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Extremist-linked rebels kill at least 44 villagers in separate attacks in Congo’s volatile east

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:11 GMT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Extremist-linked rebels have killed at least 44 villagers in separate attacks in Congo’s volatile east, local authorities and civil society leaders said Tuesday.The Allied Democratic Forces rebels with ties to the Islamic State group attacked Kishanga village in North Kivu province on Sunday night and killed 33 people including a member of the Congolese army, said a delegate of the provincial governor, Samson Simara.“The rebels executed them in the Virunga National Park,” Simara said.The rebels killed 11 other villagers in the province of Ituri on Tuesday, according to Samuel Ngunjolo, a civil society leader.“We are worried and … are asking the security services to urgently deploy security,” Ngunjolo said.Six of the rebels were killed by the army, according to Capt. Anthony Mulushayi, spokesman for the Congolese army in North Kivu. Some hostages were freed, Mulushayi said.Eastern Congo has been ravaged by conflict for decades as more than 120 armed group...

YouTube creators will soon have to disclose use of gen AI in videos or risk suspension

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:11 GMT

The Associated Press (AP) — YouTube is rolling out new rules for AI content, including a requirement that creators reveal whether they’ve used generative artificial intelligence to make realistic looking videos. In a blog post Tuesday outlining a number of AI-related policy updates, YouTube said creators that don’t disclose whether they’ve used AI tools to make “altered or synthetic” videos face penalties including having their content removed or suspension from the platform’s revenue sharing program. “Generative AI has the potential to unlock creativity on YouTube and transform the experience for viewers and creators on our platform,” Jennifer Flannery O’Connor and Emily Moxley, vice presidents for product management, wrote in the blog post. “But just as important, these opportunities must be balanced with our responsibility to protect the YouTube community.” The restrictions expand on rules that YouTube’s parent company, Google, unveiled in September ...

Wanted sex offender Randall Hopley arrested in Vancouver, police say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:11 GMT

VANCOUVER — Police say high-risk sex offender Randall Hopley has been arrested in Vancouver.A statement from police says Hopley was picked up at about 6 a.m. on the city’s Downtown Eastside and he is in custody.The arrest ends a 10-day search for Hopley, who walked away from his Vancouver halfway house on Nov. 4., and cut off his electronic monitoring device a short time later.At the time, police said they believed the 58-year-old was worried about an upcoming court appearance and feared he would be returned to custody.Hopley had completed a six-year prison term for the 2011 abduction of a three-year-old boy in southeastern B.C.He was released in 2018 and was living at the halfway house under a 10-year long-term supervision order but was arrested in January for allegedly violating conditions of the order.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2023.The Canadian Press

German government grants Siemens Energy a loan guarantee to help secure the company

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:11 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The German government said Tuesday it is granting a 7.5 billion-euro ($8 billion) loan guarantee to energy technology company Siemens Energy as part of a 15 billion-euro package to help the firm, an important player in the transition to renewable energy sources.Siemens Energy sought help from the government as it struggles with problems at its Gamesa wind energy subsidiary, including quality issues with previously installed wind turbines.The company said on Oct. 26 that “the strong growth in order intake, particularly in the former gas and power business areas, leads to a rising need of guarantees for long-term projects.” It said it was in talks with partners, including the government, to ensure access to guarantees “to facilitate the anticipated strong growth.”The government held talks with Siemens Energy, industrial conglomerate Siemens AG — which spun off Siemens Energy in 2020 and retains a minority stake in the company — and with private banks. The Eco...

Satellite photos analyzed by the AP show Israeli forces pushed further into Gaza late last week

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:11 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israeli tanks and armored vehicles pushed further into the Gaza Strip late last week as part of an offensive squeezing Gaza City as fighting raged between its forces and Hamas militants in the coastal enclave, satellite photos analyzed Tuesday by The Associated Press show.Images from Planet Labs PBC taken Saturday showed Israeli forces just south of the marina in Gaza City, with over three dozen vehicles positioned on the beach. Some stood behind sand berms likely providing some cover.That position corresponds with AP reporting, as well as an analysis by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War. The institute attributed those vehicles as belonging to an Israeli push that saw troops cut off Gaza City to the south before reaching the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and moving north toward the marina.That apparent forward operating base of Israeli forces resembled a similar defensive position seen last week to the north of the marina in imag...

Teen, 16, faces first-degree murder, sex assault charges in killing of Quebec woman

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:11 GMT

Quebec City police say they have arrested a teenager in the sexual assault and killing of a 19-year-old woman on Oct. 26.The 16-year-old boy was arrested Monday and faces a first-degree murder charge and one count of armed sexual assault of Daphnée Jolivet.The suspect also faces charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault of a 16-year-old.Police say the teen is the same suspect who was charged with impaired driving and vehicle theft and whose arrest led police to a home on Oct. 26 in the city’s Limoilou district, where Jolivet was killed.The teen was questioned by investigators and is expected to appear before a youth division Quebec court judge later today.Police say the teen appears to have acted alone and that there was no link between the suspect and the two victims.Jolivet’s death is the sixth homicide reported in the provincial capital in 2023, with police having made arrests in five of those cases. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. ...

Parents sue Volkswagen following carjacking, kidnapping of toddler in Libertyville

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:11 GMT

LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. — The parents of a toddler who was kidnapped during a carjacking are suing the automaker.Attorneys for the family claim Volkswagen refused to assist authortities in tracking the car until payment of their tracking system was paid and activated.The incident happened last February in the 16000 block of Route 137 in unincorporated Libertyville when Taylor Shepherd, who was pregnant at the time, was returning home.When Shepherd went to retrieve her 2-year-old son from the car, an assailant pulled up behind her 2021 Volkswagen Atlas, beat her and knocked her to the ground.According to the lawsuit, the assailant then stole the Volkswagen Atlas, with the 2-year-old boy inside, and fled — running Shepherd over and causing serious injuries to her pelvis and extemities. She immediately called 911 and first responders arrived to the scene shortly after. The lawsuit claims a deputy from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office contacted Volkswagen and requested the GPS tracking locat...

Fed will cut interest rates deeply this spring, new estimate says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:11 GMT

(The Hill) -- The Federal Reserve is likely to make significant cuts to interest rates next year beginning as early as March, according to a new estimate from UBS Investment Bank.Slowing inflation could enable a 2.75 percent decrease in the interest rate over the course of the year, nearly halving the current rate of nearly 5.5 percent, UBS said.The firm predicts that the U.S. economy will fall into a recession by the second quarter of next year, enabling a rate cut. Rates will fall as low as 1.25 percent by 2025, the market experts predict.Other predictors, however, are anticipating just 0.75 percent drop starting in the summer, a much more conservative forecast. Wall Street has been split on predicting the Fed’s movements. Yellen: Negative Moody’s outlook on US is ‘a decision that I disagree with’ UBS Chief Strategist Bhanu Baweja told Bloomberg that the firm sees all the signs of a standard rate-cutting cycle on the horizon.“We don’t see the conditions for why this time is so...

WATCH LIVE: Biden addresses US climate report which offers dire outlook, with temperatures expected to cross key thresholds

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:11 GMT

A major federal climate report shows that the U.S. is unlikely to meet national or international climate targets and warns of dire consequences for the country.The Fifth National Climate Assessment, released Tuesday, finds that the planet is very likely to heat up by an average of between 4.5 and 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit (2.5 and 4.0 degrees Celsius) compared to pre-industrial times — outpacing goals of both the U.S. and international community.While it puts the likely warming window in that range, the report notes that scientists cannot rule out further warming and “potentially catastrophic outcomes.”“Higher values are not definitively ruled out, and feedback loops such as changes to cloud cover may lead to more warming in the future,” it said. It noted that “tipping points” such as the loss of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, loss of the Amazon rainforest and cloud disappearance risk creating further accelerations to planetary warming. Yet, ...

Men’s basketball: First true test for Gophers comes Thursday vs. Missouri

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:11 GMT

The Gophers men’s basketball team blew out both of its opponents in the first week of the season. That’s better than head coach Ben Johnson’s first two teams started their seasons at Minnesota.The U beat Bethune-Cookman by 20 points in the season opener on Nov. 6, then throttled Texas-San Antonio by 23 on Friday.Star forward Dawson Garica was named Big Ten player of the week on Monday, new point guard Elijah Spencer has created a faster offensive tempo, and true freshman Cam Christie showed off a smooth shooting stroke in his debut Friday. The roster is deeper and more versatile with the return of Parker Fox and Isaiah Ihnen from serious injuries.But the Gophers haven’t played anybody noteworthy.KenPom ranks Bethune-Cookman 350th among 362 Division I men’s basketball programs as of Monday. UTSA is pegged at 257th.The level of competition will change Thursday when Missouri (2-1) comes to Williams Arena for an 8 p.m. tipoff. The Tigers are rated 64th in the nation, while the Gophers (...