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Showing posts from February 10, 2025

GOP-led states quickly mirror Trump’s policy agenda.

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In his nearly four weeks in office, President Donald Trump has unveiled a constant stream of policy priorities in quick succession, from shrinking government, to cutting taxes, to waging a war on diversity initiatives, illegal immigration and transgender rights. His allies in the states are rushing to keep up.   The Florida and Tennessee legislatures have passed sweeping immigration packages that will make it easier for state law enforcement and federal immigration officials to coordinate during recent special sessions. Leaders in Ohio and Arkansas are renewing efforts to place work requirements on Medicaid recipients. And Republicans in at least nine states have moved to create government efficiency task forces inspired by the initiative helmed by billionaire Elon Musk.  Across the country, Republican governors and legislatures are taking advantage of the national spotlight – and friendlier regulatory environment – the Trump administration has created to advance lo...
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Two tourists died in Sri Lanka after hostel fumigated for bedbugs, police say.

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  Two tourists have died from suspected pesticide poisoning after their hostel in   Sri Lanka   was fumigated for   bedbugs , Britain’s PA Media news agency has reported. Ebony McIntosh, a 24-year-old digital marketing and social media manager from the English city of Derby, and 26-year-old Nadine Raguse from Germany were both staying in the Miracle Colombo City hostel in the Sri Lankan capital, PA reported Sri Lanka Police as saying on Thursday. They both fell ill after a room at the hostel was fumigated to treat bedbugs, Sri Lanka Police spokesman Buddhika Manatunga told PA, and McIntosh was hospitalized on Saturday. Officers are investigating whether the two women were poisoned by pesticides, the Manatunga said. Related article He added that an autopsy to determine McIntosh’s cause of death will take place after her family arrives in Sri Lanka on Monday. Manatunga said the hostel, which is currently closed, will remain shut until then, according to PA. A spokesper...
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Trump pushes for quick end to Ukraine war, but much could go very wrong.

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Like an object floating upward yet still underwater, the bare, vague bones of a peace plan for Ukraine are taking shape. Despite a relative silence in policy announcements on this war from an otherwise vocal Trump administration, the next two weeks may see significant route markers planted in public. Whether they gain any traction with the Kremlin remains unclear.  Last week, US President Donald Trump officially appointed 80-year-old retired Gen. Keith Kellogg as his envoy to Ukraine and Russia. Almost Kellogg’s first act was to announce he would discuss their vision for peace in Ukraine with allies at the Munich Security Conference, on February 14-16. He is then expected, four days later, to visit Kyiv, for his first, long-anticipated trip there, according to Ukrainian state media.   Kellogg’s every utterance is parsed by an anxious Kyiv. He hit back at suggestions that the Munich conference would see the outline of a peace plan revealed publicly, telling Newsmax: “...
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Trump says India 'will do what's right' on illegal immigration.

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  US President Donald Trump has said India "will do what's right" on the deportation of  illegal migrants following a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The leaders spoke on Monday, their first conversation since Trump's inauguration last  week. They discussed immigration, security issues and trade in what the White House  described as a "productive call". Trump told reporters after the call that Modi was likely to visit the United States  "sometime in February". Since taking office on 20 January, Trump has announced a number of  immigration-related executive orders, paving the way for a widespread effort to crack  down on undocumented migrants in the US. According to the Pew Research Center, there are an estimated 725,000 undocumented  Indian immigrants in the US as of 2024. Last week, India's foreign ministry said Delhi would take in Indians overstaying  "anywhere in the world" as long as their documents were shared and n...
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OpenAI says Chinese rivals using its work for their AI apps

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  The maker of ChatGPT, OpenAI, has complained that rivals, including those in China, are using its work to make rapid advances in developing their own artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The status of OpenAI - and other US firms - as the world leaders in AI  has been dramatically undermined this week  by the sudden emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese app that can emulate the performance of ChatGPT, apparently at a fraction of the cost. Bloomberg has reported that Microsoft is investigating whether data belonging to OpenAI - which it is a major investor in - has been used in an unauthorised way. The BBC has contacted Microsoft and DeepSeek for comment. OpenAI's concerns have been echoed by the recently appointed White House "AI and crypto czar", David Sacks. Speaking on Fox News, he suggested that DeepSeek may have used the models developed by OpenAI to get better, a process called knowledge distillation. "There's substantial evidence that what DeepSeek did here is ...
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Australian police find explosives for possible antisemitic attack

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  Authorities in Sydney are investigating whether explosives discovered in a caravan were intended for an antisemitic attack. The explosives could have caused a 40-metre-wide blast and "significant damage,"  police said on Wednesday, adding that the threat was contained. A note was found in the caravan that displayed antisemitic messages, investigators said. "This is the discovery of a potential mass casualty event," New South Wales Premier  Chris Minns said. New South Wales Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson told a news conference  that the caravan was discovered on 19 January in Dural, a suburb of north-west Sydney. The investigation became public on Wednesday after details of it were leaked to the  media. There was "some indication that the explosives might be used in some form of  antisemitic attack," Mr Hudson said, but he wouldn't be drawn on the possible target. He said officers had "mitigated the risk as much as possible" but str...
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