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Global Affairs says Michael Chong targeted by foreign smear campaign on Chinese app

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:34 GMT

OTTAWA — Global Affairs Canada believes Conservative MP Michael Chong has been the victim of a foreign smear campaign, which the department suspects was conducted by Beijing.The department said a co-ordinated network of news accounts on the social-media app WeChat posted a large volume of false or misleading narratives about Chong from May 4 to 13.WeChat is one of the most popular apps in China and many Chinese speakers in Canada use it to keep up with friends and read news.Global Affairs Canada said it stumbled across the postings this spring as part of an ongoing project to monitor foreign manipulation on social media, primarily linked to Russia.The project, dubbed the rapid response mechanism, was monitoring activity on social media in the lead-up to June byelections in ridings that did not include Chong’s constituency.The department said the information didn’t represent a direct threat to Chong or his family, but it did make false claims about his background, politic...

Biden issues an executive order restricting US investments in Chinese technology

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a sign of growing strains between the world’s two biggest powers, President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday that would block and regulate high-tech U.S.-based investments going toward China. It covers advanced computer chips, micro electronics, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence.Senior administration officials said that the effort stemmed from national security goals, rather than economic interests and that the categories it covered were narrow in scope. The order seeks to blunt China’s ability to use U.S. investments in its technology companies to upgrade its military while also preserving broader levels of trade that are vital for both nations’ economies.The United States and China appear to be increasingly locked in a geopolitical competition, along with their deep trade relationship as the world’s two largest economies. Biden administration officials have insisted that they have no interest in “...

Biden claims his econ policies are reviving manufacturing, making his case at a wind farm plant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:34 GMT

BELEN, N.M. (AP) — President Joe Biden declared Wednesday that his economic policies are reviving U.S. manufacturing, touring the West to drum up support for his efforts on jobs and inflation in the face of voters’ doubts.“I’m not here to declare victory on the economy. We have a lot more work to do,” Biden said at Arcosa Wind Towers, a plant that once made Solo cups and other plastics but is now shifting to manufacturing wind towers. “But we have a plan. And it’s turning things around.”Arcosa, the president said, was a “great example” of how the administration’s legislative achievements have bolstered jobs and investments in the U.S. The company had to lay off workers in Illinois and Iowa before Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act became law last year, but customers placed $1.1 billion in wind tower orders with the company afterward, according to the White House. The stock has risen more than 20% in the past 12 months.“Folks — when I think climate, I think...

If you’ve ever wanted to be in ‘Hamilton,’ you can now do so – on Roblox

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:34 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The landmark Broadway musical “Hamilton” has landed on Roblox, turning the innovative stage show into an immersive online environment for a new generation.“’Hamilton’ has global recognition. Roblox has 66 million daily active users from all around the world. What a perfect match,” Matt Edelman, president and chief commercial officer for Super League, which designed and built the online experience in collaboration with Small World Games. In the Hamilton Simulator, players use their own avatars as they rub shoulders with the musical’s characters and negotiate through 10 levels set during the Revolutionary War. It starts at the New York docks and the goal is to free the city from British yoke. Appropriately, the music-filled game requires no real money from players.“The intent here was to create a fun experience for this community and by doing so, introduce them to ‘Hamilton’ if they don’t already know it, or to honor and inspire the passion that...

S&P/TSX composite index ticks back up on Wednesday as U.S. markets droop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:34 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock market inched upward in trading on Wednesday, rebounding slightly from the day before even as U.S. markets sagged.The S&P/TSX composite index rose 52.23 points to 20,258.21, boosted by energy stocks as oil prices were up and partially offset by health care and metals.Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management, called it “a little bit more of a defensive day,” with telecom, staples and utilities stocks up.“These are very, very defensive sectors. I think investors are just positioning themselves for the potential for a little bit more volatility as we head into the fall,” said Petursson.“We’ve seen some weaker global economic data this week, specifically with China, where they’re seeing much lower inflation, in fact deflation, in some segments of their economy and that’s just weighing on overall investor sentiment globally.”He said equity investors are shifting out of the economically sensitive sector...

A lawmaker in the Bahamas has been arrested on charges of sexual assault and issuing death threats

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:34 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A lawmaker in the Bahamas was charged Wednesday with sexual assault and issuing death threats in a case involving a 35-year-old woman.Kirk Cornish, who represents North Abaco, said in a statement that the allegations were “totally false” and that he would prove his innocence.“The facts will show that this was a breakup that was manipulated and exploited for political reasons,” he said.Cornish resigned Tuesday as secretary of Parliament at the request of Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis, who said that the director of public prosecutions found sufficient evidence to file charges against the 48-year-old politician.The alleged incident occurred in April, according to a police statement.The Associated Press

Lawsuit says Tennessee’s US House and state Senate maps discriminate against communities of color

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:34 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee is facing its first court challenge over a congressional redistricting map that carved up Democratic-leaning Nashville to help Republicans flip a seat in last year’s elections, a move that the plaintiffs say has unconstitutionally diluted the power of Black voters and other communities of color.The lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Nashville says the U.S. House maps and those for the state Senate amount to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering under the 14th and 15th amendments. The plaintiffs include the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP, the African American Clergy Collective of Tennessee, the Equity Alliance, the League of Women Voters of Tennessee and several Tennessee voters, including former state Sen. Brenda Gilmore.By splintering Nashville into three Republican-majority districts that stretch into rural counties, Tennessee’s congressional maps sparked significant pushback and threats of litigation from Democrats ...

Journalists seek regulations to govern fast-moving artificial intelligence technology

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:34 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Several news organizations, writers and photographers groups are pushing to be involved in creating standards for the use of artificial intelligence, particularly as it concerns intellectual property rights and the potential spread of misinformation.In an open letter sent on Wednesday, they outlined priorities for setting rules on the technology, which is developing faster than regulators can keep up with.“We … support the responsible advancement and deployment of generative AI technology, while believing that a legal framework must be developed to protect the content that powers AI applications as well as maintain public trust in the media,” the organizations said.The letter was signed by The Associated Press; Gannett; the News Media Alliance, which represents hundreds of publishers; Getty Images; the National Press Photographers Association; Agence France-Presse and others.The organizations want to make sure intellectual property owners maintain their rights ...

Assad blames Erdogan for violence in Syria and insists on a pullout of Turkish troops

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:34 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad slammed Turkey in comments published Wednesday, blaming Ankara for the uptick in violence in his war-torn country and insisting on the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Syria. Assad spoke in an interview with Sky News Arabia, his first interview with a foreign media outlet in months. The interview will be fully aired later Wednesday, but Sky News Arabia released some excerpts before the broadcast. Turkey is a main backer of armed opposition fighters who have been trying to remove Assad from power and has carried out three major incursions into northern Syria since 2016. Turkish forces control parts of northern Syria. Assad, who is backed by Russia and Iran, has managed over the past few years to retake most of the territory with the help of his allies, and turn the tide of war in his favor. Syrian rebels and Turkey-backed opposition forces now only hold a small northwestern corner of Syria, where fighting and violence have persisted. “Terr...

A Utah district will pay $2 million to the family of a bullied Black girl who died by suicide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:34 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah school district has agreed to pay $2 million to the family of a Black, autistic 10-year-old girl who killed herself after being harassed by her classmates. The family of Isabella “Izzy” Tichenor blamed her death in 2021 on an inadequate response by school officials to reports that the girl was being bullied over her race and disabilities. The Davis School District announced the settlement on Tuesday. The lawsuit said that Izzy, the only Black student in her class, was bullied by students at North Salt Lake’s Foxboro Elementary School by classmates who called her the N-word, told her she stank and made fun of her for being autistic. The family said they had reported the bullying to teachers and administrators, who hadn’t stopped the harrasment.Tichenor’s death came weeks after the district, which educates 73,000 kids north of Salt Lake City and has a student body that is less than 1% Black, was reprimanded by the U.S. Department of Justi...