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EU clamps down on corruption in wake of Qatargate cash-for-influence scandal

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:25:36 GMT

BRUSSELS — The European Union on Wednesday promoted new rules to clamp down on corruption across the bloc in the wake of the alleged cash-for-influence Qatargate scandal in the European Parliament.The initiative, which will need to be signed off by all 27 member countries plus the European Parliament, is an attempt to tighten rules in the wake of the scandal involving bags of cash and allegedly corrupt lawmakers, which has rocked the EU’s assembly. Yet the new proposal won’t apply to EU institutions themselves. The task of policing European officials is being left up to a future ethics body that has yet to be unveiled, but is already facing criticism that it would go too easy on potential wrongdoers. Some of the provisions in the Commission’s anti-corruption plan, such as protections for whistleblowers, have been eagerly backed by the European Parliament when it comes to applying them to member countries — but have so far been rejected for the Parliament itself.The...

One dead, 3 taken to hospital after shooting in Midtown Atlanta, police say

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:25:36 GMT

(CNN) — One person is dead and three others have been taken to the hospital, the Atlanta Police Department said Wednesday, as authorities continue to search for a gunman who they said shot multiple people near Northside Hospital Medical in Midtown.[Previous story, published at 1:29 p.m. ET]Authorities are searching for a gunman after multiple people were shot in Midtown Atlanta near Northside Hospital Medical, according to Atlanta Police on the scene.Police issued a “be on the lookout” for the suspect, telling CNN the suspect is known to them and remains at large.The Atlanta Police Department released images showing the suspected shooter wearing a hoodie, saying he was believed to be the active shooter based on the preliminary investigation.“Anyone with any information on this person’s whereabouts is asked to call 911,” police said. “The suspect is believed to be armed and dangerous and should not be approached.”The Atlanta Police Depa...

Texas massacre suspect’s longtime partner is accused of helping him get food, clothes and transportation while he was on the run

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:25:36 GMT

(CNN) — The longtime partner of the man accused of gunning down five people, including a 9-year-old, in a neighboring Texas home apparently helped the suspect while also cooperating with authorities — all while a massive manhunt was underway — a prosecutor said Wednesday.The suspected gunman, Mexican national Francisco Oropesa, was caught Tuesday and faces one count of first-degree felony murder — with four more counts expected — after the mass shooting Friday night, San Jacinto County criminal district attorney Todd Dillon said. The charge could be upgraded to capital murder — a death penalty offense in Texas — a source with his office told CNN.Oropesa’s longtime partner, Divimara Lamar Nava, faces a charge of hindering apprehension or prosecution of a known felon, a third-degree felony, online sheriff’s records show. She was booked Wednesday; It’s not clear if she has an attorney or when her court appearance wil...

Alzheimer’s breakthrough research from Eli Lilly gives ‘real hope’ to millions of patients and their families

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:25:36 GMT

Eli Lilly has announced that its Alzheimer’s treatment drug has slowed cognitive decline and functional decline in a study, giving millions of patients and their families “real hope that they will have a brighter future fighting this disease.”The pharmaceutical company on Wednesday shared the results from its TRAILBLAZER-ALZ2 Phase 3 clinical trial of donanemab for the treatment of early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.The drug significantly slowed cognitive and functional decline in patients. Trial participants who received the drug showed a significant reduction in amyloid plaque (a protein associated with Alzheimer’s), a slowing of cognitive decline by 35%, and slowing of functional decline by 40% over 18 months.These are the “strongest phase 3 data for an Alzheimer’s treatment to date,” according to the Alzheimer’s Association chief science officer.“This further underscores the inflection point we are at for the Alzheim...

Column: How I nearly fell for a frightening ‘virtual kidnapping’ scam

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:25:36 GMT

I was impacted by a scam phone call this week that didn’t cost me money or expose my data, but took an enormous emotional toll, including 20 minutes of terror.Writing this column a day later, I’m still anxious and, frankly, a little embarrassed that I believed the scammer when he said he had kidnapped my wife.As a longtime tech journalist and founder and CEO of ConnectSafely, an online safety organization, I know a lot about phone and online scams and have written and spoken extensively on the subject. But this call felt real to me and threatened to separate me not from money but from someone, who, along with my children, means more to me than anything in the world. Being an “expert” didn’t make me immune to the social engineering that led me to believe the threat was real.Fear and deceptionAfter the incident I spoke with security and law enforcement experts who, in a sense, reassured me that my response was appropriate given the circumstances. The person on the phone was very good ...

Quebec flooding: Body of one of two missing volunteer firefighters found

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:25:36 GMT

BAIE-SAINT-PAUL, Que. — Quebec provincial police say they have found a body in the community northeast Quebec City where two volunteer firefighters were swept away by floodwaters during a rescue mission on Monday.Police spotted the body from a helicopter in the St-Urbain, Que., area just before 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sgt. Béatrice Dorsainville told reporters, adding that they would wait for a coroner to confirm the person’s identity. The force issued a news release saying it appears the body is one of the two missing men.Multiple media have reported that the two missing firefighters were Christopher Lavoie, 23, and Régis Lavoie, 55, who were reportedly not related.“The search is currently continuing in the area to try and find the second person who remains missing,” Dorsainville said, adding that search and rescue teams include police divers and officers in a helicopter, on boats and patrolling on land.More than 90 millimetres of rain has fallen on St-Urbain since Satu...

Lawyers charged by regulatory body after investigation into surveilling judge

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:25:36 GMT

WINNIPEG — Two lawyers are facing charges under the Law Society of Manitoba after the regulatory body investigated complaints they hired a private investigator to surveil a judge who was hearing a case involving COVID-19 public health orders. John Carpay, president of the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, and Randal Jay Cameron face charges from the independent regulator, which include undermining the public respect for the administration of justice and breach of integrity.A hearing date has not been set.The lawyers are also facing criminal charges for attempting to obstruct justice and intimidation of a justice system participant in relation to the surveillance. They have separate court dates later this month. Both men represented several churches that tried in 2021 to overturn Manitoba public health orders that prevented in-person religious services during the height of the pandemic.Carpay temporarily stepped down as president of the Justice Centre after ad...

FTC: Facebook misled parents, failed to guard kids’ privacy

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:25:36 GMT

U.S. regulators say Facebook misled parents and failed to protect the privacy of children using its Messenger Kids app, including misrepresenting the access it provided to app developers to private user data. As a result, The Federal Trade Commision on Wednesday proposed sweeping changes to a 2020 privacy order with Facebook — now called Meta — that would prohibit it from profiting from data it collects on users under 18. This would include data collected through its virtual-reality products. The FTC said the company has failed to fully comply with the 2020 order. Meta would also be subject to other limitations, including with its use of face-recognition technology and be required to provide additional privacy protections for its users.“Facebook has repeatedly violated its privacy promises,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The company’s recklessness has put young users at risk, and Facebook needs to answer for its failures.”Meta called the a...

Scientists warn of AI dangers but don’t agree on solutions

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:25:36 GMT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Computer scientists who helped build the foundations of today’s artificial intelligence technology are warning of its dangers, but that doesn’t mean they agree on what those dangers are or how to prevent them. After retiring from Google so he could speak more freely, so-called Godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton plans to outline his concerns Wednesday at a conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He’s already voiced regrets about his work and doubt about humanity’s survival if machines get smarter than people.Fellow AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, co-winner with Hinton of the top computer science prize, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he’s “pretty much aligned” with Hinton’s concerns brought on by chatbots such as ChatGPT and related technology, but worries that to simply say “We’re doomed” is not going to help.“The main difference, I would say, is he’s kind of a pessimistic person, and I’m more on the optimisti...

Pompeii chariot stars in Rome exhibit probing ancient roots

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:25:36 GMT

ROME (AP) — A meticulously reconstructed Pompeii bridal chariot that eluded the ancient city’s modern-day looters is a star of an ambitious new exhibition in Rome, which invites viewers to reflect on today’s connections with classical Roman and Greek civilizations.Shown for the first time to the public since it was discovered in 2021 under four meters (13 feet) of volcanic ash, the four-wheeled chariot features silver and bronze decorations, including of erotic scenes. The chariot was found under the ruins of a villa just outside Pompeii, an excavation prompted by the discovery that artifact thieves were tunneling through the area in hopes of finding saleable ancient loot. Wooden parts of the chariot, like the sideboards, didn’t survive the A.D. 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius that ended Pompeii’s run as a thriving, enterprising Roman city. But to reconstruct what didn’t survive of the chariot, experts used same the pioneering technique that have been employed ...