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Powerful quake in Morocco kills more than 1,000 people and damages historic buildings in Marrakech

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:25:47 GMT

By SAM METZ and MOSA’AB ElSHAMY (Associated Press)MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco late Friday night, killing more than 1,000 people and damaging buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakech. The full toll was not known as rescuers struggled to get through boulder-strewn roads to the remote mountain villages hit hardest.People woken by the magnitude-6.8 quake ran into the streets in terror and disbelief. A man visiting a nearby apartment said dishes and wall hangings began raining down, and people were knocked off their feet and chairs. A woman described fleeing her house after an “intense vibration.’ A man holding a child said he was jarred awake in bed by the shaking. State television showed people clustered in the streets of Marrakech, afraid to go back inside buildings that might still be unstable. Many wrapped themselves in blankets as they tried to sleep outside.The quake was the bi...

G20 leaders reach consensus statement, softening stance on Ukraine

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:25:47 GMT

NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi says global economic leaders have reached a consensus on a final communique, but the language surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — which is leading to geopolitical tensions — has softened since the leaders last met. The consensus statement from this year’s G20 summit in India was posted by India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Saturday, a day before the summit ends.It calls for the cessation of military destruction or other attacks on relevant infrastructure.Senior government officials in Canada said it took months to get the wording where it is, but they wouldn’t say what other countries had also pushed for stronger language.During last year’s G20 summit in Bali, the leaders were more direct by calling out Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, while demanding they withdraw from the territory. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is attending the two-day summit, has promised to keep Ukraine’s ...

Biden, Modi and G20 allies unveil rail and shipping project linking India to Middle East and Europe

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:25:47 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — President Joe Biden and his allies on Saturday announced plans to build a rail and shipping corridor linking India with the Middle East and Europe, an ambitious project aimed at fostering economic growth and political cooperation.“This is a big deal,” said Biden. “This is a really big deal.” The corridor, outlined at the annual Group of 20 summit of the world’s top economies, would help boost trade, deliver energy resources and improve digital connectivity. It would include India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Israel and the European Union, said Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser.Sullivan said the network reflected Biden’s vision for “far reaching investments” that come from “effective American leadership” and a willingness to embrace other nations as partners. He said the enhanced infrastructure would boost economic growth, help bring countries in the Middle East together and establish that region as a hub for economic ac...

Separatist parliament in Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region elects new president

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:25:47 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Lawmakers in Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway Armenian-populated region of Azerbaijan, voted to elect a new separatist president on Saturday in a move that was strongly condemned by the Azerbaijani authorities.Samvel Shakhramanyan’s election as the new president of Nagorno-Karabakh follows the resignation of Arayik Harutyunyan, who stepped down on Sept. 1 as president of the region — which the Armenians call Artsakh. It comes amid soaring tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry denounced the vote as a “gross violation” of the country’s constitution and a “serious blow to the efforts of normalization in the region.”Since December, Azerbaijan has blockaded the only road leading from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, severely restricting the delivery of food, medical supplies and other essentials to the region of about 120,000 people.Nagorno-Karabakh is a region within Azerbaijan that came under the control of ethnic Arme...

Artificial intelligence technology behind ChatGPT was built in Iowa — with a lot of water

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:25:47 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The cost of building an artificial intelligence product like ChatGPT can be hard to measure. But one thing Microsoft-backed OpenAI needed for its technology was plenty of water, pulled from the watershed of the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers in central Iowa to cool a powerful supercomputer as it helped teach its AI systems how to mimic human writing.As they race to capitalize on a craze for generative AI, leading tech developers including Microsoft, OpenAI and Google have acknowledged that growing demand for their AI tools carries hefty costs, from expensive semiconductors to an increase in water consumption.But they’re often secretive about the specifics. Few people in Iowa knew about its status as a birthplace of OpenAI’s most advanced large language model, GPT-4, before a top Microsoft executive said in a speech it “was literally made next to cornfields west of Des Moines.”Building a large language model requires analyzing patterns across a huge trove...

Saturday Forecast: Partly cloudy skies, breezy and cool

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:25:47 GMT

Saturday Forecast:  Starting out with partly to mostly cloudy skies -- and everyone sees the sun by the afternoon. Breezy & cool for the season. NNE 5-15 mph. Air quality ranges from Good to Moderate for Chicagoland. Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Saturday Night: Scattered clouds & cool-- especially away from the lake. NE 0-5 mphSunday: Partly sunny, a bit warmer-- except lakeside. Chance of late day showers. WNW/NE 5-15 mphExtended outlook calls for a soggy Monday with rain at times and slight chance of an isolated thunderstorms. High temps in the lower 70s. Some lingering showers for Tuesday-- and temps get cooler for Tue/Wed/Thu with high temps in the mid to upper 60s for highs and some overnight lows drop into the upper 40s away from the lake. Temps pop back into the mid 70s by the end of the week. 

Pets are great, but they can really cost you

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:25:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Pets provide joy and companionship, but costs can add up quickly, especially if you're a first-time owner and don't know what to expect.Many prospective dog or cat owners only focus on the positive aspects of bringing a furry friend into their lives. And there are countless reasons why pets are great. But it's also important to have realistic expectations so you don't face sudden expenses that could hurt your financial stability.“It's important to be able to choose a pet that is going to fit your budget and your lifestyle the best,” said Dr. Wendy Hauser, a veterinarian who founded her own consulting company.When Melissa Chavez decided to get a toy poodle named Milo in the summer of 2020, she had an idea of the costs but was surprised by how fast they added up. Like many others during the pandemic, she saw her stay-at-home schedule as a perfect opportunity to get a puppy.“I’ve never had any dogs before, so I think everything was a learning opportunity for me,” C...

TCSO arrests suspect accused of killing sister in Wells Branch

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:25:47 GMT

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The Travis County Sheriff's Office said it arrested a man believed to have killed his sister, according to TCSO. Deputies found a 38-year-old woman's body Thursday night in Wells Branch.Precious Angel Rucker, of Austin, was found dead in northern Travis County Thursday, TCSO reported.Officials were searching for Rucker's brother, Wanya Kasean Smith, 21, in connection with her death.Smith was found by deputies overnight Friday into Saturday and taken into custody, according to TCSO. Officials said Smith was in the Travis County jail and charged with murder in connection with the death of Rucker.TCSO deputies did a welfare check at 5:19 p.m. Thursday near the 1700 block of W. Wells Branch Parkway, and Rucker was found dead with “obvious injuries," according to TCSO.Anyone with information about the incident was asked to call the TCSO Tip Line at (512) 854-1444 or Crime Stoppers at (512) 472-8477.TCSO said this case marked its fifth homicide investiga...

Soucheray: We hate tobacco, but embrace marijuana?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:25:47 GMT

Where to smoke the weed, now that it’s legal, seems to be the current preoccupation of the St. Paul City Council, whose members, had they been young enough, would have made their activist bones complaining about cigarette smoke and where exactly you couldn’t smoke them.Times certainly change. Around here, the times are changing at lightning speed. Just a few years ago, secondhand cigarette smoke was thought to be as dangerous as nuclear waste or a spill of strychnine. The state sued what came to be derided as Big Tobacco. Lawyers got so rich that BMW dealerships ran out of cars.Joe SoucheraySmokers were shamed and ridiculed and made to stand outside on 30-below days. No-smoking sections sprang up in restaurants. Your clothes stunk and your skin wrinkled.Today? Today the weed is looked upon so favorably by the DFL political youngsters who experienced some urgency in legalizing it that you are allowed to have 2 pounds of the stuff at home and I guess enough in your pocket or purse to ...

Warm, dry summer is good for ruffed grouse

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:25:47 GMT

A warm and dry summer may not have been the best thing for your scorched-brown lawn, but it was probably great news for little ruffed grouse chicks and the people who like to hunt them when they get bigger in the fall.The balmy summer, especially in June when grouse eggs hatch, appears to have increased both the number of grouse chicks that hatched and the number that have survived at least their first few months when they are the most vulnerable.A female grouse with at least seven chicks. Data from the Minnesota DNR shows about two-thirds of the grouse hunters bag each fall are juveniles that hatched the same year. That means brood survival over summer is a big factor in how many grouse hunters see during the season. (Lindsay Stedman / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)That’s the report — more and bigger broods — from several Northlanders who spend a lot of time in the woods over the summer.“I haven’t seen the most recent reports yet but, at least through midsummer, it was looki...