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☆ I commute between Boston and New York City up to three times a week on a seaplane. Here's why it beats taking the train or flying commercial.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

I've been using Tailwind Air, a seaplane shuttle service, to commute between Boston and New York for almost two years now. It's the most efficient and productive way to commute between the two citiesInsider aviation reporter Thomas Pallini flying on a Tailwind Air seaplane in 2021. If you fly frequently, the cost difference isn't that huge compared to commercialFlying on a Tailwind Air seaplane. For the long-term, it's not a sustainable commuteFlying on a Tailwind Air seaplane. I think short-hop travel will look totally different in 50 yearsFlying on a Tailwind Air seaplane.

☆ The viral new ‘Drake’ and ‘Weeknd’ song is not what it seems
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —One of the buzziest songs recently circulating on TikTok and climbing the Spotify charts featured the familiar voices of best-selling artists Drake and the Weeknd. But there’s a twist: Drake and the Weeknd appear to have had nothing to do with it. The viral track, “Heart on my Sleeve,” comes from an anonymous TikTok user named Ghostwriter977, who claims to have used artificial intelligence to generate the voices of Drake and the Weeknd for the track. The original TikTok video has seemingly been taken down, and the song has since been removed from streaming services including YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify. Taryn Southern’s debut song “Break Free,” which was composed and produced with AI, hit the Top 100 radio charts back in 2018, and VAVA, an AI music artist (i.e.

☆ The US still waits for its high-speed rail revolution
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Ben Jones | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

So why doesn’t the United States have a high-speed rail network like those? Many Americans have no concept of high-speed rail and fail to see its value. William C. Vantuono, editor-in-chief of Railway Age“Many Americans have no concept of high-speed rail and fail to see its value. Corridors for the greatest potentialBrightline West and CHSR offer templates for the future expansion of high-speed rail in North America. “Where those conditions apply in Europe and Asia, high-speed rail reduces air’s share of the market from 100% to near zero.

☆ Universal Music Group calls AI music a ‘fraud,’ wants it banned from streaming platforms. Experts say it’s not that easy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Vanessa Yurkevich | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Universal Music Group — the music company representing superstars including Sting, The Weeknd, Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande — has a new Goliath to contend with: artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence, and specifically AI music, learns by either training on existing works on the internet or through a library of music given to the AI by humans. That could possibly threaten UMG’s deep library of music and artists that generate billions of dollars in revenue. “However, the training of generative AI using our artists’ music … begs the question as to which side of history all stakeholders in the music ecosystem want to be on.”The company said AI that uses artists’ music violates UMG’s agreements and copyright law. Grammy-winning DJ and producer David Guetta proved in February just how easy it is to create new music using AI.

☆ How Spotify Knows What You Want to Hear Next
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

How Trains Derail, Explained by an NTSB Investigator The train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, was just one of over 1,000 that happen every year. NTSB’s Michael Hiller explains the most common reasons trains come off the tracks and what can be done to prevent them. Photo illustration: Xingpei Shen

☆ India, Russia in talks on free trade deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar attends a news conference following talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, November 8, 2022. Maxim Shipenkov/Pool via REUTERSNEW DELHI, April 17 (Reuters) - India and Russia are discussing a free trade agreement, ministers said on Monday, a move that would further deepen bilateral commercial ties that have flourished since war broke out in Ukraine. Russia, a traditional defence equipment supplier, also displaced Iraq last month to become India's top supplier of crude oil. Moscow was looking to increase machinery imports from India to improve the trade balance, Manturov said. India too aims to narrow its growing trade deficit with Russia, which has been India's largest supplier of military equipment for decades and is the fourth-biggest market for Indian pharmaceuticals.

☆ How a Railroad Outsider Aims to Improve Service
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Esther Fung | Photographs Agnes Lopez For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

After taking the post of CSX Corp. chief executive in September, Joe Hinrichs went on a listening tour. As tensions festered during rancorous labor-contract talks, Mr. Hinrichs said he needed to talk to employees to build better relationships. He also heard what they thought about precision-scheduled railroading, the management strategy designed to improve railroad service and control costs by keeping trains to preset schedules.

☆ CSX Boss Says Railroads’ Efficiency Model Wasn’t Implemented Properly
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Esther Fung | Photographs Agnes Lopez For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route: Japan's 20-meter-deep snow corridor reopens for visitors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Maggie Hiufu Wong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A giant snow corridor near the otherworldly Mount Tateyama, one of Japan’s three sacred mountains, is reopening to travelers on April 15. The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route offers stunning views of the Japanese alps. The opening of the Yuki no Otani walk also marks the resumption of traffic through the entire Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route at the end of winter. Tateyama Kurobe Alpine RouteTravelers can opt to stay in one of the mountain accommodations on offer. Travelers visiting the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route are advised to wear winter clothing and gear suitable for trekking or mountaineering.

☆ Russian hackers are targeting cameras at Ukrainian coffee shops to spy on convoys of Western military aid, top NSA official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russian hackers are using "creative" ways to tap into cameras in Ukraine, according to a US official. US defense manufacturers are also under "daily pressure" from Russian hackers, said NSA's Rob Joyce. "We're watching the Russian hackers log into public-facing webcams to watch convoys and trains delivering aid," the NSA official said. He added that while hackers are logging into closed-circuit cameras in public, they are also hacking into cameras on private properties. On both sides of the conflict in Ukraine, hacking efforts and electronic warfare are significant, although Russian hacking has been an increasing concern for the US military, Insider previously reported.

Under the pact to create a safe shipping channel, Ukraine has been able to export some 27.7 million tonnes of agricultural products, including 13.9 million tonnes of corn and 7.5 million tonnes of wheat. The leading destinations have been China (6.3 million tonnes), Spain (4.8 million) and Turkey (3 million). Ukraine's grain exports are forecast to fall in the 2023/24 season after the war has meant farmers planted less corn and wheat. The International Grains Council has forecast that Ukraine's corn crop will fall to 21 million tonnes, down from the prior season's 27 million, with exports expected to drop to 15 million tonnes from 20.5 million. CAN UKRAINE EXPORT MORE GRAIN THROUGH LAND ROUTES?

[1/3] U.S. President Joe Biden attends the groundbreaking of the new Intel semiconductor manufacturing facility in New Albany, Ohio, U.S., September 9, 2022. But all that new construction has a real estate problem. That would be a problem for the Biden administration, which has pushed through legislation to fuel the developments. A White House official said it was a "high-class problem" to have, adding: "Folks are finding places to build. The governors of South Carolina, Virginia and North Carolina have each proposed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on readying industrial sites in the coming years.

☆ North Korea fires ballistic missile into sea between Koreas, Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

North Korea launched a ballistic missile on April 13, Seoul's military said, prompting Japan to order residents of the northern Hokkaido region to take shelter as a precaution. North Korea launched a ballistic missile that landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan on Thursday, prompting Japan to order residents on an island to take shelter as a precaution. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staffs said the North Korean missile launched from near the capital Pyongyang flew toward the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Japan said the missile landed in the water but did not immediately give a more exact landing location. Last October, Japan issued a similar evacuation order when a North Korean intermediate-range missile flew over Japan in a launch that demonstrated the potential to reach the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.

☆ France to witness 12th nationwide strike against Macron's pension law
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Ingrid Melander | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Protesters hold a drawing depicting a portrait of French President Emmanuel Macron during a demonstration as part of the tenth day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government's pension reform in Paris, France, March 28, 2023. "I'm not that optimistic about the Constitutional Council's decision," far-right leader Marine Le Pen told BFM TV, who is against the pension bill. Macron and his government argue the law is essential to ensure that France's generous pension system does not go bust. Unions say this can be done by other means, including taxing the rich more, or making deeper changes to the pension system. However, the CGT union called for a walkout at all refineries on Thursday as part of the nationwide strike.

☆ As summer heat looms, Japan urged to curb impact, emissions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Stanislav Kogiku | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesTemperatures are rising in Japan and summer is coming fast. "The risks from climate change are right before us," said Yasuaki Hijioka, deputy director of the Center for Climate Change Adaptation at the National Institute for Environmental Studies in Tsukuba, northeast of Tokyo. But climate change means communities are often caught off guard because the systems were engineered for the weather conditions of the past. The warming weather can also hold more moisture, adding flooding and landslides to the summer forecast, something that Japan has also seen with growing frequency. "We need to view climate change as a natural disaster."

☆ Fact Check-New York subway ad urging welfare recipients to join Ukraine war is not authentic
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An advertisement seeking to recruit U.S. citizens on the welfare scheme to the International Legion of Ukraine, purportedly seen on New York underground trains, is not an official poster. A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington told Reuters that the poster is not real. The text on the poster which carries the logo of Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) reads: “Tired of living on welfare? Join the International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine.”The International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine was formed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and recruits foreign citizens to fight for Ukraine in the war (fightforua.org/). The poster calling on welfare recipients in the U.S to join the war in Ukraine is not authentic.

Ford officials declined to say whether the plant will assemble five EV models, as agreed with Unifor during the 2020 contract talks. The Oakville plant currently builds combustion Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus SUVs. Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley has said Ford will have the ability to assemble 2 million EVs globally by 2026. Ford officials said Oakville will build the automaker's next-generation EVs, which Ford executives have said will have to be more efficient, easier to assemble and more competitive with the Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) vehicles that currently lead in North American market EV sales. Battery cells for the Oakville-built EVs will come from a factory Ford and battery partner SK On plan are building in Kentucky, Nowicki said.

☆ Go check out these video clips of driverless cars blocking buses and trains in San Francisco
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Dashcam footage obtained by WIRED shows driverless cars in San Francisco blocking buses and trains. In one video, a light-rail train carrying San Francisco Giants fans hit its brakes before almost colliding with a driverless car operated by GM's Cruise. It reportedly took seven minutes for the driverless car to be taken off the track. Another video obtained by Wired shows an eastbound 54 bus being blocked by a driverless car from Alphabet's Waymo. To see the footage and read more about the presence of driverless cars in San Francisco, check out the Wired report here.

☆ Florida's fight over Safe Haven 'baby boxes' are part of a larger culture war over abortion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Safe Haven Baby Boxes let distressed moms safely and anonymously surrender unwanted newborns instead of dumping them in trash cans or worse. About 145 Safe Haven baby boxes were installed throughout nine states since 2016, and similar bills were recently approved or signed in four other states. About 145 boxes have been installed since the first in 2016, with 25 newborns surrendered through one, Safe Haven Baby Boxes says. Safe Haven Baby Boxes says the average response time is two minutes. A Safe Haven trains fire departments and hospitals on how to implement the current law.

☆ Djokovic returns to Tour seeking strong start to clay swing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"I've done more training on clay, which is positive if you think about the clay season," said Djokovic, the 2013 and 2015 champion who meets Mackenzie McDonald or a qualifier first. "I've not had much success in Monte Carlo in the past two seasons. I haven't played great tennis here, so I'm hoping this year I can start the clay season better than previous years and build my form." Djokovic, who trains at Monaco, said home comforts could prove helpful is his quest for a record-extending 39th Masters 1000 crown at Monte Carlo. Quite a few top players reside in Monaco and use this club as a training base, Djokovic said.

☆ The Russian air force's struggles in Ukraine reveal glaring problems in now Moscow trains its pilots
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Alex Hollings | Sandboxx News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +35 min

Despite being bigger and more advanced than its enemy, Russia's air force has struggled in Ukraine. It's commonly said that Russian fighter pilots are not as well trained as their Western counterparts, particularly those from the United States. But however ineffective you may think Russian pilot training is compared to the West, the truth seems to be … much worse. A Russian air force pilot prepares to take off in an Su-35 fighter jet at Hemeimeem air base in Syria in September 2019. Put simply, the Gulf War air campaign creates a damning juxtaposition when compared directly to Russia's air campaign over Ukraine.

☆ A composer of classical music blasted in the LA metro to force unhoused people out of a station demanded the system stop using his work, saying 'no form of art should be used to discourage or limit fr
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The LA Metro blasted classical music in one of its stations to deter people from hanging out there. But the composer said he wasn't informed his music was being used and demanded Metro stop using it. But that came to an end when one composer was informed his work was being used as a deterrent. But it faced pushback when news outlets reported that it was blasting music, including Barcelona-based composer Adrián Berenguer's four-minute piece "Immaterial", which it played on loop. The Westlake/MacArthur Park station played different classical music by long-dead composers, including Beethoven and Bach, at lower volumes on Thursday, L.A. Taco reported.

DETROIT, April 6 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) unveiled a new electric Courier van aimed at winning business customers in Europe, and boxing out electric van startups such as Arrival SA.47K.FThe electric Courier is part of a revamped lineup of smaller, commercial vans for the European market that will also include gasoline and diesel models, Ford said. The new Courier vans are 25% larger than the current model, and will carry heavier loads, Ford Pro chief Ted Cannis said in an interview. The electric Courier will respond to European commercial customers who operate in cities, such as Paris, where officials have mapped out plans to ban combustion vehicles from city centers, Cannis said. The electric Courier will launch next year. Separately, Cannis said Ford expects many U.S. commercial fleet customers will receive $7,500 tax credits if they buy electric Transit vans.

☆ Putin is so paranoid about being tracked, he travels in a secret grey train that stealthily blends in with other Russian locomotives, says a former elite Russian security officer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Vladimir Putin rides in a train because planes can be tracked, said an FSO officer who defected. The train is indistinguishable from other Russian trains "for stealth purposes," the officer said. His account aligns with previous reports that Putin secretly travels in trains to avoid being tracked. "Same as all the other Russian Railways trains — grey with a red stripe," he said. Karakulov said his team started equipping the train for Putin's operations in 2014 or 2015, per the Dossier Center.

☆ Pension protests to bring 'maximum' workers in France after government, union talks fail
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Silvia Aloisi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Labour groups vowed to dig in their heels after talks with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Wednesday - which lasted just an hour - failed to calm the situation. They said the only way out of the crisis was for the legislation to be pulled, an option which Borne flatly rejected. "After this meeting, I am calling for a maximum of workers, men and women, to join the marches across France tomorrow," Laurent Berger, head of the country's biggest union CFDT, said on Wednesday. Strikes are still disrupting operations at oil refineries and nuclear plants, while garbage collectors have vowed to resume their protest from next week. Polls show a wide majority of French oppose the pension legislation and the government's decision to push it through parliament without a vote.

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