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Postal Service chief says work stopped on computer system key to Trump effort to limit mail voting
WASHINGTON | The top official at the U.S. Postal Service said Thursday that the agency has stopped work on developing a controversial computer system that was central to President Donald Trump’s effort to limit mail voting after the Supreme Court rejected his executive order this week. “There’s an injunction so we’re not doing anything,” postmaster […]
Former Syrian official convicted of torture under Assad sentenced to 60 years in US prison
LOS ANGELES | A former Syrian military official convicted of torturing prisoners during the rule of former President Bashar Assad was sentenced Thursday to 60 years in a U.S. prison after a federal judge recounted the “unimaginably cruel” details of his abuse. A jury in March found Samir Ousman Alsheikh guilty on all six counts […]
Anthropic says its model Claude is helping to build the next version of itself
Anthropic’s Claude is helping the company develop the next, more intelligent version of the model, the artificial intelligence lab said in an announcement Thursday. Claude is leading 26% of Anthropic’s model research and development, which the company said means it can complete most of a given task “end-to-end from a high-level prompt” while still being […]
Early voting begins in US midterm elections that could flip control of Congress
HENRICO, Va. | In-person voting for this year’s midterm elections began Friday, ushering in the final six weeks for Americans to decide which party they trust to lead Congress through a cost-of-living crisis, a prolonged war in Iran and other pressing issues. Election administrators say they are prepared and confident the vote will be accurate […]
US-Canada trade war further taxes small businesses as costs rise during the Iran war
NEW YORK | A trade war between the United States and Canada is making it more difficult and expensive for small businesses in the economically entwined countries to operate, according to business owners caught in the crossfire. Canada imposed reciprocal tariffs on about $20 billion (CA$27.6 billion) worth of U.S. goods last week after President […]
Why Yemen’s Houthis have only grown stronger through years of war
At various times over the last decade, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Britain and Israel have carried out punishing air raids on Yemen’s Houthi rebels — only to see them grow even stronger. Now, as the Iran-backed Houthis advance on a key maritime chokepoint and strike Saudi oil facilities, rattling world […]
OpenAI flags concerning new AI behavior and vows to track it more closely
OpenAI has disclosed six reports of “unexpected or concerning” behavior in artificial-intelligence models as the debate on AI safety becomes increasingly heated. The AI company also said Wednesday it was introducing a new framework for tracking, probing and disclosing instances of what it called “misalignment,” including cases where AI models acted without authorization, coordinated with […]
The fight over congressional maps put nearly 35 million people into new House districts, report says
WASHINGTON | The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study. A report by Protect Democracy found that 34.8 million people — about one in 10 Americans — now […]
A global AI safety strategy depends on US-China cooperation. They each see the other as the problem
HONG KONG | As concern rises over the risks of artificial intelligence, hopes for any kind of global approach depend on cooperation between the U.S. and China — superpowers that seem only to be more skeptical of each other’s AI strategy. AI governance is expected to be on the agenda in a meeting planned for […]
EU chief proposes bloc-wide social media ban for kids under 13
BRUSSELS | The European Union’s top official proposed on Wednesday banning children under 13 across the 27-nation bloc from using social media sites and imposing limits for older teens on accessing the platforms. The plan outlined by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen adds to global efforts to protect young people using platforms such […]