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Powerful quake in Morocco kills more than 2,000 people and damages historic buildings in Marrakech

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:23 GMT

By SAM METZ and MOSA’AB ELSHAMY (Associated Press)MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco, sending people racing from their beds into the streets and toppling buildings in mountainous villages and ancient cities not built to withstand such force. More than 2,000 people were killed, and the toll was expected to rise as rescuers struggled Saturday to reach hard-hit remote areas.The magnitude-6.8 quake, the biggest to hit the North African country in 120 years, sent people fleeing their homes in terror and disbelief late Friday. One man said dishes and wall hangings began raining down, and people were knocked off their feet. The quake brought down walls made from stone and masonry, covering whole communities with rubble. The devastation gripped each town along the High Atlas’ steep and winding switchbacks in similar ways: homes folding in on themselves and mothers and fathers crying as boys and helmet-clad police carried the dead through t...

ChatGPT’s AI technology was built in Iowa, with tons of water

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:23 GMT

The cost of building an artificial intelligence product like ChatGPT can be hard to measure.But one thing Microsoft-backed OpenAI needed for its technology was plenty of water, pulled from the watershed of the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers in central Iowa to cool a powerful supercomputer as it helped teach its AI systems how to mimic human writing.As they race to capitalize on a craze for generative AI, leading tech developers including Microsoft, OpenAI and Google have acknowledged that growing demand for their AI tools carries hefty costs, from expensive semiconductors to an increase in water consumption.But they’re often secretive about the specifics. Few people in Iowa knew about its status as a birthplace of OpenAI’s most advanced large language model, GPT-4, before a top Microsoft executive said in a speech it “was literally made next to cornfields west of Des Moines.”Building a large language model requires analyzing patterns across a huge trove of human-written text. A...

A Worcester teen’s death leads to ‘One Chip Challenge’ maker to halt sales

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:23 GMT

WORCESTER — The death of a Massachusetts teenager after his family said he ate an extremely spicy tortilla chip has led to an outpouring of concern about the social media challenge and prompted retailers to pull the product from their shelves at the manufacturer’s request.The family of Harris Wolobah held a vigil Friday, a week after his death on Sept. 1, to remember the basketball-loving 10th grader while they await the results of an autopsy to determine what killed him.Wolobah’s family has blamed the One Chip Challege for the teen’s death.The challenge calls for participants to eat an eponymously named chip and then see how long they can go without consuming other food and water. The family has declined interview requests.Police said they were called to the home on Sept. 1 and found Wolobah “unresponsive and not breathing.” He was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.The state medical examiner’s office said it will likely take weeks before Wolobah...

US Open women’s final between Gauff and Sabalenka goes to third set

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:23 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Coco Gauff has sent the U.S. Open women’s final against Aryna Sabalenka to a deciding third set.Gauff won the second set 6-3 Saturday after Sabalenka won the first set 6-2 in 40 minutes.Gauff, seeking her first Grand Slam title, is trying to win for the third time in her seven matches at this U.S. Open after losing the first set. The No. 6 seed rallied after slow starts against Laura Siegemund in the first round and Elise Mertens in the third round.The No. 2-seeded Sabalenka lost a set for just the second time in this tournament. Madison Keys won the first set of their semifinal Thursday before Sabalenka rallied to win in a third-set tiebreaker. Sabalenka is trying to win her second Grand Slam title, having started the year by winning the Australian Open in January.___AP tennis coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/tennisThe Associated Press

Authorities search for grizzly bear that mauled a Montana hunter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:23 GMT

BIG SKY, Mont. (AP) — Officials have closed part of the Custer Gallatin National Forest in southwestern Montana after a hunter was severely mauled by a grizzly bear.The hunter was tracking a deer on Friday when the bear attacked, according to the Gallatin County Sheriff’s office. Members of the hunting party called 911 at about 1:45 p.m., the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported, and emergency crews used a helicopter ambulance to fly the hunter to a nearby hospital. The attack happened south of Big Sky, a popular resort area about 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) north of Yellowstone National Park. The U.S. Forest Service implemented an emergency closure in the area near the attack while authorities seek the bear, which they said may have been shot. Grizzly bears are protected under the Endangered Species Act in the lower 48 states. The Montana Department of Fish and Game warned in a press release issued Friday that the likelihood of encounters between grizzlies and humans is increasing...

Federal Conservative grassroots vote against surgical, pharmaceutical care for transgender kids

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:23 GMT

QUEBEC — Conservative party delegates voted Saturday that as a future government, it should prohibit “medicinal or surgical interventions” for gender-diverse and transgender kids.Members were gathered in Quebec City for the final day of the party’s three-day policy convention, where delegates voted on a suite of amendments to the party’s policy handbook, ranging in issues from foreign affairs, the environment and health.The proposal that any future Conservative government prohibit “life-altering medicinal or surgical interventions” for those under 18 who are looking to transition came from a riding in British Columbia.It passed with assent from 69 per cent of voting members.The vote comes as the premiers in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick usher in their own changes to education policies that would require schools to seek parental consent if a child under 16 wanted to be referred to by a different name or pronoun.That decision has been met with back...

Former Olympic champion and college All-American win swim around Florida’s Alligator Reef Lighthouse

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:23 GMT

ISLAMORADA, Fla. (AP) — A three-time Olympic gold medalist and a former college All-American won top honors Saturday at an annual 8-mile (13-kilometer) ocean swim around the Alligator Reef Lighthouse off the Florida Keys.Olympian Brooke Bennett, 43, of Clearwater, was the top female swimmer, finishing second overall behind Connor Signorin, a former All-American at the University of Florida who lives in Tampa. While both excelled at competing in pools, the swim around the 150-year-old lighthouse presented a different challenge.“You’re here amongst the sea life and this is your natural form of swimming — this isn’t pool swimming, this is as natural as it gets … beautiful,” said Signorin, 31, after finishing the race in 2 hours, 59 minutes, 44 seconds.About 400 people participated in the race that raised money and awareness of the need to preserve the historic lighthouse and five other aging beacons off the Florida Keys. The lighthouse was named for the U.S. Navy Schooner Alligator tha...

Maldives presidential election heading for 2nd round after no clear winner emerges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:23 GMT

MALE, Maldives (AP) — The Maldives presidential election Saturday was headed toward a second round between the top two candidates after none of the eight contestants secured more than 50% of the vote for an outright win, local media reported.Main opposition candidate Mohamed Muiz secured a surprise lead with more than 46% of votes, while the incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih secured 39% in an election that turned into a virtual referendum over which regional power — India or China — will have the biggest influence in the Indian Ocean archipelago state.The elections commission was scheduled to announce its official results Sunday morning. A second round, if confirmed, will take place later this month. Saturday’s vote was to choose the country’s fifth freely elected president since Maldives became a multiparty democracy in 2008. Eight candidates are vying for the post with Solih, perceived as pro-India, facing off against his main rival Muiz, who is seen as pro-Chi...

Israeli army kills 16-year-old Palestinian in West Bank, claiming youths threw explosives

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:23 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli security forces on Saturday killed a 16-year-old Palestinian in a confrontation in the southern occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said, the latest violence to roil the territory during one of the most violent stretches of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in nearly two decades. The death of Milad al-Rai brings to 185 the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank so far this year by Israeli fire, including over 30 youths under the age of 18. This year’s death toll in the West Bank and east Jerusalem has already overtaken that of 2022, which had been considered the deadliest year since the United Nations began tracking in 2005.The Israeli military said that it unleashed tear gas and opened fire at a group of Palestinians outside the Al-Aroub refugee camp in the southern West Bank who had lobbed Molotov cocktails at troops across the way. It said it was aware that one of the Palestinians had been shot and said there were Israeli militar...

Man's body found near Promontory Point

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:23 GMT

CHICAGO — The body of a man was found on the shoreline near Promontory Point Saturday morning. Police said an unidentified body was found around 10:15 a.m. near the 5400 block of South Lake Shore Drive. Authorities begin to remove plane after crash in Elk Grove Village Police said the man was pronounced dead on the scene. Area one detectives are conducting a death investigation, pending autopsy results. There is currently no other information provided. WGN is actively following the incident and will update as more information s recovered.