How Europe is leading the world in building guardrails around AI
LONDON (AP) — Authorities around the world are racing to draw up rules for artificial intelligence, including in the European Union, where draft legislation faced a pivotal moment. A European Parliament committee adopted its negotiating position on the flagship legislative proposal, part of the bloc’s yearslong effort to draw up guardrails for artificial intelligence. Those efforts have taken on more urgency as ChatGPT’s rapid advance has highlighted benefits the emerging technology can bring — and the new perils it poses. One of the EU’s main goals is to guard against any AI threats to health and safety and protect fundamental rights and values.
Yellen: Different system needed to end repeated standoffs over US debt ceiling
NIIGATA, Japan (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says that in her opinion, the United States should adopt a different system for national finances that might forestall repeated standoffs with Congress over spending. Emphasizing that it was her own opinion, not the position of the Biden administration, Yellen said that there are various alternatives for avoiding situations where the Treasury lacks the funds to pay its bills. However, for now she said raising the debt ceiling to avert a default on the national debt remains the only solution. Speaking ahead of a meeting in Japan of finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of Seven advanced economies, she said, “the answer is there is no good alternative.”
In major climate step, EPA proposes 1st limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is proposing new limits on greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants, its most ambitious effort yet to reduce planet-warming pollution from the nation’s second-largest contributor to climate change. A rule being unveiled Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency could force power plants to capture smokestack emissions using technology that isn’t in widespread use in the U.S. If finalized, the rule would mark the first time the federal government has restricted carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, which generate 25% of U.S. greenhouse gas pollution, second only to the transportation sector. Industry groups and Republican-leaning states accuse the Democratic administration of overreach on environmental regulations.
Stock market today: Stocks dip following inflation data, drops for Disney, banks
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is slipping, and the S&P 500 is 0.3% lower in morning trading. Disney was one of the heaviest forces dragging the market lower Thursday after it lost millions of streaming subscribers during the latest quarter. Some banks beaten down by the industry’s mini-panic were also under pressure. PacWest tumbled after disclosing a flight of deposits last week. In the bond market, Treasury yields fell after another report suggested inflation is slowing easing. That and a report suggesting an uptick in layoffs bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off on hiking interest rates at its next meeting.
Terraform Labs founder pleads not guilty in Montenegro forged documents case
PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Montenegro’s state-owned media says that a trial has opened in the country against Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon and another citizen of South Korea. RTCG television reported that they are charged in the Balkan country with using forged identification documents. The two men were in court on Thursday and offered 400,000 euros ($437,000) each to be released on bail. The court in Podgorica hasn’t yet decided on the motion. Do Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in March on an international arrest warrant in connection with a $40 billion crash of the firm’s cryptocurrency that devastated retail investors around the world. Both South Korea and the United States have requested his extradition from Montenegro.
Bank of England raises UK interest rates to highest level since 2008
LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has raised interest rates to their highest level since late 2008 as it continues to combat stubbornly high inflation in the U.K. The decision on Thursday by the bank’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee to lift its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5% was widely anticipated in financial markets. The increase was its 12th in a row. Like other central banks around the world, the Bank of England has sought to keep a lid on inflation, which over the past year has been fueled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That sent energy prices soaring, a development that then led to price increases across a wide array of goods and services.
German rail workers union announces 50-hour strike
BERLIN (AP) — A German labor union is calling for railway workers to stage a 50-hour strike next week to bolster its calls for an inflation-related pay raise. The EVG rail workers union called for its 230,000 members to walk off the job from 10 p.m. on Sunday evening until midnight on Tuesday. The strikes are expected to impact regional, long-distance and freight trains throughout Germany. Deutsche Bahn personnel chief Martin Seiler called the strike “completely unreasonable.” The walkout is the third staged by railway workers this year, and comes amid strikes in other sectors.
Turkish presidential candidate withdraws in boost to Erdogan’s main challenger
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A candidate in Turkey’s presidential election has withdrawn from the race, a move that is likely to bolster President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main challenger. Muharrem Ince, the leader of the center-left Homeland Party, was one of four contenders running for president in Sunday’s vote. He had come under intense criticism for splintering the votes of the six-party Nation Alliance, which has united behind the candidacy of main opposition party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and of possibly forcing the presidential race into a second-round runoff. Ince told reporters Thursday he was withdrawing “for my country.”