US envoys arrive at Gaza truce talks as Egypt, Hamas voice ‘optimism’
CAIRO (AFP) — Top U.S. negotiators joined discussions Wednesday aimed at bringing the Gaza war to an end, with the negotiations’ Egyptian host saying he had received “encouraging” signs so far. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hailed the...
Florida man accused of starting deadly Palisades Fire in LA
LOS ANGELES (CN) — A man federal authorities say started the blaze that became the deadly Palisades Fire in Los Angeles is in custody, officials announced Wednesday. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, of Melbourne, Florida, faces a charge of destruction of property by means...
UK Conservatives’ race rift overshadows ICE-style deportation plan
MANCHESTER, England (CN) — Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has announced she would pull the country out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and create a new “removals force” modeled on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to deport...
Europe bets on AI rescue plan to pull even with rivals
BRUSSELS (CN) — Europe is throwing another 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) at artificial intelligence, the EU announced Wednesday as part of a massive 200-billion-euro push to catch up with the U.S. and China in the global AI arms race. The European Union rolled out...
Trio wins chemistry Nobel for new form of molecular architecture
STOCKHOLM (AFP) — Three scientists won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry Wednesday for their work developing metal–organic frameworks, whose multiple uses include capturing carbon dioxide and harvesting water from desert air. Japan’s Susumu Kitagawa, U.K.-born...
UN labor agency turns to world court to confirm right to strike
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — The world’s top court in The Hague wrapped up three days of arguments Wednesday over a question that could redefine the power of workers everywhere: Do they have a legal right to strike? Lawyers, union leaders and government delegates...
Webb telescope catches a star in its final act
(CN) — Just before it blew apart, a red supergiant star was caught in stunning detail by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. The observations, made by Northwestern University researchers and published Wednesday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, mark the first time...
‘Criminally greedy’ Medicare fraudster ordered to pay $615 million
PHOENIX (CN) — Phoenix valley woman Alexandra Gehrke will spend 15 years behind bars after pleading guilty to scamming $1.2 billion out of Medicare and other health care and insurance companies.` A Former Scottsdale socialite and medical entrepreneur, Gehrke and DJ...
California governor signs bill combating antisemitism in schools
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan’s eyes welled with tears as the clock ticked toward midnight on Sept. 13. On the final night of this year’s session last month, Bauer-Kahan recounted an anecdote about how her daughter’s teacher...