Author: Buzzo

Treating H.I.V. across dozens of nations. Stopping the forced labor of Chinese workers. Training Mexican and Colombian police in anti-narcotics enforcement.Those are just a tiny sample of aid programs around the world operating with grant money from the U.S. government that could be permanently shut down under an executive order President Trump signed last week to halt foreign aid.The sense of crisis among aid groups worldwide is surging, as American officials tell groups they must obey an almost universal stop-work order issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio after Mr. Trump’s directive.The officials say the groups must freeze nearly all…

Watch: Pause on federal funding targeted at DEI and ‘wokeness’, says White HouseA US judge temporarily halted President Donald Trump’s order to freeze hundreds of billions of dollars in federal grants and loans, minutes before it was set to come into effect on Tuesday.Judge Loren AliKhan’s order to pause the plan until next Monday at 17:00 EST (22:00 GMT) came in response to a lawsuit filed earlier in the day by a group of organisations representing grant recipients.The lawsuit claims the White House’s temporary freezing of already approved funding violates the law.In the hours before the order was due to…

IT IS Common lore in Silicon Valley that no company has a bigger moat than Nvidia, the world’s dominant supplier of chips for artificial intelligence (AI). That was true until January 27th, when a Chinese firm called DeepSeek, bearing an AI model that it said cost less than $6m to train, blew a nearly $600bn hole in the value of the semiconductor giant, marking the biggest one-day loss in the history of America’s stockmarket. Think of it as the 21st-century equivalent of a shot from a trebuchet, the medieval contraption capable of reducing castle walls to rubble. Have Nvidia’s defences…

“Selling Sunset” star Jason Oppenheim says California lawmakers have “failed to protect” their constituents in a video posted on social media.Oppenheim, 47, claimed his best friend and co-star, Mary Fitzgerald Bonnet, and her husband Romain were the victims of a burglary last week. In addition to their possessions being stolen, their dog was “found in the middle of the street,” he said. “Luckily, he’s OK, and we called 911.”The real estate guru said authorities weren’t immediately available and blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass for not funding an already overwhelmed Los Angeles Police Department and instead using state money…

Opening summaryHello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of deadly crowd crushes at India’s Kumbh Mela festival.At least 38 people and as many as 100 are feared to have died in crushes in the early hours of Wednesday, local officials have said, as people went to bathe in a river as part of a Hindu ritual.People were crushed at about 4am on Wednesday as people surged forward in three separate areas at the confluence of the rivers in the city of Prayagraj which is the holiest place to bathe.The scale of the tragedy is still unclear but we will…

The City Council’s small Republican caucus is facing an internal crisis after half of its members contested the validity of an election for a new minority leader that took place Tuesday and elevated Staten Island Councilman David Carr to the role.The election was called to name the chamber’s new Republican minority leader in light of this weekend’s resignation of Staten Island Councilman Joe Borelli, who has for years held the post.Only three of the GOP caucus’ six members — Borelli, Carr and Brooklyn Councilwoman Inna Vernikov — showed up for the vote. They voted unanimously to make Carr the next…

By Staff The Associated Press Posted January 28, 2025 4:09 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Earth is moving closer to destruction, a science-oriented advocacy group said Tuesday as it advanced its famous “Doomsday Clock” to 89 seconds till midnight, the closest it has ever been. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists made the annual announcement — which rates how close humanity is from ending — citing threats that include climate change, proliferation of nuclear weapons, instability in the Middle East, the threat of pandemics and incorporation of artificial intelligence in military operations.The clock…

In Hanoi and other Vietnamese cities at this time of year, potted kumquat trees fastened to motorbike seats dodge and weave through traffic in a haze of orange. Families buy them as symbols of luck and good fortune for the new Lunar New Year, which started on Wednesday.This year a typhoon and extreme heat dented the harvest, scrambling prices for kumquats and other ornamental plants associated with the holiday, which is known as Tet in Vietnam. Some people bought smaller kumquats or switched to less expensive options, like orchids or persimmon branches.Ornamental plant farmers are now stuck with unsold inventory…

Long-time leader of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, once dubbed “Europe’s last dictator”, has been re-elected president with 86.8% of the vote.The result has been condemned as a sham by Lukashenko’s opponents and Western governments.There were four other names on the ballot – carefully chosen to present no challenge to the current leadership – and no credible contenders were allowed to take part in the election, as all opposition figures are either in jail or in exile abroad.In a mammoth four-and-a-half hour press conference on Sunday evening, the BBC’s Russia editor Steve Rosenberg asked questions about democracy and political prisoners.

“That’s the way it is.”A “Jeopardy” contestant last Friday walked off the stage after he missed a clue about Céline Dion, moments after he had name-checked her on the show when host Ken Jennings asked who he’d like to thank. After thanking his fellow contestants while speaking to Jennings, Drew Goins, who was participating in the Champions Wildcard Tournament, said that one of the producers had suggested he thank the Canadian singer. “So, thank you, Céline Dion,” he said to the camera. ‘JEOPARDY!’ HOST KEN JENNINGS REMEMBERS THINKING ‘I DON’T WANT TO BE HERE’ DURING FIRST EPISODE A “Jeopardy” contestant last week was embarrassed…