Source: Reuters
“The Trump administration would look at lowering tariffs on imported Chinese goods pending talks with Beijing, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, adding that any action would not be made unilaterally. The source’s comments followed a Wall Street Journal report that the White House is considering cutting its tariffs on Chinese imports in a bid to de-escalate tensions.” (04/23/25)
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“Former employees of OpenAI are asking the top law enforcement officers in California and Delaware to stop the company from shifting control of its artificial intelligence technology from a nonprofit charity to a for-profit business. They’re concerned about what happens if the ChatGPT maker fulfills its ambition to build AI that outperforms humans, but is no longer accountable to its public mission to safeguard that technology from causing grievous harms. … Backed by three Nobel Prize winners and other advocates and experts, [Page] Hedley and nine other ex-OpenAI workers sent a letter this week to the two state attorneys general. The coalition is asking California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings, both Democrats, to use their authority to protect OpenAI’s charitable purpose and block its planned restructuring. OpenAI is incorporated in Delaware and operates out of San Francisco.” (04/23/25)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/04/23/openai-for-profit-conversion-criticism/
Source: ABC News
“The World Economic Forum, which runs an annual gathering of elites in Davos, Switzerland, says its board has given its unanimous support for an independent investigation into allegations of misconduct by founder Klaus Schwab. The statement from the Geneva-based think tank and event organizer late on Tuesday came after a report published in the Wall Street Journal cited a whistleblower letter alleging financial and ethical misconduct by Schwab, 87, and his wife Hilde. The newspaper reported that the allegations were sent in an anonymous letter to the board last week and included claims that the Schwab family mixed their personal affairs with Forum resources. … The allegations emerged two days after the WEF announced Schwab had retired ‘with immediate effect’ as chairman, and that former Nestle Chairman and CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe was taking over as interim chairman.” (04/23/25)
Source: SFGate
“Senior Palestinian officials loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas are meeting to vote on the creation of a vice presidency and could choose a possible successor to the unpopular 89-year-old. The two-day meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Central Council, beginning Wednesday, comes as Abbas seeks relevance and a role in postwar planning for the Gaza Strip after having been largely sidelined by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. In his opening speech, Abbas lashed out at Hamas, calling the militant group ‘sons of dogs,’ using unusually harsh language in an apparent strategy aimed at garnering international support for a future role in Gaza. The council is expected to vote on creating the role of vice chairman of the PLO Executive Committee, who would also be referred to as the vice president of the State of Palestine — which the Palestinians hope will one day receive full international recognition.” (04/23/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/palestinians-might-appoint-a-vice-president-to-20290477.php
Source: CNBC
The European Union on Wednesday fined Apple and Meta hundreds of millions of euros each for breaching the bloc’s digital competition laws. The European Commission, which is the executive body of the EU, said it was fining Apple 500 million euros ($571 million) and Meta 200 million euros ($228.4 million) for breaches of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Officials said that Apple failed to comply with so-called ‘anti-steering’ obligations under the DMA. Under the EU’s tech law, Apple is required to allow developers to freely inform customers of alternative offers outside its App Store. … For Meta, the EU Commission found that the social media group illegally required users to consent to sharing their data with the company or pay for an ad-free service.” (04/23/25)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/23/eu-fines-meta-and-apple-for-breaching-digital-antitrust-rules.html
Source: Fox News
“The University of Louisville has reportedly agreed to pay nearly $1.6 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a former professor who was fired for criticizing transgender treatments for children experiencing gender dysphoria. Dr. Allan Josephson worked for nearly 15 years as chief of the University of Louisville’s Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology. According to his legal complaint, Josephson was able to turn around the struggling division during his tenure and received perfect scores in his 2014-2016 annual reviews. Despite his professional accomplishments, the complaint alleges that Josephson was demoted in 2017 and eventually fired after making comments in his own capacity challenging the push to use hormone therapy and surgery for children with gender dysphoria, according to legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). ADF, which represented Josephson in court, announced the settlement agreement Monday and hailed the case as a ‘major victory’ for free speech.” (04/23/25)
Source: SFGate
“Two Belgian teenagers who were found with thousands of ants valued at $9,200 and allegedly destined for European and Asian markets will be sentenced in two weeks, a Kenyan magistrate said Wednesday. Magistrate Njeri Thuku, sitting at the court in Kenya’s main airport, said she would not rush the case but would take time to review environmental impact and psychological reports filed in court before passing sentence on May 7. Belgian nationals Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, both 19 years old, were arrested on April 5 with 5,000 ants at a guest house. They were charged on April 15 with violating wildlife conservation laws. The teens have told the magistrate that they didn’t know that keeping the ants was illegal and were just having fun. The Kenya Wildlife Service had said the case represented ‘a shift in trafficking trends — from iconic large mammals to lesser-known yet ecologically critical species’.” (04/23/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/belgian-teenagers-found-with-5-000-ants-to-be-20290471.php
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Yemen’s Houthi rebels [sic] have launched a ballistic missile towards northern Israel, according to the Israeli military, which claimed to have shot down the projectile without causing any injuries. Shortly after 4am local time (01:00 GMT) on Wednesday, the Israeli army said that the missile triggered air raid sirens in Haifa, Krayot and other areas west of the Sea of Galilee. This area is a rare target for the Iran-backed Houthi rebels [sic], who continue to be the target of an intense United States air strike campaign.” (04/22/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/23/yemens-houthis-launch-rare-attack-on-northern-israel
Source: New York Post
“A groundbreaking new study suggests that a gut-dwelling bacteria may be behind the recent surge in early-onset colorectal cancer cases. The potential culprit? Colibactin, a toxin produced by certain strains of E. coli that thrive in the colon and rectum. ‘We believe this exposure occurs very early in life — likely during the first decade — when children are infected,’ Dr. Ludmil Alexandrov, senior study author and a professor at the University of California San Diego, told The Post. Once thought of as a disease that strikes later in life, colorectal cancer is now on the rise among young people in at least 27 countries. In the US, the number of people under 55 being diagnosed has nearly doubled over the past decade, and more people are dying from the disease each year, according to the American Cancer Society.” (04/23/25)
Source: Financial Times [UK]
“Amazon and Walmart’s third-party sellers are hoarding stock in Canada as they try to wait out President Donald Trump’s trade war with China. Independent vendors who sell products — from cheap dog toys to appliances — through the companies’ US ecommerce platforms are shifting goods from China to Canadian warehouses, according to half a dozen sellers, logistics providers and consultants. Several makers and distributors of Amazon’s and Walmart’s own products, as well as suppliers to companies such as Disney, are also using the tactic, some of the people said. … Flexport, a US logistics group, said there were early signs that shipments were being routed to Canada after it observed a 50 per cent increase in consignments from China to the country last week.” (04/22/25)