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The debate over Ukraine aid was already complicated. Then it became tangled up in US border security

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:43:15 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — As war and winter collide, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged during a recent visit to Washington that the days ahead “will be tough” as his country battles Russia while U.S. support from Congress hangs in the balance.President Joe Biden’s nearly $106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other needs sits idle in Congress, neither approved nor rejected, but subjected to new political demands from Republicans who are insisting on U.S.-Mexico border policy changes to halt the flow of migrants.Linking Ukraine’s military assistance to U.S. border security interjects one of the most divisive domestic political issues — immigration and border crossings — into the middle of an intensifying debate over wartime foreign policy.When Congress returns this coming week from the holiday break, Biden’s request will be a top item on the to-do list, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Failure risks delaying U.S. military aid to Ky...

Employee shot at liquor store is latest victim of armed robbery sprees across Chicago

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:43:15 GMT

CHICAGO -- An employee of a liquor store was shot during an armed robbery spree on the city's North Side Friday night.According to police, the incident occurred at a liqour store in the 4400 block of West Belmont Avenue around 10:25 p.m. The man relayed to officers that he was working when two unidentified men wearing masks entered the liqour store and shot him after they say him. The individuals fled the scene on foot. The victim sustained a gunshot wound to the shoulder and was transported to Illinois Masonic Hospital where he is listed in fair condition. Woman, 2 kids injured in hit-and-run crash on South Side Ten other armed robberies were reported in the Chicagoland area Friday. Police said the men are exiting a black Nissan ultima, armed with handguns and demanding property.A dozen armed robberies were also reported on the Southwest side Thanksgiving Day. In those incidents, the suspects were reported driving a Toyota or Hyundai. There is currently no one in custody and po...

Will Texas Christmas trees be affected by 2023's extreme weather?

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:43:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – When one thinks of Texas, Christmas trees may not be the first industry to come to mind. Stan Reed, the Executive Secretary of the Texas Christmas Tree Growers Association, would agree – Christmas trees and Texas isn’t the most obvious pairing. Still, farmers around the state produce over two million Christmas trees annually, and the industry racks in tens of millions of dollars for the state a year, Reed said.  What a strong El Niño pattern means for Texas winter weather “First thing when you think of Texas, it's either chili or something else. You never think of Christmas trees,” Reed said. “Over the years, [it] has blossomed into a larger and larger industry.” “There's about four types of Christmas trees that grow really well in Texas,” he added. How has the turbulent Texas weather affected crops?Reed said drought conditions can affect how fast and tall a tree can grow. “[Drought conditions] have diminished the growth of some of the crop...

Cold for now but a warming trend starts Tuesday

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:43:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Clouds will increase this morning leading to a low chance of rain this afternoon. Rain chances go up this evening into the overnight hours. There may be a little rain in some areas Sunday morning.Rain chances go up this afternoon and tonightTemperatures will remain on the chilly side with most highs below the normal of 68°. Maximums today will peak in the upper 50s to low 60s. A cold front heads here overnight. It arrives in Austin around sunrise (7:05). Wind speeds out of the north will increase behind the cold front. The forecast is for speeds up to 10 to 20 mph and gusts up to 30 mph resulting in lower temperatures Sunday afternoon.Gusty winds behind Sunday's cold frontMonday will be the coldest day of the next seven with highs only in the low to mid 50s. Lows both Monday and Tuesday mornings will be in the 30s areawide with the potential of some freezing lows in the Hill Country.Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will be dry. After the mid 50s Monday, highs Tuesday ...

Holiday Arts Guide: Find some festivity and cheer for the whole family at these events

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:43:15 GMT

With the cold weather sticking around for so long, Twin Citians have become pretty good at finding ways to enjoy it.King Boreas and Vulcanus Rex will do battle for the seasons once again during the St. Paul Winter Carnival, from Jan. 25 to Feb. 3, and the Great Northern Festival takes place around the same time to highlight even more ways to have fun in the cold.And luckily, the fun can start right away. Throughout the holiday season, there are plenty of festivals and events for all ages in St. Paul and throughout the Metro. Here are some dates to add to your calendar:Garrett Quinnell from Northfield and Sarah Koury from Inver Grove Heights make s’mores at one of the firepits at the GLOW Winter Festival at CHS Field in St. Paul on Thursday, Nov., 16, 2023. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)Now through Dec. 31: GLOW Holiday FestivalThe holiday lights festival returns to CHS Field this year with a new 300-foot zipline over the outfield, a 120-foot “snowy slide” and one million LED lights. T...

MSHP releases name of victim in early morning I-70 crash

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:43:15 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- In the aftermath of the fatal crash on I-70 in Saint Charles, the Missouri State Highway Patrol has identified the victim as 36-year-old Nakieta C. Sarzana. According to troopers, she was walking west of Zambal Row when a Dodge Caravan struck her. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) pronounced her dead just before 6:30 a.m. yesterday.As a result of the incident, I-70 westbound in Saint Charles County was closed west of Zumbehl, leading to closures between Zumbehl and Cave Springs yesterday.

“Please regulate AI:” Artists push for U.S. copyright reforms but tech industry says not so fast

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:43:15 GMT

By MATT O’BRIEN, AP Technology WriterCountry singers, romance novelists, video game artists and voice actors are appealing to the U.S. government for relief — as soon as possible — from the threat that artificial intelligence poses to their livelihoods.“Please regulate AI. I’m scared,” wrote a podcaster concerned about his voice being replicated by AI in one of thousands of letters recently submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office.Technology companies, by contrast, are largely happy with the status quo that has enabled them to gobble up published works to make their AI systems better at mimicking what humans do.The nation’s top copyright official hasn’t yet taken sides. She told The Associated Press she’s listening to everyone as her office weighs whether copyright reforms are needed for a new era of generative AI tools that can spit out compelling imagery, music, video and passages of text.“We’ve received close to 10,000 comments,” said Shira Perlmutter, the U.S. register of co...

More Denver prosecutors are women than men, reflecting growth in female attorneys in Colorado

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:43:15 GMT

When Beth McCann first worked as a trial prosecutor in Denver nearly 50 years ago, she was the only woman in the office doing the job.One judge insisted on calling her “honey.” And another didn’t know what to call her.“He asks me, ‘Is it Mrs. or Miss?’ And I said, ‘It’s Ms.,'” McCann said, and laughed. “I don’t think he ever called me anything from then on, just ‘The People.'”As Denver’s elected district attorney, McCann now leads an office that has more women attorneys than men. The office’s gender ratio flipped to a female majority in 2019, two years after McCann took office, and there have been more women prosecutors than men every year since, a trend also seen in at least three other Front Range district attorney’s offices.There are more women working as prosecutors than men in the First, 17th and 18th judicial districts, covering Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas, Broomfield and Jefferson cou...

Prep basketball roundup: Moreau Catholic, Bishop O’Dowd, Archbishop Riordan among Friday’s winners

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:43:15 GMT

Boys basketballNo. 14 Moreau Catholic 56, Vanden-Fairfield 52Kevin Chapman was named player of the game after he scored 18 points and handed out eight assists while leading Moreau to a season-opening victory over Vanden at the O’Dowd Thanksgiving Showcase. The Mariners also got 12 points from Tyler Bailey and 10 from Spencer Shonnard.No. 11 Bishop O’Dowd 72, No. 8 Oakland 53O’Dowd started its season with an upset victory over crosstown rival and defending Division III state champions Oakland at O’Dowd’s own Thanksgiving Showcase event. The Dragons backcourt led the way, with senior Tobias Allen scoring 14 points and junior Joshua Green putting in a team-high 16. No. 18 Oakland Tech 68, Grant-Sacramento 60ArDarius Grayson scored 23 points and grabbed five rebounds in Oakland Tech’s victory over the Sacramento-area team at the Bishop O’Dowd Thanksgiving Showcase. Forward Ahmed Gulaid scored 15 points and had 10 rebounds, and Jerrell Warren had nine points. Xan Myer-Plettne...

Brooks: Altman firing drama highlights the fight for the soul of AI

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:43:15 GMT

One of the nice things about OpenAI is that it was built on distrust. It began as a nonprofit research lab because its founders didn’t think artificial intelligence should be pioneered by commercial firms, which are driven overwhelmingly by the profit motive.As it evolved, OpenAI turned into what you might call a fruitful contradiction: a for-profit company overseen by a nonprofit board with a corporate culture somewhere in between.Many of the people at the company seem simultaneously motivated by the scientist’s desire to discover, the capitalist’s desire to ship product and the do-gooder’s desire to do this all safely.The events of the past week — Sam Altman’s firing, all the drama, his rehiring — revolve around one central question: Is this fruitful contradiction sustainable?Can one organization, or one person, maintain the brain of a scientist, the drive of a capitalist and the cautious heart of a regulatory agency? Or, as Charlie Warzel wrote in The Atlantic, will t...