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☆ In surprise move, Peru's president names four new ministers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LIMA, April 23 (Reuters) - Peru's President Dina Boluarte on Sunday swore in new ministers of justice, education, work and external trade in a surprise move in the South American nation that has endured intense political infighting for years. Boluarte assumed power in December when then-President Pedro Castillo illegally tried to dissolve Congress and reorganize the judiciary. Protests against Boluarte taking power became violent and 50 people were killed. Boluarte swore in Daniel Maurate as minister of justice, Antonio Varela as minister of work, Magned Marquez as minister of education and Juan Carlos Mathews as minister of external trade. Reporting by Marco Aquino; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Peru's Toledo returns home to join two other former heads of state in jail
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Peru's former President Alejandro Toledo walks with others after his arrival at the airport following his extradition to Peru, in Callao, Peru April 23, 2023. Toledo, president between 2001 and 2006, turned himself in on Friday for extradition. They have requested a 20-year prison sentence. Toledo, an economist by profession and with a doctorate from Stanford University in the United States, became the second former Peruvian president to be extradited. Fujimori was extradited from Chile and is serving a 25-year prison sentence for human rights abuses.

☆ US Homeland security chief creating artificial intelligence task force
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Friday that the agency would create a task force to figure out how to use artificial intelligence to do everything from protecting critical infrastructure to screening cargo to ferret out products made with slave labor. While artificial intelligence isn't new, the sudden popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT in recent months has sent officials around the world scrambling to see how they can best use the technology for good and prevent it from turbocharging disinformation and criminal activity. Mayorkas said the Artificial Intelligence Task Force would also explore how AI could be used to do a better job of doing work like screening cargo coming into the country for illicit goods, like fentanyl or products made with slave labor. Mayorkas said on Thursday the new task force may also investigate the potential for AI to be used for pernicious purposes, and find ways to defend against them. Mayorkas said that artificial intelligence was still in "a nascent stage" and that it was too soon to say whether the harms will outweigh the good.

☆ DHS task force will examine how to use A.I. to protect homeland security
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, speaks during a new conference in Brownsville, Texas, U.S., on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021. WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security will establish a new task force to examine how the government can use artificial intelligence technology to protect the country. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced the task force Friday during a speech at a Council on Foreign Relations event. Mayorkas gave two examples of how the task force will help determine how AI could be used to fine-tune the agency's work. Mayorkas asked Homeland Security Advisory Council Co-Chair Jamie Gorelick to study "the intersection of AI and homeland security and deliver findings that will help guide our use of it and defense against it."

☆ Two Former Peruvian Leaders Share the Same Jail. Another May Soon Join Them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Bianca Padró Ocasio | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

LIMA, Peru — Two of Peru’s former presidents are behind bars, one convicted of human rights violations, the other accused of illegally trying to dissolve Congress. A third ex-president may soon join that ignominious group with all three sharing the same prison. Alejandro Toledo, who led Peru two decades ago, surrendered on Friday to law enforcement officials in California, according to a U.S. Once he is returned to Peru, Mr. Toledo is expected to be incarcerated while the case against him proceeds. Peru has endured years of political corruption and instability that has resulted in the Andean country being ruled by seven presidents in the last seven years.

☆ Guatemala's Giammattei to visit Taiwan April 24-26
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei will visit Taiwan April 24 to 26, his office said Friday, following a recent visit by Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen to Guatemala. Giammattei will also speak at Taiwan's parliament and meet with Vice President William Lai, his office said. He is scheduled to give a joint conference following a meeting with President Tsai as well. On Wednesday, China's foreign ministry warned Guatemala to not aid Taiwan's "independence attempts." China maintains that Taiwan is part of its territory, which Taiwan disputes.

☆ Ex-Peru president Toledo surrenders to US authorities, extradition imminent
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A media member streams their news desk on their phone screen while reporting outside Robert F. Peckham Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse on the day Peru's former President Alejandro Toledo, wanted in his home country on charges of taking millions of dollars in bribes, is expected to turn himself in for extradition, in San Jose, California, U.S. April 21, 2023. REUTERS/Loren ElliottApril 21 (Reuters) - Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo surrendered to U.S. authorities on Friday, a U.S. Marshals Service official told Reuters, a day after his bid to block his extradition to Peru over corruption charges was denied. The former president was arrested in the United States in July 2019 after a formal request by Peru for his extradition.

WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge in Washington on Thursday denied former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo's bid to block his extradition to Peru, where he faces corruption charges. His lawyers had filed for an emergency stay earlier in the day to block his extradition, which was planned for Friday. "His emergency motion to stay is denied," U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said in an order on Thursday. In her ruling, Howell said Toledo "has long been afforded substantial process" in the U.S. courts to contest his extradition. Howell, citing various legal factors, also said Toledo had failed to "demonstrate entitlement" to a stay of his extradition.

☆ G.O.P. Immigration Agenda Faces Stiff Odds in Divided House
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | Luke Broadwater | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — House Republicans, intent on pressing ahead with their top campaign promises on immigration, turned a hearing with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas into an impeachment-focused interrogation and formally debated restrictive border security legislation on Wednesday, despite significant G.O.P. opposition that could kill both initiatives on the House floor. “You have not secured our borders — and Mr. Secretary, I believe you have done so intentionally,” Representative Mark E. Green, Republican of Tennessee and the Homeland Security Committee’s chairman, told Mr. Mayorkas during a hearing before his panel. But the more immediate obstacle facing House G.O.P. leaders lies within their own ranks: There are not enough Republican members yet on board with either impeachment proceedings against Mr. Mayorkas or the border security legislation to avoid potentially embarrassing defeats on the House floor.

Greene told CNN on Thursday she was “surprised and angered” over the incident and said she already spoke to McCarthy. “He agreed with me,” Greene said, indicating the speaker believed she shouldn’t have silenced. Greene told CNN later Thursday that she and Chairman Green had a chance to talk but that they disagreed about what happened at Wednesday’s committee meeting. Identifying or calling someone a liar is unacceptable in this committee and I make the ruling that we strike those words,” said Green, a Tennessee Republican. But the sooner we can get back to kind of civility amongst colleagues, the better for everybody,” he told CNN.

☆ Getafe hold Barca to another goalless draw in LaLiga
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 16 (Reuters) - Leaders Barcelona were held to a second straight 0-0 draw in LaLiga after mid-table Getafe managed to take a point in a hard-fought game on Sunday. In the second half, Barca striker Robert Lewandowski, LaLiga's top scorer this season with 17 goals, had a header blocked while Getafe keeper David Soria also denied Raphinha with a fine save. Getafe nearly stole all three points at the other end on a counter-attack in the 87th minute when the ball fell to Borja Mayoral but the striker's shot from distance flew just wide of the post. Barcelona next host Atletico Madrid next Sunday while 15th-placed Getafe, who sit four points above the relegation zone, are away at Mallorca. Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Toby DavisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Trump sues former lawyer Michael Cohen, key witness in Manhattan DA probe, for $500 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Former President Donald Trump sued his onetime personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen on Wednesday, seeking at least $500 million for alleged breaches of contract and "unjust enrichment." The allegations against Cohen, whose once-close relationship with Trump imploded in 2018, come as the disbarred lawyer has become a key witness against the former president in a criminal case in Manhattan. It centers on hush money payments made before the 2016 presidential election, which Cohen facilitated for Trump. The spokesman said in a statement that the lawsuit and Cohen's alleged wrongdoings "stand for themselves." The complaint alleged Cohen's fiduciary obligations owed to Trump "survive the attorney-client relationship and Defendant's disbarment and are still in effect today."

☆ MLB roundup: Ryan Mountcastle's 9 RBIs propel Orioles to win
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

Austin Hays also homered and went 4-for-5 as the Orioles won for the second night in a row. Kyle Schwarber hit a solo home run and Bryson Stott added two hits and two RBIs for Philadelphia. Guardians starter Hunter Gaddis (0-1) allowed eight runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks in three-plus innings. Blue Jays 9, Tigers 3Alejandro Kirk hit a three-run home run and had four RBIs as Toronto won its home opener, beating Detroit. Detroit right-hander Matt Manning (1-1) allowed four runs on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts in six innings.

☆ ChatGPT may be able to predict stock movements, finance professor shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Alejandro Lopez-Lira, a finance professor at the University of Florida, says that large language models may be useful when forecasting stock prices. If ChatGPT can display the emergent ability to understand headlines from financial news and how they might impact stock prices, it could could put high-paying jobs in the financial industry at risk. About 35% of financial jobs are at risk of being automated by AI, Goldman Sachs estimated in a March 26 note. But the specifics of the experiment also show how far so-called "large language models" are from being able to do many finance tasks. "On the regulation side, if we have computers just reading the headlines, headlines will matter more, and we can see if everyone should have access to machines such as GPT," said Lopez-Lira.

☆ ChatGPT is better at predicting how stocks will react to news headlines than traditional models, new study shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Florida researchers asked ChatGPT to analyze the sentiment of news headlines to forecast resulting stock moves. They said their study "demonstrates the value of ChatGPT in predicting stock market returns." They used this sentiment analysis to compute a numerical "ChatGPT score" and analyzed whether these scores were predictive of the company's stock market performance the next day. The researchers found a statistically significant positive correlation between these scores and the next-day stock performance for the companies they analyzed. "In short, our study demonstrates the value of ChatGPT in predicting stock market returns," the researchers wrote.

☆ Blue Jays slam five homers to beat Tigers 9-3 in home opener
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Steve Keating | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Apr 11, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman (26) hits a home run against the Detroit Tigers during the fourth inning at the Rogers Centre. While work continues on both the team and stadium the early reviews are positive, the Blue Jays living up to their explosive reputation with a home opener record five homers that underscores their status as World Series contender. 'Take me out to the ball game' can still be heard at every ball park but vendors shouting out, "peanuts , cracker jacks" not so much. You do not even need to be that interested in baseball, said Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro, adding the ball park can just be a place to go. The Tigers' Nick Maton hit a three-run second inning homer but the Blue Jays hit back in the bottom of the inning, Kirk answering with an RBI double.

☆ Tsitsipas raring to go on clay with eyes on third Monte Carlo crown
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The 2021 Roland Garros runner-up returns to clay hoping to claim his first trophy of the year at Monte Carlo, having beaten Andrey Rublev and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the previous two finals of the prestigious tournament. "It's a pleasure to return to the claycourt swing," Monte Carlo resident Tsitsipas told reporters. "It's one of the most fascinating parts of the year, starting the claycourt swing in Monte Carlo, which is my favourite place in the world. Tsitsipas said he enjoyed tactical battles on clay, a surface on which he has won four of his nine titles. There is a lot of strategy involved," said Tsitsipas, who will begin his campaign against Benjamin Bonzi or Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

☆ U.S. court gives Peru's ex-President Toledo more time to fight extradition
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. court ordered a two-week pause on the extradition of Peru's former President Alejandro Toledo, wanted in his home country on charges of taking millions of dollars in bribes as part of a continent-spanning corruption case. The U.S. court of appeals based in San Francisco gave Toledo the 14-day reprieve in an order issued late Thursday, a day after a lower court and a panel of appellate court judges rejected an appeal by Toledo to stall his return to Peru. The pause will allow Toledo, 77, more time to petition judges to reconsider his case. Peru's president from 2001 to 2006, Toledo is wanted on charges he accepted more than $25 million in bribes from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht in exchange for help in obtaining public works contracts. Toledo was arrested in the United States in 2019, following a formal request by Peru's government for his extradition.

☆ Peru set to jail third ex-president as Toledo awaits extradition from U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Peru's Justice Minister Jose Tello said on Wednesday night that a California court judge had ordered Toledo to turn himself in on Friday to the U.S. Marshals Service and await extradition after his request for bail was revoked. "Sooner rather than later, Toledo will answer to Peruvian justice," Tello told television station Canal N, adding that his extradition should take place in a "matter of days". The Peruvian minister said 77-year-old Toledo is expected to be held while he awaits trial in a jail complex in the outskirts of Lima that was built to hold former president Alberto Fujimori. Toledo was arrested in the U.S. in July 2019 following a formal request by Peru for his extradition.

☆ Taiwan strengthens ties with Guatemala following Honduras rupture
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Sofia Menchu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen walks with her Guatemalan counterpart Alejandro Giammattei, during her visit at Chimaltenango hospital in Chimaltenango, Guatemala, in this photo released on April 2, 2023. Guatemala Presidency/Handout via REUTERSGUATEMALA CITY, April 2 (Reuters) - Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen completed a three-day trip to Guatemala on Sunday where she offered more cooperation with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei's government, one of Taiwan's few allies in the world. Tsai's tour, which will take her to Belize on Sunday afternoon, comes a week after Honduras severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in favor of Beijing. China refuses to allow other countries to maintain diplomatic relations with both at the same time. While visiting Guatemala, Tsai signed a $4 million agreement to modernize rural areas and promised to promote and increase cooperation between the two countries.

☆ A school shooting victim's protesting parents were hauled out of Congress by Capitol police last week. Now another mass shooting has left 3 adults and 3 more children dead.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Parkland victim's parents were taken out of Congress last week, days before another mass shooting. Manuel and Patricia Oliver interrupted a House gun regulations committee hearing last Thursday. Now, just days later, another mass shooting has left three schoolchildren and three adults dead in Nashville, Tennessee. Manuel and Patricia Oliver, parents of 17-year-old Parkland, Florida, shooting victim Joaquin Oliver, attended a House committee hearing on gun regulations last Thursday, NBC reported. The mass shooting marks the 129th recorded this year, according to Brady, a non-profit working to prevent gun violence.

☆ Gen Z congressman Maxwell Frost calls out Biden for breaking climate promise to young voters that helped him win in 2020
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

President Joe Biden's positions in recent weeks have put him at odds with some members of his party. That includes Rep. Maxwell Frost who says Biden broke his promise to young voters. Rep. Maxwell Frost, the first Gen-Z member of Congress, says he is "very disappointed" in Biden for approving the $8 billion ConocoPhillips Willow oil project in Alaska, one of the largest-ever drilling projects on federal land. In November, Frost praised Biden in an interview with CNN, saying: "He's been unafraid to put forth bold, transformational ideas and policies, and that's really what excites young voters." When contacted after the Willow project decision, which Bowman opposed, he said his thinking had not changed.

☆ Ron DeSantis posed with a handmade snowflake. It had the word 'fascist' written all over it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ron DeSantis was given a framed snowflake at an event in Iowa, where he was promoting his new book. The word "fascist" was hidden in every branch of the snowflake. Every branch of the snowflake had the word "fascist" hidden in the design. "At a Republican political rally in Davenport, Iowa today someone gave @GovRonDeSantis and @IAGovernor Kim Reynolds a handmade 'snowflake' with the word 'Fascist' secretly embedded in it," Goffman tweeted. Read the snowflake," tweeted Laura Loomer, a pro-Trump, right-wing commentator.

☆ Ron DeSantis posed with a handmade snowflake. It had the words 'fascist' written all over it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ron DeSantis was given a framed snowflake at an event in Iowa, where he was promoting his new book. The word "fascist" was hidden in every branch of the snowflake. Ron DeSantis was photographed posing with a cutout of a white snowflake in Iowa. Every branch of the snowflake had the word "fascist" hidden in the design. Read the snowflake," tweeted Laura Loomer, a pro-Trump, right-wing commentator.

Many of the arrivals abandoned plans to seek asylum in the United States, deterred by long processing times and restrictive definitions for asylum, according to aid officials and interviews with asylum seekers. "We want to help asylum seekers stabilize their lives whether in New York City or elsewhere." REUTERS/Christinne Muschi Acquire Licensing RightsThe Quebec government has said the increase in asylum seekers is straining its capacity to house people and provide basic services. The federal government said it has relocated more than 5,500 asylum seekers to other provinces since June, the first time it has done so. Immigration experts said closing off the border to asylum seekers could push migrants to take even riskier routes.

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