Sales of new US homes at highest level in over a year
Sales of new homes in the United States last month exceeded analyst expectations Thursday, logging the fastest pace in more than a year on the back of cooler mortgage rates. Sales of new homes stood at an annual rate of 738,000, seasonally adjusted, 4.1 percent up from the revised August figure of 709,000, said the Commerce […]
World Bank president focused on job creation ahead of annual meetings
The World Bank will unveil plans to tackle job creation, gender disparities, and food security at next week’s gathering of the world’s finance ministers and central bankers in Washington, its president said in an interview. Ajay Banga spoke to AFP at the development lender’s headquarters in Washington ahead of the Annual Meetings of the International […]
Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
TikTok teams identified harmful effects of its platform on young users but limited preventive measures so as to avoid a drop in traffic, according to internal documents revealed Friday by a US public radio station. The documents, mentioned in a subpoena issued by the Kentucky attorney general, are part of a lawsuit filed by 13 […]
New funding to explore the human genome
The University of Michigan is set to increase the amount and type of genetic information stored in its Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) data centre. This information is used by researchers and healthcare providers around the world looking to genomes to treat disease. The expansion has been made possible thank to a $30 million award from the […]
Oil prices drop on easing fears over Middle East, most markets rise
Oil prices extended losses Tuesday after a report said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told US President Joe Biden he would not strike Iran’s crude or nuclear facilities in retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month. The sell-off came as the commodity is hit by worries about China’s economic outlook after Beijing failed […]
US holiday spending to approach $1 tn: Retail Federation
US consumers are expected to spend close to $1 trillion during the winter holiday season, a slight uptick from the year prior, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said Tuesday. The trade association forecasts total holiday spending in November and December will grow by 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent over 2023 — reaching between $979.5 billion and […]
A spacecraft is on its way to a harmless asteroid slammed by NASA in a previous save-the-Earth test
A spacecraft blasted off Monday to investigate the scene of a cosmic crash. The European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft rocketed away on a two-year journey to the small, harmless asteroid rammed by NASA two years ago in a dress rehearsal for the day a killer space rock threatens Earth. Launched by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral, it’s the second […]
How artificial intelligence is changing the reports US police write
Officer Wendy Venegas spoke softly in Spanish to the 14-year-old standing on the side of a narrow residential road in East Palo Alto. The girl’s face was puffy from crying as she quietly explained what had happened. The girl said her father had caught her and her boyfriend “doing stuff” that morning, and her dad […]
OpenAI raises $6.6bn in funding, is valued at $157bn
OpenAI has raised $6.6bn (£5bn) in a funding round that values the artificial intelligence business at $157bn, with chipmaker Nvidia and Japanese group SoftBank among its investors. The San Francisco-based startup, responsible for the ChatGPT chatbot, did not give details of a reported restructuring that will transform it into a for-profit business. The funding round was led […]
How Hurricane Helene could have widespread consequences for homeowners
When Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida on Thursday night, it made landfall in the state’s sparsely populated Big Bend, far from the glittering cities with expensive waterfront property to the south. But that didn’t stop Helene from becoming another multibillion-dollar superstorm. The hurricane’s massive size and record-breaking storm surge left an equally massive footprint of […]
