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President-elect Donald J. Trump has appointed Richard Grenell, his former ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence, as his “envoy for special missions.” This role is separate from the position of secretary of state, which Trump plans to appoint Senator Marco Rubio. Grenell, a loyalist known for his social media attacks, led an … Read more
Israel launched its latest strikes on Syrian military sites, targeting weapons depots and air defenses, according to a monitoring group. The strikes marked the fourth time this week that Israel has attacked Syria since the collapse of the Assad regime. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Israel had struck 75 times in attacks … Read more
A team of scientists has discovered a giant tail of gas leaking from an exoplanet near Earth, which stretches up to 350,000 miles long – roughly 44 times longer than the diameter of our planet. The alien world, WASP-69 b, is a gas giant that orbits its star every 3.9 days and loses massive amounts … Read more
Artificial intelligence (AI) is shifting its focus from chatbots to a more advanced technology called agents. These agents can handle complex tasks such as client onboarding, expense approvals, and customer service requests with minimal human oversight. According to OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, agents are the “next giant breakthrough” in AI. Several major companies, including Salesforce, … Read more
BBC Complaints Over Misleading iPhone Feature A recent update on Apple’s iPhone has generated a false headline about a high-profile murder in the US, prompting the broadcaster to take action. The feature, called Apple Intelligence, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to summarise and group together notifications. This week, it falsely made it appear that BBC News … Read more
The Seattle Seahawks suffered a tough loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, falling 30-13 and ending their four-game winning streak. In the third quarter, quarterback Geno Smith suffered a severe knee injury that left him unable to continue playing. Coach Mike Macdonald described Smith’s injury as “severe enough for him not to … Read more
US mortgage rates eased for the third week in a row, with the average 30-year rate falling to 6.6%, according to Freddie Mac. This is the lowest level since October 24. The decline in mortgage rates is partly due to firm consumer income growth and a bullish stock market, which have increased homebuyer demand. However, … Read more
A US fintech company called Synapse has collapsed, leaving over 100,000 Americans without access to nearly $90 million of their own money. The company, which provided services to popular banking apps like Yotta and Juno, was found to have inadequate record-keeping practices, leaving customers unable to retrieve their funds. One woman, Kayla Morris, lost an … Read more
Israel has announced it will close its embassy in Dublin, citing the Irish government’s recognition of Palestinian statehood and accusations against Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip as the reason for the move. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar condemned Ireland’s “extreme anti-Israel policies” in a statement. In contrast, Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris rejected Israel’s … Read more