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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Saudi Arabia to meet Crown Prince Mohammed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:25 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — XXX HOLD HOLD HOLD FOR BLINKEN ARRIVAL SCHEDULED 1635 GMT TUESDAY / GAMBRELL TO CONFIRM XXXU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Tuesday in Saudi Arabia on a trip in which he plans to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid strained relations between Riyadh and Washington. Blinken’s trip, his second to Saudi Arabia since becoming America’s top diplomat, comes after the kingdom under Prince Mohammed has been more willing to disregard the U.S. in striking its own decisions. Riyadh has clashed repeatedly with President Joe Biden on its supply of crude oil to global markets, its willingness to partner with Russia in OPEC+ and reaching a détente with Iran mediated by China. Biden also pledged to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. However, Saudi Arabia still relies — like other Gulf Arab nations — on the U.S. to be the security guarantor for the wider Middle East as ten...

Bluesky, championed by Jack Dorsey, was supposed to be Twitter 2.0. Can it succeed?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:25 GMT

Bluesky, the internet’s hottest members-only spot at the moment, feels a bit like an exclusive club, populated by some Very Online folks, popular Twitter characters, and fed up ex-users of the Elon Musk-owned platform. Musk is not on it — and this might be part of the appeal for those longing for the way things were before the Tesla billionaire bought Twitter and upended nearly everything about the social network, from rules against harassment to content moderation to its system for verifying prominent users’ identities. It also helps that Bluesky grew out of Twitter — a pet project of former CEO Jack Dorsey, who still sits on its board of directors.“It was designed to replace Twitter,” said Sol Messing, who worked at Twitter as a data scientist until January and is now associate professor at New York University’s Center for Social Media and Politics. “And you can see it in the way that the the system is designed. It works like Twitter.”But can Bluesky replace Twit...

Key McConnell aide joining Kentucky GOP gubernatorial campaign in senior management role

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:25 GMT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A top aide to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has joined Daniel Cameron’s gubernatorial campaign in Kentucky, as the GOP nominee adds another political heavy hitter to his team in trying to defeat Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in one of the nation’s most closely watched races.Terry Carmack, the senator’s chief of staff, will assume a senior management role in Cameron’s campaign, said Sean Southard, a state Republican Party spokesman.The key personnel move this week comes amid a fast-developing campaign, with both candidates on the campaign trail and TV ads already on the air — five months ahead of a general election contest that could send loud signals about the mood of the electorate ahead of next year’s campaigns for the presidency and control of Congress.Beshear, who is seeking reelection to a second term, planned to tout his record on law enforcement issues at a campaign event later Tuesday. Cameron, the state attorney ...

Merck sues federal government, calling plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices extortion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:25 GMT

Merck is suing the federal government over a plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices, calling the program a sham equivalent to extortion.The drugmaker is seeking to halt the program, which was laid out in the Inflation Reduction Act and is expected to save taxpayers billions of dollars in the coming years.Merck said in a complaint filed Tuesday that the program does not involve genuine negotiation. Instead, it said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services selects drugs to be included and then dictates the price, threatening drugmakers with “a ruinous daily excise tax” if they decline to agree.“It is tantamount to extortion,” the drugmaker said in the complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.The Rahway, New Jersey-based drugmaker added that it expects its diabetes treatment Januvia to be part of “the IRA’s scheme” starting later this year.Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a prepared statement that they plan to ...

Missing woman found dead inside apartment a block away from her Logan Square home, brother says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:25 GMT

CHICAGO — A woman missing from the Logan Square neighborhood since last Friday was found dead inside an apartment just a block from her home, according to her brother.According to police, a person is in custody and charges are pending.WGN spoke to AJ Battaglia Tuesday, who is the brother of 33-year-old Brittany Battaglia. He says his parents are on their way from Galena to officially identify her body.Police were seen going in and out of an apartment on the 2000 block of North Kimball in Logan Square Monday night, collecting evidence after a woman's body was discovered.AJ confirms that police said the body found in the Logan Square apartment was his sister, Brittany.“Never think your sister is going to be taken from you so soon,” AJ told WGN.Officials have not announced the identity of the person, but did declare her death a homicide. ‘It’s really odd’: Family pleads for information about missing Logan Square woman (Family photo: 33-year-old Brittany Battaglia)Brittany Battaglia r...

Apple will stop autocorrecting swear word to 'ducking'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:25 GMT

(The Hill) - Apple will stop autocorrecting swear words, including the expletive that has often been replaced with ‘ducking’ much to the frustration of users, with new machine learning technology.“In those moments where you just want to type a ducking word, well, the keyboard will learn it, too,” Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, said at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday.Autocorrect has previously relied on machine learning. However, Federighi said the keyboard will use a "state-of-the-art" transformer language model in a new software update.In iOS 17, which is set to be released in September, the keyboard will learn users’ habits and preferences, including when to correct certain words and when to leave others alone. An additional feature will also allow users to tap a word that has been autocorrected and quickly revert back to the original version, Federighi said.He added that the update also aims to improve autocorr...

100-year-old 'Papa Jake' survived D-Day on Omaha Beach, now he's a TikTok star

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:25 GMT

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — World War II veteran Jake Larson, a 100-year-old American best known on social media under the name “Papa Jake," enjoyed giving hugs to the many fans he met during his trip to Normandy for D-Day commemorations.Larson, who has more than 600,000 followers on TikTok, attended a ceremony on Tuesday at the American Cemetery marking the 79th anniversary of the assault that led to the liberation of France and Western Europe from Nazi control.“I got in on the planning of D-Day ... I’m just a country boy. Now I’m a star on TikTok," he told The Associated Press with enthusiasm. "You can see me all over: ‘Papa Jake.’ I’m a legend! I didn’t plan this, it came about.”World War II veterans Jake Larson attends a ceremony to mark the 79th anniversary of the assault that led to the liberation of France and Western Europe from Nazi control, at the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. The American Cemete...

Body found at Zilker Park near volleyball courts Monday evening

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:25 GMT

Editor’s Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for June 5, 2023.AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A body was found at Zilker Park Monday evening, according to paramedics. Austin-Travis County EMS confirmed that medics responded to 2200 Lou Neff Road shortly before 6 p.m. That area is near the Zilker Park volleyball courts. Medics pronounced the person dead on the scene. KXAN received a viewer-submitted email Tuesday morning that said a volleyball league discovered the body while setting up for a game and called 911. It's not clear how the person died. KXAN has reached out to the Austin Police Department and will update this story if we receive more information.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Austin's Blues on the Green returns for 32nd season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin City Limit Radio's Blues on the Green summer concert series will kick off its 32nd season next month, officials announced in a Tuesday release.The free music series is slated to run July 18-19 at Zilker Park, with music performances from 6-10 p.m. each day. The concert series originally began in the early 1990s as a small gathering at the Arboretum before expanding into the present day, multi-day series.Food and non-alcoholic beverages from local restaurants and businesses will be available on-site. Those over the age of 21 can purchase alcohol from a bar located at the front of the stage.Attendees are welcome to bring lawn chairs, their leashed dogs and children to the concert.More details on the event are available online.

Schenectady man arrested after stolen credit card investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:25 GMT

EAST GREENBUSH, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Schenectady man was arrested following an interagency investigation into stolen credit cards. Kobe J. Richmond, 22, was charged with grand larceny in the fourth degree and three counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! On March 22, the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Agency contacted New York State Police about credit cards stolen from a vehicle in Lenox, MA. Police say the cards were being used in East Greenbush, NY.Investigations determined that Richmond possessed the multiple stolen credit cards and had used them to make purchases at Target in East Greenbush. The purchases totaled over $1,000.Richmond surrendered himself to the police. He was released with a ticket to appear in East Greenbush Town Court on June 22.