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Jacinda Ardern is back — as ‘special envoy’ for anti-terror initiative

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:19:49 GMT

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has appointed his predecessor Jacinda Ardern as special envoy for the Christchurch Call, he announced Tuesday. “The newly created position will represent New Zealand’s continued commitment to push for greater protection online from terrorist and violent extremist content,” the New Zealand prime minister’s office said in a statement.The Christchurch Call is a nonbinding initiative led after the 2019 Christchurch terror attacks by Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron, and aimed at curbing the spread of terrorist content on the internet. It’s backed by countries including the United States and Canada; tech giants such as Google and Meta are participants. Macron welcomed Ardern’s appointment. “My dear Jacinda Ardern, I am pleased that you will continue to work alongside us as Special Envoy for the Christchurch Call as we fight terrorist and violent extremist content online, and for an open, free and...

The barcode is turning 50, but who gets the credit for it is up for debate

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:19:49 GMT

(CNN) — Beep! The barcode, that rectangle of thick and thin parallel lines seen on seemingly every grocery product, package, prescription bottle and piece of luggage is turning 50 years old.Since its invention, the Universal Product Code has become the most prevalent tracking tool for products around the world. Billions of items are scanned every day in industries from airlines to pharmacies to movie theaters. The laser-powered technology behind UPCs has changed the retail industry in particular, making big-box stores, easy returns, global inventories and (unpopular) self check-outs possible.The barcode’s impact has been “revolutionary” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData. It’s “more efficient and cost-effective” for retailers to use them and they offer “flexibility in terms of pricing. There’s hardly any products now that don’t use a barcode for identification.”Who got there first?Of course,...

New Mass. law requires drivers to provide 4 ft. of space when passing ‘vulnerable road users’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:19:49 GMT

A new law in Massachusetts requires drivers to provide at least four feet of space when passing “vulnerable road users.”This includes people walking and biking, roadside workers, and those using wheelchairs, motorizes scooters, skateboards, horse-drawn carriages, and farm equipment. Massachusetts is the 36th state to set a safe passing parameter of at least three feet.

Repeating radio signal leads astronomers to an Earth-size exoplanet

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:19:49 GMT

(CNN) — Astronomers have detected a repeating radio signal from an exoplanet and the star that it orbits, both located 12 light-years away from Earth. The signal suggests that the Earth-size planet may have a magnetic field and perhaps even an atmosphere.Earth’s magnetic field protects the planet’s atmosphere, which life needs to survive, by deflecting energetic particles and plasma that stream out from the sun. Finding atmospheres around planets located outside of our solar system could point to other worlds that potentially have the ability to support life.Scientists noticed strong radio waves coming from the star YZ Ceti and the rocky exoplanet that orbits it, called YZ Ceti b, during observations using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array of telescopes in New Mexico. The researchers believe the radio signal was created by interactions between the planet’s magnetic field and the star.A study detailing the findings was published Monday in the journal&nb...

Photos: Protesters gather outside of Trump Tower, DA’s office ahead of Trump’s arraignment

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:19:49 GMT

By Joanna Tavares | New York Daily NewsFormer President Donald Trump was indicted in the hush-money scheme investigation involving adult film actress Stormy Daniels on March 30. See the pro-Trump supporters and the anti-Trump demonstrators protest in front of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and Trump Tower on April 4. History is set to be made Tuesday as Trump surrenders, marking the first time a former U.S. President is charged with a criminal offense.New York police officers take position outside of the Manhattan District Court in New York on April 4, 2023, ahead of the arrival of former American president Donald Trump. Donald Trump will make an unprecedented appearance before a New York judge on April 4, 2023 to answer criminal charges that threaten to throw the 2024 White House race into turmoil. (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)A Trump supporter (L) removes a banner from anti-Trump protesters outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse on April 04, 2023 in N...

Trump arraignment draws clashing protesters to Manhattan courthouse

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:19:49 GMT

By Harry Parker, Anna Gratzer, Chris Sommerfeldt, Ellen Moynihan and Larry McShane, New York Daily NewsThe protesters, like much of America, were divided Tuesday — quite literally.Law enforcement officers outside the Manhattan Supreme Court building where ex-President Donald Trump will stand as the first American commander-in-chief to face criminal charges separated his supporters and his critics with metal barricades in advance of his court appearance in New York.Supporters of former US president Donald Trump argue with opponents outside the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in New York City on April 4, 2023. – Donald Trump will make an unprecedented appearance before a New York judge on April 4, 2023 to answer criminal charges that threaten to throw the 2024 White House race into turmoil. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)“Happy arraignment day,” said anti-Trump protester Julie DeLaurier, 66, of Brooklyn, as the crowd swelled. “Lock him up.”She was among t...

High-ranking officer from Putin’s elite security team defects

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:19:49 GMT

LONDON — On October 14, a Russian engineer named Gleb Karakulov boarded a flight from Kazakhstan to Turkey with his wife and daughter. He switched off his phone to shut out the crescendo of urgent, enraged messages, said goodbye to his life in Russia and tried to calm his fast-beating heart.But this was no ordinary Russian defector. Karakulov was an officer in President Vladimir Putin’s secretive elite personal security service — one of the few Russians to flee and go public who have rank, as well as knowledge of intimate details of Putin’s life and potentially classified information.Karakulov, who was responsible for secure communications, said moral opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and his fear of dying there drove him to speak out, despite the risks to himself and his family.“Our president has become a war criminal,” he said. “It’s time to end this war and stop being silent.”Karakulov’s account generally conforms with others that paint the Russian president as a once ch...

Celebrations, destruction on campus follow UConn victory, 15 people arrested

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:19:49 GMT

STORRS — Thousands of UConn fans, most of them students, spilled onto campus after watching a broadcast of the Huskies’ 76-59 NCAA Tournament win over San Diego State, with some pulling down signs and light poles, smashing windows and causing other damage.Gampel Pavilion was open Monday night for students to watch the game, which was played in Houston. UConn officials said they were still assessing the extent of the damage Tuesday morning and planned to give an update on arrests and any injuries.Most of the partying, which lasted into early Tuesday morning, was peaceful, but social media and television video showed students taking down signs and light posts, with several using one pole to smash through the glass door of one campus building as a crowd cheered.“We were on the streets and people were going crazy,” Nancy Toskova, a 20-year-old junior from Montreal, Quebec, told The Associated Press. “Everyone was celebrating. Everyone was happy. You felt good. Everyone came together. I ...

Rafaele Fierro: Why President Biden Should Pardon Donald Trump

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:19:49 GMT

On Sept. 8, 1974, President Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon for the Watergate Scandal. The former President had resigned in disgrace in August of that year rather than face an impeachment inquiry. Many Americans who already had a deep-seated hatred for Nixon were outraged by the pardon, particularly after the new president had suggested just weeks earlier that the public would not stand for absolving Nixon of what likely amounted to high crimes and misdemeanors.History, however, has a way of lifting the haze from the present, and many today believe that Ford’s pardon of Nixon was the right thing to do. Even outraged partisans such as Senator Ted Kennedy, later asserted that “time has a way of clarifying past events, and now we see that President Ford was right.” Ford’s pardon of Nixon can guide us through today’s political turbulence as criminal charges against former President Donald Trump have been filed in a Manhattan Court.Pardoning Trump would be best for th...

Is the rain finally over for San Diego?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:19:49 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – For Californians sick of rain, snow and an all-around stormy start to 2023, the next couple weeks are looking good. The Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, released two maps Monday that show California is expecting weather that's both warmer and drier than average starting Easter Sunday and continuing for five days. Does that mean the era of atmospheric rivers is over for this rainy season, and California can finally dry out? California surpasses all-time snowpack record There are good reasons to believe the worst of rain is behind us, explained Brian Garcia, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Bay Area office.For San Diego County, NOAA's 6-10 day outlook predicts a low chance of precipitation, and higher than average temperatures on the horizon."As we move deeper into spring, the odds of having large impactful storms diminishes," said Garcia. "It's tough to say with 100%...