International

International


NRA’s ex-CFO agreed to 10-year not-for-profit ban, still owes $2M for role in lavish spending scheme

NEW YORK (AP) — The National Rifle Association’s former finance czar, Wilson “Woody” Phillips, has been banned for a decade from managing money for any nonprofit company in New York, the state’s attorney general said Tuesday. Phillips agreed to the ban in May, three months after a jury found him liable in a scheme to […]

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Who is Kash Patel? Trump loyalist looks to build influence and power

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kash Patel, a national security aide and player in Donald Trump’s political orbit, is widely expected to take on an influential role in the federal government should the former president win a second term. A swaggering campaign surrogate who mythologizes the former president while promoting his own brand, Patel has a pedigree […]

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Scammers are swiping billions from Americans every year. Worse, most crooks are getting away with it

The scammers are winning. Sophisticated overseas criminals are stealing tens of billions of dollars from Americans every year, a crime wave projected to get worse as the U.S. population ages and technology like AI makes it easier than ever to perpetrate fraud and get away with it. Internet and telephone scams have grown “exponentially,” overwhelming […]

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Arkansas election officials checking signatures of 3 measures vying for November ballot

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Supporters of proposals to expand Arkansas’ medical marijuana program and repeal a casino license turned in thousands of signatures on Friday to try and get their measures before voters in the November election. Organizers of the initiative campaigns, along with an effort to scale back the state’s abortion ban, said […]

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2 more people charged with conspiring to bribe Minnesota juror with a bag of cash plead not guilty

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Two of five people charged with conspiring to bribe a Minnesota juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash in exchange for the acquittal of defendants in one of the country’s largest COVID-19-related fraud cases pleaded not guilty Wednesday.  Said Shafii Farah and Abdulkarim Shafii Farah were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge […]

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UN adopts Chinese resolution with US support on closing the gap in access to artificial intelligence

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly adopted a Chinese-sponsored resolution with U.S. support urging wealthy developed nations to close the widening gap with developing countries and ensure they have equal opportunities to use and benefit from artificial intelligence. The resolution approved Monday follows the March 21 adoption of the first U.N. resolution on […]

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AI is learning from what you said on Reddit, Stack Overflow or Facebook. Are you OK with that?

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Post a comment on Reddit, answer coding questions on Stack Overflow, edit a Wikipedia entry or share a baby photo on your public Facebook or Instagram feed and you are also helping to train the next generation of artificial intelligence.  Not everyone is OK with that — especially as the same […]

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European Union’s competition boss signals fresh AI scrutiny for Microsoft-OpenAI deal and Google

LONDON (AP) — The European Union is escalating its scrutiny of the artificial intelligence industry, including taking a fresh look into Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI, a top EU official said Friday.  The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, started reviewing the deal last year to see whether it broke EU merger rules but dropped […]

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Julian Assange is now free to do or say whatever he likes. What does his future hold?

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — He has run for office, published hundreds of thousands of leaked government documents online, and once lobbied to save his local swimming pool. One of the most polarizing and influential figures of the information age, Julian Assange is now free after five years in a British prison and seven years […]

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One Tech Tip: What to do when you have too many passwords to remember

LONDON (AP) — Everyone has too many passwords. The credentials we need to remember to navigate online life keep multiplying, not just for frequently used email, banking, social media, Netflix and Spotify logins, but also, say, the little-known e-commerce site you’re not sure you’ll buy from again.  According to some unscientific studies, the average person […]

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Prospect of low-priced Chinese EVs reaching US from Mexico poses threat to automakers

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a scenario that terrifies America’s auto industry. Chinese carmakers set up shop in Mexico to exploit North American trade rules. Once in place, they send ultra-low-priced electric vehicles streaming into the United States. As the Chinese EVs go on sale across the country, America’s homegrown EVs — costing an average of […]

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Feds charge 5, including man acquitted at trial, with conspiring to bribe Minnesota juror with $120K

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Five people were charged Wednesday with conspiring to bribe a Minnesota juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash in exchange for the acquittal of defendants in one of the country’s largest COVID-19-related fraud cases, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI announced Wednesday. Court documents made public reveal an extravagant scheme […]

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