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EU gives more power to AI translation machines

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:29:42 GMT

BRUSSELS — The EU’s translation unit is doubling down on artificial intelligence.For the first time, high-tech machines will translate press releases without any human oversight, in order to cut waiting time for journalists and expand the number of languages available to the public.This marks a new frontier in the Commission’s drive to automate its translation department, one of the largest and oldest among the multilingual Brussels institutions. The EU introduced machine translation decades ago to cope with an increasing bulk of legislation, resulting in fewer translators being hired.This shift shrank the Commission’s dedicated translation unit by 17 percent over the last decade, despite an increase in workload from about 2 million pages in 2013 to 2.5 million in 2022, according to EU figures.Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer announced Monday that, under a new pilot project, it will immediately publish automated translations, marked by a disclaimer, while a human v...

Column: Could the Chicago Bears choose your suburb as their new home? 20 more sites for a potential new stadium.

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:29:42 GMT

Your suburb could be home to a professional football team, making it the envy of all your neighbors.Chicago Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren is accepting applications.Act now before this offer expires.The Bears’ pursuit of a new state-of-the-art stadium to replace Soldier Field has gone off the rails since Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi called an audible, significantly raising the valuation of the Arlington Park property the McCaskey family purchased for $197 million.Naperville officials quickly pounced on the fumble, holding two meetings with the Bears about the possibility of moving to their leafy suburb 40 minutes west of downtown Chicago. Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor then wrote Warren proposing a lakefront stadium there, and a Rockford politician chimed in to lobby for his town.Everyone wants to be associated with the Bears.To no one’s surprise, the Bears, estimated by Forbes to be worth $5.8 billion, appear to be using the towns’ interest to help leverage a...

Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s steal of home surprises Mets: ‘They thought I was bluffing’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:29:42 GMT

Brooks Raley made the mistake of pitching from the windup on Wednesday night. Isiah Kiner-Falefa took notice and took off.The Yankees’ super utilityman had been on third base with Raley, a left-handed Mets reliever, on the mound in the seventh inning. The pitcher never paid attention to Kiner-Falefa, so he took a huge lead and broke for the plate. Raley and catcher Francisco Alvarez appeared to notice as Kiner-Falefa began sprinting, but it was too late.Raley had already begun his windup. The southpaw sped things up, but he sailed a pitch over Billy McKinney’s head as Kiner-Falefa slid home.A pumped-up Kiner Falefa then jogged to the Yankees dugout and celebrated after giving his team a 3-1 lead.“I got halfway and [Raley] didn’t acknowledge me,” Kiner-Falefa recalled. “Third baseman [Eduardo Escobar] didn’t acknowledge me, and I kind of timed it up.“They thought I was bluffing. So I just went.”The Yankees’ lead didn’t...

Jury awards $25.6 million to white Starbucks manager fired after the arrests of 2 Black men

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:29:42 GMT

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — Jurors in federal court have awarded $25.6 million to a former Starbucks regional manager who alleged that she and other white employees were unfairly punished after the high-profile arrests of two Black men at a Philadelphia location in 2018.Shannon Phillips won $600,000 in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages on Monday after a jury in New Jersey found that race was a determinative factor in Phillips’ firing, in violation of federal and state anti-discrimination.In April 2018, a Philadelphia store manager called police on two Black men who were sitting in the coffee shop without ordering anything. Phillips, then regional manager of operations in Philadelphia, southern New Jersey, and elsewhere, was not involved with arrests. However, she said she was ordered to put a white manager who also wasn’t involved on administrative leave for reasons she knew were false, according to her lawsuit.Phillips said she was fired less than a month later after...

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announces GOP presidential bid days after Trump’s indictment

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:29:42 GMT

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON (Associated Press)MIAMI (AP) — Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday, jumping into the crowded race just days after GOP front-runner Donald Trump appeared in court on federal charges in Suarez’s city.The 45-year-old mayor, the only Hispanic candidate in the race, declared his candidacy in paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday. He had previously teased an announcement, noting that he would be making a “big speech” on Thursday at the Reagan Library in California.Announcing his run on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Thursday, Suarez repeatedly tried to avoid answering questions about Trump’s behavior and the charges in his indictment, saying he didn’t know “all the details about how he handled classified information.”When reminded that he was running against Trump, Suarez replied, “You see, that’s where you’re wrong. I’m running to be the president of the United States, and I’m ru...

Brandon Nimmo’s walk-off RBI double gives Mets win over Yankees to salvage Subway Series split

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:29:42 GMT

It was a matchup of two of the game’s premier aces and two former World Series-winning teammates.Right-handers Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander dueled one another in the second game of the Subway Series on Wednesday night at Citi Field, but in the end neither pitcher factored into the decision. Neither pitcher factored into the fireworks of a wild rivalry matchup that featured bad defense, stymied rallies, failed comebacks, a shift violation and a straight steal of home by Isiah Kiner-Falefa.The Mets walked it off in the 10th inning with an RBI double from Brandon Nimmo. The Yankees went to the bullpen to get left-hander Nick Ramirez to counter the left-handed Nimmo, but he sent a double to the right field wall to give the Mets a 4-3 win in front of a sellout crowd of 44,121, the fifth-largest regular-season crowd in Citi Field history.“Guys have been battling,” said manager Buck Showalter. “A lot of close games like that, but to push through it was big.̶...

Woman killed, man injured in North County house fire

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:29:42 GMT

ESCONDIDO, Calif. -- Firefighters are battling an early morning house fire in North County that has left one person dead.Located off of the 2400 block of Alexander Drive in Escondido, FOX 5's Elizabeth Alvarez was outside the burning residence shortly after 5:30 a.m. to gather more information. Crews from the Escondido Fire Department were seen attacking the blaze from the ground as well as from their ladder truck. Camp Pendleton Marine arrested on charges alleging use of Molotov cocktail at clinic operated by Planned Parenthood: DOJ When firefighters first arrived to the scene around 2:30 a.m., Battalion Chief Tyler Batson told FOX 5 the blaze was already well involved and crews did conduct a rescue. Batson says a man was standing right outside of the home when they arrived. That man was reported to have burns on his body and was pointing into the house, telling firefighters his wife was inside the residence. Firefighters did manage to rescue the woman from the burning...

Police search for stabbing suspect after 2 injured in Mission Beach

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:29:42 GMT

Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect two people were stabbed in this incident. SAN DIEGO -- Two people were stabbed Wednesday night in Mission Beach, and officers were still searching for the assailant, police said.Police were called about the stabbing shortly before 9 p.m., according to SDPD. The victims were described by authorities as a man and a woman who were both 19-years-old. Man suspected of shooting SDPD officer arrested Police were investigating in the 3300 block of Ocean Front Walk.Check back for updates on this developing story.

14-year-old boy arrested after bomb threat forces evacuation of North York school

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:29:42 GMT

A 14-year-old has been arrested in connection with a bomb threat made against a North York school this week.Toronto police say they received an email on Wednesday that there were bombs on the property of Georges Vanier Secondary School.The school, located in the area of Don Mills Road and Finch Avenue East, was evacuated and searched. No explosives were found on the property.A 14-year-old boy is facing several charges including public mischief and uttering threats.He is scheduled to appear in a Toronto courtroom in July.

European Central Bank hikes rates again and vows more after US Fed hits pause

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:29:42 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank pressed ahead with another interest rate hike Thursday and pledged more are on the way, aiming to crush inflation that is driving up the cost of groceries even after the U.S. Federal Reserve took a break from its own string of increases.The quarter-point rate boost, to 3.5%, is the eighth straight increase since July 2022 for the 20 countries that use the euro currency. That is an unprecedentedly swift campaign to tighten the flow of credit to the economy as the bank seeks to return inflation to its target of 2% from 6.1%. ECB President Christine Lagarde said more hikes, including at the bank’s next meeting on July 27, are in the cards. ECB projections acknowledge that controlling inflation will take months longer, even after the rate has fallen from a double-digit peak late last year.“Are we done? Have we finished the journey? No, we’re not at destination,” she said at a news conference. “Do we still have ground ...