Category: Extraordinary

Decision to shoot down balloons puts spotlight on hobbyists

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

In this image taken from a video shot by Tom Medlin on June 11, 2022, Ed Harrison launches a so-called pico balloon, which costs about $12 and is about 32 inches in diameter, in a field near Collierville, Tenn. Medlin, owner of the Amateur Radio Roundtable podcast, believes a similar balloon is what the U.S. military shot down over the Yukon recently. Hobbyists typically fly the balloons for fun and to experience the challenge of building transmitters and antenna systems, although the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been collecting data from operators to learn more about wind patterns, he said. (Tom Medlin via AP)

By TODD RICHMOND and HARM VENHUIZEN Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Decisions to shoot down multiple unidentified objects over the U.S. and Canada this month have put a spotlight on amateur balloonists who insist their creations pose no threat.

Over the last three weeks, U.S. President Joe Biden has ordered fighter jets to shoot down three objects detected in U.S. air space — a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the South Carolina coast as well as smaller unidentified objects over Alaska and Lake Huron. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week ordered another object to be shot down over the Yukon; a U.S. fighter jet carried out that mission.

U.S. government officials have yet to definitively identify the objects, but Biden said Thursday that they were probably balloons linked to private companies, weather researchers or hobbyists. Continue reading

Robot Intervention: Will You Be Replaced by a Robot at Work?

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

Michael Dinich | Wealth of Geeks undefined

According to a new study, nearly half of UK jobs are at risk of being taken over by a machine. 45% of roles were at medium to high risk of being replaced by AI (artificial intelligence), including taxi drivers, dental nurses, and sales and customer services staff.

Data analysts at NetVoucherCodes looked at over 400 jobs to assess their risk of being replaced by AI or automation in the coming decades. The data revealed that the lowest-paid jobs are most at risk of being replaced by robots.

Using the AI bot ChatGPT, the analysts looked at job roles using the ONS Employee earnings in the UK 2022 survey to find out how at risk they are from automation and AI.

High Risk of Replacement

According to the data, lower-paid jobs are at a higher risk of being replaced because many of these roles involve repetitive tasks that require little creativity or decision-making. Continue reading

Past US presidents, VPs asked to recheck for classified docs

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FILE – A man walks past boxes that were moved out of the Eisenhower Executive Office building, just outside the West Wing, inside the White House complex, Jan. 14, 2021, in Washington. The National Archives has asked former U.S. presidents and vice presidents to re-check their personal records for any classified documents following the news that President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence had such documents in their possession, two people familiar with the matter said Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

By COLLEEN LONG, JILL COLVIN and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Archives has asked former U.S. presidents and vice presidents to recheck their personal records for any classified documents following the news that President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence had such documents in their possession.

The Archives sent a letter Thursday to representatives of former presidents and vice presidents extending back to Ronald Reagan to ensure compliance with the Presidential Records Act, according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press. The act states that any records created or received by the president are the property of the U.S. government and will be managed by the Archives at the end of an administration.

The Archives sent the letter to representatives of former Presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, and former Vice Presidents Pence, Biden, Dick Cheney, Al Gore and Dan Quayle. Continue reading

Obnoxiously loud car? A traffic camera might be listening

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Read time : 4 mins

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A woman walks using her headphones on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, in New York. After the relative quiet of the pandemic, New York City has come roaring back. Just listen: Jackhammers disrupt the peace and fleets of honking cars, trucks and buses again clog thoroughfares as millions of denizens return to the streets — their voices and clacking heels adding to the ear-splitting din. In one of the world’s noisiest cities, the cacophony has returned louder than ever. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — After the relative quiet of the pandemic, New York City has come roaring back. Just listen: Jackhammers. Honking cars and trucks. Rumbling subway trains. Sirens. Shouting.

Over the years, there have been numerous efforts to quiet the cacophony. One of the latest: traffic cameras equipped with sound meters capable of identifying souped-up cars and motorbikes emitting an illegal amount of street noise.

At least 71 drivers have gotten tickets so far for violating noise rules during a yearlong pilot program of the system. The city’s Department of Environmental Protection now has plans to expand the use of the roadside sound meters.

“Vehicles with illegally modified mufflers and tailpipes that emit extremely loud noise have been a growing problem in recent years,” said City Council member Erik Bottcher, who heralded the arrival of the radars to his district to help reduce “obnoxious” noise. Continue reading

As elites arrive in Davos, conspiracy theories thrive online

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People set up the stage at the eve of the opening of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023. The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos from Jan. 16 until Jan. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

By SOPHIA TULP Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — When some of the world’s wealthiest and most influential figures gathered at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting last year, sessions on climate change drew high-level discussions on topics such as carbon financing and sustainable food systems.

But an entirely different narrative played out on the internet, where social media users claimed leaders wanted to force the population to eat insects instead of meat in the name of saving the environment.

The annual event in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos, which opens Monday, has increasingly become a target of bizarre claims from a growing chorus of commentators who believe the forum involves a group of elites manipulating global events for their own benefit. Experts say what was once a conspiracy theory found in the internet’s underbelly has now hit the mainstream. Continue reading

Historic biodiversity agreement reached at UN conference

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Huang Runqiu, left, President of the COP 15 and Minister of Ecology and Environment of China listens as Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, speaks during a press conference at the COP 15 summit on biodiversity, in Montreal, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. (Peter McCabe /The Canadian Press via AP)

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press

MONTREAL (AP) — Negotiators reached a historic deal at a U.N. biodiversity conference early Monday that would represent the most significant effort to protect the world’s lands and oceans and provide critical financing to save biodiversity in the developing world.

The global framework comes on the day the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP15, is set to end in Montreal. China, which holds the presidency at this conference, released a new draft on Sunday that gave the sometimes contentious talks much-needed momentum.

“We have in our hands a package which I think can guide us as we all work together to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and put biodiversity on the path to recovery for the benefit of all people in the world,” Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu told delegates before the package was adopted to rapturous applause just before dawn. “We can be truly proud.” Continue reading

Police raid more EU Parliament offices in corruption probe

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A man walks down stairs during a special session on lobbying Monday, Dec. 12, 2022 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France. Four people have been charged with being part of a criminal group, money laundering and corruption in connection with an investigation into suspected influence peddling by a Persian Gulf country at the European Union’s parliament. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian police conducted more raids at European Parliament offices Monday as the legislature’s president pledged to launch an internal investigation into corruption allegations and the bloc’s top official called for the creation of an EU-wide independent ethics body.

Prosecutors investigating alleged influence peddling by a Gulf country at the European Parliament charged four people over the weekend with corruption, participation in a criminal group and money laundering. Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili of Greece was relieved of her duties.

The prosecutors declined to identify the country suspected of offering cash or gifts to parliament officials in exchange for political favors. Several members of the assembly and some Belgian media linked the investigation to Qatar, which is currently hosting soccer’s gala event, the World Cup.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied any wrongdoing. Continue reading

The Deserts of Bolivia Hold The Key to Your New Electric Car

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Read time : 5 mins

Level : Intermediate

By Carley Rojas Avila

The next generation of technological advancement might rely on the same place it has turned to since the days of the Spanish conquistadors: Bolivia. Despite being one of the poorest nations in the Americas, this landlocked South American country is exceedingly rich in the resources required to make our world move.

With global supplies of lithium, the critical element needed for electric car batteries dwindling fast, Bolivia’s vast, remote salt flats may hold the key to the future. But one of South America’s most famous natural wonders may be at stake. Continue reading

UK: Climate protesters throw soup on Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’

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Read time : 3 mins

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Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of two protesters who have thrown tinned soup at Vincent Van Gogh’s famous 1888 work Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London, Friday Oct. 14, 2022. The group Just Stop Oil, which wants the British government to halt new oil and gas projects, said activists dumped two cans of Heinz tomato soup over the oil painting on Friday. London’s Metropolitan Police said officers arrested two people on suspicion of criminal damage and aggravated trespass. (Just Stop Oil via AP)

LONDON (AP) — Climate protesters threw soup over Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” in London’s National Gallery on Friday to protest fossil fuel extraction, but caused no damage to the glass-covered painting.

The group Just Stop Oil, which wants the British government to halt new oil and gas projects, said activists dumped two cans of tomato soup over the oil painting, one of the Dutch artist’s most iconic works. The two protesters also glued themselves to the gallery wall.

The soup splashed across the glass covering the painting and its gilded frame. The gallery said “there is some minor damage to the frame but the painting is unharmed.” It was cleaned and returned to its place in the gallery on Friday afternoon.

The work is one of several versions of “Sunflowers” that Van Gogh painted in the late 1880s.

London’s Metropolitan Police said officers arrested two people on suspicion of criminal damage and aggravated trespass. Continue reading

In Brazilian Amazon, a 1,000-mile voyage so people can vote

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

A worker carries an electronic ballot machine at a polling station during general elections in Lago de Catalao, Amazonas state, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros)

By EDMAR BARROS and FABIANO MAISONNAVE undefined

MANAUS, Brazil (AP) — In most democracies, citizens go to the polls. But in Brazil’s sparsely populated Amazon region, the polls often go to the voters.

Most people in the vast rainforest live in urban areas, but thousands reside in tiny villages several days from the nearest city by boat. Amazonas, Brazil’s biggest state, is triple the size of California yet has only about one-third the population of greater Los Angeles. More than half its cities can’t be reached at all by road, and some are hundreds of kilometers from the state capital, Manaus.

Logistics pose a challenge even in Manaus, a sprawling municipality of 2.2 million people. On Saturday, The Associated Press accompanied election workers setting up a voting place in the Bela Vista do Jaraqui community, a three-hour boat trip from the city. Continue reading