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Abandoning the border proposal brought the price tag of the bill down to about $95.3 billion. There's nearly $14 billion to allow Ukraine to rearm itself through the purchase of weapons and munitions and another nearly $15 billion for support services such as military training and intelligence sharing. About $8 billion would go to help Ukraine's government continue basic operations with a prohibition on money going toward pensions. SPENDING RELATED TO ISRAELAbout $14.1 billion in the bill would go to support Israel and U.S. military operations in the region. There's also about $2.5 billion to support U.S. military operations in the region.

Persons: Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, ” There's, Chris Van Hollen, he's, Van Hollen, There's Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, Republican, Hamas, West Bank Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, U.S, Mexico, rearm, CHINA, Taiwan, Australia, United Kingdom

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A man who sued Buffalo police after being ticketed for shouting at an officer to turn on his headlights can move forward with his legal action, an appeals court ruled. R. Anthony Rupp III, a civil rights attorney, said he did not intend to sue after his December 2016 encounter with two police officers. “You know you can be arrested for that,” McAlister told Rupp through an open window. Rupp responded that McAlister should not be driving after dark without his headlights activated and told the officer he almost caused an accident. McAlister then “got out of his vehicle and told Rupp he was detained,” the lawsuit said.

Persons: Anthony Rupp III, Todd McAlister, Nicholas Parisi, Meech ” Davis, Rupp, Meech Davis, ” Rupp, McAlister, ” McAlister, “, Parisi Organizations: Buffalo, U.S ., U.S Locations: BUFFALO, N.Y, Buffalo

☆ Shadow AI in the 'dark corners' of work is becoming a big problem for companies
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Rachel Curry | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Known as shadow AI, this is the AI usage within a company that occurs "in dark corners," said Jay Upchurch, CIO of data analytics platform SAS. Shadow IT is nothing new, and shadow AI is the latest iteration of the phenomenon. The problem is that shadow AI is more complex, and more dangerous, than shadow IT was in the past. Remote users and cloud-based concernsEducation on the risks of shadow AI and the best ways to procure approval help, but they only go so far. Ultimately, Upchurch emphasizes that while shadow AI is very real, so is AI itself.

Persons: Jay Upchurch, Tim Morris, Tanium, Ameer Karim, Morris, Mike Scott, CISO, Scott, Karim, Upchurch, it's Organizations: SAS, Companies, Samsung, Microsoft

☆ Texas state lawmaker criticizes 'universal basic income' programs: 'We can't just hand out money like popcorn on street corners'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Texas state senator said a Texas-based basic income plan will "hand out money like popcorn." State Sen. Paul Bettencourt asked the state attorney general to declare it unconstitutional. Bettencourt's request came on the same day that the program — called Uplift Harris — started taking applications. The Uplift Harris program plans to provide eligible households in Harris County, which includes Houston, $500 a month for up to 18 months. "We just can't hand out money like popcorn on street corners to people that walk by," Bettencourt told Fox.

Persons: Sen, Paul Bettencourt, —, State Sen, Harris —, Bettencourt, Fox, Harris, Menefree, Bettencourt's Organizations: Service, Republican, American, Plan, Houston Chronicle, Fox News, Texas, Houston Public Media Locations: Texas, Houston, State, Harris County, Harris

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a challenge to New York state’s licensing program to sell legal marijuana, a system two California applicants say unconstitutionally discriminates against out-of-state residents. The ruling Friday by Albany Judge Anne M. Nardacci may spur New York into issuing hundreds of licenses in a state where most marijuana is sold by unlicensed businesses. She said the main purpose of the dormant Commerce Clause plaintiffs argued should allow them to access New York's market doesn’t apply to the federally illegal cannabis trade. Critics blame New York’s slow retail growth partly on bureaucratic issues, like delays in setting up a $200 million “social equity” fund to help applicants open shops. The rollout also was hobbled by lawsuits on behalf of people and businesses excluded from the first wave of retail licenses.

Persons: Albany Judge Anne M, Nardacci Organizations: —, New York, Albany Judge, Lawyers, New Locations: ALBANY, N.Y, New, California, York, New York, Los Angeles

☆ N.F.L.’s Rapid Embrace of Gambling Creates Mixed Signals
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Jenny Vrentas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Over the next week, the National Football League’s players, coaches, fans and executives will gather for an event that was virtually unthinkable just 10 years ago: the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, the gambling capital of the United States. Now it even has a team in Las Vegas, which the league shunned for decades because any affiliation was seen as a threat to the integrity of the game. Yet the embedding of sports gambling so quickly into the culture of the league has resulted in jarring contradictions. is pushing to popularize and benefit from sports betting while still guarding against the potential pitfalls that it long condemned. While the league donates money to promote responsible gambling, its broadcasts are peppered with advertisements for sports betting companies.

Persons: ’, Roger Goodell —, —, ”, Marc Edelman Organizations: National Football, Baruch College Locations: Las Vegas, United States, Nevada, New York

BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts Senate approved a sweeping gun bill Thursday designed to crack down on “ghost guns,” toughen the state’s prohibition on assault weapons and outlaw devices that convert semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic machine guns. On ghost guns, the bill would toughen oversight for those who own privately made, unserialized firearms that are largely untraceable. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice reported recovering 25,785 ghost guns in domestic seizures. In October, the Massachusetts House approved its own gun bill aimed at tightening firearm laws, also cracking down on ghost guns. “There’s a lot of new stuff, industry stuff, machine gun stuff, definitions that are weird so that’s why the (Senate) bill should have gone to a separate hearing,” he said.

Persons: ”, Karen Spilka, Glock, Jim Wallace, he’d, what’s, John Rosenthal Organizations: BOSTON, The Massachusetts Senate, Supreme, Democratic, U.S . Department of Justice, Massachusetts State Police, Massachusetts House Locations: The Massachusetts, U.S, Massachusetts

The state’s illegal market had flourished for decades, anchored in the storied “Emerald Triangle” region in the northern end of the state. Dicus said in 2023 his department served 411 search warrants for illegal marijuana grow sites countywide and recovered $370 million. “The reality is that Proposition 64, in the fine print, took illicit marijuana and moved it from a felony to a misdemeanor. In 2020, seven people were fatally shot at an illegal marijuana growing operation in a rural town in neighboring Riverside County. “We've invited organized crime to come back into California and compete for an illicit market.”

Persons: ”, Jerred Kiloh, “, Kiloh, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus, Gavin Newsom, Dicus, we’ve, ” Dicus, Griffen Thorne, ” Kiloh, “ We've Organizations: ANGELES, United Cannabis Business Association, Authorities, El Mirage, San Bernardino County Sheriff, ” Democratic, Cannabis Locations: California, Los Angeles, San Bernardino County, Riverside County

☆ Long-lost twins who were separated and sold off at birth reunited after finding each other on TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewIdentical twins who were separated and sold shortly after birth reunited after finding each other on TikTok, the BBC reported. After traveling to Germany to meet their biological mother, Aza, they were told that hospital staff had falsely informed her that the twins died shortly after birth. Years later, 19-year-old Ano was sent a TikTok Amy had posted of herself and tried to track her down because she found it "cool" how similar they looked. AdvertisementDigging into their past, the twins joined Vedzeb, a Facebook group dedicated to reuniting families separated by suspected illegal adoptions.

Persons: —, Aza, Amy Khvitia, Amy, Ano, she'd, Vedzeb, Tamuna Museridze Organizations: Service, BBC, Business, Facebook, United Nations, Human, Georgian Interior Ministry Locations: Germany, Soviet, Georgia

☆ Alabama executes a man with nitrogen gas, the first time the new method has been used
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Kim Chandler | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

It marked the first time that a new execution method has been used in the United States since lethal injection, now the most commonly used method, was introduced in 1982. After a chance to make a final statement, the warden, from another room, would activate the nitrogen gas. And experts appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council cautioned they believe the execution method could violate the prohibition on torture. Three states — Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma — have authorized nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method, but no state had attempted to use the untested method until now. Smith's attorneys had raised concerns that he could choke to death on his own vomit as the nitrogen gas flows.

Persons: —, Kenneth Eugene Smith, Smith, gurney, I'm, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Jeff Hood, Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Hood, he's, Elizabeth Sennett, Sennett, Charles Sennett Jr, Mama, Charles Sennett, John Forrest Parker Organizations: Alabama, Service, —, U.S, Supreme, Justice, Prosecutors, WAAY, Catholic, Human Locations: Ala, — Alabama, Alabama, United States, Vatican, Rome, Mississippi, Oklahoma

☆ Alabama execution using nitrogen gas, the first ever, again puts U.S. at front of death penalty debate
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

It marked the first time a new execution method was used in the U.S. since 1982, when lethal injection was introduced and later became the most common method. The state had predicted the nitrogen gas would cause unconsciousness within seconds and death within minutes. After he had a chance to make a final statement, the warden, from another room, was to activate the nitrogen gas. And experts appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council cautioned they believe the execution method could violate the prohibition on torture. Smith's attorneys had raised concerns that he could choke to death on his own vomit as the nitrogen gas flows.

Persons: Abraham Bonowitz, Kenneth Smith, Kenneth Eugene Smith, Smith, gurney, Kay Ivey, Elizabeth Sennett, Ivey, Elizabeth Sennett's, Mike Sennett, Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Steve Marshall, John Q, Hamm, Jeff Hood, Hood, Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, he's, Sennett, John Forrest Parker, Charles Sennett Organizations: Holman Correctional, Alabama Gov, European Union, Human, EU, U.S, Supreme, State, Justice, Catholic, Prosecutors Locations: Columbus , Ohio, Holman, Atmore , Alabama, U.S, Alabama, United States, Geneva, gurney, Hamm, Vatican, Rome, Mississippi, Oklahoma

☆ What we know about Alabama execution of Kenneth Smith by nitrogen gas
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Elizabeth Wolfe | Dakin Andone | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Alabama inmate Kenneth Smith was put to death Thursday night by nitrogen hypoxia, marking the nation’s first known execution to be carried out using that method. The execution process began at 7:53 p.m. CT Thursday, and Smith was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m., according to Alabama Department of Corrections officials. Smith made a lengthy statement in front of the witnesses before the execution started, according to the pool reporters. A new method of capital punishmentAhead of Smith’s execution, a tense debate unfolded about whether America’s wholly new execution method is humane and whether the procedure would cause undue pain. The family has forgiven everyone involved in the killing, including Smith, Michael Sennett said at a news conference Thursday night.

Persons: Kenneth Smith, Smith, United Nations –, William C, John Hamm, gurney, “, writhed, Hamm, ” Hamm, Jeff Hood, who’d, ” Smith, gurney ”, Hood, ”, ’, Elizabeth Sennett's, Elizabeth Sennett, Sennett, Charles Sennett, Michael, ” Elizabeth Sennett’s, What’s, ” Chuck Sennett, “ He’s, Michael Sennett, CNN’s Devan Cole, Christina Maxouris, Isabel Rosales, Lauren Mascarenhas, Jamiel Lynch Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Holman Correctional, Alabama Department of Corrections, “ Locations: Alabama, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Atmore, Alta

☆ Icon of the Seas: Why Americans Are Obsessed With Big Cruise Ships
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Henry Wismayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Love them or loathe them, giant cruise ships are among the most remarkable success stories of the mass tourism age. Rechristened the Mardi Gras, the first Carnival cruise ship sailed out of Miami that March. Cruise ships like the Icon of the Seas will spend the majority of their trip at sea. Eight years later, cruise ships such as the Diamond Princess became early incubators for COVID-19. Cruise Market Watch forecasts there will be 360 cruise ships in service at the end of this year, comprising less than 1% of the global commercial fleet.

Persons: Ted Arison, Arison, Pieter De Boer, Costa, Diamond, Aaron Saunders, We've, Sue Bryant, Z, sass, Emma Le Teace, YouTuber, David Foster Wallace, Harper's, Sarah Knorr, Bryan Comer, Karla Hart, Hart, Saunders, it's, Henry Wismayer Organizations: Port, Passengers, Mardi Gras, Mardi, Gras, Cruise, Royal Caribbean, Costa Concordia, Cruise Lines International Association, Broadway, CivicScience, Royal, Virgin, Business, Transport & Environment, Getty, International Council, Global Cruise, Global Cruise Activist Network, Cruise Market, Royal Caribbean International, New York Times, National Geographic, Financial Times Locations: Port of Miami, Caribbean, Miami, The Port, Tuscany, Italy, Royal Caribbean, TikTok, Panama, Bahamas, Brussels, Netherlands, Douarnenez, Venice, Dubrovnik, Croatia, Amsterdam, Juneau , Alaska, Skagway , Alaska, CocoCay, London

The execution will be the first attempt to use a new execution method since the 1982 introduction of lethal injection, now the most common execution method in the United States. After he is given a chance to make a final statement, the warden, from another room, will activate the nitrogen gas. Three states — Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma — have authorized nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method, but no state has attempted to use the untested method until now. They stabbed her — multiple times.”The state has predicted the nitrogen gas will cause unconsciousness within seconds and death within minutes. Much of what is known about death by nitrogen gas comes from industrial accidents or suicide attempts.

Persons: Kenneth Eugene Smith, Smith, “, ”, Jeff Hood, Elizabeth Sennett, Sennett, gurney, Steve Marshall, Liz Sennett, Smith’s, ” Marshall, Charles Sennett Jr, Smith “, Mama, Robin M, Maher, Philip Nitschke, Nitschke, ” Nitschke, Robert Grass, Charles Sennett, John Forrest Parker Organizations: United States, Supreme, U.S, Prosecutors, WAAY, Circuit, Alabama, Associated Press, Veterinary Medical Association, United Nations Human Rights Locations: MONTGOMERY, Ala, Alabama, United, United States, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Colbert County

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans who control the Wisconsin state Assembly were poised Thursday to pass a bill that would call for a binding statewide referendum to ban abortion after 14 weeks of pregnancy. Current Wisconsin law prohibits abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Planned Parenthood, which had ceased providing abortion services following the U.S. Supreme Court decision, resumed operations in September following the Dane County ruling. The case is on appeal and likely will end up before the state Supreme Court. Republicans will have tough time persuading Protasiewicz and the rest of the liberal majority to reinstate the abortion ban in full.

Persons: Devin LeMahieu, Tony Evers, Evers, Wade, Janet Protasiewicz, feticide, —, Dane, Protasiewicz Organizations: —, Assembly, Senate, Republican, Democratic Gov, Republicans, U.S, Supreme, Court Locations: MADISON, Wis, Wisconsin, U.S ., Dane

DENVER (AP) — Colorado Republican state Rep. Mike Lynch announced he's stepping down as minority leader Wednesday, a week after The Denver Post reported that Lynch was arrested in 2022 on suspicion of drunken driving and possession of a gun while intoxicated. Lynch is also running for Congress in Colorado's 4th District, a hotly contested race recently joined by Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert after she announced she was switching districts. “I want it to be clear that I’m not stepping down because I won a close vote of no confidence,” Lynch said to gathered lawmakers on the House floor. The report details Lynch telling King he was a supporter of law enforcement and asking the trooper to call Colorado State Patrol’s legislative liaison at the state Capitol. A vote to elect a new minority leader will be held Thursday morning.

Persons: Mike Lynch, he's, Lynch, Lauren Boebert, ” Lynch, I've, Matthew King, King, didn’t, ” Organizations: DENVER, —, — Colorado Republican, Denver Post, Republican, Colorado State Patrol, The Denver Post, Colorado State, Associated Press Locations: — Colorado, Colorado's 4th, Fort Collins , Colorado

The outcome of the case will likely determine whether tens of thousands of people win back the right to vote. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the ban violates the Constitution's prohibition against “cruel and unusual” punishment. But the full 17-member circuit court vacated that ruling weeks later and scheduled Tuesday's hearing. In a dissent to the August ruling, Jones cited a previous Supreme Court ruling regarding felons' disenfranchisement, saying it is up to legislatures to decide such matters. King and Dennis will also take part because they were members of the original ruling panel.

Persons: James Dennis, Carolyn Dineen King, — King, Jimmy Carter, Dennis, Bill Clinton, Edith Jones, Ronald Reagan, Jones, King Organizations: ORLEANS, —, Circuit, Appeals, Senior, Democratic Locations: Mississippi, New Orleans, “ Mississippi, ”

The Alabama attorney general's office told federal appeals court judges last week that nitrogen hypoxia is "the most painless and humane method of execution known to man." The execution would be the first attempt to use a new method since lethal injection was introduced in 1982. Three states — Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma — have authorized nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method. The Alabama attorney general's office noted that Smith, when previously fighting lethal injection, had suggested nitrogen as an alternative execution method. Courts require inmates challenging their execution method to suggest an alternative method.

Persons: Kenneth Eugene Smith, gurney, general's, Smith, Dr, Jeffrey Keller, ” Keller, Keller, Joel Zivot, Zivot, Prosecutors, Elizabeth Sennett, Sennett, John Forrest Parker, Charles Sennett Jr, Smith “, Mama, ”, Robin M, Maher, Kenny, Jeff Hood, “, Shane Isner, Kay Ivey, Ivey Organizations: American College of Correctional Physicians, Veterinary Medical Association, United Nations Human Rights, ”, U.S . Chemical Safety, Hazard Investigation, WAAY, Alabama, Christian Church, Capitol, Alabama Gov, Associated Press, Department of Corrections Locations: MONTGOMERY, Ala, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, U.S

CNN —The federal appeals court in Washington, DC, declined to rehear arguments over whether former President Donald Trump can be prohibited from talking about witnesses and court staff while he awaits trial in the special counsel’s January 6 criminal case. Trump has unsuccessfully tried to challenge the gag order placed on him by Judge Tanya Chutkan late last year through appeals. The 11 judges from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday declined to touch the case after a three-judge panel previously upheld the gag order against Trump. Trump can appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, and his attorneys have previously indicated that they would appeal the matter to the nation’s highest court if necessary. But the court said the gag order does not apply to comments made about special counsel Jack Smith and narrowed the prohibition Trump had regarding speaking about witnesses in the case, a change from the original gag order.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Tanya Chutkan, Jack Smith, Patricia Millett, Nina Pillard, Bradley Garcia, —, “ Mr, Trump’s Organizations: CNN, DC, Trump Locations: Washington , DC

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama is preparing to use a new method of execution: nitrogen gas. The state maintains that nitrogen gas will cause unconsciousness quickly but critics have likened the never-used method of execution to human experimentation. In 2018, Alabama became the third state — along with Oklahoma and Mississippi — to authorize the use of nitrogen gas to execute prisoners. If the Alabama execution goes forward, other states may seek to start to using nitrogen gas. If the execution is blocked by the court or botched, it could halt or slow the pursuit of nitrogen gas as an alternative execution method.

Persons: Kenneth Eugene Smith, Smith, —, gurney, general’s, Walter LaGrand, Prosecutors, Elizabeth Sennett Organizations: NIOSH, United Nations Human Rights, Veterinary Medical Association, WHO, Alabama, U.S, Supreme, Circuit Locations: MONTGOMERY, Ala, Alabama, Oklahoma, Mississippi, United States, U.S, Arizona

☆ An Alabama prisoner will soon become the first in the US to be executed by nitrogen gas. Veterinarians won't even use the method on most animals.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Michelle Mark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An Alabama prisoner is about to undergo an experimental execution using nitrogen gas on Tuesday. Even veterinarians refrain from using nitrogen gas in euthanasias for most animals. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAn Alabama prisoner is scheduled to be executed by nitrogen gas on Tuesday — an experimental form of capital punishment that has prompted a global outcry from human rights organizations. The nitrogen hypoxia execution method, which remains untested, involves a mask being fitted to the prisoner's face, which pipes in nitrogen gas.

Persons: —, Kenneth Eugene Smith, Critics, Smith, Elizabeth Sennett, Sennett, I'm Organizations: Service, Alabama's Department of Corrections, UN, Human Rights, American Veterinary, Associated Press, Authorities, Guardian Locations: Alabama, euthanasias

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans who control the Wisconsin Assembly quietly introduced a bill Friday that would call for a binding statewide referendum on whether abortion should be banned after 14 weeks of pregnancy. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesAnother Wisconsin law bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The bill Friday would outlaw abortions after 14 weeks of pregnancy, or about three months. The Wisconsin bill comes with a catch, though. The Senate's Republican majority leader, Devin LeMahieu, said last week that it would be difficult to get his caucus to coalesce around an abortion bill that Evers would veto.

Persons: Tony Evers, Roe, Wade, Janet Protasiewicz, Kamala Harris, Evers, Robin Vos, Vos, Angela Joyce, Britt Cudaback, ” Cudaback, Devin LeMahieu, Brian Radday didn't Organizations: —, Wisconsin Assembly, GOP, Capitol, Democratic Gov, U.S, Supreme, Guttmacher Institute, Senate, Republican Locations: MADISON, Wis, Wisconsin, U.S ., Dane, Waukesha County, Georgia, South Carolina, Nebraska, North Carolina, Arizona, Florida

☆ Macy’s is laying off workers and closing five stores
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

David McLane/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images The first Macy's store, on New York's Sixth Avenue, is seen circa 1880. New York Times Co./Hulton Archive/Getty Images Workers sort parcels at a Macy's store circa 1942. Fritz Goro/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock Women show dolls to children at a Macy's store around Christmas in 1942. Fred Morgan/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images The Radio City Rockettes march in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1966. Amy Sussman/AP Images for Macy's This Macy's store in West Palm Beach, Florida, was one of dozens of stores that the company announced it would be closing in 2017.

Persons: David McLane, Santa Claus, Fritz Goro, Bernard Hoffman, Rita Hayworth's, Nina Leen, Fred Morgan, Paul DeMaria, Jean, Erick Pasquier, Monica Almeida, Chris Hondros, Timothy Fadek, Andrew Craft, Eric Thayer, Eduardo Munoz, Andrew Kelly, Amy Sussman, Joe Raedle, Charles Krupa, Gary Hershorn, Macy’s Organizations: New, New York CNN — Veteran, CNN, Street Journal, Commerce Department, NY, The New, Historical Society, of Congress, Santa, Bettmann, . New York Times Co, Hulton, Getty, Keystone, Herald, Macy, City, Workers, Fayetteville Observer, USA, Reuters Shoppers, Reuters, Saxon Middle School Choir, Downtown Burlington High School, Corbis Locations: New York, ., France, Fayetteville , North Carolina, Bay Shore , New York, West Palm Beach , Florida, Burlington , Vermont, New York City, Santa Claus

☆ OpenAI quietly removes ban on military use of its AI tools
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, during an interview at Bloomberg House on the opening day of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 16, 2024. OpenAI has quietly walked back a ban on the military use of ChatGPT and its other artificial intelligence tools. The shift comes as OpenAI begins to work with the U.S. Department of Defense on AI tools, including open-source cybersecurity tools, Anna Makanju, OpenAI's VP of global affairs, said Tuesday in a Bloomberg House interview at the World Economic Forum alongside CEO Sam Altman. The news comes after years of controversy about tech companies developing technology for military use, highlighted by the public concerns of tech workers — especially those working on AI. Workers at virtually every tech giant involved with military contracts have voiced concerns after thousands of Google employees protested Project Maven, a Pentagon project that would use Google AI to analyze drone surveillance footage.

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, Anna Makanju, OpenAI's, Makanju, Maven Organizations: Bloomberg House, Economic, U.S . Department of Defense, Bloomberg, Workers, Google, Pentagon, Microsoft, CNBC PRO Locations: Davos, Switzerland

☆ Lithuania Broke Human Rights Laws in Case Tied to CIA Detention Program, European Court Rules
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lithuania broke European human rights laws by allowing the CIA to subject an alleged 9/11 suspect to "inhuman treatment" in a secret interrogation center in the Baltic country, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday. Al-Hawsawi is now held in Guantanamo Bay on suspicion of being a facilitator and financial manager of al Qaeda. While held in Lithuania, he experienced an extremely harsh detention regime, according to the press release, including solitary confinement, the continuous use of leg shackles and exposure to noise and light. “While not commenting on the specific case, I’d note that CIA’s detention and interrogation program ended in 2009," a CIA spokesperson said. It came to symbolize the excesses of the U.S. "war on terror" because of harsh interrogation methods that critics have said amounted to torture.

Persons: Mustafa Ahmed Adam al, Hawsawi, George W, Bush, Jonathan Landay, Daphne Psaledakis, Bill Berkrot Organizations: WASHINGTON, CIA, of Human, Convention, Lithuanian, Baltic News Service, Lithuania's, U.S, Senate, Republican, Pentagon Locations: Lithuania, Baltic, Guantanamo Bay, al Qaeda, Lithuanian, Washington, Guantanamo, Cuba, New York

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