Blinken presses Hamas to accept new proposal for Gaza cease-fire
JERUSALEM — The United States has stepped up pressure for a cease-fire deal in Gaza. Hamas officials are in Egypt to discuss the new proposal. Ahead of a new visit to Israel this week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he pushed Hamas to accept the latest proposal, calling it “extraordinarily generous” on the part of Israel. Terms of the proposal were not made public, and it was not known if anything had changed on a main roadblock that mediators have repeatedly crashed against: the question of the extent of a cease-fire. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes killed at least 26 people in Rafah, including nine women and six children.
Second new nuclear reactor is completed in Georgia
ATLANTA — The second of two new nuclear reactors in Georgia has entered commercial operation. Georgia Power said Monday that Plant Vogtle's Unit 4 is complete. The project has cost billions more and took years longer than projected. Unit 3 began commercial operations last summer. They’re the first two nuclear reactors built in the United States in decades. They're projected to cost Georgia Power and three other owners $31 billion. Utilities and political supporters are hailing the plant’s completion. But calculations show Vogtle’s electricity will never be cheaper than other sources the owners could have chosen. A typical Georgia Power customer will see a $9 rate hike to pay for Vogtle.
Deepfake of principal's voice is the latest case of AI being used for harm
The most recent criminal case involving artificial intelligence emerged from a high school in Baltimore County, Maryland. That's where police say a principal was framed as racist by a fake recording of his voice. The bogus audio contained racist remarks and caused the administrator to go on leave. Experts say the case is yet another reason why everyone should be concerned about this increasingly powerful technology. In just the last year, online services have gotten good enough to convincingly clone someone's voice with only 30 seconds of recorded audio. Those seconds can come from a voicemail, social media post or surreptitious recording.
Clear encampment or face suspension, Columbia University tells protesters
NEW YORK — Columbia University has issued an ultimatum for students to sign a form and leave a pro-Palestinian protest encampment by the afternoon or face suspension. The move Monday comes as colleges around the country implore student protesters to clear out encampments with rising levels of urgency as classes wrap up for the semester and graduation ceremonies approach. The lead negotiator on behalf of Columbia protesters says discussions continue about how to proceed. Students and others nationwide have been sparring over the Israel-Hamas war and its mounting death toll. Many students are demanding their universities cut financial ties with Israel.
U.S. opens investigation into Ford crashes involving partially automated driving system
DETROIT — Two fatal crashes involving Ford’s Blue Cruise partially automated driving system have drawn the attention of U.S. auto safety regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation of the crashes, both involving Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles on freeways in nighttime lighting conditions, the agency said in documents Monday. The agency’s initial investigation of the crashes, which killed three people, determined that Blue Cruise was in use just before the collisions. One of the crashes occurred in February in San Antonio, Texas, killing one person. The other happened in Philadelphia in March, killing two people. Ford said Monday it is cooperating on the investigation.
Oklahoma towns hard hit by tornadoes begin long cleanup
SULPHUR, Okla. — Small towns in Oklahoma are beginning a long cleanup after tornadoes flattened home and buildings and killed at least four people, including an infant. The damage Monday was extensive in the community of Sulphur, where a weekend tornado crumpled many downtown buildings and sheared the roofs off houses across a 15-block radius. The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said hospitals across the state reported about 100 injuries, including people apparently cut or struck by debris. White House officials said President Joe Biden spoke to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Sunday and offered the full support of the federal government.
At least 45 people die in Kenya after dam collapses following heavy rains
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. The Old Kijabe Dam, located west of Nairobi in the Great Rift Valley region that is prone to flash floods, collapsed Monday and water spilled downstream, carrying with it mud, rocks and uprooted trees. Vehicles were entangled in the debris on one of Kenya's busiest highways and paramedics treated the injured. Ongoing rains in Kenya have caused flooding that has already killed nearly 100 people and postponed the opening of schools.
Affluent Americans are driving U.S. economy, likely delaying need for Fed rate cuts
WASHINGTON — Older Americans are fueling a sustained boost to the U.S. economy. Benefiting from outsize gains in the stock and housing markets over the past several years, they are accounting for a larger share of consumer spending — the principal driver of economic growth — than ever before. And much of their spending is going toward higher-priced services like travel, health care and entertainment, thereby putting further upward pressure on those prices — and on inflation. Such spending is relatively immune to the Federal Reserve’s push to slow growth and tame inflation through higher borrowing rates, because it rarely requires borrowing.
The future is near for self-driving tractor-trailers on U.S. roads
PITTSBURGH — Late this year, Aurora Innovation Inc. plans to start hauling freight on Interstate 45 between the Dallas and Houston areas with 20 driverless trucks. Within three or four years, Aurora and its competitors expect to put thousands such self-driving trucks on America’s public freeways. The goal is for the trucks, which can run nearly around the clock without any breaks, to speed the flow of goods, accelerating delivery times and perhaps lowering costs. But the vehicles have drawn skepticism from safety advocates, who warn that with almost no federal regulation, it will be mainly up to the companies themselves to determine when the semis are safe enough to operate without humans on board.
