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Are you who you say you are? TSA tests facial recognition technology to boost airport security

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 23:02:01 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — A passenger walks up to an airport security checkpoint, slips an ID card into a slot and looks into a camera atop a small screen. The screen flashes “Photo Complete” and the person walks through — all without having to hand over their identification to the TSA officer sitting behind the screen.It’s all part of a pilot project by the Transportation Security Administration to assess the use of facial recognition technology at a number of airports across the country.“What we are trying to do with this is aid the officers to actually determine that you are who you say who you are,” said Jason Lim, identity management capabilities manager, during a demonstration of the technology to reporters at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The effort comes at a time when the use of various forms of technology to enhance security and streamline procedures is only increasing. TSA says the pilot is voluntary and accurate, but critics have raised conce...

NYC skyscrapers turning to carbon capture to lessen climate change

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 23:02:01 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — From the outside, the residential high-rise on Manhattan’s Upper West Side looks pretty much like any other luxury building: A doorman greets visitors in a spacious lobby adorned with tapestry and marble.Yet just below in the basement is an unusual set of equipment that no other building in New York City — indeed few in the world — can claim. In an effort to drastically reduce the 30-story building’s emissions, the owners have installed a maze of twisting pipes and tanks that collect carbon dioxide from the massive, gas-fired boilers in the basement before it goes to the chimney and is released into the air.The goal is to stop that climate-warming gas from entering the atmosphere. And there’s a dire need for reducing emissions from skyscrapers like these in such a vertical city. Buildings are by far the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions here, roughly two-thirds, according to the city buildings department. New York state’s buildings also emi...

What to Watch: Clues about voter sentiment could emerge from Kentucky, Pennsylvania primaries

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 23:02:01 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Off-year elections on Tuesday in Kentucky and Pennsylvania could send early signals about the mood of voters ahead of next year’s races for the White House and Congress. The Kentucky governor’s race is a table-setter for what should be a bruising general election contest. Republican voters will settle on a nominee to challenge incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who has enjoyed high approval ratings but will have to fend off a GOP challenge in a state Republicans usually dominate. Two candidates with ties to former President Donald Trump are contenders in a 12-candidate field.A special legislative race in the Philadelphia suburbs could determine whether Democrats retain a one-vote majority in Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives, and the outcome could demonstrate how voters are feeling in a crucial region of a swing presidential state. Both parties will choose nominees for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and Philadelphia voters will ca...

GOP state lawmakers try to restrict ballot initiatives, partly to thwart abortion protections

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 23:02:01 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — With other state lawmakers seated around her in the Ohio House, Democratic state Rep. Tavia Galonski got to her feet and began to loudly chant, “One person, one vote!”The former Teamster’s cry spread quickly through the visitors gallery, then began to rise from the throng of protesters gathered outside in the statehouse rotunda. Struggling to be heard over the din, the Republican speaker ordered spectators cleared from the chamber.Last week’s striking scene came as Ohio joined a growing number of Republican-leaning states that are moving to undermine direct democracy by restricting citizens’ ability to bypass lawmakers through ballot initiatives and constitutional amendments.The Ohio proposal will ask voters during an August special election to boost the threshold for passing constitutional amendments to 60% rather than a simple majority. It also would double the number of counties where signatures must be collected, adding an extra layer of d...

Native American remains discovered at Dartmouth College spark calls for accountability

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 23:02:01 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — As a citizen of the Quapaw Nation, Ahnili Johnson-Jennings has always seen Dartmouth College as the university for Native American students.Her father graduated from the school, founded in 1769 to educate Native Americans, and she had come to rely on its network of students, professors and administrators. But news in March that the Ivy League school in New Hampshire found partial skeletal remains of 15 Native Americans in one of its collections has Johnson-Jennings and others reassessing that relationship.“It’s hard to reconcile. It’s hard to see the college in this old way where they were taking Native remains and using them for their own benefit,” said Johnson-Jennings, a senior and co-president of Native Americans at Dartmouth. The remains were used to teach a class as recently as last year, just before an audit concluded they had been wrongly catalogued as not Native.“It was very upsetting to hear, especially when you’ve just felt so supported by a school and they’...

World’s oldest dog, according to Guinness, celebrates 31st birthday

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 23:02:01 GMT

The world’s oldest dog recently celebrated his 31st birthday, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.Bobi, a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, a breed of Portuguese dog, celebrated during a party Saturday at his home in the rural Portuguese village of Conqueiros, where has lived his entire life. More than 100 people attended the “very traditional” Portuguese party, owner Leonel Costa said. Local meats and fish were served to up to 100 guests, with extra for Bobi, who only eats human food. A dance troupe also performed with Bobi participating in one of their routines.Costa has owned several old-aged dogs in the past, including Bobi’s mother, Gira, who lived to the age of 18. However, Costa said he never imagined any of his dogs would reach their 30s.“We see situations like this as a normal result of the life that they have, but Bobi is one of a kind,” Costa said.One of the biggest contributing factors to Bobi’s longevity is the “calm, peaceful environment” in which he live...

Biden, India’s Modi out to deepen their bonds, but geopolitical friendships have their limits

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 23:02:01 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has made it a mission for the U.S. to build friendships overseas — and the next few weeks will offer a vivid demonstration of the importance he’s placing on a relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The two are both scheduled to attend this week’s Group of Seven summit in Japan, a subsequent gathering of Pacific island leaders in Papua New Guinea, and a later meeting of Indo-Pacific leaders in Australia. Those travels will be followed by a June 22 state visit by Modi to Washington, a sign that both seem willing to deepen their bonds.But like many geopolitical friendships, things are complicated between the world’s largest economy (the U.S.) and its most populous nation (India). The personal outreach has a clear strategic calculus as both countries respond to China’s economic rise and increased global prominence. Yet while Biden champions democratic ideals and openly opposes Russia for invading Ukraine, Modi ...

Gloria Molina, trailblazing L.A. politician, dies after battle with cancer, family says

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 23:02:01 GMT

Trailblazing politician, activist and former L.A. County Board Supervisor Gloria Molina has died at the age of 74, her family announced Sunday.  “It is with heavy hearts that our family announces Gloria’s passing this evening. She passed away at her home in Mt. Washington, surrounded by our family,” her daughter, Valentina Martinez, said in a statement provided to KTLA.  Molina had been battling terminal cancer for the past three years, a struggle which kept her out of the public eye. As a politician and activist, she was known as a champion for women and Latinos. Molina broke many barriers along the way, being the first Chicana elected to the California Legislature, L.A. City Council and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.  "On Mother's Day of all days," L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath tweeted. "She broke countless glass ceilings & paved the way for generations of women leaders in LA County. I'll always be grateful for the ways she made my opportunity to s...

Concord road reopens after two-vehicle crash

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 23:02:01 GMT

(KRON) -- A Concord road has reopened after being temporarily closed due to a car crash Sunday evening, the Concord Police Department said on Twitter. The "rollover" crash happened at the intersection of Oak Grove Road and Monument Boulevard.Two cars were significantly damaged, a photo posted by Concord police shows. One car (pictured in the photo below) appeared to be flipped on its side, surrounded by multiple firefighters. (Concord Police Department) Concord police first tweeted about the collision and road closure at 7:54 p.m. The department then tweeted at 8:42 p.m. the road has reopened. It is unknown at this time if any injuries were reported. KRON4 reached out to Concord PD for more information and is awaiting a response.The location of the collision is approximately half a mile away from the Costco on Monument Boulevard.

Powerful Cyclone Mocha floods homes, cuts communications in western Myanmar, at least 700 injured

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 23:02:01 GMT

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Rescuers early Monday evacuated about 1,000 people trapped by seawater 3.6 meters (12 feet ) deep along western Myanmar’s coast after a powerful cyclone injured hundreds and cut off communications in one of Asia’s least developed countries. The extent of the damage and the death toll were not yet known.Strong winds injured more than 700 of about 20,000 people who were sheltering in sturdier buildings on the highlands of Sittwe township such as monasteries, pagodas and schools, according to a leader of the Rakhine Youths Philanthropic Association in Sittwe. He asked not to be named due to fear of reprisals from the authorities in the military-run country.Seawater raced into more than 10 low-lying wards near the shore as Cyclone Mocha made landfall in Rakhine state Sunday afternoon, he said. Residents moved to roofs and higher floors, while the wind and storm surge prevented immediate rescue.“After 4 p.m. yesterday, the storm weakened a bit, but th...