur the tr...

Four large Quebec public sector unions say they will strike for a week in December

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:32:53 GMT

MONTREAL — Four large Quebec public sector unions say they will strike for a week in December in an effort to accelerate contract negotiations with the provincial government. The four unions, who are negotiating together as a common front, say their 420,000 members will walk off the job from Dec. 8 to Dec. 14 if a deal isn’t reached before then.The unions represent the majority of Quebec’s elementary and high school teachers, as well as education support staff and a range of workers in the health-care system, including patient care aides and laboratory technicians.Workers represented by the four unions were on strike for three days last week and for a single day earlier in the month.The unions say the December strike will be the last temporary strike before their members begin an unlimited strike.A separate Quebec teachers union with more than 66,000 members began an unlimited strike last week.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 28, 2023.The Canadi...