International

International


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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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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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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Who freed Flaco? One year later, celebrity owl’s escape from Central Park Zoo remains a mystery

NEW YORK (AP) — This New York love story begins with a criminal act of sabotage. Under cover of darkness a year ago Friday, someone breached a waist-high fence and slipped into the Central Park Zoo. Once inside, they cut a hole through a steel mesh cage, freeing a majestic Eurasian eagle-owl named Flaco who […]

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Meta, TikTok and other social media CEOs testify in heated Senate hearing on child exploitation

Sexual predators. Addictive features. Suicide and eating disorders. Unrealistic beauty standards. Bullying. These are just some of the issues young people are dealing with on social media — and children’s advocates and lawmakers say companies are not doing enough to protect them. On Wednesday, the CEOs of Meta, TikTok, X and other social media companies […]

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton gets temporary reprieve from testifying in lawsuit against him

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to temporarily halt state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s scheduled testimony in a whistleblower lawsuit that was at the heart of the impeachment charges brought against him in 2023, delaying what could have been the Republican’s first sworn statements on corruption allegations. Paxton had urged […]

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US says it disrupted a China cyber threat, but warns hackers could still wreak havoc for Americans

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials said Wednesday they disrupted a state-backed Chinese effort to plant malware that could be used to damage civilian infrastructure, as the head of the FBI warned that Beijing is positioning itself to disrupt the daily lives of Americans if the United States and China ever go to war. The operation, […]

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Japanese officials raid a Toyota group plant after the company admitted cheating on engine testing

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese transport officials raided a Toyota-affiliated plant Tuesday after the company admitted to cheating on engine testing, as Toyota Motor Corp. reported it sold over 11 million vehicles in 2023 to retain its status as the world’s top car manufacturer.  Hours after the probe began at Toyota Industries Corp.’s plant in Hekinan, […]

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