8 mins read

What’s in a name? Why naming storms, military operations and medical maladies matters

U.S. hurricane season is gearing up. And from Amanda and Boris onward, tropical cyclones’ names in the Pacific region are unfolding quickly. But why the monikers each year? Or at all? Humans have given names to the world around them for almost as long as language itself has existed, but formal naming practices for storms […]

8 mins read

Trump keeps embracing data centers even as they become toxic in midterm races

WASHINGTON | President Donald Trump, speaking alongside cryptocurrency leaders at the White House this week, made a statement that Republican and Democratic candidates alike wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole. “If I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state, and I had a chance to get a big plant in, […]

4 mins read

5 books to read this fall, from Marlon James to Joe Biden

NEW YORK | Book lovers this fall can look forward to a wealth of fiction, biographies, memoirs, poetry collections and topical nonfiction. Here are five upcoming works you’ll likely be hearing about. “The Disappearers,” Marlon James Marlon James’ fantasy series “Dark Star” was a showcase for his extraordinary and boundless imagination. In “The Disappearers,” he […]

5 mins read

Prince Harry and 6 others must pay initial $13 million over failed invasion of privacy case

LONDON | Prince Harry and six others, including Elton John, have been ordered to pay an initial 9.5 million pounds ($13 million) to the publisher of Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper following their failed invasion of privacy case. In a judgment Friday, Justice Matthew Nicklin said in a written statement that the payment to Associated Newspapers […]

7 mins read

How to help your kids make friends at a new school

For students starting at a new school, the first day holds many questions: Will they see any familiar faces? Who will they sit with at lunch? Who will they play with at recess? “I’m this much nervous,” said Iman Fair-Seldon, 5, holding her hands about 4 inches (10 centimeters) apart. Iman will start first grade […]

8 mins read

Schools are starting to teach AI literacy. For many, that means helping kids see chatbots’ flaws

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. | Artificial intelligence chatbots have become the bane of teachers everywhere, but to prepare for the new school year, a group of educators in Charleston, South Carolina, packed into a high school auditorium and talked about inviting AI into the classroom. The teachers and principals watched as an instructor prompted an AI […]

5 mins read

Court cuts $50M judgment against Infowars’ Alex Jones over falsely labeling Newtown killings a hoax

AUSTIN, Texas | A Texas court on Friday slashed a $50 million judgment to about $6 million against Infowars founder Alex Jones after he falsely claimed the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school mass shooting was a hoax. The ruling does not affect a $1.25 billion judgment against Jones in Connecticut, but is a legal victory […]

3 mins read

Supreme Court’s chief justice allows work on Trump’s $400M White House ballroom to continue for now

WASHINGTON | Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday allowed the White House to continue construction on President Donald Trump’s $400 million ballroom project for now, as the Supreme Court considers the Trump administration’s emergency request to intervene in lawsuits over the project. The temporary order comes hours before lower-court rulings would have forced a halt […]

4 mins read

Russian drones kill 15 people at a shopping mall in a central Ukrainian city, officials say

KYIV, Ukraine | Russian drones struck a shopping center in the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine on Friday, killing at least 15 people and wounding scores more, authorities said. The shopping mall strikes, plus two other separate Russian attacks in the Mykolaiv and Kharkiv regions, left a total of 21 people dead across […]

2 mins read

An 18-year-old with a sword attacks a school in Sweden, leaving 1 dead

GENEVA | An 18-year-old with a sword attacked a school Friday in central Sweden, killing one person and seriously injuring two others, a police chief said. Police Chief Tommy Alriksson told a news conference that the 18-year-old perpetrator at the school in the central town of Fagersta had been arrested. Police confirmed that shots were […]