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Amazon lays off hundreds in its Alexa division as it plows resources into AI

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is cutting hundreds of jobs in the unit that handles its popular voice assistant Alexa as it plows more resources into artificial intelligence. In a note to employees on Friday, Daniel Rausch, Amazon’s vice president of Alexa and Fire TV, wrote that the company is eliminating certain roles because it is ditching some initiatives. “As we continue to invent, we’re shifting some of our efforts to better align with our business priorities, and what we know matters most to customers — which includes maximizing our resources and efforts focused on generative AI,” Rausch wrote. He said “several hundred” positions would be cut but did not give a more precise figure.Seattle-based Amazon is in fierce competition with other tech companies rushing to capitalize on the generative AI craze. The company has been implementing a host of AI initiatives in the past few months, from infusing the technology into customer reviews to providing services that allow developers to build...

High-ranking Mormon church leader Russell Ballard remembered as examplar of the faith

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Associates and children of one of the highest-ranking leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, M. Russell Ballard, remembered him Friday as a principled and compassionate man who stood as an exemplar of the faith for decades.Ballard, who was second-in-line to become church president as the second-longest-tenured member of a top governing body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, died Sunday surrounded by family at his home. He was 95.“The centerpiece of the church’s missionary effort has always been the doctrine of Jesus Christ and the restoration of the Lord’s church. No one has taught this more powerfully or thoroughly than President Ballard over the last 50 years,” quorum member Quentin L. Cook said at Ballard’s funeral. “He has been a strong leader and has left the quorum in a great place.”Ballard was acting president of the quorum for the past five years and a quorum member for 38 years. The leadership body sits below th...

The Moscow Times, noted for its English coverage of Russia, is declared a ‘foreign agent’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

Russia’s Justice Ministry on Friday added The Moscow Times, an online newspaper popular among Russia’s expatriate community, to its list of “foreign agents” in the country’s continuing crackdown on critical news media and opposition.The “foreign agent” designation subjects individuals and organizations to increased financial scrutiny and requires any of their public material to prominently include notice of being declared a foreign agent. The label is seen as a pejorative aimed at undermining the designees’ credibility.It was not immediately clear how the move would affect The Moscow Times, which moved its editorial operations out of Russia in 2022 after the passage of a law imposing stiff penalties for material regarded as discrediting the Russian military and its war in Ukraine. The Moscow Times publishes in English and in Russian, but its Russian-language site was blocked in Russia several months after the Ukraine war began. The publication began in 1992 a...

US, partners condemn growing violence in Sudan’s Darfur region

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States, Britain and Norway on Friday condemned rising violence and human rights abuses that some claim amount to ethnic cleansing in Sudan’s western Darfur region. The three countries, known as “the Troika,” said in a statement that the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces must end the fighting that has killed at least 800 people since earlier this month and forced another 8,000 to flee. They said they were particularly concerned by attacks on civilians by the RSF in west, central and south Darfur. The three countries said there could be no military solution to the conflict and urged the two sides to work together in Saudi-hosted peace talks to reach a negotiated settlement.“We reiterate that there is no acceptable military solution to the conflict, and call for an end to the fighting,” they said. “We urge the RSF and SAF to refrain from actions that would further divide Sudan along ethnic lines or draw other forces into their conflict. Both si...

Bobby Ussery, Hall of Fame jockey whose horse was DQ’d in 1968 Kentucky Derby, dies at 88

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

Bobby Ussery, a Hall of Fame jockey who won the 1967 Kentucky Derby and then crossed the finish line first in the 1968 edition only to be disqualified days later, has died. He was 88.Ussery died Thursday of congestive heart failure at an assisted living facility in Hollywood, Florida, his son Robert told The Associated Press on Friday.The elder Ussery won his first race at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans on Nov. 22, 1951, and went on to major wins in the Travers, Whitney and Alabama at Saratoga by the end of the decade.He retired in 1974 with 3,611 career victories and he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1980.Ussery won the 1967 Derby aboard 30-1 longshot Proud Clarion. He picked up the mount after his original Derby horse, Reflected Glory, couldn’t make the race because of sore shins.Ussery and Dancer’s Image crossed the finish line first in the 1968 Derby only to become the first horse ever disqualified days later as the result of a positive drug...

Escaped murderer back in court over crimes authorities say he committed while on the run

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

A convicted murderer who escaped from a southeastern Pennsylvania prison earlier this year and eluded a massive two-week search before he was recaptured was arraigned Friday on theft, burglary and other charges in connection with alleged crimes committed while he was on the run.Danilo Cavalcante, 34, did not say much during the brief hearing where he appeared via video conference. Authorities have said that following his Aug. 31 escape from Chester County Prison, he stole a transit van and burglarized homes in southeastern Pennsylvania, where a rifle and ammunition, clothing, a sleeping bag and other items were stolen.During the hearing, prosecutors consolidated the new charges with the initial escape charge Cavalcante faced after he was captured. A preliminary hearing will be held where more information regarding both sets of charges will be discussed, but a date for that hearing has not been scheduled.Cavalcante was charged Monday with felony counts of burglary, criminal trespass,...

EverWind gets push in Canadian hydrogen race with $125-million loan from Ottawa

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

PORT HAWKESBURY, N.S. — The federal government is backing a massive wind-powered hydrogen project in Nova Scotia with a $125-million loan.Sean Fraser, federal minister of housing, infrastructure and communities, was in Port Hawkesbury, N.S., today to announce that Ottawa had reached an agreement in principle for financing with EverWind Fuels, the company behind the project.EverWind is angling to build wind-powered hydrogen and ammonia plants in southern Cape Breton and export the fuel to European markets.The company hopes it will be the first green hydrogen and ammonia facility in the country and aims to be producing more than 200,000 tonnes of green ammonia each year, beginning in 2025.Fraser, who is from Nova Scotia, told reporters the project will bring much-needed jobs to a rural part of the province and help Canada establish itself as a trusted supplier of green energy to international markets.Trent Vichie, EverWind’s chief executive, says he wants Atlantic Canada to be a...

3 brands of cantaloupe recalled due to risk of salmonella

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is recalling three brands of cantaloupes because they may be contaminated with salmonella. The brands are Malichita, Save on Foods and Urban Fare and include not only whole cantaloupes, but pre-cut chunks, fruit salads and platters containing the fruit. The B.C. Centre for Disease Control says there have been eight reported salmonella illnesses linked to Malichita cantaloupes in that province.The food inspection agency says the affected Malichita cantaloupes were sold between Oct. 11 and Nov. 14, inclusive. It says the affected Save on Foods and Urban Fare products have best-before dates up to and including Nov. 9.  The cantaloupes were sold in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador and Yukon. The food inspection agency says consumers should throw out any affected products and contact a healthcare professional if they t...

Sinaloa Cartel associate gets more than 11 years for trafficking 40 kilos of cocaine in Chicago area

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

CHICAGO — An associate with the Sinaloa Cartel has been sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison.Roberto Velaquez Martinez, 39, of Santiago Papasquiaro, Mexico, conspired with others to import and distribute the cocaine into the United States on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow imposed the 136-month prison sentence Tuesday.Velazquez Martinez traveled to Chicago in the fall of 2018, according to federal authorities.He arranged a multi-kilogram cocaine shipment with Columbian drug traffickers who were actually U.S. law enforcement agents undercover.Velazquez Martinez fled the U.S. after a failed cocaine deal in Stickney on Dec. 4, 2018. He was arrested in 2019 in Peru and extradited to the U.S. in 2020.Velazquez Martinez pleaded guilty earlier this year to a drug conspiracy charge.

'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving' will be available to watch for free this year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

(KTLA) – Everyone will be able to watch “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” this holiday season, thanks to Apple TV+.The streaming service announced that the holiday classic will be available to stream for free this year to celebrate the special’s 5oth anniversary. The movie will be available to non-subscribers on Nov. 18 and Nov. 19.The company also plans to let non-subscribers stream "A Charlie Brown Christmas" for free in December. Hi Barbie! Mariah Carey has her own doll The Thanksgiving-based special features Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang. It originally aired on Nov. 20, 1973, on CBS.Like other Peanuts holiday specials, the movie has been exclusively available on Apple TV+ after the company acquired the rights to the films in 2020.Charles M. Schulz created and illustrated “Peanuts,” a famous syndicated comic strip that ran from 1950 to 2000. Some strips were previously republished.Schulz died in 2000 at the age of 77.