WPTF News Archives - Page 20 of 91

Owner Jeff Bezos defends Washington Post’s decision not to endorse as the right, ‘principled’ one

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 28, 2024, 10:14 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — The Washington Post has reportedly lost more than 200,000 subscribers following a decision announced last week not to endorse a candidate in the presidential race. That’s according to a report from NPR, which cited two people at the paper it said had knowledge of the newspaper’s internal matters. The Post would not comment on NPR’s story or discuss lost subscriptions. A story on the fallout from the decision on the Post’s website on Monday had more than 2,000 comments, many of them from people saying they were ending their subscriptions. The Post, with more than 2.5 million subscribers, is the country’s third-largest newspaper in circulation size.… Read More

Democrats escalate attacks on Trump after comedian calls Puerto Rico ‘floating island of garbage’

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 28, 2024, 8:57 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are stepping up their attacks on Donald Trump a day after a comedian opening a Trump rally called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” The comment at Madison Square Garden drew wide condemnation and highlighted the rising power of a key Latino group in the swing state of Pennsylvania. The Trump campaign distanced itself from the remarks on Puerto Rico made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. The political fallout underscores the importance of Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes and the last-minute efforts to court growing numbers of Hispanic voters there. Trump did not directly mention the controversy during his appearances in Georgia. At a rally in Atlanta, Trump criticized Harris for calling him a fascist, declaring: “I’m not a Nazi.”… Read More

Authorities launch ‘interagency operation’ at federal jail in New York housing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 28, 2024, 6:10 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal investigators have launched an “interagency operation” at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where Sean “Diddy” Combs is incarcerated. Officials say the operation involves the Bureau of Prisons, the Justice Department’s inspector general’s office and other law enforcement agencies. The Bureau of Prisons says the operation is to ensure safety for staff and inmates and comes amid rising concerns over the jail’s poor conditions, violence, and several inmate deaths. The Bureau of Prisons says it is committed to addressing these issues and holding accountable those responsible for violence. Specific details about the operation were not disclosed.… Read More

Payton says he wasn’t trying to run up the score after some Panthers complain following 28-14 loss

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 28, 2024, 4:21 pm

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton had a short retort for the Carolina Panthers players who were complaining about Denver’s fake field goal and trick pass in the fourth quarter of a blowout Sunday. He said play better. And that’s the same two-word message he had for his own team after they committed two turnovers that led to both of the Panthers’ touchdowns. The last one came at the goal line when Courtland Sutton coughed up the football and that was followed by a 98-yard scoring drive by Carolina for a 14-point swing.… Read More

Harris calls on the United States ‘to turn the page on hatred and division’

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 27, 2024, 12:39 pm

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kamala Harris has told a church congregation in Philadelphia that the United States is “determined to turn the page on hatred and division.” The vice president visited the Church of Christian Compassion on Sunday. The pastor introduced her at a worship service as “the voice of the future.” It’s her first stop of the day in the largest city in swing state Pennsylvania and a critical Democratic stronghold. Harris is trying to energize supporters with a little more than a week to go before the Nov. 5 election. The Democratic presidential nominee later stopped at a barbershop, and she plans to visit a Puerto Rican restaurant and a youth basketball facility before speaking at a rally.… Read More

Satellite images show damage from Israeli attack at 2 secretive Iranian military bases

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 27, 2024, 11:13 am

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Israeli attack on Iran damaged facilities at a secretive military base southeast of the Iranian capital that experts in the past have linked to Tehran’s onetime nuclear weapons program and at another base tied to its ballistic missile program. That’s according to satellite photos analyzed Sunday by The Associated Press. Some of the buildings damaged sat in Iran’s Parchin military base, where the International Atomic Energy Agency suspects Iran in the past conducted tests of high explosives that could trigger a nuclear weapon. The other damage could be seen at the nearby Khojir military base, which analysts believe hides an underground tunnel system and missile production sites. Iran’s military has not acknowledged damage at either Khojir or Parchin.… Read More

2 US House members seek to become North Carolina’s attorney general

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 27, 2024, 10:38 am

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The two men seeking to become North Carolina’s next attorney general are both outgoing members of Congress who have represented the Charlotte area on Capitol Hill and previously in the state legislature. Democratic U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson and GOP U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop are seeking to succeed two-term Attorney General Josh Stein, the Democratic nominee for governor. Each has argued that his rival is too radical to become the state’s top law enforcement official. This fall’s campaign has focused largely on who is best able to represent the nation’s ninth-largest state in court and keep its communities safe.… Read More

Georgia prosecutor who brought election case against Trump faces rare Republican challenger

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 27, 2024, 10:36 am

ATLANTA (AP) — The Democratic Georgia prosecutor who brought charges against former President Donald Trump over efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election faces a rare Republican challenger in her bid for reelection. Republican Courtney Kramer is challenging Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Kramer says she wants to bring transparency and accountability to the office. Willis said she’s made great progress in her first term and is confident she’ll win. Fulton County, home to about 11% of the state’s electorate, is a Democratic stronghold where no Republican has even run for district attorney since 2000.… Read More

Researchers say an AI-powered transcription tool used in hospitals invents things no one ever said

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 27, 2024, 10:19 am

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Whisper is a popular transcription tool powered by artificial intelligence, but it has a major flaw. It makes things up that were never said. Whisper was created by OpenAI. It’s being used in many industries worldwide to translate and transcribe interviews, generate text in popular consumer technologies and create subtitles for videos. OpenAI has promoted Whisper as having near “human level robustness and accuracy.” But more than a dozen computer scientists and software developers tell The Associated Press that isn’t always the case and that it’s prone to making up chunks of text and even entire sentences. An OpenAI spokesperson says the company studies how to reduce that and updates its models incorporating feedback received.… Read More

US approves $2 billion in arms sales to Taiwan including advanced missile defense system

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 27, 2024, 6:22 am

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The United States has approved $2 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, including the delivery for the first time to the island of an advanced surface-to-air missile defense system. The sale has angered China. Taiwan’s presidential office on Saturday thanked Washington for greenlighting the potential arms sales. Under the island’s new president, Lai Ching-te, Taiwan has been stepping up defense measures as China increased its military threats against the island. Beijing last week held war games encircling Taiwan for the second time since Lai took office in May. Beijing claims the self-ruled island as its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary.… Read More

Yamamoto shuts down Yankees, Freeman homers again as Dodgers win 4-2 for 2-0 World Series lead

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 27, 2024, 6:14 am

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one hit over 6 1/3 innings, Freddie Freeman homered for the second straight night and the Los Angeles Dodgers hit three early longballs off Carlos Rodón to beat the New York Yankees 4-2 for a 2-0 lead in the World Series. Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernández also went deep for the Dodgers, who watched star slugger Shohei Ohtani walk off the field with a partially dislocated left shoulder at the end of the seventh inning. After the Yankees closed to 4-2 on Giancarlo Stanton’s RBI single off Blake Treinen in the ninth, Alex Vesia relieved with the bases loaded and retired pinch-hitter Jose Trevino on a first-pitch flyout for his first postseason save.… Read More

A century after Native Americans got the right to vote, they could put Trump or Harris over the top

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 27, 2024, 5:49 am

RED SPRINGS, N.C. (AP) — In the waning days of the presidential campaign, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are courting Native American voters in states where their vote could swing some of the most hotly contested counties in the country. In swing states like Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan and Nevada, the campaigns have targeted Native Americans with radio ads and events featuring speakers like former President Bill Clinton and Donald Trump Jr. Native American voters tend to favor Democrats at a higher rate, but they’re more likely to vote Republican than Latinos or African Americans. And they are one of the least partisan and youngest voting demographics in the country.… Read More