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COVID-19 public health emergency ends in Massachusetts

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:04 GMT

The COVID-19 public health emergency in Massachusetts will end on Thursday, the same day the federal government’s emergency order is set to expire. The end of the public health emergency will mean individuals will no longer have to wear a mask in hospitals or other health care settings.While the emergency is ending, officials from the state Department of Public Health have said it is still important for people to understand how to protect themselves from COVID-19 in the future. “People should continue to look around their communities and understand how they can protect themselves in the ways that they may want to layer in prevention strategies like masks and testing,” said DPH Commissioner Robert Goldstein. Gov. Maura Healey announced in March that she would lift the state’s modified public health emergency on May 11 to match the day the federal emergency ends. 

The Orioles’ ability to beat baseball’s best teams shows they are one of them | ANALYSIS

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:04 GMT

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde doesn’t want to overanalyze his team’s early-season schedule. In fact, he won’t ever dive too deep into the 162-game slate. His focus is on the series directly in front of Baltimore, and he knows there are many more of those to be played.“We have a long way to go,” he said earlier this week.But as the quarter pole of the 2023 season approaches, it’s clear Hyde is managing one of the best teams in baseball. The Orioles capitalized on a soft early schedule in getting off to a strong start, but the past week has shown that their record, the third best in the sport, is no mirage.Facing the only two teams with better marks than theirs, the Orioles (24-13) went 3-3 with a plus-3 run differential, dropping two one-run games at the National League-best Atlanta Braves (25-12) before bouncing back from a series-opening loss — their first of the year — to the Tampa Bay Rays (29-9) with consecutive narrow victories at ...

How Europe is at the forefront of building artificial intelligence guardrails

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:04 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Authorities around the world are racing to draw up rules for artificial intelligence, including in the European Union, where draft legislation faced a pivotal moment on Thursday. A European Parliament committee voted to strengthen the flagship legislative proposal as it heads toward passage, part of a yearslong effort by Brussels to draw up guardrails for artificial intelligence. Those efforts have taken on more urgency as the rapid advances of chatbots like ChatGPT highlight benefits the emerging technology can bring — and the new perils it poses.Here’s a look at the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act: HOW DO THE RULES WORK? The AI Act, first proposed in 2021, will govern any product or service that uses an artificial intelligence system. The act will classify AI systems according to four levels of risk, from minimal to unacceptable. Riskier applications will face tougher requirements, including being more transparent and using accurate data. Think about it ...

Police: 24 people, many of them children, hurt in bridge collapse in Finland

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:04 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Two dozen people, many of them schoolchildren, were injured when a temporary pedestrian bridge collapsed in the southern Finnish city of Espoo on Thursday, police and media said.Police said the bridge crossing a construction site in Espoo’s Tapiola region collapsed mid-morning. No one was killed, but 24 people were injured, 10 of them seriously. Espoo is a neighboring city of the capital, Helsinki.“Several people fell a few meters when the bridge collapsed. The situation is being investigated,” police said in a statement.Police are conducting a technical investigation in the area and the possible causes for the accident are being probed.The Associated Press

German rail workers union announces 50-hour strike

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:04 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A German labor union is calling for railway workers to stage a 50-hour strike early next week to bolster its calls for an inflation-related pay raise.The EVG rail workers union called for its 230,000 members to walk off the job from 10 p.m. on Sunday evening until midnight on Tuesday. The walkout will affect around 50 companies that provide rail services.Pay negotiations between EVG and German railway companies have been underway since February. EVG is seeking a raise of 12% for its members.This longer strike “increases the pressure significantly, because the employers leave us no other choice,” said Kristian Loroch, EVG’s lead negotiator, according to the news agency dpa.Deutsche Bahn personnel chief Martin Seiler called the strike “completely unreasonable.”“Instead of looking for compromises, the EVG wants to paralyze the country for an unbelievable 50 hours,” he said in a statement Thursday morning. “Millions of travelers are not getting where they want to go,...

In major climate step, EPA proposes 1st limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:04 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is proposing new limits on greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants, its most ambitious effort yet to roll back planet-warming pollution from the nation’s second-largest contributor to climate change.A rule to be unveiled Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency could force power plants to capture smokestack emissions using a technology that has long been promised but is not in widespread use in the U.S.If finalized, the proposed regulation would mark the first time the federal government has restricted carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, which generate about 25% of U.S. greenhouse gas pollution, second only to the transportation sector. The rule also would apply to future electric plants and would avoid up to 617 million metric tons of carbon dioxide through 2042, equivalent to annual emissions of 137 million passenger vehicles, the EPA said.Almost all the coal plants — along with large, frequen...

Why the arrest of Pakistan’s ex-PM Imran Khan could push the country into chaos

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:04 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan is witnessing a wave of violence following the arrest of popular opposition leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan on corruption charges. The level of unrest has not been seen since 2007, when another former premier — Benazir Bhutto — was assassinated during an election campaign. Footage of Khan being dragged from court sparked outrage among his supporters. Angry protesters torched buildings and vehicles. Authorities have deployed troops in an attempt to contain the clashes. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif vowed a tough response to the attacks. Khan is in custody at a police compound in the capital, Islamabad, undergoing questioning. WHAT’S HAPPENING IN PAKISTAN?Since Khan’s arrest on Tuesday, at least eight people have died and dozens have been wounded in clashes between his supporters and police. Protesters have burned building and vehicles to the ground. Others blocked roads and set fire to police checkpoints and military facilities. Schoo...

Nissan reports surging profit amid strong sales, easing chip crunch

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:04 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Nissan reported Thursday a seven-fold surge in January-March profit and forecast strong sales for this fiscal year riding on the popularity of its new model offerings.Nissan Motor Co.’s net profit for the fiscal fourth quarter totaled 106.9 billion yen ($798 million), up dramatically from 14.2 billion yen a year ago.Quarterly sales jumped 36% to 3.097 trillion yen ($23 billion), amid an easing of the supply shortage of computer chips and other parts, which had been caused by social restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.Chief Executive Makoto Uchida told reporters the automaker was preparing all-solid-state batteries for its electric models, as the world makes a rapid shift toward green zero-emissions technology.He acknowledged serious challenges remained but promised to boost Nissan’s profitability, especially in key markets like China.A midterm plan will be outlined later this year “to transform Nissan into a truly healthy and resilient co...

ASEAN leader: No progress in ending Myanmar’s deadly civil strife

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:04 GMT

LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian President Joko Widodo somberly acknowledged to fellow Southeast Asian leaders Thursday that no progress has been made to end the civil strife gripping Myanmar and renewed a call for an end to the violence, including a recent airstrike a rights group called an “apparent war crime.”“I have to be honest,” Widodo told fellow leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on the final day of their two-day summit in the Indonesian harbor town of Labuan Bajo. “There has been no significant progress in the implementation of the five-point consensus.”ASEAN’s chairperson this year, Widodo was referring to a peace plan forged by the 10-nation bloc with Myanmar’s top general in 2021 that called for an immediate end to the violence and dialogue among contending parties to be brokered through an ASEAN special envoy.Myanmar’s military-led government refused to take steps to enforce the plan, prompting ASEAN leaders to exclude the co...

Shooting at Mercedes factory in Germany leaves 1 dead, 1 wounded

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:04 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A man opened fire at a Mercedes-Benz factory in southwestern Germany on Thursday, leaving one person dead and another seriously wounded, authorities said.The shooting occurred in Sindelfingen, a city near Stuttgart. The suspect, a 53-year-old man, was taken into custody, a spokesman for the Stuttgart prosecutor’s office said.Police received the first emergency calls around 7:45 a.m. (0545 GMT; 1:45 a.m. EDT) on Thursday morning, a police spokeswoman told the news agency dpa.Police tweeted that there was no further danger to employees at the plant.A spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz confirmed that an incident had occurred at its Sindelfingen factory. Information about the suspect’s motive was not immediately available.The sprawling Sindelfingen works employ around 35,000 workers producing E-Class and S-Class luxury sedans and CLS and GLC coupes, according to the company’s website. It also houses planning, purchasing and development and design departments.The As...