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AI that alters voice, images in political ads will require prominent disclosure on Google, YouTube

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:24 GMT

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN (AP Business Writer)Google will soon require that political ads using artificial intelligence be accompanied by a prominent disclosure if imagery or sounds have been synthetically altered.Starting in November, just under a year before the U.S. presidential election, Google said in an update to its political content policy affecting YouTube and other services that disclosure of AI to alter images must be clear and conspicuous and be located somewhere that users are likely to notice it.Though fake images, videos or audio clips are not new to political advertising, generative AI tools are making it easier to do, and more realistic. Some presidential campaigns in the 2024 race — including that of Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis — already are using the technology.The Republican National Committee in April released an entirely AI-generated ad meant to show the future of the United States if President Joe Biden is reelected. It employed fake but realistic phot...

Mexican border town celebrates legacy of 'El Mariachi'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:24 GMT

CIUDAD ACUÑA, Mexico (Border Report) – It’s been 28 years since Cheech Marin tended bar and Antonio Banderas shot a bunch of bad guys inside the place. Still, visitors keep coming to the Corona Club to have a drink, look at pictures on the wall and celebrate the legacy the films “El Mariachi” (1992) and “Desperado” (1995) left on their city.Those movies “have great significance for Acuña and for the bar,” said Gerardo Garza, owner of the iconic business on Calle Hidalgo, where the gunfight scenes for both productions were shot. “As it is, Acuña has always had tourists – from Texas (military) bases, the colleges in Austin, Texas A&M, San Marcos, San Angelo, Houston, and others looking for a good time. They also come because this is the birthplace of 'El Mariachi.'"Acuña is across the border from Del Rio, Texas.The "Mariachi" is a Mexican protagonist concocted by Garza’s uncle, Carlos Gallardo, and University of Texas graduate Robert Rodriguez. A roving musician taking on a Mexica...

Japan’s Kishida says China seafood ban contrasts with wide support for Fukushima water release

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:24 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s prime minister said that China’s blanket ban on Japanese seafood in reaction to the release of treated radioactive water from a tsunami-ravaged nuclear power plant contrasts starkly with broad understanding shown by many other members of the international community.The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Japan’s northeastern coast started releasing treated and diluted radioactive wastewater in late August into the Pacific Ocean. The release has been opposed by the Japanese fishing community, which is worried about the reputation of the fish it catches. China immediately banned all Japanese seafood.Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters Wednesday in Jakarta, Indonesia, after a session attended by leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as South Korea and China, that the treated water release is conducted under international safety standards and with the help of the International Atomic Energy Agency. He said Japan has bro...

Stock market today: Big Tech stocks drag Wall Street down again

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is sinking again on worries that a too-warm economy will push the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% early Thursday, on track for a third straight loss. Big Tech stocks were particularly weak, and the Nasdaq composite was down 1.5%. The Dow was holding up better than the rest of the market, rising 0.2%, because it has less of an emphasis on tech. Stocks were feeling pressure from the bond market, where yields rose a day before due to a report showing growth for services industries accelerated more than economists expected last month. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street is pointing toward a third straight day of losses and global markets are falling as well with more signs of an economic slowdown in China despite efforts by Beijing to turn it around. Futures for the S&P 500 slipped 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1%. Nasdaq futures are off 0.8%...

Trudeau eyes Indo-Pacific trade deals to avoid China aim to ‘play us off each other’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:24 GMT

SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada’s rocky relations with China have stabilized, while telling business leaders in Singapore that Ottawa has committed to a timeline for trade deals with the region.“I don’t think the idea of crossing our arms and turning our backs on any part of the world is something that is good for the Canadian economy,” he said Thursday at an onstage event held by Bloomberg.Trudeau is undertaking a weeklong visit to Indonesia, Singapore and India with a focus on shoring up trade in a region Ottawa sees as key to counteracting coercive economic moves by China. He noted that his visit comes as western countries co-ordinate their approach to trade with Beijing. Trudeau said that’s a change from competing against each other for export opportunities that China could leverage, such as by limiting trade during diplomatic spats or unwanted human rights discussions.“They just would play us off each other just a little...

Ta’Kiya Young had big plans for her growing family before police killed her in an Ohio parking lot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:24 GMT

Ta’Kiya Young treated her two little boys like kings, dressing them sharply, letting them have too many sweets, cooking them big gourmet meals of T-bone steak with broccoli, cheese and rice.The royal life also awaited her unborn daughter.When Young found out she was pregnant with her third child — a girl — she was thrilled. The 21-year-old Ohio mom and aspiring social worker bought a stack of adorable onesies in anticipation of the baby’s arrival. She scheduled a photo shoot to show off her baby bump. She applied for public housing and looked forward to the day when she and her growing brood would have a place to call their own.Instead, Young’s grieving family prepared for her funeral on Thursday, exactly two weeks after a police officer in the Columbus suburbs fatally shot her in her car in a supermarket parking lot.Their Aug. 24 encounter, captured on police bodycam video released last week, was the latest in a troubling series of fatal shootings of Black adults and children by Oh...

Poland’s opposition accuses the government of allowing large numbers of migrants, corruption

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:24 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s main opposition leader accused the conservative government on Thursday of hypocrisy for allegedly admitting large numbers of foreign workers despite its anti-migrant rhetoric and a new border wall. Donald Tusk, a former prime minister and former top European Union official, said the government’s actions were in stark contrast with its official policy declarations.Tusk, leader of the opposition Civic Coalition, and Polish media allege that the government admitted about 130,000 Muslim migrants last year despite its anti-migrant statements, aimed chiefly at non-Christians. They say the government is working to relax restrictions and allege that corruption and pressure from international work agencies are involved. Allegations that the government has opened the doors to Middle East migrants are linked to the surprise firing last week of Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk. The dismissal came as the state Anti-Corruption Office was conducting an ins...

Police officer killed, another injured in car crash in Hartford

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:24 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A police officer was killed and another was injured Wednesday night in a car crash in Connecticut’s capital city, authorities said.Police said one person was in custody after the accident involving a police cruiser and another car just west of downtown Hartford. Officials have not said why the person was detained, what caused the accident or whether the officers were chasing the other car.The injured officer was in stable but guarded condition at a nearby hospital, police said.The police cruiser had extensive damage to the passenger side.Early Thursday morning, a procession of police transported the dead officer’s body from the hospital to the chief medical examiner’s office in Farmington.Authorities have not released the names of the officers or the person in custody.Police officials were expected to release more details later Thursday.The Associated Press

An archaeological find on an island in southern Norway is dubbed the gold find of the century

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:24 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — At first, the Norwegian man thought his metal detector reacted to chocolate money buried in the soil. It turned out to be nine pendants, three rings and 10 gold pearls in what was described as the country’s gold find of the century.The rare find was made this summer by 51-year-old Erlend Bore on the southern island of Rennesoey, near the city of Stavanger. Bore had bought his first metal detector earlier this year to have a hobby after his doctor ordered him to get out instead of sitting on the couch. Ole Madsen, director at the Archaeological Museum at the University of Stavanger, said that to find “so much gold at the same time is extremely unusual.” “This is the gold find of the century in Norway,” Madsen said.In August, Bore began walking around the mountainous island with his metal detector. A statement issued by the university said he first found some scrap, but later uncovered something that was “completely unreal” — the trea...

Carrasco dismisses criticism of human rights in Saudi Arabia after transfer to Al Shabab

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:24 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium midfielder Yannick Carrasco made light of the criticism of Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record on Thursday following his transfer to Al Shabab from Atletico Madrid.Carrasco, who is training this week with the Belgian national team ahead of a couple of European Championship qualifiers, asked the staff to organize a news conference so he could explain the reasons behind his move.Carrasco follows many stars from Europe’s top leagues who have headed to the lucrative Saudi league in recent months, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema.Asked about the country’s human rights record, Carrasco said he disagrees with the criticism “because people can sometimes think badly about things.”“Cristiano is there with his wife and has an ordinary life there,” Carrasco said. “Neymar, Benzema, I went there myself. I see how women live there, and how people go about their lives. Honestly, it is a beautiful country. It is hard to judge if you only listen ...