Canadian Press

Source: Canadian Press


Near-total abortion ban rejected by Virginia House panel

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Lawmakers in the Virginia House of Delegates — controlled by Democrats who flipped the chamber in November after campaigning on abortion rights — decisively voted down a bill that would have instituted a near-total abortion ban. On a bipartisan 8-0 vote Wednesday night, a House subcommittee rejected the measure that would […]

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CIA terminates whistleblower who prompted flood of sexual misconduct complaints

The CIA this week terminated a woman whose whistleblower account of being assaulted in a stairwell at the spy agency’s headquarters prompted a flood of colleagues to come forward with their own complaints of sexual misconduct. The woman’s attorney called the action a brazen retaliation. While the CIA said that accusation was “factually inaccurate,” it […]

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Maryland judges’ personal information protected under bill passed by Senate after fatal shooting

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland judges would be able to shield their personal information online to prevent hostile people from tracking them down, under a bill the state Senate passed Thursday in response to the fatal shooting of a judge in his driveway. The Senate voted 43-1 for the Judge Andrew F. Wilkinson Judicial Security […]

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Silent Donor platform offers anonymous donations to the mainstream, as privacy debate rages

NEW YORK (AP) — Tim Sanders started his company, Silent Donor, based on his own experience giving money to charities. “I was happy to give a financial gift to a nonprofit, but then afterwards I was kind of put off with the amount of mail that was sent to my house,” he said. “And 10 […]

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Treasury rolls out residential real estate transparency rules to combat money laundering

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration wants to make residential real estate transactions more transparent by unmasking the owners of certain all-cash purchases. It’s part of an ongoing effort to combat money laundering and the movement of dirty money through the American financial system. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed a regulation on […]

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The EU launches legal action against Hungary over new law accused of targeting critics

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Wednesday launched legal action against Hungary’s right-wing government over a new law that allows authorities to investigate and prosecute people accused of undermining the country’s sovereignty. The “sovereignty protection act” took effect in December. It created a government authority with the power to gather information on any groups […]

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With ‘superhuman’ artificial intelligence looming, Canada needs law now: AI pioneer

A top pioneer of artificial intelligence says the federal government must move urgently to regulate the technology, because its current trajectory poses major societal risks.  Yoshua Bengio, dubbed a “godfather” of AI, told members of Parliament today that Ottawa should put a law in place immediately, even if that legislation is not perfect.  The scientific […]

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Philly sheriff’s campaign takes down bogus ‘news’ stories posted to site that were generated by AI

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The campaign team behind Philadelphia’s embattled sheriff acknowledged Monday that a series of positive “news” stories posted to their site were generated by ChatGPT.  Sheriff Rochelle Bilal’s campaign removed more than 30 stories created by a consultant using the generative AI chatbot. The move came after a Philadelphia Inquirer story on Monday […]

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With ‘superhuman’ artificial intelligence looming, Canada needs law now: AI pioneer

The federal government must move urgently to regulate artificial intelligence, says a top AI pioneer, warning the technology’s current trajectory poses major societal risks. Yoshua Bengio, dubbed a “godfather” of AI, told members of Parliament Monday that Ottawa should put a law in place immediately, even if that legislation is not perfect. The scientific director […]

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AI brings deepfake pornography to the masses, as Canadian laws play catch-up

Underage Canadian high school girls are targeted using AI to create fake explicit photos that spread online. Google searches bring up multiple free websites capable of “undressing” women in a matter of minutes. The world’s biggest pop star falls prey to a deepfake pornographer, with the images viewed tens of millions of times. This is […]

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Arkansas parole board chair resigns after police personnel file shows he lied about sex with minor

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The chair of Arkansas’ parole board resigned on Friday after personnel records revealed he was fired from a local police department several years ago for lying to investigators about having sex with a minor. Jamol Jones, who Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders named the board’s chair last week, stepped down from […]

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Turning Rideau Cottage into prime minister’s permanent home comes with cost: docs

Turning Rideau Cottage into the permanent residence of the prime minister would have to include creating staff offices and other “residential infrastructure,” an internal government document says.  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been living in the house on the grounds of Rideau Hall, the Governor General’s residence, since he came into office. Making that situation […]

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