International

International


States have hodgepodge of cumbersome rules for enforcing sunshine laws

PHOENIX (AP) — A nationwide review of procedures by The Associated Press and CNHI News revealed a patchwork of complicated systems for resolving open government disputes that often put the burden of enforcing transparency laws on private citizens.  The review, timed to Sunshine Week, found that fewer than a third of states have offices that […]

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OpenAI has ‘full confidence’ in CEO Sam Altman after investigation, reinstates him to board

OpenAI is reinstating CEO Sam Altman to its board of directors and said it has “full confidence” in his leadership after the conclusion of an outside investigation into the company’s turmoil. The ChatGPT maker tapped the law firm WilmerHale to look into what led the company to abruptly fire Altman in November, only to rehire […]

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Microsoft says it hasn’t been able to shake Russian state hackers

BOSTON (AP) — Microsoft said Friday it’s still trying to evict the elite Russian government hackers who broke into the email accounts of senior company executives in November and who it said have been trying to breach customer networks with stolen access data.  The hackers from Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service used data obtained in […]

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Officers need warrants to use aircraft, zoom lenses to surveil areas around homes, Alaska court says

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska law enforcement officers must obtain a warrant before using aircraft to scope out the area around a person’s home with binoculars or cameras with zoom lenses, the state’s highest court ruled in a decision released Friday. The Alaska Supreme Court ruling comes in a case that dates to 2012, when […]

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Biden says he’ll sign proposed legislation to ban TikTok if Congress passes it

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday endorsed legislation that could lead to the popular video-sharing app TikTok being banned in the United States, a move that comes amid growing concern in Washington about keeping Americans’ data out of China’s hands. The legislation that passed through the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously […]

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Behind the doors of a Chinese hacking company, a sordid culture fueled by influence, alcohol and sex

BEIJING (AP) — The hotel was spacious. It was upscale. It had a karaoke bar. The perfect venue, the CEO of the Chinese hacking company thought, to hold a Lunar New Year banquet currying favor with government officials. There was just one drawback, his top deputy said. “Who goes there?” the deputy wrote. “The girls […]

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Voters backed abortion rights. Yet Kansas could make doctors ask patients why they want abortions

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas moved closer Thursday to requiring abortion providers to ask patients why they want to terminate their pregnancies and report the answers to the state. It would join other states with Republican legislatures that ban most abortions even though Kansas voters have affirmed abortion rights. The House approved, in an 81-39 […]

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NYC public servants accused of stealing identities of homeless in pandemic fraud scheme

NEW YORK (AP) — Several New York City employees were arrested Thursday for their alleged role in a scheme to steal the identities of homeless shelter residents and defraud a pandemic-era relief program.  Manhattan prosecutors brought charges against 18 people, including five employees of the city’s homeless services agency, an NYPD officer, an MTA worker, […]

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President Biden to make ‘unity agenda’ appeal to Congress in State of the Union

WASHINGTON (AP) — Much of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union on Thursday night will focus on comparing his vision for America with that of the Republican Party, setting up an election-year contrast that Biden hopes will pay dividends in November. But he’ll also focus on areas that he and White House aides believe […]

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Canadian town mourns ‘devastating loss’ of family killed in Nashville plane crash

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Police in Tennessee identified those killed in a fiery small plane crash next to Interstate 40 on Monday as a family of five from Canada.  The pilot was Victor Dotsenko, 43, and the passengers were his wife Rimma, 39, and their three children, David, 12, Adam, 10, and Emma, 7, Metro […]

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Apple is making big App Store changes in Europe over new rules. Could it mean more iPhone hacking?

Apple is opening small cracks in the iPhone’s digital fortress as part of a regulatory clampdown in Europe that is striving to give consumers more choices — at the risk of creating new avenues for hackers to steal personal and financial information stored on the devices. The overhaul rolling out Thursday only in the European […]

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Europe’s Digital Markets Act is forcing tech giants to make changes. Here’s what that will look like

LONDON (AP) — Europeans scrolling their phones and computers this week will get new choices for default browsers and search engines, where to download iPhone apps and how their personal online data is used.  They’re part of changes required under the Digital Markets Act, a set of European Union regulations that six tech companies classed […]

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